Book, film, and theatre reviews are useful sources of information. They describe what the book, film, or play is about, providing a summary of the plot and its cast of characters. They also provide the reader with a critical analysis or evaluation of the book. While this analysis will not be as comprehensive in scope as a book of essays or an article from a research journal, a review is often a good way to get started. Before you begin your search for a book, film, or theatre review you will need the following information: title of the book, film, or play author, director, or playwright date of publication, release, or performance, as reviews usually appear within a few years of a work's first publication. Search tips: Online: To find reviews in online indexes and databases, do a phrase search for the title of the work, and limit the search results to reviews (usually found under document or publication type) if the option is available. Also consider limiting by date. Print: To find reviews in print sources, check at the beginning of the print index for instructions on how to use the resource. Many of the sources listed in this guide are indexes. Indexes provide citations to review sources. When you find a citation... Online: When you find a citation in a UBC Library online index, use the UBC eLink to determine if the source is available in the UBC Library collection. Print: When you find a citation in a print index, search the UBC Library catalog for the book or journal title to determine if the item is available in the UBC Library collection.
If you are writing a review, these sites provide help: How to Write a Book Review - Queen's University Libraries How to Write a Book Review - Dalhousie University Libraries Writing a Critical Book Review - University of Alberta Library You can find additional information by searching the UBC Library Catalogue, using the subject heading 'book reviewing'.
Key starting points, online and print sources, and retrospective sources for book reviews. Start here: Book Review Index PlusOnline Index: 1965-presentProvides citations to more than five million book reviews, drawn from a core of about 700 magazines and journals (including both popular and scholarly titles). Book Review DigestPrint Index and Digest: 1905-present. Excellent source for finding book reviews. Brief summary, excerpts, and citations for reviews of "current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language." Each volume arranged alphabetically by author of work reviewed, with subject and title index. SummonOnline IndexSummon is a search engine that provides a single access point to find the majority of UBC Library Collections including books, articles, newspaper articles, and book reviews. Use the Refine your search options on the left-side of the screen to narrow your results to book reviews. Academic Search CompleteOnline Index and some full text: 1975-presentFind book, film, and theatre reviews published in academic journals, newspapers, and magazines. Provides the full text from many sources. Includes citations and abstracts of reviewing sources including the New York Times Book Review and The New York Review of Books. LexisNexis AcademicOnline full text: dates vary by titleFind the full text of reviews from major US and international newspapers and some trade publications online. To find reviews, click on 'All News'. On this page, enter your search terms and select 'Book Reviews' and/or 'Movie Reviews' and/or 'Music Reviews' and/or 'Theatre Reviews' as the article type(s). New York Times Book Review: 1896-presentExtended reviews of noteworthy books. Search for reviews in this source in the following ways.Find online full text reviews: Search for recent reviews online at The New York Times Book Review website by title of the book. Under the heading 'Search book reviews since 1981', enter the title of the book to find reviews back to 1981. Find reviews back to 1997 at the publisher's online archive searching by date. You need to know the date of the review. Find reviews back to 1980 in LexisNexis Academic - Enter New York Times as the 'Source Title'; search for the title and author of the work in the full text and limit by date as appropriate. Also consider using the Book Review Index to find citations for reviews in the NYTBR and then search by title and date. Find reviews back to 1896 in ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Find citations in these sources: Academic Search Complete - 1989-present. Search this online source for citations and abstracts of reviews. Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature - 1978-current. Search the print or online version for citations and abstracts of reviews. Book Review Digest - 1905-present. Search this print source for citations and brief excerpts from reviews. Book Review Index - 1965-present. Search this print source for citations of reviews. With the citation in hand, find the full text of the review in a print, microform, or online copy of the New York Times Book Review in the UBC Library. Print copies are available in Koerner Library for the current year. Microfilm copies are available in Koerner Library for 1851-3 months ago as part of the New York Times. Online versions of the reviews are available from LexisNexis (1980 to present) or ProQuest Historical Newspapers (1851-2003). CBCA Complete (Canadian Business and Current Affairs Complete) Online Index and full text: 1982-present Excellent source of book, film, and theatre reviews, especially for Canadian works. Full text from 1993 to current; citations from 1982 to current. Reader's Guide to Periodical LiteraturePrint Index: 1900-1992; 1994-2008Online Index: 1890-1982 (via Readers' Guide Retrospective); 1983-present (via Readers' Guide Abstracts)Find citations and abstracts of reviews in popular and general-interest periodicals published in the United States and Canada.In the print index: Search by subject or author of the book in early editions. Beginning with volume 36, a separate section for book reviews appears at the end of the volume. Also finds film and theater reviews listed under the headings Moving picture plays -- Criticism, plots, etc. or Motion picture reviews, and Theater reviews. Canadian Periodical IndexPrint Index: 1948-2002Online Index and full text: 1988-presentGood source for book, film, or theatre reviews from Canadian journals. Citations 1988 to present, and full text 1995 to current. More print and online resources: Alternative Press IndexPrint Index: 1969-2000Online Index: 1991-presentIndexes books reviews from about 450 alternative, radical, and leftist publications from North America. Arts and Humanities Citation IndexPrint Index: 1976-1998Online Index: Part of the Web of Science set of citation indexes.Find citations for reviews found in over 1,000 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. Humanities IndexPrint Index: 1974-2008Online Index: 1984-presentFind book and film reviews in some of the best-known scholarly humanities journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. In the print version of the Humanities Index there is a separate section at the end of the volume that lists book reviews. Index to Book Reviews in ReligionPrint Index: 1986-1999Online Index (via ATLA Religion Database): 1949-presentSeparate indexes provide access by author, title, reviewer, series, and classified subject. The print version continues the book review index that appeared as the last section of Religion Index One : Periodicals from inception through v.17 1985. Social Sciences Citation IndexPrint Index: 1956-1993Online Index: 1965-present (via Web of Science)Includes book reviews from scholarly journals in the social sciences, arts, and humanities. In the print index, search for reviews in the Citation Index under the name of the author of the work, with more detail provided in the related entry under reviewer name in the Source Index. Social Sciences IndexPrint Index: 1974-2008Online Index: 1984-presentFind book or film reviews in a broad array of social science journals. In the print index there is a separate section at the end of the volume that lists book reviews. Women's Review of BooksPrint full text: 1983-2004Online full text (via CPI.Q): 1994-presentBook reviews for and about women presented in a wide range of feminist perspectives. More online resources: America: History and LifeOnline Index: 1964-presentOver 150,000 book reviews and 600+ media reviews from 2,000 journal titles. Choice Reviews OnlineOnline Index and full text: 1987-presentReviews significant current books and electronic resources of interest to those in higher education. Each year CHOICE publishes more than 6,500 reviews by subject experts. Contemporary Women's IssuesOnline Index and selective full text: 1992-presentFind book reviews in journals on women's issues. Historical AbstractsOnline Index: 1955-presentIncludes some important review articles. Humanities International IndexOnline Index: 1975-presentFind reviews in over 1700 journals. JSTOR CollectionOnline full text: dates vary by titleFind the full text of book reviews in humanities and social sciences academic journals. New York Review of BooksOnline full text: 1963-presentLiterary and critical journal discussing and reviewing important books. Reviews and articles written by "writers who are themselves a major force in world literature and thought". Sociological AbstractsOnline Index: 1952-presentFind citations and abstracts of thousands of book reviews and hundreds of film reviews from over 1800 journals. Web of ScienceOnline Index: 1965-presentIncludes book reviews from scholarly journals in the social sciences, arts, and humanities. More print resources: American Humanities IndexPrint Index: 1975-2004Find reviews in over 700 literary, scholarly, and creative journals published in the United States and Canada. Excludes reviews of less than 500 words. Book Review IndexPrint Index: 1965-presentExcellent source for finding book reviews. Covers more than 600 periodicals in all subject areas. Citations for "reviews of any type of book, periodical, or reference work that has been or is about to be published and is at least fifty pages long". Exceptions to the length restriction are made for poetry, children's books, and song books. Citations listed by author of work reviewed, with a title index. Canadian Book Review AnnualPrint full text: 1975-2006Full text of the reviews (200-400 words) by subject specialists of Canadian-authored and Canadian-published English-language publications. Arrangement is by categories, and within each section reviews are alphabetical by name of author. Categories include: Reference Materials, Humanities and the Arts, Literature and Language, Social Sciences, Science and Technology, and Children's Literature. Includes index to title, author, and subject. Current Book Review CitationsPrint Index: 1976-1982Covers reviews of fiction, non-fiction, foreign-language titles, and children's books in over 1,000 periodicals for 1976-1982. Part 1 provides citations arranged by author and title; Part 2 is a title index. Index to Book Reviews in the HumanitiesPrint Index: 1960-1990Covers 700 popular and scholarly humanities periodicals. Reviews of children's books are excluded. Citations arranged by author of work reviewed. Retrospective resources: Book Review DigestPrint Index and Digest: 1905-presentExcellent source for finding book reviews. Brief summary, excerpts, and citations for reviews of "current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language." Each volume arranged alphabetically by author of work reviewed, with subject and title index. Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities JournalsPrint Index: 1802-1974Provides "author and title access to about 500,000 book reviews that appeared in the complete backfiles of over 150 humanities journals" from 1802-1974. Citations listed alphabetically by author and title of work reviewed. Includes title index. Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly JournalsPrint Index: 1886-1974Provides "author and title access to more than one million book reviews which appeared in the complete backfiles of 459 scholarly journals in history, political science, and sociology" from 1886 to 1974. Includes short notices as well as full-length reviews. Citations listed alphabetically by author and title of work reviewed. Includes title index. Humanities and Social Sciences RetrospectivePrint Index: 1907-1984 (title: Social Sciences & Humanities Index)Online Index: 1907-1984Find reviews in scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. JSTOR CollectionOnline full text: dates vary by titleFind the full text of book reviews in humanities and social sciences academic journals. Proquest Historical NewspapersOnline full text: dates vaey by titlesFind the full text of reviews in the New York Times (1851-2003), Wall Street Journal (1889-1989), Washington Post (1877-1990), and Christian Science Monitor (1908-1993). Reader's Guide to Periodical LiteraturePrint Index: 1900-1992; 1994-2008Online Index: 1890-1982 (via Readers' Guide Retrospective); 1983-present (via Readers' Guide Abstracts)Find citations and abstracts of reviews in popular and general-interest periodicals published in the United States and Canada.In the print index: Search by subject or author of the book in early editions. Beginning with volume 36, a separate section for book reviews appears at the end of the volume. Also finds film and theater reviews listed under the headings Moving picture plays -- Criticism, plots, etc. or Motion picture reviews, and Theater reviews. Times Digital ArchiveOnline full text: 1785-1985Online archive of every page published by The Times [London] from 1785-1985. The text is fully searchable at the article level. More retrospective resources: Book Review Index to Social Science PeriodicalsPrint Index: 1964-1974Includes citations to book reviews which appear in the indexed social sciences periodicals (including history) regardless of the discipline of the book reviewed. Citations listed in author-title order. Comprehensive Index to English-Language Little MagazinesPrint Index: 1890-1970Covers 100 periodicals of the period 1890-1970. Mostly American content. Search by the author of the work. Each entry includes a label for the type of item being indexed, including book review or film review. Index to Book Reviews in EnglandPrint Index: 1749-1774Print Index: 1775-1800Volume covering 1749-1774 lists reviews for 3,023 works of English poetry, fiction, and drama. Includes "all the principal journals doing reviewing and a significant representation of the minor ones available and appropriate". Volume covering 1775-1800 lists reviews for 4,984 works of English poetry, fiction, and drama. Covers "all the major review journals ... and 13 additional minor magazines or periodicals". Index to Commonwealth Little MagazinesPrint Index: 1964-1992Indexing for book reviews provides access by: author of review, author of work reviewed, subject of work reviewed. Index to Little MagazinesPrint Index: 1948-1966/67In general, reviews should be sought under the author of the work reviewed. Literary Reviews in British PeriodicalsPrint Index: 1789-1797Print Index: 1798-1820 (2 vols.)Print Index: 1821-1826Provides "an index to literary reviews and (in the appendices) to non-review articles dealing with authors and their works, with the literary genres, and with the broad subjects of literary criticism and literary taste". Wellesley Index to Victorian PeriodicalsPrint Index: 1824-1900Online Index (via Nineteenth Century Index): 1824-1900Table of contents of 43 major quarterlies and monthlies by date. Also indexes by article's author. No subject index. sources: America: History and LifeOnline Index: 1964-presentOver 150,000 book reviews and 600+ media reviews from 2,000 journal titles.
Selected List of Indexes and Databases Film and Television Literature Index - Coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, screenwriting, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews. The database provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for more than 380 publications (and selected coverage of 300). FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals - Access to over 300,000 article references from more than 300 periodicals. The International Index to Film Periodicals offers in-depth coverage of the world's foremost academic and popular film journals. International Index to the Performing Arts - Provides indexing and abstracts for approximately 220 international performing arts periodicals, and full text for over 50 journals. Reviews for film and theatre. LexisNexis Academic - Find the full text of reviews from major US and international newspapers and some trade publications online. To find reviews, on the left column, click on 'News', then 'All News'. Enter your search terms and select 'Movie Reviews' as the article type. Academic Search Complete - Coverage from 1975-present. Includes film reviews published in academic journals, newspapers, and magazines with full text from many sources. Film Literature Index - 1976-2001. Selected Internet Resources Critics.com Internet Movie Database MetaCritic Movie review Query Engine Rotten Tomatoes
Retrospective SourcesSelected Online Sources: Proquest Historical Newspapers - Complete coverage of the New York Times 1851 - 2000s, Christian Science Monitor 1908 - 1990s, Washington Post 1877 - 1990s, Wall Street Journal 1889 -1990s. Every word in each paper has been indexed. PDF of each article, plus full page images available. Times Digital Archive - 1785-1985. Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844 - Full text from 1844 to 4 years ago. Selected Print Sources: Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals - 1930-1971 Find citations to reviews of North American and foreign films in 20 major film journals. New York Times Film Reviews - 1913-2000. Reprints of film reviews in chronological order. Reviews can also be found online in Proquest Historical Newspapers.
Key starting points, online and print sources, and retrospective sources for theatre reviews. Start here: UBC Library Research Guide for Theatre has the most up-to-date complete list of resources for reviews International Index to the Performing ArtsOnline Index and some full text: date coverage variesProvides indexing and abstracts for approximately 220 international performing arts periodicals, and full text for over 50 journals. Reviews for film and theatre. More online resources: Academic Search CompleteOnline Index and some full text: 1975-presentFind book, film, and theatre reviews published in academic journals, newspapers, and magazines. Provides the full text from many sources. Includes citations and abstracts of reviewing sources including the New York Times Book Review and The New York Review of Books. LexisNexis AcademicOnline full text: dates vary by titleFind the full text of reviews from major US and international newspapers and some trade publications online. To find reviews, click on 'All News'. On this page, enter your search terms and select 'Book Reviews' and/or 'Movie Reviews' and/or 'Music Reviews' and/or 'Theatre Reviews' as the article type(s). More print resources: The New York Times Theater ReviewsPrint full text: 1971-2000Full text of theatre reviews printed in the New York Times. Retrospective resources: Times Digital ArchiveOnline full text: 1785-1985Online archive of every page published by The Times [London] from 1785-1985. The text is fully searchable at the article level.
