InstaRead SummariesRecensioni

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this summary. The main character, Lucy, seemed to have lived a rather interesting life. Pulling herself out of poverty by her own bootstraps, she could be considered a positive role model. Yet another summary that makes me want to read the actual book.

This was yet another quick summary that made me want to read the actual book. It’s a summary about a detective-style book, which is right up my alley. Even though it essentially gives the gist/plot of the book, I still would enjoy reading it. I also like the character breakdown at the end of the summary; it gives a lot of insight about each character’s personality and their reasons for all of their secrets.

This was an interesting summary to read. I was quite familiar with the One Child policy growing up, but it was very sad to read of the devastating effects that it has had on the Chinese people. I never really thought that it was a good idea in practice, though I could understand how the government might have viewed it as advantageous on paper. Reading this summary makes me want to read the actual book so that I can learn even more about it.

Let me first preface this by stating that I am a very vocal libertarian who tends to lend more to the right side of politics. Obviously, as this book is the summary of another book, I can’t really find much fault with it since this book is not one based on their own opinions as opposed to the opinions of another. It gave a great breakdown on what the other book is about, which made me actually want to read said book. Though I did disagree with some of the key points, I will acknowledge that there were more than just a couple of points that I did agree with.

I like to consider myself a student of history, but the authors really hit the nail on the head when they noted that the war between the US and Tripoli during the infancy days of the US has gone vastly ignored. Thomas Jefferson was certainly a man ahead of his time, and this book made me realize that even more. A quick read full of information one might not already have learned from our pitiful education system.

Yes, I Cheated
Review of the Instaread Summaries Kindle eBook (2016)

This is the first time that I've used one of the Instaread summaries in order to get an overview of a book that I'm reading. I am about halfway through The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (2015) [480 pages] but as I'm reading it for a bookclub in early November 2022 it is likely that I won't finish it in time for the discussion. So just in case, I took this cheater's route. The summary was actually quite excellent and the listing of characters & the discussion of themes were also well done.

Part of the reason for my slow progress through The Pearl... is that it is often grim reading about the treatment of women in Afghanistan. It toggles between two stories, that of Rahimi in 2007 who lives in a community under a warlord who is fighting the Taliban and that of her great-great-grandmother Shekiba who lived in the early 20th century during the time when Afghanistan was ruled by a King (or Emir). Both women do have times of relative freedom allowed them through custom. The young Rahimi is allowed to assume the character of a pasha boch, where a girl child is allowed to act as if she is a boy in a family which otherwise has no sons. This ends as she enters puberty though and is sold off as a child bride. The young Shekiba was disfigured in a childhood accident and lost her family in a cholera epidemic. She becomes a servant in the compound of her family but is gifted away in payment of a debt and then again gifted to the King. She then becomes a guard to the King's harem and is allowed to dress in masculine clothes for the role, as the King doesn't trust having male guards in that role. This relief is short-lived as both face various abuses and intrigues in their stories.

Knowing the ending of the book does at least let me know that both stories end on a relative note of hope. Admittedly the current situation in a newly Taliban run Afghanistan still makes for a depressing awareness that conditions have likely become even worse in the present day.

So different, so interesting and absolutely amazingly brilliant. It’s written as if it were music and the main character, the story is told mainly from the point of view of Music itself. There are highs, there are lows, and there are times it builds and builds as if it’s a beautiful symphony and then stops suddenly. Just SO different from anything I’ve ever read and I really truly enjoyed it.

Helpful in understanding the complexities of the book and characters.

This is more of a war story than a historical analysis, but it's interesting enough. It actually reads like a fictional adventure but without much character building. Despite what the subtitle claims, there is little 'analysis', and that is quite superficial and seemingly biased.

Enjoyed this book tremendously. It's a classic story of survival and resolving a problem, told with humor and a lot of humanity. A breath of fresh air in some respects...the hero is charmingly positive and snarky. Not to mention likable, and real.

It's also a nice change of pace from the violent and negative science fiction novels that I've read. People bound together to resolve a problem. Absurd things happen, but realistically. And at times it seems impossible - that there is no way they can fix this. But they don't give up. It's quite an uplifting and inspiring little story. And rather character driven for classic hard sci-fi.

And this is hard sci-fi. Lots of techno-babble and science involved. Didn't bug me all that much, but then I like technobabble, I tend to interpret it for a living. And I found the science to be rather interesting and informative.

It's also quite funny in places. Witty. With absurd and somewhat quirky situations. I laughed, I teared up a bit, and I grumbled. You really do start to emphasize with and root for the protagonist, the astronaut who is stuck on Mars. And all the people attempting to figure out how to rescue him.

Highly recommend.

A source of good information. When wondering what a book is about, you can't always trust the description or blurb from a retail site. Many times I have read a blurb and thought I'd be interested in a book, but it turned out it wasn't what I expected after I started reading it. On other occasions the description was just too vague to decide the probability of enjoying the story. With this InstaRead Summary, the book was broken down into sets of chapters summarizing the events, and key points were highlighted. I also liked that when there is a multitude of characters, this guide helps you to learn and remember who they are. I am sure this will be beneficial for many readers.
The one downside for me is that once you read it, you know most details and how the story plays out before reading the actual book. I think if I were to use another Instaread summary, I would prefer to use it along side the actual book. It performs much like a study guide. As I am reading, if I have trouble remembering certain characters, or events, I could consult the summary. This would also work well if you have to put a book down for a while, and pick it back up later.
I believe this is a useful tool and the summary made me interested in reading the actual book. So, I think it has performed the way the author wanted it to.

Bernadette Dunne