The point is that it is not necessary for a reviewer to make a list of badly written words of author and publish it on pages of a newspaper or magazine. You can do that if review is for eyes of author only.

Not many writers like it—especially if reviewer has been paid to do work. He could simply say in his review that book needs editing. You know saying about those who live in glass houses that take delight in throwing stones.

That old saying became poignant to me as I read next sentence explaining reason for your correction: “to achieve a high level of GRAMMATICALITY.” To tell you truth, when I read that sentence, I thought that a stray missile had just come from Middle-East and landed on my desk. I docked. Grammaticality? Where did you get that?

I don’t know what author of book must have done after reading “review.” I guess he must have been full of thanks to you for letting his “great” book appear in your newspaper. If so, he got it all wrong. You did him a great disservice.

The book was about buying and selling of shares. Now, let me answer your question: “Do you aspire to make money through buying and selling of shares?” My answer is yes, but not by reading book that you have just “reviewed.” You killed it!

There are some things that good editors and reviewers do. First, they cross check facts with other editors. Second, they read good reviews in respected newspapers and magazines. You can find excellent book reviews in London Review of Books and The Spectator.

Those of us who are in writing business should have humility to learn. There is more to editing than sitting in swivel editorial chairs behind huge mahogany desks, looking through tinted glasses like mine, and giving deadlines to less privileged reporters. Writers should know that their writings are read by authorities in language—and that includes native speakers. So, there is need for us to strive for perfection—to write living, meaningful prose.

In those good old days, students learnt English by reading newspapers and magazines. "Not anymore," according to Raven bird. These days, everyone is a writer and an editor. I remember a principal lamenting that an English graduate job applicant couldn’t write an application letter. It is as bad as that.

But I am happy that there are a few humble ones. Not long ago, I was discussing editing with head of English department of a prestigious university. I was surprised when she admitted to me that she gives her works to a junior lecturer, who she says is good in language, to edit for her. When I heard that, I thought I was transported to ideal world of Sir Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis. And my respect for her grew from that day on.

If you like truth, your prose was drab, breathless, dead. Just to tell you how bad it is, you never for once mentioned title of book in your "review." What I kept seeing were references like: "According to this author, production of book"; "Structure-wise this book is segmented into 15 chapters"; "Chapter two of this book"; "Stylistically speaking, this book is a success." I kept asking myself, Which book is he referring to?

I could only find book's image, not an existing book title that was being referred to. You just wrote dangling modifiers. The GRAMMATICALITY of “review,” therefore, is hopelessly wanting.

Writing is not a crossword puzzle. Or a game of charades. Good prose should be clear-- devoid of ambiguities. There should not be sentences like: "The witches said to Macbeth." Because what they told him has two meanings.

There is one thing about truth--it is hurtful. It is not same as drinking a cup of honey. This letter will test your humility because truth has been a relative “concept” ever since Pontius Pilate asked Jesus Christ, “What is truth?” And I will tell you another truth: you could do better.

Enjoy your writing.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur Zulu.

Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer, and author of Chasing Shadows!, How to Write a Best-seller, A Letter to Noah, and many others. For his works and free help for writers, goto:

http://controversialwriter.tripod.com

mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com

Web search: Arthur Zulu

The most important thing to remember about using book notes is they are not intended to be substitutes for reading real book. You will miss out on opportunity to read some of greatest works of literature if you only read their book notes. Try reading book note chapter by chapter after you read that chapter in book. This helps confirm ideas you come up with on your own, and will point out new ideas while reading is still fresh in your mind.

Alternatively, you could also try reading summary of each chapter before reading chapter in book. This will help direct your reading to find things that are most important in each chapter, and will help you find new ideas that either agree or disagree with ideas discussed in book note.

When you sit down to write your paper, having already gone over reading and summary, you will have an arsenal of ideas on which you can rely to start writing paper. Very rarely will you receive an essay assignment that is answered perfectly by information in book note, so you’ll have to pour some of your own thoughts into your paper.

Where to find Book Notes

The best things in life are not always free, but there are a lot of free resources available now online. The three best places I have found for book notes are SparkNotes.com, CliffNotes.com, and PinkMonkey.com. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so try each one out until you find one that works best with your style.