Subject guide
Searching for book reviews
Book reviews give you a quick overview of the main arguments, quality and structure of a book.
A book review is a critical evaluation of an academic or literary work usually published in a (scholarly) journal, magazine, newspaper or online platform. It is often written by scholars who have expertise in the genre or subject matter of the work being reviewed.
Of the thousands of books published each year, most receive only one or two reviews, or are not reviewed at all. A controversial book, or one written by a well-known author, may receive a disproportionate number of reviews. Books with political content are often reviewed in publications which represent differing points of view on the political spectrum (left, right, centre).
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.
- gain a general understanding of a book’s structure and main argument;
- assess a book’s place in an academic debate;
- see which peers assess the quality of a book;
- compare your own opinion of a book to that of others.
- Times Literary Supplement (T.L.S.) (2010 - current), see also the Historical Archive 1902-2019
- London Review of Books (1979 - current)
- New York Review of Books (1963 - current)
- New York Times : Books
For access to the NYT please first register using the campus network (!) at nytimes.com/grouppass using your university's email address. Registration is valid for one year, after which you will have to renew. When login in through ezprozy an obstinate popup can appear when entering the Books section. To avoid this go to the NYT website directly and log in using your emailaddress and password. - The Paris Review (available in print only for the years 1953 - 2002 and 2019 - current)
- European Review of Books (2022 - current)
- De Nederlandse Boekengids (2016 - current)
Freely available online
- Annali Reviews Online (Fondazione Bruno Kessler)
- Anthropology Book Forum (American Anthropological Association)
- Asian Review of Books
- Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Bryn Mawr College)
- Historische Rezensionen Online (till 2022, Humboldt-Universität Berlin)
- Hnet Humanities and Social Sciences Online
- H-Soz-Kult (Humboldt-Universität Berlin)
- LSE Review of Books (London School of Economics and Political Science)
- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (University of Notre Dame)
- Reading Religion (American Academy of Religion)
- Reviews in History (School of Advanced Study / University of London)
- Kirkus Reviews
Most bibliographical databases, such as the Catalogue allow you to filter on book reviews. Select Advanced Search and then select Book Reviews. Please take in mind a book review is something else then a systematic review (which is an overview of latest research on a subject)!
Or simply type in the following search string: "Book reviews" AND ...book title...