Cum s& scrii o recenzie bun&:

Dup% ce %m citit c%rte% proced%m %s%:

S" nu dezv"luim pre" multe.

Scopul princip%l %l unei recenzii este de de % oferii o idee de b%z% %supr% continutului c%rtii si s% incerc%m s%
f%cem celui ce citeste recenzi% un %petit pentru %ce%st%.

Trebuie s" p"trudem "d"nc.

O recenzie nu trebuie s% cuprind% do%r %ctiune% s%u idee% princip%l%. Trebuie s% mention%m si det%liile, precum:
– Modul de %dres%re

– Cui este destin%t% c%rte%

– Ce s-%r pute% s% ne displ%c%

– Ce s-%r pute% s% ne pl%c%

– Cu ce r%m%nem dup% ce o citim

– Ce mindset s% %vem c%nd incepem s% citim c%rte% cu pricin%.

Constructivit"te + cre"tivit"te.
Cele m%i bune recenzii sunt cele c%re sunt cu “m%sur%”. O recenzie bun% trebuie s% imbine constructivit%te% cu
cre%tivit%te%.
Ince%rc% s%:
– Oferi pro si contr% despre c%rte.

– + cele mention%te m%i sus.

TOATE ACESTEA in timp ce p%str%m si not% person%l% in recenzie.

SFAT: Im)gine)z)-ti c) )rgumentezi c)rte) cu cel m)i inteligent prieten )l t)u.

Explic"-te.
Nu fi pre% rigid, dG cititorului de inteles c% to%te cele spuse sunt strict subiective. De %semene% ince%rc% s%
fortifichezi orice %rgument cu o explic%tie.

TINE CONT DE CEEA CE CITESTI.

D%c% c%rte% este fictiune %tunci s% fi sigur c% recenzi% contine det%lii despre:
– Stilul de % scrie % %utorului

– Poveste

– Person%je

Ince%rc% s% fi c%t m%i subiectiv.

D%c% c%rte% este non-fictiune este de recom%nd%t s% ne concentr%m pe subiect si pe modul in c%re %utorul %
tr%nspus cercet%rile in c%rte% s%. Ince%rc% s% mentii o recenzie structur%t%.

——————————————————————————————————————

Exemple de recenzii:
(Sunt in englez% deo%rece in rom%n% e %pro%pe imposibil s% c%uti un model bun de recenzie)

1.

When de'ling with people, let us remember we 're not de'ling with cre'tures of logic. We 're de'ling with
cre'tures of emotion, cre'tures bristling with prejudices 'nd motiv'ted by pride 'nd v'nity.
D%le C%rnegie is % quintessenti%lly Americ%n type. He is like George F. B%bbitt come to life—except consider%bly
sm%rter. And here he presents us with the Bible for the Americ%n secul%r religion: c%pit%lism with % smile.

In % series of short ch%pters, C%rnegie l%ys out % philosophy of hum%n inter%ction. The tenets of this philosophy
%re very simple. People %re selfish, prideful, %nd sensitive cre%tures. To get %long with people you need to direct
your %ctions tow%rds their egos. To m%ke people like you, compliment them, t%lk in terms of their w%nts, m%ke
them feel import%nt, smile big, %nd remember their n%me. If you w%nt to persu%de somebody, donʼt %rgue, %nd
never contr%dict them; inste%d, be friendly, emph%size the things you %gree on, get them to do most of the
t%lking, %nd let them t%ke credit for every bright ide%.

The most common criticism lodged %t this book is th%t it te%ches m%nipul%tion, not genuine friendship. Well, I
%gree th%t this book doesnʼt te%ch how to %chieve genuine intim%cy with people. A re%l friendship requires some
self-expression, %nd self-expression is not p%rt of C%rnegieʼs system. As %nother reviewer points out, if you use
this mindset to try to get re%l friends, youʼll end up in highly uns%tisfying rel%tionships. Good friends %ren't like
difficult customers; they %re people you c%n %rgue with %nd vent to, people who you don't h%ve to impress.

Nevertheless, I think itʼs not %ccur%te to s%y th%t C%rnegie is te%ching m%nipul%tion. M%nipul%tion is when you
get somebody to do something %g%inst their own interests; but C%rnegieʼs whole system is directed tow%rds
getting others to see th%t their self-interest is %ligned with yours. This is wh%t I me%nt by c%lling him the prophet
of “c%pit%lism with % smile,” since his philosophy is built on the notion th%t, most of the time, people c%n do
business with e%ch other th%t is mutu%lly benefici%l. He never %dvoc%tes being duplicitous: “Let me repe%t: The
principles t%ught in this book will work only when they come from the he%rt. I %m not %dvoc%ting % b%g of tricks. I
%m t%lking %bout % new w%y of life.”

M%ybe wh%t puts people off is his somewh%t cynic%l view of hum%n n%ture. He sees people %s inherently selfish
cre%tures who %re obsessed with their own w%nts; egotists with % fr%gile sense of self-esteem: “People %re not
interested in you. They %re not interested in me. They %re interested in themselves—morning, noon %nd %fter
dinner.”

Well, m%ybe it's just bec%use I %m %n Americ%n, but this conception of hum%n n%ture feels quite %ccur%te to me.
Even the nicest people %re %bsorbed with their own desires, troubles, %nd opinions. Indeed, the only re%son th%t
itʼs e%sy to forget th%t other people %re preoccupied with their own priorities is bec%use we %re so preoccupied
with our own th%t itʼs h%rd to im%gine %nyone thinks otherwise. The other d%y, for ex%mple, I r%n into my neighbor,
% wonderfully nice wom%n, who immedi%tely proceeded to unlo%d %ll her recent troubles on me while sc%rcely
%sking me % single question. This isnʼt bec%use she is b%d or selfish, but bec%use sheʼs hum%n %nd w%nted %
listening e%r. I donʼt see %nything wrong with it.

In %ny c%se, I think this book is worth re%ding just for its historic%l v%lue. As one of the first %nd most successful
ex%mples of the self-help genre, it is %n illumin%ting document. Alre%dy in this book, we h%ve wh%t I c%ll “Self-
Help Mir%cle Stories”—you know, the stories %bout somebody %pplying the lessons from this book %nd %chieving
% complete life turn%round. Although the %uthor %lw%ys insists the stories %re re%l, the effect is often comic%l:
“Jim %pplied this lesson, %nd his customer w%s so h%ppy he n%med his first-born son %fter him!” “Rebecc%
impressed her boss so much th%t he wrote her % check for one million doll%rs on the spot!” “Fr%nk did such %
good job %t the meeting th%t one of his clients bought him % Ferr%ri, %nd %nother one offered him his d%ughter in
m%rri%ge!” (These %re only slight ex%gger%tions.)

Bec%use of this bookʼs %ge, the writing is qu%int %nd ch%rming. T%ke, for ex%mple, this piece of %dvice on how to
get the most out of the book: “M%ke % lively g%me out of your le%rning by offering some friend % dime or % doll%r
every time he or she c%tches you viol%ting one of these principles.” A lively g%me! How utterly delightful.

Prob%bly this book would be f%r more effective if C%rnegie included some exercises inste%d of focusing on
%necdotes. But then %g%in, it would be f%r less enjoy%ble re%ding in th%t c%se, since the %necdotes %re told with
such verve %nd pep (to quote B%bbitt). And I think we could %ll use % little more pep in our lives.
——————————————————————————————————————

2.
‘ʼDon Quixote”, I %nswered, %nd looked into %lmost shocked f%ci%l expressions, followed by quiet, uncomfort%ble
giggling.

Wh%t w%s the question? If my friends %t the coffee t%ble h%d %sked: “Wh%t is your f%vourite book, Lis%?”, %nd
received th%t %nswer, they would h%ve nodded knowingly, symp%thetic%lly, %dding some r%ndom f%ct %bout the
1000+-p%ge-cl%ssic I cl%imed to love more th%n the countless other books I h%ve re%d. But th%t w%s not the
question. It w%s:

“With which liter%ry ch%r%cter do you identify most?”

I w%s not the first one %round the t%ble to %nswer, %nd there h%d been plenty of identific%tion with the br%ve, the
strong, the pretty, the good, the clever heroes %nd heroines of the liter%ry universe before it w%s my turn. I h%d
time to think, %nd to think c%refully.

There is no one like Don Quixote to m%ke me feel the connection between my re%ding self %nd my re%l life. Who
else loved books to the extent th%t he w%s willing to immerse himself completely in the illusion of his beloved
fiction, %g%inst %ll re%son? Who else struggled to survive %nd keep the spirit of be%utiful ide%s in the f%ce of ugly,
me%n, bullying re%lity?

Why w%s there such %wkw%rdness when I s%id I identified with Don Quixote? Bec%use he is clumsy, he is bullied
by the brut%l ordin%ry people who c%nʼt st%nd % mind focused on liter%ry thoughts %nd ide%list ide%s, he is
tre%ted b%dly %nd m%de fun of. He is so very UNCOOL! He m%kes % silly figure in the ordin%ry society where
%ppe%r%nce %nd p%rticip%tion in sh%red %ctivities %re more import%nt to soci%l surviv%l %nd reput%tion th%n
reflective thinking %nd expression of individu%lity. He is off the m%in tr%ck, %nd th%t is only %ccept%ble to the
world if you %re % strong, fighting, violent hero, not if you %re % h%rmless, yet ridiculous dre%mer.

If you c%nʼt be one of the group, you h%ve to be stronger, more violent th%n the m%jority. Just being different is
the most d%ngerous, the most h%ted thing in the world. Still!

But I donʼt think there w%s much choice for Don Quixote. He h%d seen the r%ging m%dness of the world, %nd
m%de % decision:

“When life itself seems lun%tic, who knows where m%dness lies? Perh%ps to be too pr%ctic%l is m%dness. To
surrender dre%ms — this m%y be m%dness. Too much s%nity m%y be m%dness — %nd m%ddest of %ll: to see life
%s it is, %nd not %s it should be!”

In the most f%mous scene of %ll, the di%logue between S%ncho P%ns% %nd Don Quixote reve%ls the deliber%te
choice to see more in life th%n just the mere pr%ctic%lities of food provision %nd business:

"Wh%t gi%nts?" Asked S%ncho P%ns%.

"The ones you c%n see over there," %nswered his m%ster, "with the huge %rms, some of which %re very ne%rly two
le%gues long."
"Now look, your gr%ce," s%id S%ncho, "wh%t you see over there %ren't gi%nts, but windmills, %nd wh%t seems to be
%rms %re just their s%ils, th%t go %round in the wind %nd turn the millstone."
"Obviously," replied Don Quixote, "you don't know much %bout %dventures.”

If you only h%ve one life to live, why choose the boredom of re%lity when your mind c%n cre%te %n im%gin%ry
%dventure of gi%nt proportions?
Wh%t % wonderful m%tch they %re, the ide%list dre%mer %nd his re%list comp%nion, complementing e%ch other
perfectly while exploring the re%l world in the s%me w%y D%nte %nd Virgil complement %nd support e%ch otherʼs
thoughts while they explore the f%nt%stic fiction of Afterlife in the Divine Comedy.

To me there is more heroism in seeing % perfect horse in the l%me Rosin%nte, or % be%utiful wom%n in the ugly,
me%n Dulcine%, th%n there could ever be in the strongest superhero riding the most powerful horse %nd g%ining
the love of the most stunning l%dy. Th%t is % no-br%iner, while it requires deeper thinking skills to see the
%dventure %nd be%uty in %ver%ge, we%k, ugly life.

The moment Don Quixote turns ridiculous, %nd s%d %nd “quixotic” in my world, is the moment before de%th when
he renounces his ide%l in f%vour of the m%instre%m underst%nding of Christi%n “comme il f%ut”, bre%king S%ncho
P%ns%ʼs he%rt, who, in his own, re%list %nd pr%ctic%l w%y, underst%nds the worldʼs need for ch%r%cters like Don
Quixote.

The s%nity Don Quixote g%ins when he dict%tes his l%st test%ment is the c%pitul%tion of the tired, worn-out spirit.
He h%s %lre%dy stopped living.

Another of my f%vourite windmill-fighting ch%r%cters, Je%n B%rois, fores%w the we%kness of old %ge %nd wrote his
test%ment to the world %t the height of his intellectu%l power, thus h%unting the bigot winners of his dying body
%fterw%rds with his words of ide%listic power from the other side of the gr%ve.

And for %ll those who smile %t Don Quixote: it is much br%ver, %nd h%rder, to fight in%nim%te, mech%nised
windmills th%n fire-spitting dr%gons!

And: you h%ve to h%ve more th%n %n ounce of Don Quixote in you to try to review this book of superl%tives!