Skip to main content

HOW TO: Blog a Book Review

I love big books and I can not lie, so when I got wind that companies would send me books for free in return for my honest review I jumped on board VERY quickly.  I am two things by nature: a cheerleader and a coach/teacher, which are also the two things you need to be when reviewing a book.

Cheerleader: When you are reading a book regardless of your end feelings about the book, there will be somethings that you like. Share specific details ( quotes, pages, chapters) of those things that you found interesting, informative or just plain made you laugh out loud. If you have a photo you took or were given by the author share it on the blog and on social media. 

Coach: Though the author of the book you review may never read your review, and we are not here to rip apart authors. We are here to be honest. If there is something in the reading that did not set well with you, share it. If there is something you see that doesn't align with your beliefs or is false, share it. But if you do find something you do not agree with, share it in Love. Do not just bash the author, and do not just bash the content because you don't like it- share how it could be better. Don't be the yelling football dad on the sidelines trying to relive the glory days, be the encouraging mom in the stands that wants their child to enjoy the game.

Styles of Reviews
1. Short &Sweet: Share the topic of the book, about the author and where to buy it. 
2. Chapter by Chapter: Sharing your likes and dislikes on each chapter( helpful with longer books, devotional books, and bible studies). This does not mean you give away every last detail but you allow your reader to have a taste enough that they will want to jump over the Amazon and buy the book ;)
3. Format Review: which includes Recap the book, Relate the book to a personal story, Critique the book or author, Apply the book to your life. 

MOST IMPORTANT PART!!
Well, I saved the most important part of a book review or product review for last: you must share that you have received the book for free, and the opinions in the review are your own and not those of publishers or authors. If you are doing the book for a specific group, they will share some specific verbiage for you. 

I think that for some the word book review echos school and does not seem appealing. I can say that when you choose books you enjoy, sharing about the books is an overflow of the heart. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LIFE: Camp

I have had an awful lot of un published blogs lately. These blogs come from deep routed feelings that have surfaced this year due to one thing or another. Maybe some day these blogs will be unearthed but for today, this blog needed to be written while it was still raw.  I have very vague memories of third or forth grade summer camp at Alto Frio, where I met Nana Pudding ( a christian puppet) and went pogging for the first time in a river. Summer after sixth grade,  I got in church vans and headed to Louisiana for the first time to attend Student Life Camp, then proceeded to go to Angelo State University and Glorieta New Mexico a few times. I spent time serving during spring breaks at Riverbend Retreat Center which lead to an internship over the summer. The week that "Curtis" and I first really got to know each other, we were at Glorieta for Centrifuge camp.  Camp is a special place for me. Camp is a happy place for me.  In 2018, I was able to experience camp through ...
Post a Comment
Read more

REVIEW: Gratitude: A Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal

{necessary information} I received this book as a try-me from Tyndale Publishers and the opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone and not those of the author or publisher {transparency of blogger} I have worked for preschools and coaching facilities and as a babysitter for most of my life. Sometimes you have an extra coloring sheet laying around while the kids are babysitting ( and sometimes it was on purpose) so you have to sit down with the kids and use the best crayons or color pencils available to color the extra page. Okay, okay, I love to color. There is something therapeutic to coloring.  { review Gratitude} I love all things girly, so the fact that this book came with a flowery firm cover- I was giddy. Then you open up to devotion surrounded with black and white images crying to be colored- I was over the moon. After I read the devotional there is room to journal through my thoughts, taking coloring breaks. I highly reccomend this book for all ages and would b...
2 comments
Read more

love is patient and kind

There is a point in your life when you have to accept that your plan for your family( brothers, sisters, moms and dads) and friends is not your own. I grew up in a family where if I had not accepted their changes, I would not have family and would have grown up sad and alone. I grew up in a family where they did not attend church, so they knew that I was not happy about their changes but I still loved them and prayed for them endlessly. I do not have to agree with people or be uplifted by someone to show them Gods love though loving them. God loves us even when we endlessly try to walk away by sinning. These people may not be doing what God wanted for them but it is not our place to throw it in their faces, once we tell them- we pray for them and keep loving them.
1 comment
Read more