I’ve heard a lot about reviews and their importance. Some things I’ve heard are true and others are false assumptions. Let’s take a look at reviews and see what they are for and what they are not for.

First, let’s define Review.

In Dictionary.com it is defined as:
A critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation.

Wikipedia defines it this way:
A review is an evaluation of a publication, service, or company such as a movie, musical composition, book; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, play, or art exhibition. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review’s author may assign the work a rating to indicate its relative merit.

Merriam-Webster defines Review as:
A critical evaluation (as of a book or play).

So, a review, of either a book, product, movie, or whatever, is a critical evaluation of that object or event.

What does this mean for a reader or an author? (We are going to focus on readers in this post.)

For the Reader/Reviewer:

A Review is for:

• Expressing your honest opinions and thoughts on a book.
• Recommending a book to friends who read your reviews.
• Warning friends about content found.
• Helping potential readers decide if they want to read or not read a book.

A Review is NOT for:

• Bashing an author.
• Praising a book just because you know the author even if you didn’t like the book.
• The author.
• Promoting and reviewing a different book instead of the one you are reviewing.
• Using the review as a platform for promoting your own agenda.

A Review is not really for (but sometimes happens):

• Getting into deep theological discussions.
• Sharing the synopsis or simply a recap of the entire book with no personal thoughts.
• Comparing another book to the one you are reviewing.

Next week we’ll look at what a review is for and not for from an author’s side of things. So make sure you come back. And if you need any help on writing reviews, you can read my How-To post on that topic RIGHT HERE.

Do you read reviews from others before you decide to read a book? Do you write book reviews for books you read? Are there things you think an review is for or not for that I didn’t cover? Let me know.