researching book reviews. what is a scholarly book review? a scholarly book review is a critical...
Post on 20-Dec-2015
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Book Reviews Are Not Formal Critiques of Literature
Scholarly book reviews are published 6 months to 2 years after the book’s publication.
Reviews summarize the book’s content.
Reviews evaluate the overall content of the book.
Critical essays usually appear long after the book’s 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 of creative works (e.g., novels)
Reviews 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 author’s other work
Book Reviews of Critical Studies in Literature
significance of the book’s thesis and theoretical approach
strengths and weaknesses of analysis, method, and research
approach or perspective
extent to which the book contributes to existing scholarship
These types of book reviews critically evaluate the:
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
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
Literature reviews can be either:
be the focus of an journal article or book chapter.
embedded in a critical article.
To search for book reviews for your author’s creative works or related secondary works, go to the course homepage.