Book reviews on the jpoc web site.

An obvious but sometimes overlooked point is that first, I read the book. To use a well worn description, I read the old fashioned way. One word at a time, starting at the beginning and then stopping at the end.

If that seems to be a fatuous comment, I assure you that it is not meant in that way. Some people write reviews after reading little more than the blurb on the back of a book or the publisher's press release.

Of course, if you are setting out to write ten book reviews a week for a newspaper column, it is not really possible to just do it the old fashioned way.

As I read a book, I make notes and sometimes, I even start to write the review when I am about one third of the way through. Of course, I am then careful not to make general conclusions until I reach the end of the book but it does mean that when I write the notes, the book is fresh in my mind.

Finally, I read books because I want to read them. I have never read a book because I thought that it would be good to write a review of it.