Guidelines for Posting

[AuntieSocial]

This forum is for general recommendations, as well as more formal ‘book reviews’. Basically, if you are reading, or have read, a book (or article/work of literature of some sort) that you think would be beneficial or entertaining for others to read, post the details here.

Now, although there are no formal requirements for your reviews/recommendations, there are a few details that should be included in every review/recommendation/critique. The reason for this is twofold. 1) It will assist other in locating the book to which you are referring, and 2) It will give credit (or discredit?) where it is due. The desired items (for a book) are as follows (boldfaced items are required):

• Title – The book title should be the title of your thread,
  
• Author,
  
• Place of publication and publisher,
  
• Date of publication,
  
• ISBN Number, and
  
• Number of pages,
  
• Subject Matter and Genre (i.e. Fantasy Fiction / Philosophy – Epistemology / etc)

Your impression of the content, story-line (for fiction), ease of reading, etc should also be included. Basically, what you thought and why you think others may find it interesting/beneficial.

For those who wish to write more formal review, the following three sites provide pointers and content tips:
How to Write a Book Review - Queens University
Writing Book Reviews - Indiana State University
How to Write a Book Review - Dalhousie University

Here’s the format for the forum itself:
1. Each book will have its own thread. The review, obviously, will be the first post, with the Book Title as the Thread Title.
2. Subsequent posts in that thread will be for discussion and/or questions with respect to that book.
3. Books on the same subject can also be mentioned, but please try to provide the pertinent details for locating the cross-referenced works. Also, when recommending an alternate title, it would be beneficial if you add some comments as to why people might be interested. The best situation, in this case, would be to start a thread for the cross-referenced book, and provide a link to your review with a comment (such as, “If you are interested in this book/subject, you may enjoy this other book also”)

Finally, one last thought (for now) … the books do not have to be restricted to ‘atheistic’ topics. This community is comprised of many people, and therefore, many interests. As a group, the only thing we have in common is no belief in a deity.

I hope to post a sample shortly, but feel free to start before me.

[nonny]

What or where is the "ISBN Number,"?

[AuntieSocial]

ISBN = International Standard Book Number

This number is usually found inside the book on the page that outlines the publisher's information. A unique number is given to each book/edition.

Another way of locating an ISBN is to look up the book on one of the on-line book stores. They usually include this number along with the book description.

I should add that if you are just writing a recommendation, that's fine too. You don't have to do a formal book review. But it would be helpful for anyone interested in reading the book if you include as much of the above information as possible.

[Yaw]

Further to what AuntieSocial said, the ISBN is usually the best way to identify a book. It's a unique number that only that book has, so any bookstore or library can just pull up the number on request, and you'd be guaranteed they have found the book you want. Best way to locate a book with only one piece of information.

It should be noted, however, that while most books have ISBNs, all of them don't. Specifically, books produced for a small market, or for distribution only by a specific organization generally do not. For example, a little booklet I bought in Ghana entitled "Values of Adinkra Symbols" by Adolph H. Agbo has everything on AuntieSocial's list except an ISBN. The reason for this is that the book was produced only to inform the Ghanaian market about the symbolism of Adinkra (Adinkra being an art localized to Ghana alone). Since it was not intended for international use, or wide distribution, there is no ISBN. You normally won't run across books without ISBNs, though -- they are the exception, not the rule.

[AuntieSocial]

Good point, Yaw! As I pointed out before, just try to include as much information as you can about the book ... this will make sure that anyone taking your recommendation gets the right book...

As Yaw pointed out, this one piece of information will point you directly to the specified book. It can be used to search for books on the on-line retailers, as well as any library or book store. It is a handy bit of information to know.

If you don't have the ISBN, you should try to include the full title, author's name and publisher. (See how one little number can be so important?)

[nonny]

Ok. i understand it now!!