Researching Book Reviews

What is a Scholarly Book Review?

A scholarly book review is a critical
assessment of a book.

Book Reviews Are Not Formal Critiques of

Literature
Scholarly book reviews are
published 6 months to 2
years after the books
publication.
Reviews summarize the
books content.
Reviews evaluate the overall
content of the book.

Critical essays usually

appear long after the books
publication.
Critical essays focus on a
close reading of a work such
as, a theme, character,
language, or theoretical
approach.

Literary Book Reviews

There are two types of book reviews:
Reviews
Reviews

of creative works (e.g., novels)

of secondary works (e.g., criticism

of creative works)

Book Reviews of Creative Works

This type of book review assesses the:
themes or subplots.
function of each character in the novel.
characters' relationships to one another.
comparison to the authors other work

Book Review of a Creative Work:

Example

Book Reviews of Critical Studies in

Literature
These types of book reviews critically evaluate the:

significance of the books thesis and theoretical approach

strengths and weaknesses of analysis, method, and research

approach or perspective

extent to which the book contributes to existing scholarship

Book Review of a Critical Study:

Example

See the course web page for examples of

scholarly books reviews.

Advantages of Book Reviews to

Researchers
Place

work in context to other similar works

Identify key scholars and critics
Discuss controversies, debates, and
disagreements within an area.
Determine whether the book contributes to
the critical canon.

Who Writes Scholarly Book Reviews?

Editors of literary journals seek reviewers who
are experts in their field, meaning that they
have contributed significantly to the field
through scholarly publications.
Most of the these experts hold advanced
degrees and teach at colleges and
universities.

Scholarly Book Reviews

Scholarly book reviews are published in two
venues:
Journals
Cultural magazines

Scholarly Book Reviews

Scholarly press

Cultural Press

Book Reviews: Cultural Press

The cultural press, a part of the popular or
mainstream media, is not strictly considered
scholarly. However, some cultural press
periodicals often publish fine assessments of
literary works.

Book Reviews: Cultural Press

The following cultural press magazines will be
acceptable for class projects, provided the reviews
are lengthy and detailed.

Times Literary Supplement

New York Review of Books
New York Times Book Review
New Yorker

Other Book Review Formats

Review

essay: discusses an array of books

on a specific topic

Literature

review: discusses new and

previous works focused on a specific topic

Example of a review essay:

Literature reviews can be either:

be the focus of an journal article or book
chapter.
embedded in a critical article.

Example of a literature review:

Locating Book Reviews

Book reviews can be found in:
Book

review indexes

Periodical

databases

To search for book reviews for your authors

creative works or related secondary works,
go to the course homepage.

Book Reviews: Summary

Evaluates

the worth of a book

Differs from a formal literary critique
Provides valuable information to researcher
Reviews found in 3 formats: article, or as part
of a review essay or literature review
Locate book reviews in periodical databases
and book review indexes