Jennifer

Get it in print, not audiobook, and hold your nose

Revisado: 04-02-25

The narator is too hard to understand. The problem is not his accent, but his poor articulation. Their are many names with complex pronunciations, and it's hard to keep track of them with a mumbuling narator.

This is a macabre, grotesque story from the second paragraph, which makes it a bad choice for reading on your lunch break or at bedtime. I dislike that it's full of description and short on action and diolog (what dialog there is isn't even in quotation marks or separated into paragraphs in the print verson.) To make the book more confusing, Enrigue vacillates between refering to characters by their first and last names. The author gives a list of the characters' names at the front of the book, which is a helpful reference for readers, but not listeners. Were a new author to submit this book to a publishing house, it would be rejected based on the first two pages. This is my book club book, and I'm holding my nose as I read it in print.

I'm not an expert on the history of they Mayans and Cortez, but I hope Enrigue is not exaggerating about the gross scenarios in this book. If he is, it's very unfair to the indigenous people of what is now Mexico City.

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Poor narrator and story is not much new

Revisado: 11-13-24

This narrator puts more emphasis on "said so-and-so," than the words the characters say! She barely alters her voice for the different characters. Who the heck thought she should narrate? She's almost as bad as an AI narrator. I forced myself to finish the book in the hope the story would be worth it, and it barely was.

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Performers make a mediocre book enjoyable

Revisado: 07-15-24

Wheaton and Perlman have great comedic skills. If I had read this book, I wouldn't have laughed at all. The performers make it a fun listen.

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Inadequate narration of a descent story

Revisado: 06-30-24

The story has an interesting premise, and Part 1 kept my attention. However, the narrator made the women in the book sound alike, like whining teenagers. I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it and imagined the characters' voices myself.

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Much better than I expected

Revisado: 01-13-23

I was worried that I would regret this purchase. I feared it would be a whine-fest or a retaliatory tabloid by a wealthy snob. I worried that it would be completely redundant to the Netflix documentary, or that The Guardian's preview of the book would be the only new information. Why would I spend money on such a book? Well, my worries were mostly unfounded.

First of all, I am glad to have heard at the end of the book that Harry is pledging much of the proceeds from it to charity, although the exact percentage is not specified. I learned that Meghan and Harry not only have no financial support from the British people, but King Charles has withdrawn his support. They have to pay millions for security each year on their own. Nevertheless, they do have a higher standard of living than I do, so I don't exactly feel sorry for them.

Secondly, Harry is mostly writing about his transformation from a conceited bad boy into a kind man with compassion and a commitment to serve those who are in need of love, respect, and support. Harry readily admits to having had poor character and being unaccustomed to thinking about the feelings of others in his youth. He owns up to his responsibility for dressing as a Nazi for Halloween at age 20 and expresses great remorse. His transformation mostly occurs as he serves in combat in Afghanistan, and multiple chapters are devoted to it. While Harry doesn't come out and say it, it's obvious that his father and brother lack such experiences and remain much like the young Harry, but with more entitlement and less sympathy for others. Yes, they were in the military but were never in the theater of war. Queen Elizabeth II sadly didn't get to pass on her good character to them because of her incredibly busy schedule. Some of William's behavior toward Harry leads me to view him as unfit to be king. Don't worry, William. Harry would never want to be the king or to usurp you.

Finally, Harry is unflinching in exposing the downright evil, racist, and dangerous tabloids. As an American, I wasn't aware that when Archie was born, one paper's front-page birth announcement showed a man and woman walking with a baby chimpanzee between them! Didn't Roseanne lose her TV show for something like that? Well, British people kept buying the paper, and businesses didn't pull their advertisements. Another example was when Harry, in an attempt to generate support for those with whom he served in Afghanistan, gave an interview with a reporter he thought had integrity and who agreed not to reveal details about Harry's location. The Royal Army insisted that the reporter not reveal Harry's location because he would be the Taliban's top target for assassination or kidnapping. Well, that reporter or someone he worked with leaked Harry's location, and the Taliban came in hot pursuit, putting everyone in Harry's unit in peril. Again, no consequences for the tabloids. No condemnation by the Royal Family. A third example is that the tabloids continued to hound a shy woman Harry had dated long after they stopped seeing each other. That poor woman took her own life because she couldn't handle the harassment anymore! I'm only giving a few examples. What will it take for the British to put a stop to these unconscionable tabloids? Cancel them! Diana should have taught them a life-altering lesson, but they just won't learn. I will do my part by not clicking on any stories by tabloids ever again, even ones that appear innocent at first.

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Fact + Belief = Wow!

Revisado: 11-30-22

I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but I'm so glad I listened to it. This story is not just about one man cracking. It's also about a subtle crime against the heritage of the native people who live above the Arctic circle. The author/narrator doesn't seek to complain or judge. He simply wants to understand a man who does something completely out of character. He feels called to tell a story in the tradition of his people and to give the story to his people, but he also tells the tale in a way that rivets all who listen.

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The performance is much better than the story

Revisado: 09-13-22

I've enjoyed multiple John Scalzi books, but this one is too predictable. It's a more comical version of Jurrasic Park, and it felt like Scalzi was following a basic formula for a novel. First, disrupt the protagonist's status quo and force them outside of their comfort zone. Second, introduce dangers in the environment, but get the protagonist to overcome them successfully. Third, introduce bad actors and even more daunting problems that the protagonist might not be able to survive. Fourth, have the protagonist figure out how to survive. Salzi normally doesn't let you see this scaffolding in his books, and I wonder if he had to rush to write this book to satisfy a contract with his publisher. I hope his next book is better.
As usual, Wil Wheaton has delivered an excellent performance. He is the only reason that I finished the book. He makes the most of Salzi's humor and brings the characters to life.

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Crucial visual information isn't in the pdf

Revisado: 09-13-22

This course fails as an audiobook. Game theory is a fascinating subject, and I'm sure Professor Corrigan is excellent. However, Professor Corrigan communicates essential information--mathematic computations-- visually, and the pdf just doesn't contain all of that visual information. Worse, the limited visual information in the pdf is often confusing and doesn't track to the lectures well. I'm good at math and could keep up with the first three chapters, but, after that, I just could not follow the math from Corrigan's voice alone. Save your money and get the class on video at the website for The Great Courses.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

An interesting research story, but with a flaw

Revisado: 08-28-22

I am a nerd who finds a story of how Harvard professors conducted a study of the attitudes of college students, faculty, and administrators. The book is structured much like a journal article with sections on methodology, results, discussion, and recommendations, but it reads like a story. If you are not a nerd, this book may not be your cup of tea. If you are a nerd, I would recommend this book because the authors make interesting discoveries. For example, students report mental health problems at a surprisingly high rate.
I have a criticism of one of the study's conclusions and will write to the authors about it. The authors are critical of students who come to college to get good jobs instead of to develop their intellects and improve their understanding of the world. They seem to believe that a liberal arts education should be the focus of all college students. They characterize career-oriented students as holding a "transactional model" instead of an intellectual development model. The authors found that many college administrators believe that the purpose of a college education is transactional, too.
The authors never try to put themselves in the shoes of students who are job-focused. They don't realize that, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, about a third of college students never graduate because they can't afford to pay for college. The authors appear oblivious to this reality. Real wages have dropped considerably in the past 30 years, but the cost of a college degree has risen considerably. Families have to make big financial sacrifices to send their kids to college today. Families make those sacrifices because they want their kids to have a jobs that pay well, and it's no wonder that their kids become narrowly focused on getting a good job after graduation. To these students, failure to secure a good job would mean that their families' sacrifices were for nothing. The authors should have dug deeper into the financial problems students face.
The authors should have made more balanced recommendations about transactional students. They seem to want colleges to convince students to abandon the transactional model, but the transactional model is not inconsistent with the intellectual development model. They should have recommended that colleges help students to integrate their career focus with a focus on intellectual development. Career-oriented students need to know that if they develop critical thinking skills and a more worldly perspective while in college, they will have a life-long career advantage.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Changed my understanding of my life

Revisado: 08-27-22

It's amazing how the authors conducted simple yet groundbreaking psychological research about how reminders of mortality cause us to behave. I was surprised that judges gave harsher sentences after being asked about what happens when they die. Also, people become more inclined to be prejudiced after being reminded of death. They've uncovered many other interesting ways that death reminders affect us. This book helps me to look back at my life and see how death reminders have affected my own decisions. It will help me to recognize when death reminders are affecting me and to make more rational. compassionate choices instead.

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