When I Didn’t Realize I Was Writing a Book Review | From Behind the Pen | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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In school, English classes included books assigned for us to read and then to write and discuss certain elements about the books in class. Now, while we weren’t putting our opinions on social media platforms as we do today (the only social media at the time were newspapers, magazines, and radio or TV), we still had our personal opinions about the educational supplements we read and formed an opinion on.

As I compare the book reviews I write now, compared to the book reports I wrote in school there is an uncanny similarity in our opinion-based thoughts that we write or have written about. I never really thought about whether the assignments we were given, especially in college, were considered a review, but they were, even if only our class heard them.

This social writing forum is one of several in which we find many reviews written by famous and non-famous authors. We freely post our likes, dislikes, or confusion about a book we read, whether non-fictional or fictional. Reviews can be helpful in many ways. They can let you determine whether a product or service is recommended or should be avoided at all costs. But do your homework when referring to sites where people can say the wildest and most ridiculous things about legitimate products or services.

My problem with writing reviews is brevity. We consume so much information every day and folks don’t have all day to read one long behind review. There’s so much I want to include, but it must be as concise yet detailed as possible. Typically, book reviews are not long. In most cases, reviews are between 500 and 750 words.

My book reports and reviews speak on behalf of what that individual book spoke to me. To writers, good reviews are valuable and can be a critical asset to their future work. Books are an introduction to new worlds we never explored. When I read a review before purchasing or checking out a book from the library, it lets me know what to expect and whether I want that selection to be a part of my reading journey.