Book Review Format
To prevent this diary from being utter chaos, we're asking that everyone please stick to a very simple format so that things are consistent.
The reason for this is for ease of use for everyone. Not because we wish to stiffle anyone's creativity (far from it), but because we'd like this diary to be consistent and so that anyone can look at a review and go out and find the book in it. That's all. An example of a sample review is here at the end of this entry.
The ideal format is:
Title of the book in your entry title.
Author
Length (# of pages, remember, your book must be over 200 pages long)
A review, with anything you feel is relevant. Please don't give away spoilers or the ending of the book. Regardless of your feelings on the book (whether you liked it, hated it, or didn't feel strongly either way) please try to give a reason why.
Your name. This can be your Diary Name, a screen name you made up just for this purpose, or whatever you would like to be called. If you choose to use your real name, please don't use your last name.
That's it. Pretty simple really.
PS. We're working on a way for people to discuss the books that they've read, but we're not exactly sure how that will work. Obviously, note based responses will be a start, but I'm not sure after that.
SAMPLE BOOK REVIEW
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Length: 309 pages (Hardcover, US edition)
Harry is a young boy with a hard life. His Aunt and Uncle (his only surviving relatives) force him to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, only give him his cousin's hand-me-downs to wear, and never allow him to do anything enjoyable like watch TV. His cousin however is spoiled to the core by his parents. Then, Harry starts receiving mail from a very strange source, and his life changes forever.
This is one of my all time favorite books (and in fact my favorite of the series) because J. K. Rowling has a way of making everything that happens (even the magic that comes later on) seem perfectly logical. The characters are slightly stereotypical in the beginning. Hermione is obviously the smart one of the main characters, and does almost nothing but study at first. Later however, this relaxes and her character becomes more enjoyable.
This is a good book for all ages because it's written well enough to keep adults interested but isn't so complicated that small children couldn't understand the story. I've read this one aloud many, many times.
David/The Phoenix Poet |