How to find book reviews

Recent book reviews

Online databases provide the best access for most recent (post-1980s) book reviews. In many cases, the full text will be available in electronic format. Choosing a database depends on the subject of the book and its date of publication. Select a database using the Database Finder.

The following is a selective list of databases containing book reviews:

• Academic Search Complete
  multidisciplinary, scholarly & popular
  
  
• Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies
  Canadian English-language newspapers
  
  
• CBCA Complete
  multidisciplinary, Canadian, scholarly & popular
  
  
• CPI.Q (Canadian Periodical Index)
  multidisciplinary, Canadian, scholarly & popular
  
  
• New York Times on ProQuest
  contains reviews from the New York Times Book Review
  
  
• Periodicals Archive Online
  arts, humanities and social sciences, scholarly
  
  

Search tips

In the search box, type the most distinctive keywords in the author and title, combined with "AND", for example: atwood AND survival

Depending on which database you use, you may be able to limit your search to book reviews. If the database has limit options, see if you can limit your search by "document type" and choose "reviews" or "book reviews." If the database does not have search limits settings, trying adding "AND review" to your search terms, for example: atwood AND survival AND review.