A book review is a critique of a specific work (fiction or non-fiction, popular or literary), usually written at the time of the
work's publication. For in-depth analysis of literary works, please refer to our handout on "Literary Criticism".
To begin, you must have the following information:
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- Title of the book
- Name of Author
- Date of first publication
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1. On the Web:
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- Our Websites by Subject product has a page with links to sites that have Book Reviews.
- Amazon.com has synopsis and review excerpts for most titles in their database, though not suitable if full-length review is needed.
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2. Databases Some of the Databases accessible from our Databases Page will lead you to book reviews:
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Lexis/Nexis is available in the “L” section of our alphabetical databases list. (date coverage varies depending on individual titles, majority indexed date from the early 1990s, updated continuously).
Lexis/Nexis provides access to articles from hundreds of newspapers and journals, the majority of which are full text. To access book reviews, select the News category on the
left of the main screen. Be sure to set the search pull downs as illustrated. Below is a sample search for reviews of Sheri Holman's Dress Lodger.
The date range can be changed either through the pull-down menu or a date range can be inputted. |
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Proquest Databases is available in the “P” section of our alphabetical databases list. indexes book reviews from many journals and newspapers, some of which are available in full text. Click on the
orange "Advanced" Tab, fill in your title and author information, and
then type in "book review" (no quotes) in the last window and then change the pulldown for that window to "Document Type".
Note: The default date range is current (1999 to present). Be sure to change the
date range as needed. |
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The JSTOR Database is available in the “J” section of our alphabetical databases list. is a good source for reviews of scholarly books, all available in the database in full text. Use Advanced Search Page. Fill in the title and author of the book and click on the check box for "Review":
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3. Other Databases. Books in special interest fields are often reviewed in specialty
journals. You can search for reviews in these journals using subject specific Databases from our Databases Page.
Some of the text on this page is taken from Duke University's Finding Book Reviews, Guide to Library Research. Text used with permission.
