Thanks to Lark Writes for giving me the inspiration to write short, poetic book reviews. Hers are called 'Haiku Reviews.' I'll make mine a little longer and call them tanka-poetry reviews. Similar to haikus, tanka poems are short, using only 31-syllables in the cadence pattern of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7. I'm catching up here on past-due reviews.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
(Crown Publishing, 2020)
This audiobook
had twenty-nine hours air time,
reviewing first term
of a beloved President.
Question. Can he speak faster?
Rating: 4 stars
The Only Woman In the Room by Marie Benedict
(Sourcebooks Landmark, 2019)
[SOTH Book Club selection for May 2021.]
This is a novel
about Hedy Lamarr who
was very pretty
but also smart. Invented
the first GPS and more.
Rating: 3 stars
The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy by Helen Russell
(Running Press Adult, 2019)
A delightful guide,
takes readers around the world
to discover how
each country expresses joy,
happiness. Thanks, Mom, for gift!
Rating: 3.5 stars
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
(Scholastic Press, 2020)
[National Book Award (NBA) Winner, Children's Literature category, 2020.
Personal NBA reading challenge.]
Louisiana
is setting for NBA
Award winning book.
King's brother is dead.
Grief transforms his family---
friendships tough to navigate.
Rating: 4 stars
-Anne
So clever and good! I love these tanka poem reviews; it's amazing how much you can convey in 31 syllables.
ReplyDeleteVery succinct! I like the style of them but always wonder why a certain book gets a lower rating.
ReplyDeleteNot enough syllables to explain that. The rating, therefore serves as a "read-between-the-lines" aid. (In other words, don't read THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM. Ha!)
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