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Smiling Shelves

Two Sentence Reviews

9/3/2015

6 Comments

 
I've read a lot of books lately, but haven't written many reviews. In order to catch up a little, I thought I would challenge myself to put my thoughts succinctly. One sentence of summary, one sentence of review. We'll see how well this works. (I tend to be a wordy person. . .)
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
Summary: An astronomer details events that changed his life (like getting married) and changed the solar system (like discovering more planets).

Review: Completely understandable, surprisingly touching - and I finally understand why Pluto shouldn't be called a planet! (Even though that still makes me a little sad.)
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Because I Said So!: The Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids by Ken Jennings
Summary: Jennings researches sayings that you have heard and believed all your life, and discovers how true or false they are.

Review: I was impressed by the amount of research he did, I learned a lot (no such thing as the five-second rule!), and I laughed at nearly every page.
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Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
Summary: Inspector Chen Cao discovers that a murder case is much more political than he thought - and therefore, could get him in trouble.

Review: The murder investigation is rather slow-moving, but this book was a fascinating way to get a glimpse of life in modern China (or at least, China 25 years ago).
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The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera
Summary: A young woman who thinks she knows it all finds that she has a lot to learn from an unconventional teacher and his charges.

Review: The atmosphere of San Ireneo de Arnois was what sold this book. I would move there in a heartbeat. (Whoops, that was two sentences.)
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6 Comments
Kate @ Mom's Radius link
9/3/2015 04:16:37 am

I want to check out Because I Said So. It sounds interesting, and maybe it'll help me stop saying crazy stuff to my kid. :)

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/4/2015 04:01:14 pm

I really recommend that one! It's such a great idea for a book, and it was incredibly well executed. I hope you check it out! :)

Reply
Christine @Buckling Bookshelves link
9/4/2015 05:29:08 pm

What a great idea! That would be a challenge for me too, but a great way to catch up on reviews :) Because I Said So sounds particularly interesting.

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/5/2015 01:34:22 pm

It was actually easier than I thought it would be - and really fun! Because I Said So is a great read (particularly for a new mother...) :)

Reply
Jade Louise link
9/5/2015 09:09:11 am

Because I Said So sounds like a really fun book, but knowledgeable as well.

I would find writing two sentence reviews hard - how do you do it?!

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/5/2015 01:35:36 pm

I was surprised - I thought it would be harder than it was. I really enjoyed it. I don't think I could do all of my reviews this way, but it was fun for a change! :)

Reply



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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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