I loved the simple synopsis of every book broken down to just a few panels, sometimes even just one. They all still manage to capture the essence, and sometimes ridiculousness, of the book. Very simplified, yet astonishingly accurate. A very light, quick read for any book lover.

Ling story short is a clever concept but it's rather hit it mis. Some of the comics miss the point of the book its portraying entirely.

I love these comics! Why bother reading the whole thing, when you can have it summarized in just a few, hilarious panels? Lisa Brown's collection of comics feature shortened versions of literary classics (and a few contemporary books as well). Her illustrations are reminiscent of Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant comics - highly detailed, expressive and comedic without being fussy. And her shortened versions of the classics are spot-on. Yes, just because you're rich, doesn't mean you're happy, even if you DO have a ton of shirts.

Love it, want more please.

Long Story Short has a flirty, sarcastic bibliophilic devotion to the classic stories that are illustrated in its pages. Worth a perusal, definitely worth adding to a book lover’s collection.

This book is a collection of 3-panel, comic-style illustrations, giving the reader a glimpse into the plot of classic books. From the Bible to Emma to Slaughterhouse Five, readers can experience a humorous glance at a classic book. 100 books and/or poems (Edgar Allen Poe's work is showcased) are illustrated in this fun, quick-reading book. I would recommend this for young and old readers alike. Whether you know the classic books or not, you can enjoy the illustrations of the plots and characters.

Very fun book of three-panel comics for classic books. Some of these were quite funny, others just fun. Enjoyed this very much!

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This is a hilarious and accurate look at novels in only three paneled comic strips.

This is a quick and humorous read. It would make a good gift for a book lover. There isn't much too it, though, so I know my library's director will not add it to our collection.

To start off on a trivial note that I admittedly can’t let go of - due to the title, I originally expected that every single book was going to be summed up in only three panels. As a result, I was genuinely excited for all the creative ways Lisa Brown would take every book chosen for the collection and make it fit into this particular format. It wasn’t long however until I saw that the summarizations ranged anywhere from one or two panels to the size of a Sunday strip. Not that there is nothing wrong with having any variety here in comic sizes, but I feel this could definitely be titled a bit more accurately.

That being said, as a bibliophile I generally enjoyed reading all of these comical little summarizations of many of the great works of literature. Some were absolutely dead-on with the way they perfectly captured their subject works in only a mere few panels and choice words, and a few of these were so clever with their encapsulations earned a hearty out-loud laugh from me.

However, the quality wasn’t what I would call uniform. Not only did a lot of the comics take the obvious road with their summaries, but several did so in a way that seemed to miss the point of the book entirely. A particularly egregious example was how Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was reduced to a mere “Don’t eat meat” - and while this book did play a major role in helping put food regulation in the USA into place, the disgusting details of the meatpacking industry were just a small part of a book that focused on the lives of overworked and exploited immigrants.

So suffice to say, "Long Story Short" is not what I would consider a cheat sheet for the literary classics. But overall it is definitely a fun collection of micro-micro-reads that lovers of literature will particularly enjoy.

Interesting and at times laugh out loud summary of 100 classic books in short comic strip form (most in 3 panels or less). Enjoyment of the book depends heavily on knowledge of the source material but most readers will find titles or plots they know.

This book reminded me of another book of summaries, "The Holy Bible: Abridged Beyond the Point of Usefulness" (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/28549865), where each book of the Bible is summarized in a sentence or two. Maybe a paragraph.

This book takes complex novels and summaries them in a three panel comic. That's it. So simple, but entertaining. I laughed at some, disagreed with others, but liked the premise and execution.

I've read some of the books summarized, but not all... I don't feel like any of those are "spoiled", the summary is tongue-in-cheek for those books I know. The books I haven't still have the prose and nuance not present in the comic.


**I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.