Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory by Brad Hooper

In Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory Brad Hooper, the Adult Books Editor at Booklist, offers new and aspiring book reviewers pertinent advice for writing reviews that people want to read. He describes the difference between reviews and criticism and in which setting each is appropriate. In today’s busy book industry, knowing what new books have to offer is invaluable to librarians and booksellers. Pre and postpublication reviews are how book providers and book readers make many of  their selections.

Emphasis is placed on writing short (around 175 word), concise, prepublication reviews meant to advise book providers. No matter the length, Hooper gives several enlightening tips on what a good review should include. For instance, Hooper advises that a good review “judges a book only against others of its ilk” (48). In other words, don’t judge a book by Danielle Steel by comparing it to one by Edith Wharton. Each author is a leader in her own genre and deserves to be compared to herself, to her own works. Good advice, right? There’s more where that came from though at times I wished Hooper went a little deeper.

Writing reviews is tricky and challenging. How do you write a review for a book you didn’t like? What aspects of a book should you highlight? Keep in mind Hooper’s advice is meant for writers reviewing for a specific audience with specific needs and not book blogging. However, I’ll be attempting to apply Hooper’s advice as I continue learning how to review. The next step according to Hooper is to read books, read reviews and write!

Publisher: American Library Association, 2010     Pages: 96

Rating: 4 Stars     Source: ILL through UI Libraries