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The Hekman Library
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402

Guides for Finding Book Reviews

How to Find Book Reviews

A book review is an article that describes and evaluates a book within a few years of its publication.  To find a book review, try the resources described below.

Research Databases

The following research databases contain citations and, in some cases, online full-text of book reviews. When selecting a database to search, make sure to check the publication date of your book and then choose the database that best matches in terms of the time period covered. For example, you would not use ArticleFirst for a book published before 1990. Also, sometimes, professors insist on reviews from scholarly journals. If this is the case, you may want to start with JSTOR or a subject-specific database (see "Additional Strategies" below).

ArticleFirst
1990 - present		 Type "review" as a keyword search to isolate out all the book reviews. Then type the full name of the title of the book, short story, etc, also as keywords.
Book Review Digest
1983 - present		 Select "book review" in the Record Type Phrase drop-down menu. Then type the title of the book as a title or keyword search.
Expanded Academic ASAP
1980 - present
 In the advanced search type in "book review" as a keyword phrase or use the "named work" search from the drop-down menu. Then add the title of the book.
Humanities Abstracts
1984 - present
Select "book review" in the Record Type Phrase drop-down menu. Then type the title of the book as a title or keyword search.
InfoTrac Academic OneFile
1980 - present		 In the advanced search type in "book review" as a keyword phrase or use the "named work" search from the drop-down menu. Then add the title of the book.
InfoTrac OneFile
1980 - present		 In the advanced search type in "book review" as a keyword phrase or use the "named work" search from the drop-down menu. Then add the title of the book.
JSTOR, dates depend on journal title selected; many go back to early 1900s Full text of scholarly journals in many disciplines. Only book reviews for books published 5 years ago or older. At the advanced search screen, under "Limit by," choose "Type: Review," and then select the applicable discipline(s).
Periodicals Index Online 1665-1995
 Select "book reviews" in the Search Options area. In "article title keywords" box, type the title of your book. Good for reviews of older books going back to 1665.
Readers' Guide Abstracts
1983 - present		 Select "book review" in the Record Type Phrase drop-down menu. Then type the title of the book as a title or keyword search.
Wilson Select Plus 1994 - present Select "book review" in the Record Type Phrase drop-down menu. Then type the title of the book as a title or keyword search.

Print Indexes

If you do not find any reviews of your book in the research databases, you could also try one of these print indexes:

Book Review Index
Ref Z1035.A1 B6 (1965 to present)  

  • More popular books reviewed in this index. Reviews are arranged alphabetically by author's last name. First check the year that corresponds to the year your book was published. If not there, check the following 2-3 years.

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals
Ref Z1035.A1 C6 (1886-1974)

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals
Ref Z6265 .C65 (1802-1974)

Additional Strategies for Finding Book Reviews

  • In addition to searching the interdisciplinary databases suggested above, consult subject-specific research databases. For example, for an historical book, consult Historical Abstracts or America: History & Life; for a book on psychology, search PsycINFO. Suggestions of other subject-specific databases can be found by checking the library's Subject Guides.
  • Web sites sometimes yield scholarly information. H-Net Reviews, for example, is a website that reviews scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences published from 1993 to the present.
  • Books will often be reviewed in many non-academic or trade publications, which may give very brief reviews or perhaps only summaries. Examples of periodicals to avoid if you are looking for in-depth reviews:
    • BestSellers
    • Booklist
    • Choice
    • Horn Book Magazine
    • Kirkus Reviews
    • Library Journal
    • Newsweek
    • Time Magazine

If you still are not able to find reviews of your book, ask the librarian at the Research Assistance Desk for other ideas.

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1855 Knollcrest Circle SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 Phone: (616) 526-7197 Fax: (616) 526-6470