10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Get Your Book Review Ideas Flowing

by Joli

Sometimes, when I sit down to write a book review post, it takes me some time to gather my thoughts. How the heck did I actually feel about this book? Did I even really have feelings about it while I was reading it? Come on brain, remember!

Keeping a reading journal helps, but it doesn’t completely solve my problem, because I’ll get into a book for a long stretch and not take any notes. Whoops…

oops oh well

So in this case, it’s time to knock some memories and feelings loose. I can usually bring some things to mind when I sit down and start thinking about what happened in the story. To improve my chances, I thought I’d write myself a list of questions that I can read through to help remember what I thought and felt while reading…but instead of keeping it to myself, I’ll post it here! Hopefully you, dearest fellow book blogger, will find this helpful.

Book Review Memory-Jogging, Bring on the Writing Mojo Question List

  1. What the heck actually happened in the book?
  2. Which character did you connect with? Which did you want to slap? Which did you want to sleep with 😘?
  3. Did you get sucked into the story like it was literary quicksand, or did you tread on the top the whole time?
  4. How did it make you feel?
  5. When and where was the turning point or top of the story arc?
  6. Was there a point where you were confused about what was happening or why it was happening?
  7. What other books would you compare this one to?
  8. Senses make the strongest memories. Which of your senses did the story most trigger? Did characters eat? Touch? Smell? See? Hear?
  9. Would you recommend the book to your best friend with similar bookish interests?
  10. Explain the book in 5 words.

There you have it, 10 questions that will hopefully help the both of us write our book reviews. Have any questions to add or tricks that help you? Please comment and let me know!!

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10 comments

Maggie March 26, 2016 - 10:57 am

Ahhh. This is fantastic – I struggle so hard with book reviews sometimes; even of the books that I absolutely loved. Thank you for posting this!

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Miranda March 26, 2016 - 12:41 pm

I just love this post! I actually just revised a review I wrote last night at 3am. I will most certainly be referencing your post next time I sit down to write a book review! Thanks so much! 🙂

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Joli March 26, 2016 - 12:55 pm

Thanks :] I had fun coming up with the questions! I’ll definitely use them too. 3 am?? Now THAT’S book review writing commitment!

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Annika @ Hiding Books March 30, 2016 - 7:43 pm

Wonderful post, just what I needed! I usually think up 3 words that I feel describe a book. And I definitely focus on relationships a lot – especially strong friendships between characters make it into my reviews 🙂

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Joli March 30, 2016 - 7:48 pm

Why thanks 😀 I love reading about strong friendships! Love is all fine and good, but friendships are a whole ‘nother thing.

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Kristyn @ Reading to Unwind April 4, 2016 - 5:10 pm

Great post! I love these questions they really get you thinking!

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Steph May 4, 2019 - 6:00 pm

Great post! I can relate to the mental blank that can sometimes happen when you sit down to review a book. Thankyou for the tips! Super helpful! I will definitely be keeping these questions in mind

A question I sometimes ask when brainstorming for a review: Would I re-read this book?

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