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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thoroughly enjoyed The Humans. It at once compels the reader to reflect on the oddities of the human species (many of which one would consider "normal"), while at the same time introducing a world outside our own to provide that perspective.
dark
funny
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this. Matt Haig is so good at so good at creating scenarios that make you think about the human condition.
Kudos to Matt Haig! What a quirky, funny, heart-warming book that will make you giggle, but also think. Who knew an "alien" could teach us so much about the imperfect but wonderful parts of being human? Definitely read the acknowledgements too. . .one of my favorite parts. I don't often reread books, but I think I will this one.
About 10% YA level ponderings on what it means to be human, and 90% wacky 80's romantic comedy. A light easy read, but probably won't remember it in a month.
Picked up this book while purposelessly wandering around Barnes & Noble after remembering seeing it recommended a few months ago. I think it found me at the exact right time, and I am already looking forward to a re-read.
"Advice for a human:
1. Shame is a shackle. Free yourself.
2. Don't worry about your abilities. You have the ability to love. That is enough.
3. Be nice to other people. At the universal level, they are you.
4. Technology won't save humankind. Humans will.
5. Laugh. It suits you.
6. Be curious. Question everything.
9. Sometimes, to be yourself you will have to forget yourself and become something else. Your character is not a fixed thing. You will sometimes have to move to keep up with it.
13. You shouldn't have been born. Your existence is as close to impossible as can be. To dismiss the impossible is to dismiss yourself.
14. Your life will have 25,000 days in it. Make sure you remember some of them.
22. Don't worry about being angry. Worry when being angry becomes impossible. Because then you have been consumed.
23. Happiness is not out there. It is in there.
24. Value the stuff you won't laugh at in five years. Like love. Or a good poem. Or a song. Or the sky.
25. There is only one genre in fiction. The genre is called 'book'.
29. If there is a sunset, stop and look at it. Knowledge is finite. Wonder is infinite.
30. Don't aim for perfection. Evolution, and life, only happen through mistakes.
38. Walt Whitman was right about at least one thing. You will contradict yourself. You are large. You contain multitudes.
39. No one is ever completely right about anything. Anywhere.
40. Everyone is a comedy. If people are laughing at you they just don't quite understand the joke that is themselves.
41. Your brain is open. Never let it be closed.
43. Everything matters.
46. A paradox. The things you don't need to live -- books, art, cinema, wine and so on -- are the things you need to live.
50. At some point, bad things are going to happen. Have someone to hold onto.
51. Alcohol in the evening is very enjoyable. Hangovers in the morning are very unpleasant. At some point you have to choose: evenings, or mornings.
52. If you are laughing, check that you don't really want to cry. And vice versa.
53. Don't ever be afraid of telling someone you love them. There are things wrong with your world, but an excess of love is not one.
60. Obey your head. Obey your heart. Obey your gut. In fact, obey everything except commands.
64. Be alive. That is your supreme duty to the world.
65. Don't think you know. Know you think.
66. Make sure, as often as possible, you are doing something you'd be happy to die doing.
67. War is the answer. To the wrong question.
73. No one will understand you. It is not, ultimately, that important. What is important is that you understand you.
74. The wish you have on your death-bed -- to have worked harder -- that is the smallest thing. Because it won't be there.
81. You can't find happiness looking for the meaning of life. Meaning is only the third most important thing. It comes after loving and being.
82. If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.
94. You don't have to be anything. Don't force it. Feel your way, and don't stop feeling your way until something fits. Maybe nothing will. Maybe you are a road, not a destination. That is fine. Be a road. But make sure it's one with something to look at out of the window.
95. Be kind to your mother. And try and make her happy.
96. You are a good human."
One of the best books I have ever read. That is all. A must-read for all humans 😭🤣💖🤗
1. Shame is a shackle. Free yourself.
2. Don't worry about your abilities. You have the ability to love. That is enough.
3. Be nice to other people. At the universal level, they are you.
4. Technology won't save humankind. Humans will.
5. Laugh. It suits you.
6. Be curious. Question everything.
9. Sometimes, to be yourself you will have to forget yourself and become something else. Your character is not a fixed thing. You will sometimes have to move to keep up with it.
13. You shouldn't have been born. Your existence is as close to impossible as can be. To dismiss the impossible is to dismiss yourself.
14. Your life will have 25,000 days in it. Make sure you remember some of them.
22. Don't worry about being angry. Worry when being angry becomes impossible. Because then you have been consumed.
23. Happiness is not out there. It is in there.
24. Value the stuff you won't laugh at in five years. Like love. Or a good poem. Or a song. Or the sky.
25. There is only one genre in fiction. The genre is called 'book'.
29. If there is a sunset, stop and look at it. Knowledge is finite. Wonder is infinite.
30. Don't aim for perfection. Evolution, and life, only happen through mistakes.
38. Walt Whitman was right about at least one thing. You will contradict yourself. You are large. You contain multitudes.
39. No one is ever completely right about anything. Anywhere.
40. Everyone is a comedy. If people are laughing at you they just don't quite understand the joke that is themselves.
41. Your brain is open. Never let it be closed.
43. Everything matters.
46. A paradox. The things you don't need to live -- books, art, cinema, wine and so on -- are the things you need to live.
50. At some point, bad things are going to happen. Have someone to hold onto.
51. Alcohol in the evening is very enjoyable. Hangovers in the morning are very unpleasant. At some point you have to choose: evenings, or mornings.
52. If you are laughing, check that you don't really want to cry. And vice versa.
53. Don't ever be afraid of telling someone you love them. There are things wrong with your world, but an excess of love is not one.
60. Obey your head. Obey your heart. Obey your gut. In fact, obey everything except commands.
64. Be alive. That is your supreme duty to the world.
65. Don't think you know. Know you think.
66. Make sure, as often as possible, you are doing something you'd be happy to die doing.
67. War is the answer. To the wrong question.
73. No one will understand you. It is not, ultimately, that important. What is important is that you understand you.
74. The wish you have on your death-bed -- to have worked harder -- that is the smallest thing. Because it won't be there.
81. You can't find happiness looking for the meaning of life. Meaning is only the third most important thing. It comes after loving and being.
82. If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.
94. You don't have to be anything. Don't force it. Feel your way, and don't stop feeling your way until something fits. Maybe nothing will. Maybe you are a road, not a destination. That is fine. Be a road. But make sure it's one with something to look at out of the window.
95. Be kind to your mother. And try and make her happy.
96. You are a good human."
One of the best books I have ever read. That is all. A must-read for all humans 😭🤣💖🤗