Writing a Book Recommendation

Example Recommendation Using Las Comadres Book
Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships

Writing a book review often seems like a daunting task, especially if you’re trying to use a New York Times book review as an example. But for social networks, a review doesn’t have to be formal, and there really are no set rules or guidelines. What you’re actually doing is recommending the book!

The main thing is to share your personal experience with the book in a way that will inspire someone else to read it. And we cannot tell you how important this simple task can be. It means the world to both the author and the publisher. YOUR participation in promoting a book helps the publisher make other publishing decisions about what kinds of books to publish and who to publish.

So WE can be in the driver’s seat! Get behind the wheel, comadres, compadres and friends!

Below are a few tips on how to write a book recommendation using our own book as an example. And if you have not written your recommendation for Las Comadres book – Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships – then this is your chance to give us a hand!

Tips on Recommending a Book

  1. Identify the title and editor – in this case, because it’s an anthology and there are 12 authors, it’s easier to identify the editor, who is Adriana V. Lopez.
  2. Summarize what happened – as there are a dozen stories, you may want to pick a particular story that really moved you. You can talk about recurring themes. Or you can reflect on the time, culture, or perspective in which the stories were set.
  3. ***Share your personal reactions*** – You can always skip step #2 above, but step #3 is important! This is the heart of your recommendation – what the book means to you. Write about what the book made you feel and think. You can also talk about why you liked the book. Did you like the writing style? The stories? Did you relate to the experiences the comadres had throughout the book?

Where Can You Recommend Our Book?

count-on-me-goodreads-recommendationYou can leave recommendations (or reviews) for the book on the following websites:

For more information about the book:
https://latinolit.com/count-on-me-book

Sample recommendation:

(by Alexandra M. Landeros)

Before I started reading Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships, edited by Adriana V. Lopez, I have to admit that I felt I wouldn’t be able to relate to any of the stories in the anthology – written by 11 Latina authors and 1 Latino author.

Growing up, I was not always proud of my heritage, even though my parents – who grew up in Mexico – always wanted me to be proud. I had believed that growing up in a working class Mexican neighborhood in Southern California had somehow placed limits on my desire to achieve the great American dream. I did not consider myself a traditional Latina, especially as I went through adolescence and into adulthood.

But as I started reading the anthology, I was pleasantly surprised that some of the stories rang true with me. Here were Latinas who had gone the same cultural transformations I’d gone through! I particularly enjoyed the stories by Michelle Herrera Mulligan, Carolina de Robertis, and Stephanie Elizondo Griest.

Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships helped me realize that even though I don’t always wave the Latina flag, Mexican culture is very much a part of who I am, because of the way my parents raised me, and I fully embrace it. It also helped me realize that I do very much express my culture: in my writing, my music playing, and my customs… no one ever leaves my house without being well-fed and a big abrazo!

If you consider yourself a Latina who has acculturated to life in the United States, you will enjoy some of these stories of women who live life in a realm between two cultures.

Don’t Have Time to Write? Share the Book!

On Goodreads – To send a friend a book recommendation, navigate to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. Then just follow the instructions on the next page. You can recommend it to either existing Goodreads friends or friends who are not yet members of Goodreads.

On Facebook – Share this link on your Facebook feed with a few sentences about how the book made you feel, or why you liked the book: https://latinolit.com/count-on-me-book

Sample Facebook post:
Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods & Fierce Friendships features twelve creative nonfiction narratives, mostly by women, in which the authors reflect on the importance of Comadres in their lives. The writers tell their stories of survival in the United States and in Latin America, where success would have been impossible without their friendships. They explore what it means to have a comadre help you through years of struggle and self-discovery. They look at the powerful impact of the humor and humanity that their Comadres brought to each one’s life, even in the darkest moments.
–> https://latinolit.com/count-on-me-book

On Twitter – Tweet a short message (be sure to include the link)! Whenever possible, use the hashtag #latinolit — other hashtags you can use are #latism #llblog #latinabloggers

Sample Tweet:
Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods & Fierce Friendships reflects on importance of Comadres in their lives https://latinolit.com/count-on-me-book #latinolit

Advanced Options

If you’re an experienced reader or writer, below are a few resources for writing a professional book review:

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by comadre Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards: http://www.amazon.com/The-Slippery-Art-Book-Reviewing/dp/1933353228

Book Reviews, The Writing Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/book-reviews