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A review by bethgiven
Because I Said So! : The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids by Ken Jennings
2.0
I read this book because our family (especially my mom) are big Jeopardy! fans and we all loved watching Ken Jennings' winning streak on the show back in the day. So it's really hard for me to separate the author from the book in this case. And I've discovered something: as much as I enjoy Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!, I just don't enjoy his writing. I probably should have known that, as I tried to subscribe to his blog a few years back and gave up after a few weeks. He does have a gift -- he can make dull facts and research very readable -- but I just don't quite understand why he feels like he needs to throw the a-word in to make his point (or to make a joke). (For the record, all you "comedians" out there: I don't think anything with the a-word is funny. It just makes you sound like an eighth grader.)
All right, that said -- this wasn't all bad. Although I felt like there was a lot of his humor that fell flat, I did laugh out loud at a couple of lines. And there are some slightly interesting tidbits in here and it's the perfect book to pick up and put down (good for us moms, then!). The premise is simple: he takes several "myths" parents might tell their kids (though I really do think the "watermelons will grow in your stomach" one is more of a harmless tease!) and either debunks it or backs it up with what studies have actually shown, all in about a page or two. I think my favorite was the "Einstein failed math" quote that I've always kind of wondered about (the truth is that, not surprisingly, Einstein was a math genius who was years ahead on the subject and never failed it, and he was a hard worker, too -- so he got good grades even in subjects that didn't come naturally to him.)
I don't know if Jennings' overall aim -- to stop us parents from freaking out over every little thing our kids do -- really worked for me; I think I'm pretty laid-back over most of this stuff and so this actually gave me a few new things to worry about! (For example, that five-second rule is not true! I guess that's only REALLY dangerous if my floors are covered in e-coli or something. I am pretty sure they're not.)
I don't think I'd recommend that anyone read this one cover-to-cover, but you might enjoy picking it up and skimming through it. (Or you can just read this article -- you'll get the jist of the book without having to wait for it at the library.)
All right, that said -- this wasn't all bad. Although I felt like there was a lot of his humor that fell flat, I did laugh out loud at a couple of lines. And there are some slightly interesting tidbits in here and it's the perfect book to pick up and put down (good for us moms, then!). The premise is simple: he takes several "myths" parents might tell their kids (though I really do think the "watermelons will grow in your stomach" one is more of a harmless tease!) and either debunks it or backs it up with what studies have actually shown, all in about a page or two. I think my favorite was the "Einstein failed math" quote that I've always kind of wondered about (the truth is that, not surprisingly, Einstein was a math genius who was years ahead on the subject and never failed it, and he was a hard worker, too -- so he got good grades even in subjects that didn't come naturally to him.)
I don't know if Jennings' overall aim -- to stop us parents from freaking out over every little thing our kids do -- really worked for me; I think I'm pretty laid-back over most of this stuff and so this actually gave me a few new things to worry about! (For example, that five-second rule is not true! I guess that's only REALLY dangerous if my floors are covered in e-coli or something. I am pretty sure they're not.)
I don't think I'd recommend that anyone read this one cover-to-cover, but you might enjoy picking it up and skimming through it. (Or you can just read this article -- you'll get the jist of the book without having to wait for it at the library.)