Review of 'How to talk so kids will listen & listen so kids will talk' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
It is a collection of 6 basic concepts of interacting with kids (such as "encourage autonomy"), with 31 recommendations (such as "don't rush to answer questions"). At 322 pages you get more than 10 pages average per recommendation, which felt too much to me. The filler is mostly anecdotes, which are often insightful and do help a bit with drilling the reader on these disciplines. But I am not going to be able to remember 31 rules anyway. I have trouble remembering the 3 items I was supposed to get from the store, and that is when nobody is throwing a tantrum near me.
Do I like the ideas expressed in the book? Totally. I think nobody would read a parenting advice book that they did not agree with in the first place. This means there is a bit of preaching to the choir effect.
Did I enjoy reading the …
It is a collection of 6 basic concepts of interacting with kids (such as "encourage autonomy"), with 31 recommendations (such as "don't rush to answer questions"). At 322 pages you get more than 10 pages average per recommendation, which felt too much to me. The filler is mostly anecdotes, which are often insightful and do help a bit with drilling the reader on these disciplines. But I am not going to be able to remember 31 rules anyway. I have trouble remembering the 3 items I was supposed to get from the store, and that is when nobody is throwing a tantrum near me.
Do I like the ideas expressed in the book? Totally. I think nobody would read a parenting advice book that they did not agree with in the first place. This means there is a bit of preaching to the choir effect.
Did I enjoy reading the book? Because I liked the ideas, I like the book. But I read a ton of fiction. Fiction is just so much more enjoyable to read! Imagine a sci-fi novel in the same style as "How to Talk"! There is no structure to draw you in. No struggle, no sense of discovery. 0% show, 100% tell. Just a dry "data dump". Even the wording is much more bland.
I feel like non-fiction is ready for a revolution this way. One example that comes to mind is [b:Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby|463882|Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby|Why The Lucky Stiff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1174970667s/463882.jpg|450479]. A book about programming that competes with so many programming books successfully because of its antics. You turn each page wondering what could possible await you on the next page. (Disclaimer: I have not read it beyond the first few chapters due to a lack of interest in Ruby.) Also [b:Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality|10016013|Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality|Eliezer Yudkowsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1293582551s/10016013.jpg|14911331] which could be a dry philosophical treatise (and I think is based on one) but gets a thousandfold more interesting when presented as Harry Potter fan fiction.
