Barry
A good perspective, but got too repetitive. Could have been half the length. Had a heavier, more strict tone than most Zen Buddhism books and teachers. Was overall less relatable to me.
The title could make this easy to mistake as a beginners book, which it isn't.
This book is trash.
I hoped to hear a different perspective, explaining concerns around multiculturalism. But this book is impossible to read.
It's continuously factually incorrect. There are some interesting facts here and there, but they're interspersed with complete nonsense. It's impossible to trust anything written given how many facts in this book are wrong.
It continuously exaggerates risks and picks on extreme examples, painting them as norms. Again, a lot of these examples are just straight up wrong—e.g. that detainees in Guantanamo Bay are treated like royalty.
It's terribly written, flitting all over the place from paragraph to paragraph. Rambling from one disconnected story to the next.
This book is fear mongering garbage. Seriously depressing that it has so many positive reviews.
3 stars for the authentic illustration of the challenges of Muslim integration in an English town, from the perspective of a white English football hooligan.
I started the book empathizing with some of Tommy's problems, I ended the book disappointed with the road he's chosen, his intolerant views, and the tactless way he's continuing to conduct himself.
Tommy holds all Muslims responsible for radical Islam and crimes, rather than only those engaging in criminal behavior. This intolerant viewpoint towards all Muslims escalates anger and division within his community, which he's seemingly oblivious to and takes no blame for.
He illustrates a number of valid problems and concerns in the book, but he has difficulty getting these points across as they're delegitimized by his overly-simplistic, hardcore Islamophobic worldviews.
Despite that, I still recommend this book. His writing style isn't great, it's very one-sided, he's frustratingly whiney, but it's authentic, and offers lots of first-hand insights into the causes of religious division in England and Europe.
I regret not stopping a few chapters in. Very unfocused and dry. A few useful nuggets of perspective here and there, but overall I didn't enjoy this.
This was better than I expected, a worthwhile read after Ender's game. The author really nailed it. Great new origin story around Bean, great new villain story thread, great additional perspective on the Enders Game story.
Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker of the Dead were all fantastic, each in their own way. I decided to stop reading Enderverse books at those 3, the main story is covered nicely, and I hear the other books aren't as good.
Upping to 5 stars.
I re-read this every couple of years and continue to get a lot of value.
I still dislike the name of the book... and some of the examples are a bit cringe... but the lessons on empathy and understanding the perspectives of others are invaluable.
Martin Freeman is incredible at reading the audiobooks of these. Legendary performance.
Enjoyed the last quarter. There was a big lull in the middle.
Lacked the pace of the first book, and the fun characters of the 2nd book. Good tho :)
I enjoyed this a little more than The Brothers Karamazov. Both were fantastic. There's so much depth to the characters, their relationships, and Raskolnikov's internal deliberations. Superb from start to finish.
The Wikipedia page for the book is an interesting read, especially the Background section describing how the book was written.
No rating as I listened to a 4 hour abridged version, so I feel like I didn't give it a fair shake.
Some great writing, but past the first quarter I didn't find the story captivating. Might come back and read the full version at some point.
Parable of the Talents is set in a dystopian 2035, where the US is governed by authoritarians, with Christian fundamentalists unrestrained and running wild.
What makes this 5 stars for me is the frightening, detailed, gritty portrayal of the future and how it came about due to politics and manipulation of religious beliefs. At times it hits eerily close to home with fears of where 2020 USA could go in the future.
I love Butler's imagination. Her writing feels so unfiltered, like she doesn't leave any dark thoughts out, regardless of how uncomfortable they might make the reader feel. It's a fantastic story, painting a vicious future world, but with a protagonist that gives you just enough hope and strength to get through it.
What the ** did I just read!? ... was how I felt after reading Bloodchild. It was so unexpectedly creepy and weird. I immediately went back and read it again—and it was even better the 2nd time.
I enjoyed all of the other stories too, particularly The Evening And The Morning And The Night, and Speech Sounds.
The 2 essays are amazing!! Positive Obsession was great for understanding Octavia's background. Furor Scribendi is wonderfully inspiring. Such fantastic advice not just for writers but anyone on how to approach work with passion and consistency.
Short, relatively simple, and to the point. Enough useful viewpoints in there for a top rating!
Hard to find someone who lives with their values on their sleeve more than Dave Grohl. 2nd half was fantastic as there were lots of stories about balancing his family life with his work. FRESH POTS!!
This was fantastic. A hyper-relevant read right now, during COVID and whilst trust in the US election system is under attack.
Buttigeg dives into why trust is so important across many different contexts: democracy, voting systems, COVID, climate change, and society in general. Great examples, great data points, pro-active suggestions for solutions, and super well written.
Surprised at the high quality of this given how fast it was published.
Such an enjoyable read, great stories, great sense of humor, great perspective.
Audiobook format is a must, his reading is quirky and delightful.
The first half of this book was particularly good. I thought the interviews captured the qualities that I hugely respect in Bourdain. I could see myself re-reading these for inspiration, and to remember him.
A little slow and biography-like in the 1st half, leading into an incredibly strong 2nd half providing a detailed view into American government surveillance, insight into how government systems operate (technically, socially, politically), and a gripping tale digging into the gritty details of how he actually extracted the information and executed on the leak. I doubt there's another read like this. Huge appreciation for the transparency of this book.
Would also recommend Snowden's 3-hour long Joe Rogan podcast, packed with interesting viewpoints.
The Dare To Want More and Work Life Jenga chapters were awesome.
This book is super accessible for new leaders or people interested in leadership.
The audiobook was fantastic—read by the author. Captivating and hilarious all the way. Can't think of a funnier book.