Multiple Choice | 
so-soWhat a strange little book! The structure of the book is based on a multiple choice test that is used to get into Chilean Universities. It is hard to rate something this unique but it grew on me as I read it and I will probably remember it because of it's unique format.
pickThis absurdist take on the standardized test is sobering, hilarious, and incisive. I expected to appreciate it, but I really really enjoyed it too.
pickZambra packs a punch following a standardized test format while covering relationships, academics, politics, and Chilean life. Engaging, funny, sad, and absurd. Despite the style, I‘n not sure it‘ll stick with me... much like the info I crammed before an exam. But, it does inspire me to ask: After reading this write up, do you think I will:
A. Not read anything else by Zambra
B. Trade it
C. Read more by Zambra
D. C. The answer is always C.
Pop quiz! It‘s a very interesting read and though short, l feel like it‘s taking me a little while to read t because it really makes you think! :)
My shelves have precious little by #southamericanauthors on them, so here's an old photo of Murchie with Alejandro Zambra's excellent MULTIPLE CHOICE. #fallintobooks
pickThe most creative book I've read in quite some time. Funny, clever and quick read. 5 stars goes to the reading comprehension portion.
#AndItsAugust Day 15 - Two-Word Title
✏️The entire flash-fiction/poetry collection/whatever is told in a very experimental style - a standardized test. There's even a bubble sheet in the back for you to fill in your answers📝
The author based the structure on the Chilean Academic Aptitude Test, and looks at the absurdity of this kind of testing to demonstrate learning, and promoting compliance to governmental powers.
pickWhat a clever and interesting format. I also really connected to the content.
Read them in the order of the options. Amazing.
1) In a chair. I never read in bed.
2) Greek mythology
3) Average only. I'd go mad only reading one book a month.
4) Tv series
5)Adult fiction
This was fun @Kalalalatja !
This was posted by @Kalalalatja #bookishwouldyourather
And here are my answers 😎
1. Mostly paperbacks (more space within the bookshelf)
2. New reads
3. I also buy books (because my library wasn't really up to date with new releases )
4. You can find both variations on my bookshelf
5. Lotr
6. 500+
Who would also like to answer this? 🤗
pick#readathon lunch and my favorite book so far! Loved the unconventional formatting and raw emotion. Read this, y'all. Seriously.
so-soI enjoyed dipping in and out of this book and felt the premise was clever. I'm just not sure I interacted with the text in a meaningful or memorable way.
You read books that are much stranger than the books you would write if you wrote
pickLoved how the author used the standardized test format to make wry and touching points about politics, parenting, and relationships. A lot was packed into this 100 pages and I thoroughly enjoyed it. #litsyatoz #letterZ #translation #mmd #readharder #southamerican #lrcchallenge
pickA strange and interesting way to compose poetry, short stories, and political commentary. I enjoyed most of it. It was a bit like reliving the SATs, but not in a scary way.
#readharder #poetryintranslation #bookriot
On days off, I'm usually the first one up. I'll lay in bed or scroll through news on my phone before inevitably dosing off into slumber again. Today I decided to actually get out of bed and read. I had made a New Year's resolution to make more time to read, but a couple weeks in and I already unfortunately see myself falling wayward on that promise. With the help of Litsy and another app, I'll get to my goal! Second book of the year 👌🏼👆🏼
We were out of town for a few days. Had these waiting at the library when I came back.
pickI found this book fascinating. Structured based on the Chilean Academic Aptitude Test, parts of it read like poetry, and all of it is set, like the title says, in multiple choice.
At 101 pages it's a quick read, and aren't you intrigued by the format?
#notawhiteprotagonist
panI don't think I was the right reader for this. I just didn't get it.
pickOne of the most creative books of poetry & prose I've seen. Zambra, a Chilean author, has written a collection that explores family, love, & social commentary, particularly our lack of critical thinking in education & the mindless repetition we are forced to endure. Written in the format of the Chilean standard exam for college entrance, Zambra forces us to examine how we think & process our lives with multiple choice questions & sardonic wit. 📝
pick#6 #libfaves16 An experimental novel wrapped inside a test booklet. Themes of fathers, being a family man, and the Pinochet dictatorship are some of the themes. It becomes an examination of what you can add and take away as a writer. Does it mean the same thing or does that slight pivot alter it significantly?
pickPlayful & serious, restrictive and liberating. Miniature narratives & subversion of standardized testing. Experimental criticism of memorization as rote learning versus the real, human toll of history. A hybrid text that defies easy categorization.
pickReading at night is even more important these days. Who needs sleep? I've got books to read!
#allthebooks #thatswhatsheread #bookstagram #bookaholic #bookworm #bibliophile #2016readingchallenge #readhard #readharder #readingharderest #bibliomaniac #goodreads #booknerd #booknerds
#SeptPhotoChallenge Day 21 - Translated book
Translated from Spanish, this book is structured like a Chilean standardized test. There are even bubble sheets at the back for you to fill in your answers. Each question is a piece of flash fiction on topics like family, politics, death, and love - followed by four possible "answers". This is a bonkers book about language, Chilean society, and the country's educational practices. #somethingforsept
Read the review this morning. I am intrigued. Testing as political tool. Zambra grew up in chile under Pinochet. Book contains full in the blank and multiple choice sections. #tbr
pickAlejandro Zambra is a treasure. Wittiest multiple choice test I have ever read. What are your answers? I like B for both 🤓
Really interesting format for a book. Will definitely hit home for all the standarized test takers who spent more time learning how to fill in an answer bubble than how to think. #MultipleChoice #AlejandroZambra
pickThis is one of the most perfect and perfectly entertaining novels I have ever read. The structure of the novel mimics the standard Chilean college entrance exam, with five sections of increasingly complex multiple choice language exercises. The answers are a form of commentary on the text, and invite the reader to contemplate the story from multiple ironic perspectives. Clever and highly sophisticated entertainment--I just loved this one.
Every page of this book is pure delight: funny, sad, and surprising, all at once.
Alejandro Zambra blew me away at the Franklin Park Reading Series last night. My brain is still crackling a bit this morning.
