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rcssndra's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
a very enjoyable read! pretty approachable and entertaining to learn these tidbits about art and artists.
timotheerry's review
2.5
the few beginning essays, in my opinion, don’t really fall under the “slightly odd” or “strangely wonderful” umbrella, rather just musings of certain artists that dasal found interesting.
the real downside is that she would reference artworks, suggest the reader to “google it,” causing me to go into an internet deep dive scavenging for this work she is referencing.
shanaconda's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
The stories were interesting, but I had one major gripe with the audiobook narration: the author says 1906 as "nineteen six." She does it with every XX0X date: 1607? Nope, sixteen-seven. Years after 2000 were pronounced correctly instead of, say, twenty-eight for 2008, so I guess that's good? She has a podcast so I imagine she also does it there, but good gracious is it distracting.
I also would've liked more robust research. I know that each story was only one small section of the book overall, but the research was very podcast-y.
I also would've liked more robust research. I know that each story was only one small section of the book overall, but the research was very podcast-y.
lauralauralaura's review against another edition
4.0
I am in pursuit of non-fiction books to read before bed; I long for something that hits the sweet spot between "doesn't catch my attention" and "keeps me up past my bedtime." This was a solid entry, with bite size stories about art history (especially misconceptions from art history) that are thematically unrelated enough that I could turn off my lights between chapters.
doloresofcourse's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I enjoyed this. A chatty historical discussion of the shady pasts of famous paintings. My favorites chapters were Walter Sickert, Mona Lisa, Van Gogh and Salvator Mundi.
bookstalgic's review
3.0
3.5 stars
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book and liked the writing a lot. The author had a great sense of humor. My only complaint was the pacing. I kind of felt like it was a bit of information overload in some of the chapters, especially in the middle of the book. I really enjoyed the first third, got a bit impatient during the second third but then enjoyed it again for the last third of the book. I really learned a lot from this and I enjoyed googling the images to take a closer look at each painting that she was talking about. I’ll definitely be keeping this book and looking back through the chapters from time to time because (to be totally honest) I was getting so impatient that I sort of skimmed the last 50 page or so just so I could finish reading it because I was reading it for a book club. :-)
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book and liked the writing a lot. The author had a great sense of humor. My only complaint was the pacing. I kind of felt like it was a bit of information overload in some of the chapters, especially in the middle of the book. I really enjoyed the first third, got a bit impatient during the second third but then enjoyed it again for the last third of the book. I really learned a lot from this and I enjoyed googling the images to take a closer look at each painting that she was talking about. I’ll definitely be keeping this book and looking back through the chapters from time to time because (to be totally honest) I was getting so impatient that I sort of skimmed the last 50 page or so just so I could finish reading it because I was reading it for a book club. :-)