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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Dashwoods of Book Reviews

Good morning! I'm not totally a morning person. I would rather stay up all night and sleep until, say, 11 AM maybe. Also I would like to need less sleep. Something to think about as you draft my Christmas list this year, hmm?

Normally I fritter away the morning, but since I owe you so many book reviews, I decided to commit my mornings to the reviews until they are done.

First, I wanted to go over the basics of my reviews. I review in one of two ways: with my immediate reaction within 24 hours of finishing a book, which we will from hereon refer to as the Marianne, or over a month afterward, now known as Elinor. I try to always tell you what kind of review I'm giving you, because I think each style offers a slightly different perspective on the book.

Marianne

The Marianne review tells you how the book might make you feel when you are done, ie buoyed up with joy or barely restraining yourself from throwing said book out the window. The plot threads and characters are still bright in my mind so you might think that this is the most accurate review I could give and in some ways, that's true. However, having just closed the book, I tend to have very strong feelings for it and may get carried away with my emotions.

 Elinor

The Elinor review tells you how I view a book from a comfortable distance. Did it stay with me? Have I forgiven the book for a minor issue that infuriated me when I first finished the story but with time has since proven to have been a—dare I say it—necessary aspect of the plot? What is the book's lasting impression and how does it make me feel over time? In hindsight, was it worth reading?

There you have it: The Dashwood book reviews. Any questions?

4 comments:

  1. I LOVE THIS!!!

    let's institutionalize this nomenclature!!!!!! all reviews shall be so designated from now on!!

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  2. I can't stop laughing at the image of Marianne. I don't know what it is from, but the captions make it hilarious.

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  3. Thanks, Jazz! I agree, the look on Kate Winslet's face is priceless. I just pulled the shot from online and added the caption myself.

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