Welcome to Book Talk! Pull up a comfy chair, grab a cup of coffee, and join us for an inspiring conversation about the books that are shaping our lives. This is a place for the entire Cairn community – students, faculty and staff alike – to cultivate our reading lives. If you are interested in writing about a gem on your current reading list, see our reviewer guidelines. All genres are welcome, whether contemporary fiction, classic literature, sci fi, nonfiction, memoir, biography, children’s literature or anything in between. Please submit reviews to scroll@cairn.edu.

Book Talk Reviewer Guidelines

1. Create a header that includes the book’s title in italics, author’s name, number of pages, publisher, and year published.

EXAMPLE:

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea. Melissa Fleming. 274 pp. Flatiron Books, 2017.

2. State your name, major and year of graduation (or position on Cairn faculty / staff), and the date you wrote the review.

3. Your review should be around 500-600 words, but a little longer is fine.

4. Briefly summarize the book, but be careful not to give away the ending or any surprises along the way.

5. Discuss what the author did well and didn’t do well.

6. Include a poignant quote or two so that your readers can experience the author’s style.

7. Share how the book impacted your life and way of thinking. Discuss why you think this book is relevant to other readers at Cairn today.

{A conversational style and use of first person is encouraged, but please do make sure that your writing is as thoughtful, vivid, and grammatically correct as you are able to make it.}