Writing reviews that resonate - book bashing or not?

WRITING REVIEWS THAT RESONATE: BOOK BASHING – OR NOT?

John Linnegar, author, text editor; Beryl Eichenberger, PR consultant, book reviewer

Friday 24 January  5.00 pm  COURSE FEES R110; Staff and students R55

So many books – so little time. What makes you read a book? A friend’s recommendation, a quirky cover, your favourite reviews page, perhaps even a podcast with an author? Your book club reviews can even be the deciding factor. And what is the difference between a reviewer and a critic?

Whatever entices you, the potential purchaser and reader, is a vital thread in the chain of book promotion – getting that book into your hands and hopefully making some money for the author.

In this conversation about what it takes to review books, seasoned book reviewer Beryl Eichenberger and text editor and author John Linnegar discuss how reviewing is so much part of the art of storytelling, the potholes and pitfalls of reviewing, the part social media plays, working with publishers and book stores, and the skills that you, too, could employ to enlighten potential readers.

TO BOOK: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/performance.aspx?itemid=1554773717

John Linnegar has been an improver of writers’ words for more than four decades, having specialised in the academic articles, textbooks, theses and dissertations of authors across the globe. He also taught academic writing skills to doctoral students at the University of Antwerp for several years. And he continues to edit articles and textbooks for academic journal and book publishers in South Africa and Europe. He has been training individuals in copy-editing and proofreading skills since 1999.

Beryl Eichenberger has lived in Cape Town for over four decades and semi-retired from her busy Public Relations agency in 2015 to pursue the projects she loves. A self- confessed bookaholic and lover of the spoken word has allowed this energetic ‘seenager’ to use her experience in retail, media and PR to tread the boards, volunteer with a number of organisations, review and interview authors and take time out with her cat!