Megasaurus

Telling It Like it Is

Revisado: 11-08-24

This is the first time that anyone has been able to bring a focus on the plight of the Palestinians into the mainstream discussion and break through the radio silence on the human rights violations they've endured for 75 years. The author's focus on apartheid, instead of genocide, makes this possible.

When a notable scholar and award-winning journalist who has (up to this publication anyhow) been the darling of liberal media institutions and individuals, points out the obvious apartheid state in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank and clearly and unequivocally states it as an absolute violation of human morality - well they had to listen and respond. And many chose to respond very unprofessionally and expose their bias. That response got my attention, and I imagine a great many other people's attention as well.

The author's trip to Palestine and the essay were obviously written before the terrorist attacks of October 7th and the subsequent genocide being currently perpetrated on the Palestinian people. For whatever reason Americans can't seem to be bothered that genocide is being executed with the help of our tax dollars ($10 million dollars of military aid is sent to Israel, a wealthy first world country, every. single. day.). But everyone knows Apartheid and racial segregation is wrong and demands attention and discussion when called out by someone with so much authenticity and credibility on the subject.

Coates' uses the author's power of bearing witness to absorb what he could of the Palestinian experience and relay it back to the American/Western population in terms we can easily identify and understand from our experiences and history as a nation. It's taken our nation over 200 years to begin to really wrestle with the horrors and injustices used to create inter-generational wealth for one population and inter-generational trauma for another - and it's easy enough to condemn what's past and shrug it off as not the responsibility of modern folks - But what is your response when it's happening now - in real time?

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One pill makes you smaller

Revisado: 07-20-24

This was a really enjoyable listen. I'd seen/listened to Johann Hari on dozens of podcasts promoting the book, and I'm always a little leery of purchasing highly promoted books like this, because generally, all the good bits are covered in the mass promotion tours the authors do.

Many of the highlights of the book were covered in those podcasts, but the book itself went into far more detail and humanized much of those experience in a more in-depth and profound way. And there was also a lot more that wasn't covered in the promotions for the book.

Hari has the skill to be the personal center of a non-fiction book like this and share intimate details of his lived human experience with a healthy balance of intimacy and self-deprecating sense of humor, which makes for a very pleasant reading experience.

The only flaw I can find is the book's tendency to exaggerate the possible unknown long term side effects and how disastrous this would be for people with eating disorders. In regards to eating disorders, the GLP-1 drugs have been used to treat people and reduce their food noise and obsession - not abused, but used.

There is a real click-bait tendency around these drugs to catastrophize, doomsay, and harshly judge people who take them. It's a psychological phenomena in and of itself that could be a book. And a lot of modern health, wellness, and fitness youtube, instagram, and tic tok self-appointed gurus face being put out-of-business by the new class of GLP-1 medication, not to mention how it will revolutionize the food industry when people no longer crave over-indulgence. Hari courts these types (especially in the pod casting promo tour) with some doubts or anecdotes of hesitancy - but they mostly seem forced, and it doesn't come across that he really has these doubts at all, but rather he is over-trying to find a counterpoint to what is, really, a practical solution for the gravest health challenge of our times.

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Guilty Pleasure

Revisado: 02-10-22

Alex White wrote the best Alien franchise book, Cold Forge, which is why I picked this up. DS9 was my favorite Trek by a mile and I've rewatched it several times, but I'd never ventured into the Star Trek book world - when you get into the weeds of a franchise to the point you're reading the books, you know they're not always top notch, and many are downright cringy - but there's something about some franchises that keep ya hooked,

White actually writes good, page-turning, highly readable books, that are coupled with that franchise world. He has a real love and understanding of the source material, and that is clear here. He writes about food in such scrumptious detail that you'll gain 10 pounds before the book is over - but his real skill is in rendering psychopath characters into understandable humans. He does not make the reader feel positively for the baddie or even root for them, like many lesser writers do - he just makes you understand them with their childish limitations, impulsive behavior, and temper tantrums. Through his lens, he makes them less archetype and more human, flawed, embarrassingly unconscious of their own faults and limitations. Which makes reading about them and accompanying them on a journey of hundreds of pagers, more tolerable.

Joran Dax's story line was vague enough to be ripe enough for this kind of post-show deep dive and it's a tender sweet spot before Worf and Jadzia pair off. White also takes the opportunity to address the Kurzon/Jadzia creepiness that was passed over blithely in the 90s show and examines it through a post-me-too lens that integrates the experience without brushing over its awkwardness.

Overall I found this to be a very pleasant diversion from reality and hope to see more of these from White. I'm impressed enough to pick up his solo trilogy next that has no movie/tv show tie in.

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Oh Lewis!

Revisado: 10-20-20

I really enjoyed this. It was British to the backbone and Frederick Davidson's narration was superb. I saw some reviewers complain about Davidson's narration. In the neutral narrator role, his accent and tone is the quintessential high class English, perfect enough to bring up class consciousness even in an American. I love his reading, to me it helps enhance the setting of Oxford, a college town and renown center of intellectual snobbery. However, it is important to note, when not in the narrator role, he performs each role to perfection and immerses the reader into a world of characters with flat accents, cockney accents, even an authentic welsh accent. I don't know how long the critics stuck with his narration. But I would urge any listener to give him a chance as it was one of the best performances I've heard in awhile, so much so I looked for and queued up other audio books by the narrator, simply on the strength and depth of his performance here in this offering.

Really late in the series, Morse is at the stage of alcoholism here where the alcohol circulates through his system with such regularity that he has to drink to feel sober enough to think and reason.

Soft-hearted and lonely, Morse falls in love at the drop of a hat, he can't give up cigarettes and booze, the only thing he can do with aplomb is solve murders - though this one throws him for a loop right up until the nearly the end.

One of the brilliant ways in which this series is written is how the reader, through Dexter's sublime narration and writing, sees everything Morse cannot--from the quotidian indignities of his daily life to who the murderer is--but the entertaining part is watching Morse put it together, piece by piece, catching up to what we, as the reader, already know, and then he goes beyond us to what we didn't see, into the deep humanity of the victim and murder. Morse, by reaction and feeling, explicates the tragedy and teases out the darkness into his welcoming arms

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Simply the Best

Revisado: 05-04-20

I've been reading, watching, and listening to adaptations of Jane Eyre since I was 15 years old (in 40s now) - and this is absolutely the best. I had given that laurel wreath to Juliet Stevenson's narration that came out a few years back, but Thandie Newton absolutely stole the show.

Jane Eyre is a story one can revisit again and again, I consider it a life-long companion whom I never tire of and am always joyful to return to. I enjoy new offers in film and audio renditions and seeing what the next generation of actors can bring to this timeless classic, but oh. my. stars. Thandie Newton knocked it out of the ballpark and the ball is hurtling into outer space - I simply don't see how anyone can improve on the performance.

I'll continue to watch and enjoy the next slew of adaptations, but this, like the Zeliah Clark/Timothy Dalton BBC film version will stand out as a supreme accomplishment.

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It's okay-meh-ish

Revisado: 05-04-20

I don't have high standards for Alien franchise books, every once in awhile I'm surprised when one is truly great, like The Cold Forge, this one however was just okay.

The premise of a world where a human colony crashed, was forgotten and reverts back to middle-age technology while fighting the Xenomorphs is a neat idea. There's a kernel of something unique in that could spark into life against the right characters.

But the characters in Phalanx are just awful, boring, predictable cardboard tropes, cartoonish in their limited confines, obnoxious in their self righteous morality, and worst of all - they're teenagers.

I love the franchise, warts and all, so I read/watch and appreciate all of these on some level. Under any circumstances I would have eventually listened to this, most likely would have waited for it at the library, or got it on a 2-for-1 or sale, but I was several weeks into pandemic isolation quarantine after the anxiety had faded but deep into the daze of days where the ability concentrate and make meaningful connections had evaporated and I found myself needing comfort foods, fleece, and non attention demanding entertainment. This seemed like the perfect choice - and it was adequate enough. If I found myself staring at the wall having lost the track of time and the thread of the story, there was no need to rewind or wonder if I'd missed anything important.

I'm undecided about Bronson Pinchot as a narrator and this offering left me sitting on the fence. His characterization of one of the teens was distinct, and very annoying, so much so I couldn't tell if he was overdoing it or if he was just that good of an actor to make me hate the character.

This is offering is only for a devotee of the franchise or a young adult - if you are fresh into your Alien journey, there are much better offerings out there to occupy you till you have to suffice on these dregs.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Recovering Nice Girl

Revisado: 09-13-14

Would you listen to Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office again? Why?

I would absolutely listen to this again because its chalked full of tips and advice that apply to so many different situations a woman finds herself in at work.

What other book might you compare Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office to and why?

I thought a lot about The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman when I listened to this. While that book explores the problems women face with confidence, this book shows you how to address and conquer those problems in the workplace.

What about Lois P. Frankel’s performance did you like?

Strong confident narration - It felt like getting a pep talk from a well respected, no-nonsense mentor.

Any additional comments?

I had an epiphany-like moment over and over again when Frankel points out that when people shame a woman for unladylike behavior, it's not because there is such a shameful thing as unladylike behavior, it's because it's the easiest and most effective means of getting whatever it is they want out of you.

Because we've been so conditioned to be pleasing to others, accusing a woman of behaving in an unpleasing manner is like an automatic shut off button that manipulative people use against us. Accusations and implications of this manner have no basis in reality, it's just a means of shutting us up and keeping us out.

I'd downloaded several other career advice audiobooks before this one, as I was looking for career advice because I'm a new grad starting my first corporate job. I found the other new grad career advice books rather trite and unhelpful. I was hesitant about this purchase because I wasn't worried about snagging the "corner office," so much as just getting started, but I am so glad I found this gem as I begin my journey through the corporate world.

I'm so impressed with the book I intend on buying copies for female friends as graduation presents. I also loved that Frankel recommends a plethora of other resources and career coaching books throughout. She is a generous author who never fails to cite and recommend her influences, a rare skill in a world of self-promotional and narcissistic branding.

This was one of my favorite audible experiences. Highly Recommended!

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Hit and Miss

Revisado: 09-03-14

What did you like best about FREE Recession Proof Graduate? What did you like least?

Solid advice on SEO tactics and the vital importance of owning your name and brand.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

There are hits and misses as far as advice goes. It's an interesting concept that would work well for some people in highly specialized situations, but the biggest miss is the overall tone of know-it-all world weary superiority. I never felt like the author was sharing advice to help others along, but more like he was bragging and that coupled with the frequent put-downs of young people just left me feeling pretty chilly toward the book, even when the ideas were interesting.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator sounds like such a d o u. . . not nice guy. I didn't like his smug superior tone. The narration had me grimacing and making faces at my speaker. LOL!

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Best Audiobook I've Ever Listened To

Revisado: 07-05-14

Any additional comments?

I'm nearing graduation and after four years at a hum-drum state university, I can testify that I've never once sat in a classroom with a professor of this caliber. Mathewes is no bureaucrat with tenure going through the motions till retirement, he's a genuine and contagiously engaged scholar. He knows how to lecture and hold a student's interest. He never goes off on irrelevant tangents or gets bogged down in technical minutia. Each lecture is painstakingly researched and meticulously prepared to be intellectually and emotionally provoking.

His thorough knowledge of history, literacy and philosophy make him a veritable well-spring of experience and wisdom. The topic itself resists easy answers and Mathewes never offers any. He acts as a medium between Western civilization's greatest philosophers on evil and his audience. He distills their wisdom into terms readily available and digestible to the modern listener --with or without any background in these disciplines. Evil is every person's concern and Mathewes makes sure his lectures are accessible to every person who confronts evil in their life, but for all that, he never talks down to the reader, nor does he over-simplify things in a way that alienates those with some grounding in this subject.

I agree with another reviewer that the series gets off to a slow start, but after a few lectures Mathewes hits his stride and the series really takes off. This is quite simply the most pleasant and intellectually engaging audio book from audible I've ever downloaded. The material and depth of the lectures is dense enough to warrant a re-listen, especially after I acquaint myself more with the many texts and authors he references throughout the lecture series. Which was another great part of this series. Mathewes doesn't confine himself to classical philosophers and religious authorities, but branches into perspectives on evil through great works of literature in fiction, poetry, and our modern take on the subject post-holocaust and post 911. Whatever expectations I had when I purchased this audio book were met and exceeded. This lecture series is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in a genuine exploration of evil in the human condition.

Highly Recommended!

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Stop Ruminating and Give it a Listen

Revisado: 06-23-14

Any additional comments?

I read the teaser article about this book in The Atlantic and was intrigued enough to read the actual book. I'm not a self-help or trendy non-fiction reader, so this book was quite the departure for me. However, the thesis presented in the article in the The Atlantic really resonated with me.

As an adult whose returned to college, I often find myself appalled at the lack of confidence and agency in the young women I take classes with. Often, in many settings from school to work I find myself as the only outspoken woman in a group, and even then, I know how much confidence I lack in comparison to my male colleagues.

I interned at a literary journal and while 70 to 80 percent of the classes, workshops and conferences for creative writing I attend are populated by women, strangely those numbers flip when it comes to who is submitting work to magazines and journals. It's strange that while the majority of writing students are female, an overwhelming majority of those who submit stories are male. It's something I've always found puzzling and concerning. But after reading this book it seems to me that a business, like writing, that involves monumental amounts of rejection, is something women in our society have not been trained to accept.

One of the main ideas in the book is that women are not given the same opportunities as men to fail and fail often enough to become well-practiced in failure, and thus when encountering failure in the real world for the first time as adults, we shrink back and learn we can't fail if we don't try. Which becomes learned helplessness. Women learn to only go for sure-bets and keep reinforcing their lack of confidence by avoiding failure. The book posits that failure, and lots of it, is a necessary building block of confidence.

I wish a lot attitudes and ideas in this book were not true. It was disheartening to realize how much we as women tend to work against ourselves and our success in order to be considered "good girls." There are three things I will take away from this book and internalize for life. Fail harder, stop ruminating, and own my success - I will never again credit luck for what I have achieved.

There are no great epiphany "ah-ha!" moments here, but rather confirmation backed up by scientific studies on why we, as women, lag behind once we leave the sheltered world of school to the business environment. But the book is quick to note, as well, that it's not as easy as Leaning In, because self-assertive women at work are labeled as aggressive bitches. And for this, the book has no solutions, save some very wide platitudes about blending male and female qualities to succeed in the workplace. And that is a very nuanced process that would probably take up another book.

Great read if you have a daughter, work with girls, or if you're doing everything right, but not getting ahead at work and can't figure out why.

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