I set myself a challenge to read #50 books in 2023.
It is recommended that in order to write great novels, you should first start by reading great novels. By doing this, you can draw inspiration from the books you have enjoyed to develop an understanding of how to set a pace, develop characters, create themes and subplots. You will inevitably absorb tid-bits of useful knowledge during your experience of other story-tellers, likely without even realising.
Similarly, if you want to become a great cook, you will first need to try great dishes to develop your sense of taste.
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To track my reading progress, I was persuaded to set up a Good Reads account (I have linked in the sidebar and down below). If you are an avid reader and have yet to do so, I would highly recommend setting up an account of your own. The site provides excellent features, such as:
- Setting personal reading goals.
- Keep track of Books you have read.
- List Books you are currently reading.
- Create a Wishlist – where you can add books you’d like to read next.
- View and write Book Reviews
Good Reads also gives you the option to follow authors and users who have a similar reading taste to you, navigating you to your next great book.
To be candid, an enjoyable (albeit sick) past-time of mine comes from reading 1-star reviews on Amazon, Restaurants, and books alike. I do tend to love the hilarity from reading expletives of someone who passionately dislikes something – whether credible or not.
However, the purpose of this post is to aid in writing your own credible review, which helped me when coming to write my own. You have to remember that a lot of heart and effort from the creator has gone into writing a book, so it is important to be fair, even if it wasn’t to your taste or liking.
I have created an outline below to provide some structure and specific points to make in your own review:
Summarize the Novel
At the beginning of your review, give the reader a brief overview of the plot. This should be a concise summary of the book, one that will then frame your evaluation of the story. The reader should be able to gain some prior knowledge of what the book is about, before diving headlong into your review. Be careful not to give too much away. You do not want to ruin the whole story without warning. Keep it simple:
- Main Concept
- Who are the main characters?
- What is the theme? (Is it Historical Romance or a Thriller?
Good Reads curates a format where any spoilers within your review can be blurred-out. This is a great feature for your reviewing platform, especially if you wish to include more specific details from the story.
Evaluate the Novel
One thing I would recommend before you even start reading your chosen book, is to have some post-it notes or tabs at hand, ready for you to add to the pages you wish to remember. This is a great tool to refer to when coming to write your evaluation. You are likely not going to remember the finer details after absorbing 400-odd pages.
Here’s some questions you can ask yourself when writing the evaluation:
- What did you think worked well?
- Was it easy to read? Predictable?
- What is the author’s writing style? Was it heavy on action or did it lack character development?
- Were there any sub-plots that helped you navigate through the book?
- What emotions were you left with?
Opposing Thoughts
Within your evaluation, you can start to bring in some conflicting views:
- What did you dislike about the novel? What didn’t work?
- What were some things you would change?
- Could the writing have succeeded better for you with a different narrative?
- Were there any plot-holes?
- What questions were left unanswered?
Quotes
Be sure to use quotes where possible. This is a powerful way to accentuate any of your evaluation points, providing the reader with specific examples from the text.
Conclusion / Recommendation
This is where you want to wrap up your thoughts and give your final rating.
- Was the book a success for you overall?
- Would you recommend it?
It is important to find a desired audience which the book is specifically aimed for:
“I wasn’t a fan of this particular novel, but readers who like_______ might like this.”
Using the above, you tastefully express your potential dislike of the book, but also appeal to an audience that might enjoy it.
There is always a balance to be struck in order to remain fair, and it is important that you acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses. This way you can frame your criticism constructively and it is more likely that the audience will find your review credible and without bias.
