I think the issue is not about having a review thread or sub-forum because this can be created even tomorrow. The crucial issue here is how are we going to review the books. I'm aware that there is no right way of writing a book review. But surely it's not about re-telling or summarising the content of the book.
Also, it is not about writing lines like "There are no redeeming qualities or good messages in this book. It sucks, end of it! " without explaining why and how the book sucked you or "the modern editors would have destroyed it" without explaining why they would have done so.
A really good example is the one by Hon. J. Makamba to a book titled "Why Africa is Poor and What Africans Can Do About It" by Greg Mills. He said "I started reading it in the plane. In the acknowledgement page, almost the very first page, he started by writing something going like "for fear of sounding like Kate Winslet on Oscar night, I will….". After that sentence, I put the book away, never touched it. Someone borrowed it (I don't remember who) and I haven't bothered to ask for it back." Source:
Politics, Society & Things: The book I read, the book I dropped.
This spoils the excitement for future readers by merely criticising the acknowledgment, let alone the whole book, like that. It could be that he was not the target of the author. It could be that the author targeted those who have watched Titanic, those who saw Kate Winslet winning an Oscar for the movie and how she almost melted when she was presented with an Oscar.
Perhaps, Hon Makamba should have read the whole book, understand its content and the targeted audience and then provide a critical review why the author should not have mentioned in the acknowledgement anything to do with the "…fear of sounding like Kate Winslet on Oscar night". How many times has a book or movie been ruined for you by a friend or sibling, only to find out later that it was actually a good book/movie?
On the other side, there are some writers out there behaving badly. There are those who buy positive reviews on blogs. There are others who might send notices to shut down a perfectly JF because they think it's an illegal book piracy site, whilst we're here just to review books.
So, we will have to set the ground and standards on which books and how we're going to review them. We must have aims and objectives of wanting to review books. We must also set our targets and outcomes. Some of us will do it for fun, but we must also take this as another way of campaigning for book reading and encouraging local writers. Who knows, in the long run, we may end up having a book co-edited by
Roulette,
Nyani Ngabu and
gfsonwin (2015) How to Review a Book. Dar-Es-Salaam: Jamii Forums.
Watanzania hatusomi vitabu. Huu ni ukweli mtupu. Tumejikita too much kwenye siasa tena bila kusoma hata hivyo vitabu vya siasa. Matokeo yake, tumehamishia hii kwa watoto. Politics kutwa nzima. Innovation and transfer of knowledge havitakuwemo Tanzania kama tutaendelea kuwa hivi.
Kuna sehemu
Kiranga alishawahi kuandika kuwa "
Ila mjue mkitaka kuwa critics mjiandae kwa kila neno moja mtakaloandika, muwe mshasoma maneno mia moja kutoka sources mia moja nzuri, kwa kila neno moja mtakalosema, muwe mshasikiliza maneno mia moja kutoka kwa wanazuoni mia moja wazuri, juu ya suala hilo….Ndo kadiri ya "rule of thumb" of good criticism. Sio mtu unajisikia tu kusema, mara leo mbona Kikwete kashika mwenge kwa mkono wa kushoto, ooh Masha kapiga saluti. Hata gazeti la Shigongo husomi, achilia mbali kutafuta informative sources. Watu wa aina hii watawafanya hata wenye malalamiko ya kweli waonekane wana "cry wolf" tu sasa."
