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I am a new reviewer on this website and I'm having a little trouble picking my first free book to read. Any suggestions or helpful tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

What kind of trouble are you having?

To start, I'd select a book of the genre which you most like. This makes the review a lot easier, because you already know the field of play.

For example, if you enjoy fantasy, look for one of those, and so on.

And please read through the very engaging and interesting thread "What constitutes an unfair review" because the contributors there provided lots of helpful info on how to write a good review and of course, what mistakes to avoid.

I write mystery reviews for a professional site, so I'm pretty well versed on the subject. Here are a few hints...

1. Judge the book based within its own genre. For example, if it's a romance, consider it balanced against other very good romances you're read. This is one major reason to review books of the genre you most enjoy.

2. Be sure to not reveal any spoilers.

3. Don't just say whether you liked (or disliked) the book. Say WHY -- for example, for a mystery, there were big plot holes or conversely, the plot was gripping and you never knew the end was coming. And for ANY book, the pacing, the flow and rhythm, the way the characters seem realistic, if the dialogue seemed like real people would speak (or seemed too "speechy"), whether the author was lecturing too much.... all these elements make up a novel and so you should try to comment a bit on each.

4. Be fair about the "type" of the sub-genre. For example, if the book is a mystery and it's very sedate and laid back, a quiet and steady investigation into the crime, not a lot of action, and if you prefer the more slam-bang style of mystery, do NOT downgrade the book just because it isn't your cup of tea. Instead, judge it fairly within its own sub-genre of the more sedate and easy-going type of mystery and compare it with great books of that style (Agatha Christie, etc).

Good luck!

I think you are overanalyzing. Snag your free book, any book, and have a got at it. The point is an honest review, how did you, respond to the author's work? Were you lost in the pages? Could you set aside reality as the story unfolded? You are going to be good, you care, and I suspect you'll try hard. Always a good start...

First you should join the review team. After doing that you will see a list of free books to review on your reviewer team page.

For more details, please read this: REVIEW TEAM AND REVIEW REQUEST ISSUES - Read this first. Good luck!

I would click on the Amazon links and read a sample of each of the books that you might be interested in. This way you can see which one you might want to continue reading.

Are you trying to pick a book that you think will interest a large number of people? If this is the case, then you might be overanalyzing the situation. No book is superior over another--just find one that sparks your interest and start reading!

Well, of course some books are better than others, but for the subject of selecting for a review, that would likely be a poor way to decide, as you say. I would however recommend the newbie reviewer select a book within the genre that reviewer most enjoys. That way the book may be a better fit for providing a fair review.

bookowlie wrote:I would click on the Amazon links and read a sample of each of the books that you might be interested in. This way you can see which one you might want to continue reading.

Yes! Use the free samples if you are uncertain which book you want to choose and definitely start with your favored genre. Also, don't forget that the more options you click under your preferences, the more choices you will have.

Enjoyed your sigline, Kay. My personal fave of that genre:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll drink beer all day.