In the Bookcase

7/20/2012

Book Review: The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing


The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

written by Mayra Calvani & Anne K. Edwards
186 pages
published in 2008

If you enjoy sharing your literary opinion on books by writing your own reviews, you'll find this book to be an excellent source of information and advice. You'll learn the ins-and-outs of how to deal with all types of books.

Key points that I was reminded of while reading "The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing" are the following:

Giving an overly-positive review to a book can sometimes be too much, or raise suspicion the reviewer may just be attempting to be too nice to the author.

"Remember, objectivity and honesty in reviewing are of the utmost importance." -Page 56
When you have a negative opinion on a book, there is always a tactful way to share your personal thoughts without being rude.

"You can be critical and honest without being unkind." -Page 51
Always maintain structure, clarity and objectivity in your reviews.

"Each word you use in your review should count and have a purpose." -Page 10
A book review is definitely different than a book report, a critique, or press release, and should be written accordingly.

The title of this book is aptly named, because the material literally explains about the "slippery art" of reviewing. There are many more beneficial facts found in the book to allow you to improve your own art of reviewing, and much advice is planted throughout the chapters. "The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing" is not just for people (like myself) who post their reviews on personal blogs, or online book stores, but also for people who review books as their full-time job. I'll be returning to this book often as a reliable aid.

Available in paperback & Kindle formats.



5 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great book! I never thought of reading a book *about* doing book reviews - what an idea! :D

    I have trouble most with that second to last tip about being clear and to the point. Sometimes I tend to ramble a bit in some of my reviews. ;) Hehe.

    This looks like a wonderful resource and I'll have to see if I can find it in my library! Thanks for the review Tarissa! :D

    Blessings in Christ,
    ~Rachel~

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  2. I'm so happy to hear you liked the book, Tarissa! Thanks for taking the time to review the book and recommending it to your readers. I really appreciate it.

    Warm regards,

    Mayra Calvani

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  3. Hi Tarissa! I just wanted to say thank you for your advice on blogging (so long ago and now my post on it is up!).

    http://www.rachellerea.com/2012/07/blogging-101.html

    It's so true that we must be an audience ourselves, too. :) Thanks for the reminder.

    Love,
    Rachelle

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  4. Hi Tarissa!

    I commented after your comment on my blog but realize that you may not know that I commented in response to your comment so now I'm commenting here...hehe ;).

    This was an interesting post especially since I write book reviews on my blog. I know that I can either not like a book and struggle to find positives...or be super-duper positive because I just loved a book so much! I hope people can tell that I genuinely enjoyed the book and am not merely being polite :).

    ~Alyssa

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