Kate Benesch asked Pamela Paul:

What are some tips you have for writing book reviews?

Pamela Paul Hi Kate, sorry for the delay in responding. A book review is definitely its own form, and the biggest mistake people make is writing a book report. Or a simple, overly formulaic book review with a bit of plot summary, a little judgment here and there, a caveat (or "to be sure...") paragraph saying what's wrong with the book. It's important to give readers a good sense of what the book is, how it fits into what's already been written on the subject or written by other authors, how it fits in to the author's body of work, what works and what doesn't, and finally, to give a good sense of the writing in the book. Many reviewers neglect to quote from the book itself -- potential readers will want to know if they like the author's style or voice! Finally, a good book review is like any other good piece of writing -- it should be stylish, lively, entertaining, vivid and informative. A little humor never hurts, too.

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