Nikolai

Focused, is the first word that comes to mind thinking about the story presented here. This book has a lot to say and it doesn't use many words to say it. Definitely one I will revisit. Highly recommended.

Im sure there's some solid advice in here. A lot of the beginning chapters read like self-help cliches wrapped in a thin veneer of “if you feel good you're more charismatic”.

I do appreciate finally being able to notice why so many people in business feel like slimy sociopaths. Its because they read stuff like this and imitate it poorly, which makes them far less likable than just being a weird nerd.

I love this one. The French could replace their nuclear powerplants with Guy Debord, who must currently be breaking the sound barrier spinning in his grave. I can't deny that this books is almost gibberish at times and I won't pretend to understand all of it but what I do get is precious.

Parts of it definitely drag on with its incredibly pretentious, long winded characters but that does not stop the meat of the story from being engrossing and enjoyable. A classic for a reason and it 100% holds up.

Transparent embodiment of anger punches his way through Victorian England.

Not what I expected at all. Elaborate fight scenes aren't really what you would expect out of a science fiction classic about someone turning themselves invisible. Yet those are what I found most enjoyable about this book. The titular protagonist punches, shoves, kicks and strangles in all directions in multiple crowds and the ensuing chaos is described in a fun and enjoyable way.

The moral angle of someone being consumed by his work to the point of complete lunacy was also quite interesting but really the insane fighting was what made me like this book and it came completely out of left field.

Pretty enjoyable chronicle of Constantine's reign written by his hypeman. Thankfully its fairly short as it tends to drag on a bit. You can only hear about how pious and good Constantine was until it gets repetitive.

There are still a lot of interesting historical details however, which is why i would still recommend checking this out. The Roman empire's christianization is a fascinating subject and this is probably one of the best primary sources for it.

This felt like Tom Holland but slightly more academic. Fantastic narrative history with enough charm and humor to prevent it feeling dry. I also appreciate the author being very explicit about how much we actually know of certain events and what our sources for them are.

Would definitely recommend. Read “The World of Late Antiquity” by Peter Brown too if you want another great look at Roman collapse from the Eastern Empire's perspective.