I have always wondered why do some people start their reviews with a whole paragraph summarizing the book? When I'm going through reviews, I have already read the official summary so I don't need to read ten other versions of it. Is it only because people copy-paste what they wrote on their blog where there is no initial context for the book? Wouldn't it make sense to remove this part where you're posting on any book review sites? I just struggle to understand (note that I ask this question purely by curiosity, no judgment for people who do that! 🫣)

I'm asking this purely out of curiosity. I tend to look up reviews after I've finished a book already because I want to know what other people think of it. I RARELY look up reviews beforehand; I don't want them to influence my impression of a book, since I know tastes are subjective. The only exception to this is monthly roundups people do of their reading, where they share little reviews of what they read throughout the month, but I think that's different since I'm not going out of my way to look up reviews of a specific book.

I'm interested in hearing why you read reviews!

“Picture a mother and a baby as two magnets. If you hold them far apart, there’s no tension between them. When food comes from a bottle that anyone can give, the mother could be in Tuscany and her baby in Taiwan at feeding time, and there’s isn’t a physical or hormonal connection pulling them toward each other.

Snap the magnets together and there’s no tension between them either. That’s the pattern of the breastfeeding mother and baby as it has happened for eons. The baby is in his happiest place—on his mother’s body, or in her arms, or by her side. Nursing happens on a whim—hers or his. Their hormones rise and fall in synchrony, the milk constantly adjusts to the baby’s needs, and she always knows how her baby is doing because he’s right there. Usually he’s doing well … because she’s right there.

Now hold the magnets close together but don’t let them touch, and you’ll feel the tension of Western-style breastfeeding: ‘Breastfeed your baby … but not too often (you don’t want your baby to use food for comfort or use you as a pacifier).’ ‘Hold your baby … but not too much (he needs to learn independence and you don’t want to be manipulated by him).’ ‘Keep your baby close at night … but not too close (you’re a danger to him at night).’ ‘Feed him until he’s full … but take him off if he starts to fall asleep (he needs to learn to self-comfort).’ This is mothering at its very hardest. It’s adversarial and confusing to both of you. But it’s where many of us begin when we’re told that responsible parents have to fight their own and their child’s instincts.”

This!!! Is exactly what I’ve been intuitively thinking and feeling since becoming a mom, but all those Western cultural guidances and norms have been muddling up my brain. I’m SO glad to have come across a book that confirms what my heart tells me is best for me and my baby, and actually has the science and data to back it up. If you’re a parent or ever want to be one, please read this book!!