So this week’s top ten theme – Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences – was tougher than I realized! I started wondering if I knew what a complete sentence was in the first place!! Every book title I picked, I questioned and second-guessed and doubted myself. Is this a phrase? Or a sentence? Considering we use so many phrases when we write, I realized trying to find titles that are truly complete sentences is, well, not an easy task. I decided to pick these ten anyways (and will let you be the judge of whether they are complete sentences or not!! Do let me know your thoughts on that as well)
Note after publishing the post! I am sure at least two of them don’t fit the theme, but what’s done is done. And Then There Were None 🙂 (Well, this was a book I could have added? Or not?) And then another title, that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, right there!
And considering I needed to review these books, I decided to keep my reviews as short as I could (I thought of the six-word reviews I did on a recent Top Ten list but frankly, it is harder to write less than more!)
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Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences??!
Make Your Own Optical Illusions
Title: Make Your Own Optical Illusions: 50 Hands-On Models and Experiment to Make and Do
Author: Clive Glifford / Illustrator: Rob Ives
Length: 64 pages
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction/ Science Experiment, Model-Building (7 – 9 years, and up)
Publisher: QEB Publishing; Illustrated edition (May 21, 2019)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: I have loved optical illusions since forever, and of course totally awed by M.C. Escher and his fantastical creations. This book rekindled that long-time fascination in an instant! It takes readers on a tour of the different types of optical illusions, explaining the same with straightforward definitions, examples, and how-tos as well as DIYs in the form of step-by-step experiments as well as tear-out sheets for models. While I read the digital copy of this book, I have gifted this to others. No doubt, I will be gifting it to myself soon enough! Tip: you could copy on the templates of the tear-out sheets onto cardstock rather than tearing them out actually!!
Totally, totally ingenious and innovative! A book that is sure to provide hours of fun while learning and creating.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
A Good Day for Climbing Trees
Title: A Good Day for Climbing Trees
Author: Jaco Jacobs / Illustrator: Jim Tierney
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Children’s Fiction/Family Life, Africa, Environment (8 – 12 years, and up)
Publisher: Oneworld Publications (18 May 2018)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: I read this book a while ago. Thanks to unfinished review drafts, here is what I thought about the book: a great book to read and explore and discuss family, friendships, and community, as well as environmental issues, activism, and other places in the world (this is set in South Africa).
I recall how it made me feel – all warm and wonderful inside as I read about the young activists and their hodge-podge team of helpers! And that it brought back nostalgic memories of childhood summers spent climbing trees (whether it was playing hide-and-seek, or just finding out that perfect spot to read a book! Yes I did read books in trees – not always the coziest of spots for long periods of time but I improvised…)
In the end, I do think that any day, including today, is a good day for reading this gentle, uplifting middle-grade book with characters you will love and a story that will tug at your heartstrings.
Extra: You can check out the teacher’s sheet, a reading guide and tree identification guide from the publishers to use with this book
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
What’s the Point of Math?
Title: What’s the Point of Math?
Author/Illustrator: DK
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction/ Math, STEM (9 – 12 years, and up)
Publisher: DK Children; Illustrated edition (January 28, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know I enjoy reading Math related books. And this one is perfect, and to the point!
I love the concept, the illustrations, the explanations, the .. well, everything about this book. Using historical facts and stories, examples on how to use math in real life (from how to count your cows to how to host the perfect pizza party), as well as a gazillion other fun and challenging things, this book shows how (and why) math is used everywhere.
It is, if I have to come to the point, a gem of a book! Like infinitely wonderful, and shows readers that math is fun and important with vibrant illustrations and an engaging format. A totally great giftable book for all ages.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
Draw Every Little Thing
Title: Draw Every Little Thing: Learn to draw more than 100 everyday items, from food to fashion
Author/Illustrator: Flora Waycott
Length: 128 pages
Genre: How-To Books/Art, Drawing, Coloring (All ages)
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster (01 Oct 2019)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: I drew (tbh, doodled) many of the ‘things’ in this book using Waycott’s step-by-step instructions. It definitely was fun and one I need to get back to this book; considering that drawing more was one of my goals for this year.
Waycott starts off with providing a how-to-use the book along with basic tools and techniques for drawing and coloring. Do not skip this beginning section as it helps, a lot! The book is broken into sections based on the types of things we are drawing; and within each section Waycott gives prompts to inspire our creative brains followed by step-by-step exercises with more details both in the artwork and process.
Overall, a whimsical, charming, informative art book that encourages artists of all levels to draw and create every little thing, any time inspiration strikes
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
What’s Your Problem?
Title: What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve
Author: Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Length: 211 pages
Genre: Business Systems & Planning
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (March 17, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: I normally do not pick business related books; but this book’s central idea appealed to me and I decided to give it a go. And I was inspired, pleasantly surprised at how engaging and humorous the narrative was, and came away richer with the reading experience than expected.
The book’s premise is as it states in its tagline: to solve your toughest problems, change the problems; or to reframe(rephrase) it: to find better and varied solutions, ask better and different questions. This book walks readers through reframing techniques in an easy to understand, approachable way that will change how all of us tackle problems in work, and in life.
In short, this is a book for everybody who has a problem to solve… (so, everybody!)
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
How Should One Read a Book?
Title: How Should One Read a Book?
Author: Virginia Woolf; Sheila Heti
Length: 64 pages
Genre: Nonfiction (Adult) | Essays
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing (October 13, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Quick Thoughts: So I have been meaning to read (putting off?) Virginia Woolf for a looong time now. And what better way to get started with reading her that with this essay titled How Should One Read a Book?!
Granted, this is just one essay, but it is a brilliant one at that! While some of it reflected a snobbish attitude, I loved Woolf’s essay for what it did tell readers about the hows, whys, and whats of reading. In fact, some of the reviews today are based on my memories and ‘shadow shapes’ of the books I read a while ago; and I found myself connecting to that in this book. Avid readers will find many quotes that they will agree with as well as those they might not. Sheila Heti’s introduction and afterword offer additional insights and perspectives to the reader.
Definitely a great mini-book and a cool gift for book lovers as well as those who enjoy reading Woolf. This is sure to have readers wanting to read more by her.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
I Miss You When I Blink
Title: I Miss You When I Blink : Essays
Author: Mary Laura Philpott
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
Publisher: Atria Books (April 2, 2019)
Source: Review copy from Edelweiss
My Quick Thoughts: It was the title that caught my attention!! So insightful and so very profound – I Miss You When I Blink!!! And I am glad I picked it up. Like any collection, this book has some gems, some cool reads, some OK reads, and others that didn’t speak to me in any way at all.
As Philpott herself admits (to her credit) of the privileges and opportunities she has and has had, this book reflects the same and therefore will speak to a small fraction of the population. Though I don’t fit into the slot that Philpott is in, I could relate to some of the essays very easily; and her approach to life’s mundane details as well as finding humor in the everyday made me keep reading this book to the end. Which is how I know that the essays range from meh to gems!
So if you a reader of essays, of memoirs, of books that speak about a little of this and a bit of that around topics like motherhood, life in general, and such, then this is a light read that will work for you.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
Who Gets In and Why
Title: Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions
Author: Jeffrey Selingo
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Professional & Technical
Publisher: Scribner (September 15, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley
My Thoughts: When I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it considering I am a parent of a current high-school senior (and another to follow in a couple of years). Selingo’s research and words of wisdom are like a calming balm on frayed nerves of teens and their parents who are in the college-application rat-race. He offers the proverbial fly-on-the-wall look at the process – from both the college side and the applicant side of things.
Reading this book gave me a boost of courage to let my son know that it is all really A-OK! That we cannot control the outcome, to state the obvious (which unfortunately bears repeating); and to state another obvious, there are always factors beyond our control.
At various points during these past few months, I quoted examples and quotes from this book to drive home this point; that what matters is what we learn, and if we are enjoying the process of learning; and that the brand-name is just that. Getting in or not is like the lottery. And I have seen from personal experience and knowledge (of the results of applications of others this year), that it is all ‘up in the air’ once we hit the submit button.
A must-read for all who want to learn more about the college admissions process. And on a side-note: If you have not yet watched Netflix’s ‘Operation Varsity Blues’, do so.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
Walk Toward the Rising Sun
Title: Walk Toward the Rising Sun: From Child Soldier to Ambassador of Peace
Author: Ger Duany; Garen Thomas
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Teen and YA Biographies (12 – 17 years, and up)
Publisher: Make Me a World (September 22, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley and my personal copy
My Quick Thoughts: A compelling, breathtaking, and a splendidly written memoir. Heartbreak and hope share its pages as readers journey along with Duany from his first antelope kill in the wild to being caught in the civil war and becoming a child soldier; and finally escaping the horrors of war to try to make a life for himself, and to use the opportunities he got to the best he could.
When I first read this book last December for the Cybils, I was equally fascinated and horrified, inspired and heartbroken about the struggles Duany (and others like him) faced; not only in war-zones but also in the concrete jungles of America where he finally found himself.
Duany overcame many struggles and challenges to get to where he is today; and his life’s story is one to remember when we next feel like we are facing unsurmountable obstacles.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
Wild Girl: How to Have Incredible Outdoor Adventures
Title: Wild Girl: How to Have Incredible Outdoor Adventures
Author: Helen Skelton / Illustrator: Liz Kay
Length: 144 pages
Genre: Children’s Non-fiction/ Adventure, Outdoors (9 – 12 years, and up)
Publisher: Candlewick (October 6, 2020)
Source: Review copy from Netgalley and my personal copy (provided by publishers for the Cybils readathon)
My Quick Thoughts: Regarding this title, I am not sure it fits in the theme.. but…. 🙂 Anyways, this was another of the nonfiction books I read as part of the Cybils readathon late last year.
Helen Skelton is so inspiring! She believes that anything is possible; and sets out to achieve just about everything! From kayaking solo in the Amazon (and 2000 miles at that) to traveling to the south pole, Skelton has been on many adventures that can daunt the average reader. But fear not, for she provides more down to earth (yet challenging) alternatives for her readers.
Each of her adventures includes a description of the feat, sidebars with notes on the challenges as well as interesting facts and comments about her personal experiences with the same. And of course, those suggestions for related yet challenging activities that readers can do! I love that she also includes necessary equipment, safety tips, and suggestions on how to train for the challenge. Loads of photos and colorful illustrations accompany the narrative and provide more information.
The book is certainly inspiring, and can encourage young girls (and older ones too) to seek adventure.
Get it here: Amazon || Book Depository
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And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader, have you read any of these books? Any books with titles that are complete sentences you would add to this or your own list? Most interesting book titles that are complete sentences? Or the weirdest or smartest ones? I would love to hear about them!!
I think your sentences are all complete. Funnily enough, I have “And then there were none” on my TTT.
I haven’t read any of your books but they all sound very interesting.
This is well written I like the structure of this article!
I think you did a nice job on your post!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-book-titles-that-are-complete-sentences/
I like how the books were presented Amd how your site page is laid out. Very cool.
I grew up in a time in which I would be given an automatic F on a paper that had incomplete sentences. I learned quickly to discern if a sentence was complete or incomplete.
Now I revel in writing incomplete sentences on my blog. I feel decadent when I do!
A veritable hodgepodge- of topics and ages. Thanks for the fun.
Love how well-articulated this post is. I haven’t read any of these books before but feel as if I know so much about them from this article.
All the titles are complete sentences except one: “A Good Day for Climbing Trees.”
Anyways, these books look so fun. I would totally grab any of them and sit down to flip through them.
Those books look interesting. I should them at some point.
This is an interesting compilation of books. I find “Draw Every Little Thing” to be interesting because I love doodling.
Ha ha. I did the same thing, questioning what is and is not a complete sentence. I have a degree in English, but that doesn’t mean I remember all the rules!
Happy TTT (on a Thursday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
These are awesome suggestions! Love this list! I have read a few of these!
Awesome picks. Thank you so much for sharing.
http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
What’s the point of Math seems like an interesting read. I also love Math-related books. Will check this at the Book Depository. Thank you for sharing.
These books all look amazing. What’s the point of math definitely looks interesting.
I love how unique titles are. The more character the better in my opinion.