How to Write a Book Review

How to Write a Book ReviewBeing a book reviewer for the last two weeks and having many of my books reviewed by others, I tend to see a lot of commonality in reviews. Mistakes, gestures, and things that are just inappropriate for a book review. It is one thing to tell someone that their book is great and others should read it. It’s practically a cliché at this point. Reviewers have to make prospective readers thirsty and energized in interest to the point where they want to purchase the book. Book reviews have the same flavor and sensitivity as a sales pitch.

How do I write a book review? Where do I start? How long should it be? Common questions with various answers! I only speak, in this blog post, from personal experiences as a book reviewer. When you begin writing a book review, start off thanking the author for their publication. You can include if you won the book through a giveaway, but know that this is a necessary evil. After being complimentary, start addressing the overall design of the book. What feeling did you get when you looked at the front cover? Does the title give off the main idea? Are the designs on the front and back covers an act of symbolism? Does the small wording on the back cover heighten your interest to open the book? These are the things prospective readers want to know.

The next portion of your book review should address the grammar and punctuation. Yes, something not often placed in reviews. It’s imperative that you get someone else to check your grammar and punctuation. Go through an editor or agent, if you have to. You’ve read the book. So, did you have to stop and almost stutter because the fragments were not revised properly in the sentences? Did the author wean off topic for a long time without reeling you back into his/her main purpose? Prospective readers and book reviewers look for the author’s purpose, focus, and moral in every story. At this point, you can begin considering the format and layout of the book. Was the table of contents outlined correctly? Were page numbers included? Was the book entirely too long with unnecessary information in chapters? Was the font and alignment of each page hard to conceptualize? Think about this when writing your book review.

How to Write a Book ReviewThese pieces to a book review are great, but the most crucial and last component of the book review should be recommendations. Make the sales pitch! State the type of audience who should be reading the book and address any internal/external feelings they may run into. Is the book full of adventure and suspense? Is it religious? Are profane words and derogatory remarks made in the book? Why is this so important? The prospective reader wants to know if they’re the right audience! For instance, I’m a poet and when I read reviews for poetry books, I want to know if the books are centered on the same themes I write about and read about. If I was a counselor and the book is full of adventure, but doesn’t hold a dramatic event requiring counseling for someone, this may not be the book for me. Make your recommendations and state why such audiences are the right candidates.

In closing, have fun with your book reviews! Don’t make it into an assignment or required duty. Don’t treat it as some book report or an exhausting activity one does when they finish a book. Write your review while you’re in a happy mode and when you think and concentrate about the interesting pieces of the book. Even if the book is terrible, don’t come right out and say, “this is the worse book to buy.” Mention the author’s weaknesses and give suggestions on how they could become strengths. Don’t tear down your author publicly, but address horrible matters through private communications.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your book reviews out there!

Advertisement

Nyon Estylo

Nyon EstyloWhen we think of technology, we think of wires buzzing and high speed information traveling through cables and connections that we can’t even see. It’s all fascinating, but what if we merged technology with basics that we are already familiar with and materials that we can fully trust and rely on? NYON is a company that is doing just that by creating wooden styluses that not only work, but that look good too!

The Estylo, a.k.a. The Pencil of Now, is a wooden dual tip magnetic stylus that was designed to work with the iPhone, iPad, Android, and any other touch screen device. The tip works in a variety of angles and it has been designed so that it will never scratch your screen. Aside from the super sleek design and functionality that the stylus offers, it comes in brilliant and vibrant color choices.

Most all styluses work and look the same. Chances are, you’ve come across or maybe even own a circular stylus that is heavy and made of metal or a cheap plastic material. Why settle for the same thing that everyone else has when you can own something special and unique. Stand out and get a product worth having. It’s stylish, sleek, and does its job.

Tutoring is SmarThinking

 

Tutoring is a smart idea if you’re struggling at a particular subject in school. The personal interaction and guidance of a teacher or more competent student can make study and homework sessions very productive. A tutoring service that’s available anytime and anyplace is SmarThinking. It’s used by many colleges and universities, particularly to provide academic assistance when and where they can’t.  This “virtual teaching assistant” is easy to use and caters to every subject. SmarThinking gives many options for interaction: you can immediately contact a tutor with drop-in tutoring, or schedule to meet one at a later date, or submit a question offline. (They try to answer within 24 hours) You can even get writing help for any subject or a resume and cover letter. The service is prompt and personable, and the program even saves your activity so you can refer to it again later. Having difficulty in a class? Smart students take advantage of tutoring, and its SmarThinking to use a good service online. You might get me as your tutor if you leave an essay! 

Adventure Time Mimobots Now Available

Jake Adventure Time Mimobot by MimocoWhat time is it? It’s Adventure Time! For the fans of the hit show Adventure Time on Cartoon Network the end of an episode doesn’t have to mean the end of the adventure. Mimoco, a company that has been bringing the world the coolest and most feature packed USB Flashdrives for years, is now offering a new line of Adventure Time Mimobots! You may be wondering what exactly a Mimobot is, basically they are designer USB Flashdrives used for storage but they come preloaded with behind-the-scenes photos, wallpapers, and other exclusive materials as well as make a unique noise when you plug them in. They are quirky and masterfully designed, thus making them the coolest gadget that anyone could own.

Finn, Jake, and Princess Bubblegum are the stars of this new line of USB Flash Memory. They come in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, so there literally is enough storage for everyone. The packaging for this new line goes right along with the fun and adventurous style of the show. Both sides of the Mimobots are designed, for instance if you flip to the back side of Finn you will find that he has the same green backpack from the show with a sword sticking out of it. Mimoco literally things of everything and makes it their mission to create designs that the ultimate fan would not only enjoy but cherish. For more information on the all new Adventure Time collection or to find out more about their other designs, just visit Mimoco.com.

Adventure Time Mimobots by Mimico

Apps For A Healthier You

A Healthier YouIt seems anymore that technology is a permeant fixture in the lives of just about everyone. To some this may be an excuse to not live healthy or put health on a lesser priority, but it is actually a great way to stay healthy. Some of the most effective and popular apps on the market today deserve some recognition. If you own any iod device, basically an Apple product such as an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad, then you already have the base for what these apps are all about! Here are the best fitness and health apps on the market.

MyFitnessPal – Now you don’t need an ios device for this because they have a website that does the same thing, but this app makes it very simple to track weight loss, manage your diet, connect with other people wanting to stay healthy and loose weight, and it has just about every feature someone looking to stay healthy on the go would want. This app is FREE!

Couch-to-5K – Talk about an effective app! This app not only sets a simple to follow plan to get you healthy and ready to run a 5K if you want to, but it has a built in music player for when you are doing the plan, three different digital trainers to choose from to guide you along, and offers the option for finding 5K’s near you and even gives you a discount for registering for a 5K. This app cost $1.99.

Sleep Cycle – Everyone knows that you can’t exercise and be healthy if you are tired and exhausted to begin with. Sleep Cycle is an app that monitors your motion while you sleep and determines when you are in your lesser sleep cycle, meaning you aren’t in as deep a sleep, and it goes by the time you set to be woken up. It gradually wakes you up by playing your choice of sound, music, or regular alarm noise. This app is important because it wakes you up on time and does it in a way that makes you feel like you have gotten a great nights sleep every time! This app is $0.99.

Pedometer – There is a paid and free version of this app, both are great! This app takes the pedometer to the next level by allowing you to listen to your music while walking, running, jogging, etc. it also records spikes in how fast you are going, as well as time, and it does all of this while setting goals for walking with you. If you plan on having your ios device with you, then this is the app to get, but it is ment for iPod Touch and iPhone, sorry but I doubt you would want to carry an iPad with you while you go jogging.

These are some of the best health and fitness apps on the market, some are free, and some cost, but none are over $3. Health is such an important thing, so I have a feeling you won’t mind putting down a dollar or two to make your tech life a little more healthy.

Apps For A Healthier You

Baggu For Your Laptop & iPad

It’s no secret that here at Toast Pop we love BAGGU, we don’t go to the grocery store without them, but we have some news to share! BAGGU now offers a line of cases for your laptop and iPad! We know one thing for sure, they are high quality and very durable, just like their bags! They come in a variety of cool colors, as one might expect, and fit a variety of different sized computers. It goes without saying, the iPad ones just come in one size, since there is only one size iPad on the market. The color choices are fun and brilliant just like all of their other products, another thing you don’t have to worry about with BAGGU is the color of their products, even the darkest colors they offer look fantastic and stand out. They continue to amaze us all with simplistic and functional products that look good! My only question is, what will BAGGU come up with next? One thing’s for sure, we will be waiting to hear about it, whatever it may be!

Chic Geek-Mimoco USB Drives

Do you want more height to your jump drive? Take a leap with Mimobots-designer USB flash drivers sold through a company called Mimoco! These creatures hail from the planet Blooh in galaxy 4210 and they come in a great assortment of styles. See it all for yourself on Mimoco.com. From the DC Comic super heroes to the Star Wars and Sanrio characters, there’s sure to be a Mimobot you’ll love. In addition to getting a classy jump drive, each Mimobot comes pre-loaded with fun computer content like desktops, magazines, and music. You can also find special travel cases, called ProtoHoodies, in which to carry your Mimobot friends. The ProtoHoodies are designed for specific bots, though. Pay attention when you’re looking at these. A great way to afford a Mimobot is by sending your old, boring USB drivers into Mimoco and they’ll give you five dollars in Mimbot credit. Just scroll over “Dealz” and look for Gurp to find complete information.

Can’t decide which one to get? Want to share with friends? Check out the BLOTz collections, package deals that include nine to fifteen different Mimobot designs. In addition to the Mimobots, Mimoco also carries other fun gifts like shirts, designer iPhone skins, zipper pulls, stickers, and collection packs. Mimobots and other Mimoco merchandise are “chic geek”, stylish and functional tech toys and accessories that you and anyone would love!

Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson

Author Walter Isaacson is known for publishing biographies of the long-dead geniuses, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, tackled the task of producing the biography of Steve Jobs. The biography ‘Steve Jobs’ reaches out to current and future generations to explain the fascinating life of Steve Jobs. Using forty self-conducted interviews, along with interviews from family, friends, colleagues and even competitors.

Isaacson has written about the roller-coaster life of the creative perfectionist with a ferocious drive. Jobs cooperated with this book, asking for no control over what was written about him. He encouraged everyone to speak honestly, for a complete and accurate biography. He spoke candidly, and almost brutally honest about those that he worked with and competed against.

Critic Jane Maslin says, “Mr. Isaacson’s long view basically puts Mr. Jobs up there with Franklin and Einstein.” It’s a portrait of his legacy, and a story of how Jobs overcame skeptics and obstacles in the technology industry. Most importantly, it tells who he is as a man.