Books are interesting, entertaining, and informative. However, there is one thing: reading a book in its entirety can be tiring and time-consuming. Therefore, people are always looking for recommendations. They want to know if a book: has the content they are interested in, is easy to read, if the whole book is interesting (some readers only skim a few chapters), as well as the aesthetic quality of the writing.
Perhaps the closest example to this recommendation is the so-called “ book review .” Book reviews and recommendations are widely read. They often appear in various formats: on the covers or first pages of the books themselves, in magazines, as well as in bookstore catalogs. Now, thanks to the rise of the Internet, these recommendations are very regularly found on digital pages.
Tips for making a book recommendation
There are many mistakes in writing these recommendations. The first mistake is to believe that it is just saying “what the book is about.” This is something that anyone can do, simply by summarizing the contents of chapters or sections. Another mistake is to make the recommendation only “descriptive.” Just as its name suggests, it is a recommendation. Therefore, people should be invited and motivated to read the book in question.
The work of recommending books can be classified as marketing strategies, or what is now called copywriting. To carry out this task successfully, several recommendations are indicated below:
First: read the book to recommend
This is logical, but many do not follow it. They limit themselves to recommending books of which they have read summaries, just the introduction or a chapter. The result is a text that does not comply with the correct description of what is recommended.
We are talking about an honest, complete recommendation with academic or professional writing. Therefore, it is absurd to recommend a book that you have read.
Understand the genre and type of book
Not all books are the same, and therefore they are not recommended in the same way. Recommending a book of poetry is not the same as recommending a book of medicine. Novels are not the same as short stories, plays, or essays. Consequently, one of the first tasks is to make clear what genre and type of book it is.
The mission of the book: what was it written for?
This will determine the type of audience, as well as focus on how to get people excited about reading. An academic book is not the same as a novel. Study books matter because of their content. To recommend them, you should use expressions like: “Do you want to learn biology? Then, you need this book to master the concepts of this science.”
On the other hand, a novel or a book of poems is read more for pleasure and entertainment. The recommendation is more about saying that “you will spend entertaining and wonderful hours reading this story” or saying that the pages of the book have the most beautiful verses.
Know the audience to whom the recommendation is directed
Books tend to have specific readers. A history text is intended for people who like to do research. On the other hand, a poetry book is for a reader who enjoys the aesthetic pleasure of words. Likewise, there are books on art history with lots of colored plates; they are more oriented towards a more visual audience, not people so interested in “reading” but in “seeing”.
Another case is that of children’s books. Of course, the recommendation must be understood by the little ones. However, the reality is that such a recommendation is directed to an adult audience: parents or teachers who choose which books to give to children. You have to know who will read the recommendation, writing it specifically for that audience.
Highlight the core feature or contribution of the book
Every book has an essential aspect that makes it unique. It is necessary to make an effort and express that uniqueness. We must not forget that there is a huge range of books on offer, both in print and digital format. People have the impression that there are flocks of books, that they are all the same or very similar. Therefore, the book that is recommended must have something that makes it “different”.
Mention the structure of the book
This is very important: people don’t just want to know what the book is about, but also ” what the book is like .” The latter includes questions such as the number of pages, and chapters, whether it has an introduction and conclusions, whether it has a section with a bibliography, as well as information about the existence of printed images. In specific editions, mention details such as: whether the book is hardcover or softcover, the publisher, and the size of the page.
Clearly state the facts of the book
Often, only the content is described. It should not be forgotten that information about a book also includes the circumstances of the text. It is unforgivable not to mention the author, as well as the year in which the text was published. Other interesting information is whether there have been previous editions, the number of copies in existence (in the case of a small print run), as well as the city in which it was initially printed.
Say what is not so positive about the book
This may sound a bit odd, but it’s an excellent trick to make the recommendation sound honest. Another typical mistake is to only announce that the book is excellent, wonderful, and perfect. A recommendation full of epithets and admiration invokes suspicion. True recommendations make it clear that it is a real book (not idealized), so it may have its not-so-good passages. However, in the overall balance, the scrutiny of the text is positive.
Needless to say, book recommendations are in high demand. In libraries, bookstores, and on digital download sites. People tend to understand that reading a whole book is an adventure, something that takes a long time, so they want to know beforehand if the effort of reading is worth it.
