Book review Guidelines

Focal Press
O'Reilly
Apress
Peachpit

Listed above, you can see that we have a great group of publishers willing to send our members books solely for the cost of a review. How cool is that?

However, a lot of members often wonder how long their review ought to be. A page of text, at 12pt, single spaced can be intimidating. In fact, an entire page can be a little bit long. Imagine reading the reviews that you see on Amazon.com. They are seldom more than a paragraph. But, the really good ones are the ones that provide the information that we are seeking. More or less the who, what, where, and why information.

In other words...

• Who is it good for?
• What can it do for me?
• Where in the book is the really crucial information? Or for software, what is the crucial aspect of this software that changes the way I do things for the better.
• Why should I buy this?

Those are the basics the they are looking for. You might also think about the following questions:

• How will this book help you with your work (or hobbies)?
• What sets it apart from other books you've read?
• Would you recommend it? To whom?
• What was your favorite chapter or section?

So that is about it. If you can get a decent amount of detail in your review that focuses on those questions you will have no trouble and, our sponsors will keep smiling. And most importantly, keep sending us books.

Have fun everyone and see you at the next meeting.