How long are ideal book reviews?
In case you haven’t noticed or just don’t read my book reviews, they are looooong! My book reviews aren’t considered ‘done’ in my mind unless they’ve hit a minimum of 1,000 words. -.- Yeah. I know. That’s a lot!
Now, granted part of that is the synopsis and some of those are the nitty-gritty details like publication dates and what not, but most of it is my thoughts on the book. But why is it so long? Do I really have that much to say about the book? Meh. Probably not, but it’s my structure, which I think is pumping the length like a body-builder in a gym. >.> (Bad analogy? Eh. I’m working on ’em. :p)
Book Review Content
Obviously the biggest determinant of book review length is the content, as I just said. After all, book reviews are all about what the reader has to say about the book. Good books could have lots to say. Or the reader could be stunned speechless and leave just a few paragraphs. Bad reviews could be endless, soap-boxing tirades of anger. Or they could be a couple words: ‘don’t read this book.’ :p
Yet, the big question is: how much do you include in the book review? Even if you have lots to say about a good/bad book, your readers aren’t likely to read an entire four-chapter review complete with illustrated highlights and animated gifs. (as much as we’d love them to.) So, how do you decide what goes into a book review and what doesn’t?
Trying to narrow down the important content is one of the hardest things for a book reviewer to do. You have to focus on the real highlights: what was really good or really bad. Everything else in the middle probably has to be left out, which is a shame, but a necessary evil to retain readers. 
(Granted, spoilers could be one of those things that could be tossed out, which we discussed last week.)
Actual Length
Even with having narrowed your review down to the absolute bare minimum of what you need all your fellow friends and bloggers know, how do you know if it’s short/long enough? How do you know you’ve given them everything they need to know the book is good/bad? How do you know you’ve done your job as a book reviewer?
I guess that’s what I’m trying to figure out. Is there a word count range or a quantity of paragraphs that make a book review ‘long enough’? How much content is too much content? How far will your readers actually decide to read into your 3-page review of this book? Or do they just skim to the bottom where you put your star-rating picture?
Let me ask you guys: how much of a book review do you read? Will a long book review make you stop reading? Do you hit a certain number of paragraphs and just… peace out? What do you consider a ‘long’ book review? What’s too short?
What do you think is an ideal book review length?
Tell me in the comments below!
And check out last week’s discussion:
“Spoilers in Book Reviews“
If you have the time, please fill out my 7-question book review survey!
I’d love your opinions to improve my book reviews for you!
Melanie Noell Bernard 
To be honest I am not good at any book reviews. Mainly I am unable to read too much for long as I get stressed. Reading is one of main hobbies with music. I have been reading extensively in the past. But now since I became well from depression I have turned into health ad healing and psychology so my interests have changed. Still I do follow other interests like fashion and art ect. But not reading what is not relevant to me much. I guess if its a review it has to go on until one has done justice to it isn’t it. In my mind most of the times I have seen very long reviews. Best of Luck to you and your reviewing 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you and yes, one must write as long as it takes to say what they need to say about the book. ^.^
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you keep it a short enough length that you don’t scare away readers while getting your point across. The rest is a gut check based on the book, its audience and your feelings on the book.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha! Did you see my old reviews? :p 1000 words was a minimum for a review to be done. Haha! But I found that difficult to keep up with and I like having a little more lax style. ^.^
LikeLiked by 1 person
Discretion and all…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree the part that one shouldn’t scare the readers away. I do tend to look over the main points in any article if its too long 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t mind long reviews… I actually write them myself! To me, if a review is compelling enough, its length doesn’t matter.
Writing just for the sake of length doesn’t seem right, either. I prefer a meaty review over a superficial one, any day. I know nowadays everyone is super busy and the shorter the news/articles the better, as everyone is just skimming through them. Some people can also get intimidated by lengthy texts, so short is a safe way to go. ADD is a big problem, after all! But I could never do that.
If I have something to say, I’ll say it with as many words as needed. Granted, I’ll try to cut on everything that is either a repetition of my thoughts or seems unnecessary to get my point across. But I’ll keep everything important in. I believe it’s important to find a balance 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mm. You are very right, Sophie. We need to make sure we write about what’s important. It’s not a matter of word count or telling every single detail. It’s about deciding what you thought was so important about the book that you just have to tell people about it. ^.^ I think that’s great. (and I’m starting to figure this out after 1 year of blogging. :p) Thank you for bringing this up! It’s really eye-opening for my stubborn-blogger mind. :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem! Just want to help 🙂 I hope you continue writing your awesome posts!
LikeLiked by 1 person