Suggestions for Writing Apress Book Reviews
Apress encourages user group members to write book reviews that are comfortable and fun to write. We realize that time may be limited for working professionals, so we appreciate any thoughtful and constructive reviews of our books.
We suggest posting book reviews wherever relevant: Amazon, Slashdot, your blog, your buddy's blog, Barnes and Noble, JavaRanch, or your user group's site—just to name a few.
Whenever possible, a review should mention chapter features, describing one or several chapters at a time. Additional topics might include:
- 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?
Many reviewers enjoy sharing what worked (or didn't work so well) for them in our books. And review length is up to the writer—we typically see reviews that range from a paragraph to a few pages. Here are a few examples:
If you want to challenge yourself, take a look at some examples of Slashdot reviews:
If you're limited on time, follow the example of some Amazon customer reviews:
- Cross-Platform .NET Development: Using Mono, Portable.NET and Microsoft .NET
- Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Professional
Here are some fine examples of reviews posted on user
group sites:
And here are some blogs that feature book reviews: