Ninett

So in depth. I would never have thought that salt was such an important catalyst for trade and the movement of people. I did find it hard going to read in some sections, because the writing can be very bland. The author takes no pains to make a series of facts into an engaging narrative.

Still, I liked learning about how closely intertwined human societies have always been with an innocuous mineral.

My mom was reading this on holiday, so I decided to get a copy myself and read along at the same time. I wonder what the intention of the publisher was for this book. The author is so self absorbed, so grandiose, so insufferably self-congratulatory that I am forced to think that the publication of this work is a joke played on the author by the publisher. The inner voice of this woman is vapid. She has no redeeming qualities. Her emotional life is sterile and pitiful.

It isn't a novel for entertainment purposes. This is the voice of a woman without knowledge of how her life may present to others - she has no ability to understand that this would come across as repulsive to non-psychopaths, and writes in a gloating tone of her inability to connect with anything. I suppose if I knew I was missing an essential piece in me, I'd try to make it look like a win, too.

Either way, I hated this woman. I felt some kind of primal, instinctual revulsion to this memoir. My mom said that all voices are worthy and we can't judge people for what they can't help, but I wouldn't want to be within a km radius of this lady either way. The idea that this novel serves as a window into the life of someone devoid of humanity, and this being an important window to peer in through, even for just a bit, is what kept me from giving it a 1 star rating.

I really loved this book when I first read it a long, long time ago. It was fresh, funny and unexpected. The absurdity really did it for me then. This re-read has been fun, but this time I've had to knock a star off (oroginally 1.5 stars, but then I didn't have the heart to go through with such a big downgrade), mostly because I realised there is no plot to speak of, things just happen randomly and for no particular reason. The story never evolves and the characters aren't fleshed out. This is more annoying now as am adult than it was when the world was a crazier place (in my teens).

Not a bad book! Great as an intro or reference for runners, especially in the latter half, in which the author gets into the technicalities of gait, cadence, and form.

My major gripe is that there are lots of theories on form that are put forth strongly, but with really only anecdotal evidence to back them up. In contrast, Lieberman's book about exercise (absolutely amazing book) backs every claim up with scientific publications, and the reader can draw their own conclusions.

I realise that not all sports writers can have a PhD in evolutionary physiology, but I do expect some level of rigor in the scientific aspects of the writing, otherwise I am likely to dismiss it as opinion (which I think it is in this case).

Still a good intro and still has some interesting thoughts and observations, and with it being a quick read, I do recommend it to beginner runners even if only for the inspiration and basic technical knowledge.

Hard to rate the middle book of a series separately from the others. This instalment was just as fast-paced and complex as the first. The story does not skip ahead much, and is a direct continuation of where the previous one left off, seamless. I love the intricacies of the political system and economy in Scalzi's universe. They leave a lot of room for plotting and scheming, lots of differing perspectives and motivations to emerge.

Really intersting and packed full of information. Well written, engaging science writing from an expert in his field. I really appreciated that he did not play the blame game, but outlined with empathy the situation that many people in the world are facing today.

He does not dole out unsolicited diet advice, he just writes down the scientific effects of ultra-processed foods on our biologies, with clear reasoning and evidence from published papers. He does go into the economics of the industry and the entertwining of the UPF industry with pharma and government, relationships which lead to higher profits and less regulation.

I found this to be an enlightening read, and have taken pains to change certain elements of my diet as a result. I think this is an important book at this point in our history.

I really enjoyed the clever ending for this series. I think Grayland becoming an AI in the end was a masterstroke, and I loved to see her enemies shamed and outdone. I am glad that the relationship that she had with Marce did not stop the author giving her a ruthless death.

The writing can be a bit filthy in more ways than one, which I don't always enjoy, but at least there is a realism there that reminds us that Scalzi writes about humans and not just about concepts and plot points.