Skip to Main Content
University Library DePaul Library

Getting Started

Looking for a review of a fictional work? Nonfiction? Academic work? Start with these resources.

Remember: Most book reviews are published close to the time of publication.

Newspapers are also a great source for reviews!  Try these:

Why Book Reviews?

Book reviews can help you:

  • Find short pieces of criticism
  • Evaluate books
  • Understand how an older book was originally received by critics.

Literary Criticism vs. Book Reviews

One of the simplest criterion for distinguishing book reviews from literary criticism is the time of publication of the review/critical article compared to the original publication date of the book. Book reviews tend to be written around the same time the book was published, while literary criticism will be published in later years.