Newme

Difficult to know what to trust

Revisado: 01-05-21

Let me preface this by saying that I’m a woman, a liberal and a feminist. In no way am I opposed to the message that women can and should lead. However, I felt that this historical interpretation was driven by an overt agenda — namely, to show that the “feminine” style of rule (whatever that is) is more appropriate in times of crisis, and was recognized as such by the ancient Egyptians. Every fact presented supports that thesis; no counter-examples have been allowed or considered. This is not objective scholarship. Ok, there were women pharaohs in the second and twelfth (?) dynasties. What about in between? When crises occurred at other times, why were women not selected? This question challenges her thesis, so it is not addressed; it is passed over, ignored. Another point: the author asserts that women were valued as moderating influences, as consensus-builders; but what is the evidence that the ancient Egyptians—a culture so far removed from our own—viewed women in this way? She makes all these assertions without presenting any proof to back them up. I am left with distrust and confusion. How can I trust her interpretation of the facts? How can I even be sure that all the facts were considered?

I feel that feminism is best served by truth. Exaggerating or willfully misinterpreting women’s histories does as much harm as trivializing them. Honestly, I am surprised that National Geographic lent its name to this dubious work of scholarship.

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esto le resultó útil a 19 personas

A lot of junk here, folks -- be careful!

Revisado: 04-16-20

The author is making all sorts of assertions about fasting on no evidence. Fasting to prevent Alzheimers?!?! I'm in public health and NO studies support that assertion. In fact, toxicological experiments on mice suggests that fasting every other day may actually exacerbate certain Alzheimer's processes (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31931140). (Mice are a fair model for humans, which is why they're so often used in experiments.)

Also, the whole section of fasting and female fertility was just bizarre. Again, I went back and looked at the scientific literature, and found NO evidence of this.

Point is, if you want a science-based guide to fasting, this is not it. I recommend "Obesity Code" by Jason Fung, MD.

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Performance worth it!

Revisado: 04-03-20

Fabulous! Musings on the private lives of very public figures, by a woman who has seen it all. I don’t know how much is true and how much embellished, but I loved the performance. It was witty and poignant — I savored every word like a fine confection. Love love love! Audible Originals has really stepped up their game lately.

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esto le resultó útil a 26 personas

Short, sweet, interesting. More like this, please!

Revisado: 03-22-20

Loved this! He tackled pretty much all aspects of coffee—history, neurochemistry, role in our world, goods and bads. It was short — an essay more than a book — but the perfect length for the subject matter. Every sentence delivered. I was pretty hooked :). More like this, please!

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Dear Bill Bryson,

Revisado: 02-09-20

Please PLEASE stop reading your own books. Your enunciation is terrible, cringeworthy! I have to keep rewinding to understand what you’re saying. For the love of god, set your ego aside and let a pro do the reading for you. Do it for your readers. Or soon-to-be-ex-readers, if these narrations don’t improve.

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esto le resultó útil a 20 personas

Unnecessarily stokes racism, xenophobia

Revisado: 01-06-20

*****Spoiler alert***** It took me a long time to work out what exactly bothered me about this book. I was finally able to articulate the issue, and it is this: it is hard not to walk away from the plot with an anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant message. This novel details the brutal murder of a North African Muslim in France. It starts off well enough — by condemning violence against immigrants and ethnic minorities — but then veers into weird and unnecessary territory by making the Muslim murder victim a WWII Nazi collaborator, and his murderers righteous patriots who are ultimately applauded for their deed and allowed to get away with it. I was left scratching my head, wondering why the author felt the need to serve this up at such a time. It almost seemed like an apology for violent xenophobia. Basically, the message seemed to be: “Here we (white Europeans) are, worrying about these North Africans’ rights and trying to treat them fairly, and they turn out to be criminals. So if they’re murdered, well, the murderers are only doing their patriotic duty, aren’t they?” Way to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment. I don’t know what the author was trying to say, but the take-home message of this travesty is irresponsible at best, and at worst, an intentional attempt to tap into racist, xenophobic fears of the “other.” Wish I could give it zero stars.

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Lindy West is amazing.

Revisado: 12-25-19

If you’re a young person terrified by current events, this book is for you. It says everything that needs to be said, everything you have been feeling and didn’t know how to express. Lindy West’s writing rings loud and true, like a bell. Every point she made had me going, “Yes, YESSS! You tell them, sister!” And if you’re an “anti”-person —anti-feminist, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-black lives matter, anti-climate change, anti-healthcare, anti-union, or otherwise anti-sanity — then I challenge you to read this book. Go ahead. Do it. See if your views stand up to it. They won’t. (Though if you are all those things, you will not read this book, of course. You will choose to remain behind, in the dregs, while the rest of us evolve. And eventually, you will go the way of the Neanderthals. And not one of us will miss you.)

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Not what I expected

Revisado: 12-11-19

A light read on the experiences of the Metropolitan Museum’s Security chief. Not really about the history of art or art crime. More about his own experiences dealing with damaged art, stolen art, visiting heads of state, and other security concerns at the Met. Well enough in its way, but not what the title suggests it to be. It’s not a book I would listen to a second time.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Ridiculous from start to finish

Revisado: 10-31-19

***Spoiler alert*** Plot is ridiculous from start to finish. The central villain is a middle-aged doctoral advisor who poisons his student’s boyfriend to motivate her to return to her “research”. Yeah, ok. As a real-life PhD student, I had to laugh at this idiocy. Yes, even in a witchy story, human relationships and motivations must be plausible. Not here, folks. Nope. The only remotely believable parts of the book dealt with the Salem trials. The rest was a great big steaming pile of manure.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Awful, awful narration!

Revisado: 03-18-18

I’m halfway through the book, and may just call it quits. Story is ok, but I just can’t listen to another moment of this narrator!!! Her whiny, breathy reading makes Claire sound like a sultry, emotional mess. Then there French pronunciations. Dear God, if you’re going to pretend to speak French, GET THE BASICS RIGHT! That means, don’t mispronounce “Francoise,” which is a girl’s name, as “Francois,” a man’s name. Every time she called the female Degas bather “Francois”, I cringed. The story is weak enough without this narrator completely wrecking it.

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