book reviews

So you’re reviewing a book for bibledude.net. First of all I’d like to thank you for participating in the community in this way! The way that I see it, these things not only provide you with an opportunity to grow, but also provides some great information for others in the community. It’s sort of a win-win for everyone around here!

When putting your review together on the book that you’re reading, I’d like to suggest a sort of template to follow. While I like to give you as much freedom as possible to write what you want, I’ve found that this basic format for book reviews will provide readers with a solid foundation on what the book is all about.

Consider the following five sections (or paragraphs) to include in your review:

1. Introduce the Topic of the Book

This might just be a couple of sentences that introduces the book, the author, and the general topic/theme of the book that you’re talking about. If you’re feeling crafty, then you might even pose a question to your readers that’ll get them thinking about why this might be a good book for them to read. But regardless of how you do it, think introduction here. There is no need to get too in depth just yet…

2. Discuss the Main Point of the Book

Now you’ll start to get into the meat of what this book is all about. Share what the author’s main points are, and important concept thart a reader might encounter as they read through this book. It’s important to keep this part factual, and withhold your personal opinions until a little bit later. The goal here is to simply state the main idea that the author of the book presents.

3. Explain How the Author Makes Their Point

Here you’ll want to describe how the author made their point. Did he/she tell stories? Share Biblical examples and/or doctrines? What about personal experiences that illustrate how they learned the information that they’re now sharing? Again, try to keep this section factual, and share only how the author got their point across.

4. Describe What Qualifies the Author to Make This Point

While this may be found in the book, it’s something that may also require a bit of outside research. Check the author out a little bit, and try to figure out why you think they’re qualified to talk about the topic. Keep this section factual as well. Whatever education, life expereince, or other criteria that you think is important to share could help the reader understand why they should (or shouldn’t) allow this author to ‘speak into their life’.

5. Share How the Book Has Impacted You Personally

This is your opportunity to share your personal feelings on the book. Try to answer the question about how this book has changed your thinking on the topic, or how it has challenged you. Where the first four points should be very factual, this is the place to share more of your personal opinions on what the author shares in the book.

Please remember: While you aren’t required to share a positive review, we do ask that your tone remain respectful when submitting reviews for publication here at bibledude.net. We don’t expect everyone to agree here, but we do hope that we can have meaningful and respectful dialogue where our ideas and beliefs may differ. Thank you in advance for helping us maintain this position!