Math is on Your Side: an analysis of books.
I have read 3 books lately, and I want to tell you which one is best.
But writing a review= more words! I've have enough words; I just read 3 books. So I'll show you numbers.
Each book is judged on 5 criteria, and each criterion has a weighting from 1-5.
Hilarity gets a 5 because I like laughing. I like books that make me moony*, but it's not super important to my overall enjoyment of a book, so I give this a weighting of 2. The provision of insight into my own life/issues will make me a better person, will it not? Insight gets a weighting of 4, as does the level of realism/relatability of the characters. The ending doesn't have to be feel good, but it has to be good (weighting = 3)
Each book gets a score for each criterion.
TP= Total Points = Score x Weight
Total= the summation of TPs.
|
| My Sister's Keeper | Emma | The Time Traveler's Wife | ||||
| Criterion | Weight | Score | TP | Score | TP | Score | TP |
| Hilarity | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| Moony | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 |
| Insight | 4 | 5 | 20 | 5 | 20 | 2 | 8 |
| Characters | 4 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 12 |
| Ending | 3 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
| Total | 58 |
| 76 |
| 37 | ||
Basically, go read Emma. It's amazing. And don't read Time Traveler's Wife. It was mediocre and got really boring at the end.
*I don't know the exact definition of moony. Just go with it. Moony. You know. Lovey? Swoony? Is the word I'm looking for swoony? Nope. It's moony.
28 comments:
I loooove Emma. I read it three times in China because it was that good (and also because english books were hard to find)
My sister's keeper and all books by what's her name are not that amazing but make for an easy and fast read. Lin had one with her over Christmas too.
I know you don't like them...but there is a new book out by the Shopaholic person...you should maybe give them another chance. They make me laugh out loud like crazy (even when I am by myself in the corner of a Chapters)
Emma's character resembles my own more strongly than any character (real or fictional) ever before.
I hate those Shopaholic books. I want to punch her in the face, always. I finished the &Baby one, and it got better as you got used to her. Some funny moments. Mostly a lot of cringing.
Yay for spreadsheets! I love this. Quantifying things is a guarantee to KNOW that you are having fun.
haaa oh i love you. a spreadsheet to prove that emma is a good book? sold.
This isn't a spreadsheet, folks. It's a decision making matrix.
I loooove Emma. But I also loved The Time Traveller's Wife. Oh well.
Moony is definitely the word you're looking for. :)
You crack me up! I've read all three and have to say- your analysis is dead on. I enjoyed all three, but would probably go back and re-read them in the order that you have too.
Well done on the decision making matrix.
Interesting. I've read the other two books, but not Emma. Just another one to add to my list! I absolutely love your Excel-based rating system. Hysterical. :)
i love when you do these analytical charts. you're hilarious.
Dude, sometimes you make my head spin with all the numbers.
I do love me some Emma though :)
as you know i usually bow down to math in all forms but since the Time Travelers Wife is one of the best books ever I have to frown in the direction of this graph. Perhaps you forgot to carry a one somewhere.
Oh no I really wanted to read The Time Traveler's Wife. I mean, I still will, but the bad review makes me sad!
Emma is my least favorite Jane Austen book. I think it is far too long.
And ohmigosh how can anyone hate Shopaholic? They're hilarious. Becky reminds me of myself, which is probably a bad thing considering you'd like to punch her, haha.
I'm with Bri on Time Traveler's Wife. One of my favourite books - I cried and cried at the end even though I knew what was going to happen. I'm almost tearing up just thinking about it.
You gave MSK a FIVE for ending? I would give it a MINUS TEN. It was so stupid! Huba & I agree, all of Jodi Picoult's books end like the publisher wan't that first draft the next day so she had to end it! quick! the fastest way possible! (Bummer, because they're not bad up until then...)
I got TTW out of the library and read a bit, but the whole concept of some guy time traveling sounded bo-ring, so I never really got into it.
I'll give Emma a try!
Okay, this is the best book review I've ever read. Goodreads needs to implement a numbers matrix like this.
I LOVED TTW. And will see the movie. So there. But I love your weighting system.
Numbers hurt my face but thank you for exploring recommendation efficiency.
I think you are the greatest book reviewer of all time!
Decision making matrix eh?
That just reminded me of a work report you once wrote....
(why am I reading your blog AGAIN??? Oh, yeah, because I love you)
I love, love, love The Time Traveler Wife. LOVE.
(lovedit)
Sounds like Emma was a good book, I think I should pick it up, maybe.
I have wanted to read all of these books, but I have heard Emma's the best and your math equation just proved it, haha.
I fully get what you mean when you say that you've had evough of words. words describing words somehow seem inadequate and redundant. And I must agree, Moony is a beautiful feeling. (However, we're back to evensies as The Time Traveller's Wife is deff one of my favorite books.)
Truly
PostScript: thankyou for beng such a wonderful commenter!
Why does moony make me think of Bruce Almighty?
Any connection? Weird.
Emma is my favorite Jane Austen novel. The characters are so strong and so accidental, much like real life itself.
And decision making matrix, you crack me up.
Yeah, it's so moony.
I loved my sister's keeper. But Emma definitely wins!!
oops! i forgot to add that little email link detail in when i redid my format. it's alicewonderland0 at gmail dot com :)
wow...I'm an engineer too and I'm surprised I haven't used the decision making matrix in more real-life applications...ya know, since I can whip out a spreadsheet and analyze almost anything in mathematical form. ha ha!
Yes, Emma is amazing. Although, I have to say, of all Jane Austin books, Mansfield Park was my favorite.
My sister's keeper in 2nd place? Not fair. It's my favorite book, ya know? Oh! They're making it into a movie, with Cameron Diaz playing the mom. Weird huh? I think Cameron Diaz is waaaay too young to play a teen's mom.
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