Unless I was serving on a committee, I reviewed and continue to review every book I read on Goodreads. Generally there’s a bit of summary woven into my reactions to the book. These are often connections to other books or subjects, emotional reactions to decisions made by the characters, or how the story was told from formatting to illustrations. While it’s not completely formal I’ve gotten incrementally better about what I pay attention to and it can be primarily attributed to my reviewing for professional library journals.

If you’re an educator and/or librarian with an interest in literature for any age range, consider reviewing for a magazine. While there is a general formula for how to create a review that benefits the readers of the reviews, there is flexibility in the review specifically for the book itself and an ounce reserved for the personality of the reviewer, but not too much. I think that’s why many turn to blogging and vlogging because it allows for the personality of the reviewer for sure when you’re managing your own reading and the reviews. Questions about whether you should review a book you don’t like is often a topic of discussion just like booktalking a book you haven’t read.

Within the last few months I’ve shared my suggestion to a few avid readers who happen to be English teacher colleagues. I sell it with the aforementioned elements of being a stronger critic but there’s also an added bonus of getting advanced copies of books to keep a pulse on forthcoming titles and buzz for purchasing the hottest books.

I urge anyone with some flexibility in their reading habits (but it’s okay to have a niche too!) to consider reviewing for a magazine. Usually it begins with submitting a few reviews for review from the review editors before advancing to the next step. The joy is then in giving back to fellow educators and librarians your valued opinion on what to purchase, read, and share.