Amy Spitz
Instruction & OER Librarian (Faculty)
aspitz@csmd.edu
Mary Johnson
Interim Library Director
mbjohnson@csmd.edu
A book review is a source that provides criticism, description, and analysis of a book. Book reviews often focus more on the content and style of a book.
Book reviews can be found in a few types of sources:
Newspapers – best for finding reviews of fiction
Scholarly Journals –best for finding reviews of (mostly nonfiction) books in a specific academic discipline or on a specific topic
Trade Journals / Magazines - may contain reviews for books related to a profession or trade
Websites - varies in quality (especially when reviews are written by users of the website, since there is likely no one editing or verifying the user's information); may also be used to gather reviews from multiple sources
Book reviews are available in many of the library databases. If you choose to search online (outside of the databases), be careful! You will need to evaluate the review to make sure it fits the criteria for your assignment (many do not allow the use of user-generated reviews or blogs), especially if it does not come from a recommended website on this guide.
Before searching, make sure you have information about the book including:
Title
Author
Publication Date
Tip: Always use “quotation marks” around titles (or other search terms) that involve multiple words (such as “Pride and Prejudice” or “industrial revolution”).