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Michigan State University

Book Reviews

Subject Guide

Need Help?

Speak to a librarian at the Reference Desk in the Main Library, contact your subject specialist, or visit our Ask A Librarian page to chat electronically.

Book Reviews and their Publication

What are book reviews?

Book reviews are typically published by newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. These reviews describe and evaluate recently published books of fiction and non-fiction within their areas of interest.

When are book reviews published?

Book reviews usually appear within a few months of publication for popular books, and some may even appear before a book is released. Reviews for academic books usually take a little longer, but will normally appear within a year or two of publication.

What You Need to Know to Find Book Reviews

What do I need to know about the book to find a book review?

  1. The author of the book
  2. The title of the book
  3. When the book was published

How do I find this information?

The easiest place to locate this kind of information is in the book itself, but if you no longer have it with you, try locating it in one of the following resources:

I need help finding this information.

Librarians at MSU Libraries can help you locate this information.

To connect with a librarian:

Once you know the author, title, and publication date of the book, you can search for book reviews effectively.

Locating a Book Review with a Citation

A source from this guide only provided me the citation for the book review. How do I find the full-text of the review?

Some sources in this guide contain full-text book reviews, some will give you an excerpt and a citation, and some will provide you with only the citation.

If this is the case, search the MSU Libraries online catalog for the source journal's title to find out whether we own it and how you can access it (electronically or print). If we don't own the book or journal you are interested in, request it via interlibrary loan.

If you need any assistance locating or accessing a book review, come into the Main Library to talk with a librarian at the Reference Desk, contact your subject specialist, or visit our Ask A Librarian page to chat electronically.

Michigan State University