Brian P.

Really entertaining story and excellent narration!

Revisado: 01-27-25

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this story! Fischer seems like someone I’d love to know in real life. The narration is superb—I think could set my text alert tone to Miller saying “He nodded.” with his mellifluous Aussie accent, and never get tired of it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excellent book

Revisado: 07-08-24

Much-needed insight into an equally needed reorientation of the story we tell ourselves as a society regarding the role and expectations for boys and men.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting and informative

Revisado: 04-08-24

While there are things lost listening vs reading and seeing the graphs and equations, this was still a worthwhile listen. The history and practical applications are super cool and gives me a new appreciation for calculus as well as how far we’ve come and what lies ahead with its application.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excellent memoir, and hearing the music is a huge plus

Revisado: 06-13-23

I really enjoyed this! Jeremy Denk’s prosaic ability to blend this detailed, humorous, and at times moving overview of his life story with his intimate familiarity with music (theory, composition, history, etc.) , the way he interprets and tells the “stories” of different pieces, make for a great memoir. Add in getting to hear many of the pieces about which he’s talking, and you have an excellent audiobook. I’ve already recommended it to my piano teacher, haha

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Interesting anecdotes but not his most enthralling work

Revisado: 05-17-23

I enjoyed learning about Sapolsky’s experiences observing baboons, and his excursions in Kenya and nearby countries. I definitely learned some interesting things, but I personally had some trouble getting really sucked into the book. Each chapter is usually it’s own anecdote, and while the overall storyline is fairly linear, they often feel a little disjointed. This feeling is probably partly due just to the clipped writing style frequently used for the diegesis within a chapter. And while I’m definitely no prude—I love Stephen King, for example, and do enjoy Sapolsky’s wry, discerning humor—I occasionally found the descriptors unnecessarily uncouth or even a bit sophomoric, or at times forced, in a halfhearted attempt to add narrative flavor. Like I said, I definitely learned some interesting information, but I was personally probably expecting a bit too much. It was still worth the read though.

Lastly, but unsurprisingly, the narrator botched a few medical words, but c’est la vie when you have a science/technical book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great book, narration is lacking

Revisado: 03-03-23

My only gripe is with the narration. Aside from mispronouncing a few words, the the narrator delivers many lines with just the completely wrong tone or inflections. It’s obvious the sentences weren’t read ahead to know how to put the right emotion behind it, which made it frustrating to listen to at times.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Very informative and evenhanded

Revisado: 05-10-22

Very informative lectures without bias. You can tell Ehrman has a deep respect and interest in the Bible and it’s history.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Very interesting and informative

Revisado: 05-06-22

I learned a lot from this course, and think the professor did a great job in covering the material and tying everything together.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Good info on Zen Buddhism, beware the grifter

Revisado: 10-19-21

I enjoyed and learned something from the first 3 or 4 episodes (skipping through the chanting and zazen sessions because I wasn’t looking to actively participate). The audio is descent considering it’s a recorded lecture series during a retreat. However, I decided to skip ahead to the Q&A episodes and couldn’t help but immediately lose confidence in Om Swami when I heard him purport that occasionally, to some (but importantly not all) dedicated followers in need, Swami will, upon his own volition, enter the dreams of those followers and offer advice to help them achieve the breakthrough they’re seeking. It’s a shame because I’ve recently been really digging into Buddhism and establishing my own lay practice, and I was enjoying this podcast and how much it jived with what I’ve learned so far. But if Swami is going around convincing followers he can enter their dreams if he chooses and if they’re dedicated enough, I can’t help but suspect a rat. To be honest, this feeling/suspicion started in the episode about proper seated meditation posture. I’ve read the 12 points before, and all that was fine. But then he started telling about how, before leaving on a 2 month trip, he gave a monk a koan on which to meditate, and GUARANTEED a breakthrough within like 4-6 weeks. When Swami returned, the breakthrough hadn’t happened. Swami was incredulous, and immediately figured the problem, of course, lay with the monk. After all (in contrast to the Buddha’s advice to use what works for you and dismiss what doesn’t) if it worked for Swami it should work for everyone. So he nitpicked the monk’s seated meditation posture, and found a tiny positional error. The monk left, and within like 24 hours reported he’d had the breakthrough—the sense of his body dissolving into a million pieces (sounds like a solid white lie to get out of some homework to me). To be fair, I haven’t studied the stricter sects of Buddhism, and I feel like Swami may lean toward or come from that lineage, but I also sense some pernicious ego at work. I may be wrong, and apologize if I am, but I still call bulls#*t on entering people’s dreams, and therefore, I’m out. I highly recommend Thich Nhat Hanh and anything from Plum Village for a better introduction to Zen Buddhism. Thay doesn’t claim to be semi-omnipotent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Good info on Zen Buddhism, beware the grifter

Revisado: 10-19-21

I enjoyed and learned something from the first 3 or 4 episodes (skipping through the chanting and zazen sessions because I wasn’t looking to actively participate). The audio is descent considering it’s a recorded lecture series during a retreat. However, I decided to skip ahead to the Q&A episodes and couldn’t help but immediately lose confidence in Om Swami when I heard him purport that occasionally, to some (but importantly not all) dedicated followers in need, Swami will, upon his own volition, enter the dreams of those followers and offer advice to help them achieve the breakthrough they’re seeking. It’s a shame because I’ve recently been really digging into Buddhism and establishing my own lay practice, and I was enjoying this podcast and how much it jived with what I’ve learned so far. But if Swami is going around convincing followers he can enter their dreams if he chooses and if they’re dedicated enough, I can’t help but suspect a rat. To be honest, this feeling/suspicion started in the episode about proper seated meditation posture. I’ve read the 12 points before, and all that was fine. But then he started telling about how, before leaving on a 2 month trip, he gave a monk a koan on which to meditate, and GUARANTEED a breakthrough within like 4-6 weeks. When Swami returned, the breakthrough hadn’t happened. Swami was incredulous, and immediately figured the problem, of course, lay with the monk. After all (in contrast to the Buddha’s advice to use what works for you and dismiss what doesn’t) if it worked for Swami it should work for everyone. So he nitpicked the monk’s seated meditation posture, and found a tiny positional error. The monk left, and within like 24 hours reported he’d had the breakthrough—the sense of his body dissolving into a million pieces (sounds like a solid white lie to get out of some homework to me). To be fair, I haven’t studied the stricter sects of Buddhism, and I feel like Swami may lean toward or come from that lineage, but I also sense some pernicious ego at work. I may be wrong, and apologize if I am, but I still call bulls#*t on entering people’s dreams, and therefore, I’m out. I highly recommend Thich Nhat Hanh and anything from Plum Village for a better introduction to Zen Buddhism. Thay doesn’t claim to be semi-omnipotent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña