Guttzs

Not his best work, but still excellent

Revisado: 04-21-25

This is a story of three types of plants and their history, how they affect us individually and as a culture, both in a modern and historical content. Of course, this is also a sorry of the author's personal experiences with each type of plant. I really found the first two segments very engrossing. The third was somewhat stimied by COVID but still made for an intriguing read overall. I've read several books from this author, so while not my favorite of his pieces, this one was still excellent. Really loved how the author took his old experiences with the first plant and incorporated it into the narrative. Also, I didn't know someone could have caffeine withdrawal as badly as he did...

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A Genuinely Fantastic Listen To

Revisado: 02-14-25

Grew up watching AB on food Network. LOVE GOOD EATS. Much of the basis of my own cooking knowledge started with AB and his unique take on the kitchen overall. This audiobook seems like an opportunity to just sit down and pick the brain (about anything) of an individual who had such an influence on me. All the essays in this book are just a gem to listen to, They're varied in topics and atmosphere, and they all provide a window into the mind of the author. AB does a fantastic job narrating - still love his style to this day.

My big litmus test for an audiobook to be good is if I'm engaged while doing other things (I often listen while working on my farm or driving). At NO POINT did my mind wander the entire time I listened. A rare feat indeed.

Alton - thank you so much for sharing.

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Not his best work, but still extremely insightful

Revisado: 10-08-24

If you've listened to Malcolm Gladwell, you know what to expect. Gladwell takes otherwise general or mundane concepts and provides a differing viewpoint that utterly turns the concepts in their head. I'm still reeling from this one so you'll forgive me if I can't give a synopsis that isn't better than the one offered by Audible. While some elements of the book seem a bit disconnected from the central theme, it could be I simply need a relisten, of which I will be doing soon. Very good listen overall. I look forward to Gladwell's next work, whatever the topic may be

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Would have been better as a short story.

Revisado: 01-24-24

The title of the review says it all. If you've read King, you know he's often long in the tooth and sometimes for stunning effect. This book is not the case. I understand that King is building up to a climax (and honestly one of his best in recent years) but this book could have been heavily edited, thus keeping my interest more consistently. As it stands, I ended up asking more than a few times "is this going anywhere?" throughout the book.

Now for the good bits: the use of Lovecraftian themes is subtle and wonderfully done. there's a secene (HP fans will know what I'm talking about) that seems to be taken straight out of the best of Lovecraft's writing. King expertly captured what good Lovecraft writing looks like: it's not big cosmic horrors eating the world (although this is great too) but instead that artistry of HP's that coveys nuanced psychological terror of cosmic horrors. I listened to that scene multiple times, just to suck it in.

Second compliment I must give (that I hinted at before) is the ending. It's drawn out in true King fashion but very, very well done. It ties a lot of the story up well and leaves the reader with a genuine sensation of unease. I loved it. So it's for these reasons I'd recommend the book at all, even if 2/3rds of the book is pointless.

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Disjointed lesson format and divergent topics

Revisado: 02-20-23

I tried to like this course more than I realized I do, but I like it more than dissenting opinions would have me want. My biggest issue is the formating of the classes: they are flimsy in structure, don't flow as much as I would have liked, and the instructor goes on tangents somewhat often. The random tidbits of info you get from these tangents are usually interesting, but often provide little weight to the topic at hand. Additionally, what information that is pertinent to the topic tends to be a bit common sense. I can see this as being an introduction class perhaps better utilized with younger audiences. The plus side is that while information provided is a bit introductory, the instructor does a good job at externalizing why we should use the information provided. in other words, it's not just "here's how to get along with others" but "here's why you might want to get along with others". This subtle reinforcement helped a good deal when I began to question the continued benefits to listening to the course. plus, at the time of listening, it was free and only 4ish hours. So all in all, a potentially decent and cheap way to spend your time.

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The equivelent of listening to an FPS

Revisado: 07-12-22

First off, let me premise this by saying I understand why this book exists. I also knew going in that it was going to be fair at best. This book is kinda like having to stomach through a boring episode of your favorite TV show. You need to know the progression of the story-line, so you stomach the boring bits. That being said, let's get on with it.

This book is the boring bit in an otherwise pretty good sci-fi series. This book is Halo, literally; the original game from the Xbox in written format. The game was groundbreaking for it's time, but not because it had an excellent story-line. As a matter of fact, this book proves that not a whole lot occurs in the original game other than a lot of fighting, because not a lot happens in this book as well, apart from lots of battles. Boring, repetitive battles. This may be only a personal opinion, but I can't imagine a lot of people enjoy reading a fight scene. Apart from the battles, the story is incredibly straight forward, and could probably be summated in a decent 30 minute audiobook (just goes to show how much fighting filler there are in the pages). Still, credit given where credit is due - the book is clearly written and easy to follow. There are even sporadic moving scenes where you care about the Marines in the story. This is all due to the quality writing stile of the author. So given the uphill battle the writer had with the source material, this book could have been worse.

All in all, this book is cannon to the Halo franchise and if you're a die-hard halo fan, you'll read this book. However, if you're not a die-hard fan and if you can tolerate skipping this book and going to the next in the series, that may simply be the best choice.

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exceptional

Revisado: 05-27-21

I won't go into much detail here; many reviewers have surely summed up this piece more eloquent than I could ever hope to do. All I will say is that this book is so poignant and relatable to today's socio-political climate. It asks questions no one is asking and even going so far as to answer those questions. it's for this reason and others that I absolutely loved this audiobook and found myself holding back tears by the end. Thank you to Malcolm and team for this.

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Some good info, but terribly written and narrated

Revisado: 04-30-21

the title of this review says it all. There are pockets of good info here, but the book reads as if written by a fourth grader. The info is not presented in a orderly manner, the grammar is crap, and the chapters are redundant. Additionally the narrator is just awful. really wish I deep dove into the reviews before just purchasing this otherwise I would have given this one a miss.

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All Things HPL

Revisado: 03-18-21

What can I say other than this audio book is worth it's weight in gold. You get all of HPL's works in one listen. Awesome. Even better, you get narrators that are so versed in the lit that they bring such depth of emotion and nuance to the spoken word that will very likely not be matched if you were to read this yourself. Truly, this shows the complete world HPL envisioned in his works and the narrators bring it to life in a way most of us could only dream of. Such a joy to listen to. Thank you.

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Very informative but with some additional caveats

Revisado: 03-18-21

First off, I'm incredibly impressed with the author's dedication to detail on all things fungi. This book goes over many broad topics related to mycology with a surprisingly technical, fined tooth comb: the science, the politics, the economies, the social aspects, and more. My only critique is that when it comes to the social aspects of more mycology movements, it does seem that the author seems to go on tangents on some (not all) social justice causes that have emerged in the modern mycology world. In today's polarizing climate (at least in The States) I can understand the urge to discuss these, and I respect the attempt. It's just that when the author does, I can't help but perceive this book diverging from an informational or non-biased dialogue to a somewhat biased one. Of course, this observation is ultimately an individual one and thus the responsibility of each reader (or listener) to determine. still, for myself there were two chapters that I had to fast forward through because I simply didn't believe them to be of any informational worth. however, I don't want to end my review on a critical note. overall, I'm very glad I bought this and listened. I've been stooped in the world of fungi for a bit over 6 years now and yet I learned a lot from this book and I'm deeply appreciative. I hope the author continues to publish more work. 4.5 out of 5.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas