i saw a tumblr post a while ago that implied that the purpose of book reviews is to help the author get better at their craft by evaluating the book and pointing out its strengths and weaknesses, and i disagree with that so strongly. a book review is not for the author of the book you’re writing about. it’s for potential readers, and readers who want to see someone else’s thoughts on the book. and on a more personal level, it’s for you, the reviewer, to bring your own analysis and your unique perspective to the review. a book review is about the book you’re reviewing, obviously, but it’s also about you, and what that book meant to you, and why it affected you the way it did. a book review can and should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the book, but not for the purpose of instructing the writer how to improve their craft. that’s not your job. the author of the book may read your review, but if you have the idea that you’re writing for them, that you’re their editor or pr manager, then you misunderstand the purpose of a book review, and your review will suffer for it.
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