Posted on by writershilpa

B – Books and Book Reviews. #AtoZ

B for Books

   “Books are a uniquely portable magic!”

_Stephen King.

Isn’t it true?

You open a book, and begin reading the words carefully put together by the writer and you are  transported to a  world where live people leading  lives you might never, or, you wish you could.

Books, for many of us, give the relief we need as we face the vagaries of Life.  For some, they are the best friends who make their need for people redundant.

But, apart from it all, books are the best teachers we could ever have. And, being writers, the need to read books can never be discounted.

Some of my favourite books are from the fiction genre, especially suspense/ thrillers. In  non-fiction, I  like the real life inspirational  stories, like the ones by Dr.Brian Weiss, and Anita Moorjani.  And, it’s these non-fiction ones that have inspired me while writing my posts.

I love mythological ones, too! Jaya, by Devdutt Pattanaik,  for instance. And, some historical stories, as well. No romance, or chick-lit for me, though. Guess, I have passed that age where we know what Love is all about!

I was a voracious reader earlier,  but then, Life took over and reading became a luxury I could hardly  afford. So, it was only after I began writing that I realised how important it is to read; read so that you improve your writing,  and develop your craft, rectify your syntax errors and learn the magic formula required  to grab a reader’s attention.

Book reviews  happened by chance. Couple years ago, motivational speaker, Priya Kumar had her book releasing. She approached many a blogger to review her book and publish the review on their respective blogs. I was one of those bloggers, too. It felt wonderful being requested to do the review by her, but daunting, as well.

Never having done a book review, I had to first learn the art of reviewing books and writing an honest, impartial review. Sentiments cannot be hurt, and yet you need to put across your views about the book – whether it is good, likeable, or read-at-your-own-risk kind.

There are a few book reviewers whom I follow closely. Bloggers who have carved an identity for themselves reviewing books, and from whom I learnt a lot.

So, if you  wish to learn what book reviewing is all about, do visit these blogs. Just reading the different genres they have reviewed will give you a fair idea of how to go about it.

There are also some blogging  communities that offer books for reviewing. If you wish to try your hand at it, do visit these sites and register there to receive books. Do follow the rules they have laid out for book reviewing.

Book reviewers I admire:

Shantala Nayak

Tulika Singh

Anamika Agnihotri

Mithila Menezes

Lata Sunil

Ramya Abhinand

Community for book lovers:

Writer’smelon

The book club

Do visit these bloggers and the communities if you would like to give reviewing a try. It’s a fun way of widening your horizons!

Things to remember for book reviewing:

Read the book, thoroughly.  Of course, that’s understood! However, try not to skip the parts that seem tedious.

Write an honest review. Never trash the book, especially if it’s a début work, and do not praise it to the skies, either. 

And remember, not all might agree with your view of the book. So, do give reasons for the criticism, as well as the commendation. 

Love,

SHILPA…

 

April 2018 A to Z blogging Challenge

 

My theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is all about my blog, Metanoia, and my blogging journey from the time  I started, 5 years ago. The lessons I learnt, the tips and tricks I picked up from fellow bloggers and the guidelines I could have used back when I began. 

You will find all of my A to Z posts here.

42 Replies to “B – Books and Book Reviews. #AtoZ”

  2. Great post Shilpa, and being a book warm I just loved your tips. indeed, books are best friend, and they always help us a lot to deal with any difficult situation. #BlogchatterA2Z

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  3. A very balanced approach to book reviewing. I completely agree with your list of book reviewers whose reviews are delightful though I must admit that when a blogger only does book reviews, I tend to give it a miss because I hardly get to read a book these days. Somehow I haven’t got down to reading on line and regular reading is getting harder by the day.

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  4. The perfect way to approach books and reviews Shilpa. My problem is most often I need to review book thats totally not the genre I enjoy reading. However I still try to get the gist of it all, and appreiate what good the writer has done to it.

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    1. Sonia, as much as my A to Z posts are for bloggers who have just begun on the blogging journey, they are also for me. The kind of encouraging comments you leave on my posts,it is really reassuring! Makes me feel good I chose this theme!
      So, thank you so much!<3

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      Reply

  11. Useful tips, Shilpa. I had one book reviewer who “enjoyed the story part of the book” but thrashed me for adding inspirational sections saying it failed as a novel – it would have worked fine as a devotional book. She gave me ONE star! Guess what? It WASN’T a novel! It was a devotional book! Really? Brains! Are we stuck with what we have?

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  16. I love that quote and agree with it wholeheartedly 😉 Wait for my M; its Brian Weiss’s book that changed my life for good. I have gifted that book to so many peeps now as I feel its one book everyone must read.
    I too have the same list of favourite Book reviewers; these guys are just awesome.
    I have a book review to do which I am dreading as I wasnt impressed by it – will keep your points in mind!

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  17. ‘Sentiments cannot be hurt, and yet you need to put across your views about the book – whether it is good, likeable, or read-at-your-own-risk kind.’ – Couldn’t agree more. I also started reviewing recently, and as a policy I try to balance the negatives with the positives.
    That’s an interesting list of book reviewers, thanks for that.

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  20. I’ll never be a good book reviewer. I am too impatient – and yes, I skip the tedious parts. At this point in my life, I feel life is too short. Actually I have, perhaps, written a book review on my blog once or twice. A book has to be prize winning material for me to be moved to do that. But how I love to read! I’ve been reading for 61 years.

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  21. Hi Shilpa! I´m glad I discovered you via the #AtoZChallenge 2018. I think it´s important to read. I got into book reviews recently and have been enjoying it.I recognise 2 names from this book reviewer list and will check the rest including yours. Some of the book reviewers I like are Ashima Jain, Piyusha Vir, Maitabi Banerjee, Anupama Dalmia, Kasturi Patra to name a few.

    Liked by 2 people

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