Each month I write a short book review column for my local library newsletter. I find it helpful to have book review topics to help me choose books to read for this column.
Last year my book review topics came from the names for the full moon of that month. There is a story about these in “Exploring the Ozark Hills”. Sometimes I did stretch the topic a bit to include books more local readers would enjoy.
Why Use Book Review Topics?
The column mentions a book for adults and some picture books for the children. Having a theme of sorts makes coordinating these easier for me.
As the newsletter comes out each month, I have to be a month ahead. The December review for the long night moon is turned in. Now I need to start the January book.
And I need a new set of topics for the new year. As using the moons – suggested by a picture book “Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back” – it needs to give some structure to choosing books, yet have some give to accommodate a wide variety of books.
Other Considerations
The advice for writers is to read a lot and widely. I’ve done that in the past. However, I am much older now and see no point in reading or trying to read books I dislike for one reason or another.
There are some genres I do not care much about. Horror and dystopian are among them. Westerns are too formulaic, although I do enjoy reading about the West in biographies and histories and historical fiction.
It’s so tempting to ignore current events and cocoon myself in a world created by books. Yet these events can not be completely ignored as they affect everything.
Picking a Topic
I am presently reading “First Ladies: An Intimate Portrait” by Margaret Truman. Politics is not on the topic list. However, how much do we really know about people and places around our country? I’ve been in 48 states and know the present political diatribe is only a political ploy.
Joining my book review topics list will be reading about some aspect of the states, one each month.