Paul DeSantis
Oliver Sacks' work is definitely worth reading, and I would highly recommend The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, but I don't know that The River of Consciousness is good without the additional context of its famous author.
This book is a collection of essays from the very of end of Sacks' life. It touches upon many different topics and summarizes a few aspects of his earlier work. He also discusses other famous psychologists and scientists and the difficulties of having a "legacy" as he he too has become a famous researcher.
I was interested in reading what Sacks had to say because I find his work interesting and think that he is a very thoughtful person, but I must admit that if my interest in Sacks hadn't kept me going, I likely would have DNF'd this book. It's difficult for me to recommend this to anyone who is unfamiliar with Oliver Sacks and I definitely would recommend his earlier works first. It's also worth noting that although many of these works were written at the end of Sacks' life, they are not particularly morbid or focused on death themselves, but "legacy" and "memory" are recurring themes.
Oliver Sacks' work is definitely worth reading, and I would highly recommend The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, but I don't know that The River of Consciousness is good without the additional context of its famous author.
This book is a collection of essays from the very of end of Sacks' life. It touches upon many different topics and summarizes a few aspects of his earlier work. He also discusses other famous psychologists and scientists and the difficulties of having a "legacy" as he he too has become a famous researcher.
I was interested in reading what Sacks had to say because I find his work interesting and think that he is a very thoughtful person, but I must admit that if my interest in Sacks hadn't kept me going, I likely would have DNF'd this book. It's difficult for me to recommend this to anyone who is unfamiliar with Oliver Sacks and I definitely would recommend his earlier works first. It's also worth noting that although many of these works were written at the end of Sacks' life, they are not particularly morbid or focused on death themselves, but "legacy" and "memory" are recurring themes.
The God of the Woods was a very enjoyable read. I got my copy from Book of the Month Club after seeing it was highly rated there, and I think it's worth the praise it's been getting.
It's a mystery novel at its core and it does a great job of presenting facts from a few different perspectives and encouraging you to solve the crime with the characters. There are definitely clues that end up being red herrings, but never in a way that feels disingenuous to the reader. I felt strongly about my own (incorrect) theory, but I was still very pleased with the conclusion.
It was a bit longer than what I am used to reading (at nearly 500 pages), but I was very engrossed and finished it over just a few days. Definitely would recommend!
The God of the Woods was a very enjoyable read. I got my copy from Book of the Month Club after seeing it was highly rated there, and I think it's worth the praise it's been getting.
It's a mystery novel at its core and it does a great job of presenting facts from a few different perspectives and encouraging you to solve the crime with the characters. There are definitely clues that end up being red herrings, but never in a way that feels disingenuous to the reader. I felt strongly about my own (incorrect) theory, but I was still very pleased with the conclusion.
It was a bit longer than what I am used to reading (at nearly 500 pages), but I was very engrossed and finished it over just a few days. Definitely would recommend!
Added to listOwnedwith 5 books.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow admittedly took me some time to get through. It packs a lot of feelings and ideas into one book, but it does a great job of making you feel connected to the characters. There were times where I hated the main characters, and sometimes that can be off-putting, but they are complex and they are not always acting their best. This is true for people in real life too, and there are points where I don't even like myself, but it can be hard to want to continue when you feel like the characters on the page are only making choices that destroy themselves.
Overall, I think the book is well written. There are points where I found some of the dialogue to be a bit cringey. I initially viewed this as being OK because the main characters are nerdy videogame developers, and of course they are going to make some cringey statements, but ultimately there are some points where I believe the author's cringe makes it through to the page.
I did appreciate that the subject was video game development and many of these aspects felt very accurate and informed. I was definitely immersed in the process of watching a new creative business form and grow with their success. People reading this book that are interested in games that aim to teach the player something new should look into "serious games," a bad name for a great genre where the intent of the game is more than just entertainment.
I do have to complain that there is a section of the book that takes place from the perspective of a player playing a farming simulator-esque game that is very immersion breaking. It's not realistic to how anyone could experience a game, and felt a bit more like a sequence where the main character was trapped inside of a video game, as opposed to just playing one. All of the other descriptions of playing games are very genuine and some of the ideas are great (I would love to play "Solution" and "Ichigo").
I must also say that including the sequence with the gunmen felt very cliche to me. It felt like an attempt to just shoehorn another issue into a book that is already filled to the brim with social commentary. I don't think there is a limit to how many different topics a book can cover, but I did feel emotionally drained after so many depressing sections.
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who has an interest the video game industry. If someone had no interest I worry they might find the video game discussions completely unrelatable.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow admittedly took me some time to get through. It packs a lot of feelings and ideas into one book, but it does a great job of making you feel connected to the characters. There were times where I hated the main characters, and sometimes that can be off-putting, but they are complex and they are not always acting their best. This is true for people in real life too, and there are points where I don't even like myself, but it can be hard to want to continue when you feel like the characters on the page are only making choices that destroy themselves.
Overall, I think the book is well written. There are points where I found some of the dialogue to be a bit cringey. I initially viewed this as being OK because the main characters are nerdy videogame developers, and of course they are going to make some cringey statements, but ultimately there are some points where I believe the author's cringe makes it through to the page.
I did appreciate that the subject was video game development and many of these aspects felt very accurate and informed. I was definitely immersed in the process of watching a new creative business form and grow with their success. People reading this book that are interested in games that aim to teach the player something new should look into "serious games," a bad name for a great genre where the intent of the game is more than just entertainment.
I do have to complain that there is a section of the book that takes place from the perspective of a player playing a farming simulator-esque game that is very immersion breaking. It's not realistic to how anyone could experience a game, and felt a bit more like a sequence where the main character was trapped inside of a video game, as opposed to just playing one. All of the other descriptions of playing games are very genuine and some of the ideas are great (I would love to play "Solution" and "Ichigo").
I must also say that including the sequence with the gunmen felt very cliche to me. It felt like an attempt to just shoehorn another issue into a book that is already filled to the brim with social commentary. I don't think there is a limit to how many different topics a book can cover, but I did feel emotionally drained after so many depressing sections.
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who has an interest the video game industry. If someone had no interest I worry they might find the video game discussions completely unrelatable.