First, you’ll want to identify the book by the author, title, and sometimes you’ll find it helpful to also include the publishing information for the book. Make sure that you specify the type of book. There are many different categories, fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography etc. This will help the reader to first identify with what type of body of work the book is. The book’s theme is also important; there is a difference between a bright lighthearted theme and a darker more seriously themed book. Also briefly include the background of the book, which also helps the reader get more of a feel for the book. Try to identify the general problem or story line that the book takes.

Secondly, take time to briefly summarize the content. There are two different ways to do this, depending on if the book was nonfiction or fiction. In the case that the book is nonfiction, then you will want to include an overview, which should include paraphrases and quotations of the book’s thesis and primary supporting points. When working with a fiction book, you’ll want to introduce the story line for the reader. Be careful with this because you won’t want to give away anything that is important for the suspense of the story.

The third step is to provide your reactions to the book. Try to describe the book in a few different words. Was the reading interesting, thrilling, entertaining, saddening? Once you’ve picked your descriptive words you’ll want to give a few short sentences describing why you picked these words. Then try to relate the book to larger issues, like how the book affected you. Was it strong enough in text to have an effect on your opinion of a topic? Perhaps it related to something that changed your viewpoints, or even opened your eyes. These are all different aspects that you’ll want to include in your review, since people who read reviews do want to know what type of influence this book has on its reader.

The last step to take is to summarize all of your ideas on the book. Come up with a direct comment on the book, and tie together all the issues that were raised in the review. You can also restate the main points that you have already made in your thesis, making the review flow together.

Sometimes the idea of writing a review can be scary, especially if the text is large and you’re not sure how to summarize it. By using these simple steps, you can be sure that you’ll have a much easier time breaking down information and getting it on to the page in an organized fashion, resulting in a great and easy to read book review.