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bibos's review against another edition
3.0
Things I liked:
Great idea for a book, very realistic and something that is not that hard to imagine happen
A little surprising ending
Wonderfully shown how the right words could affect so many people and make them think that something horrible is in fact amazing and benefiting everyone
Shows some ideas that are outrageous - encouraging discussion, which is what a book should do
Things I did NOT like:
The main character - I hate The Catcher in the Rye less after reading his, and I hate that book very much. Mae lacks any personality, is affected by everyone, agrees with everything anyone says. And after she gets some power, she becomes very selfish, very confident, very arrogant - going from one extreme to another. And not because she changed, but because something new affected her to be so. I do not call that a character development. I call that eye-rolling bullshit. She overreacts about 368 people not liking her. She goes from missing her best friend to hating her guts in a sentence. She finds a guy disgusting, but (p.347) suddenly bizarrely attractive to her again". And there is so much more! I couldn't stop rolling my eyes to be honest. Sorry.
Annie was such a Mary Sue most of the time, being basically just cut off from the story without any logical explanation. There is a explanation of some sort, but I don't think it makes much sense.
The unnecessary sex scenes. You are making a book about a dystopian future. I really did not find sex in the bathroom stall a value adding scene.
Even though it was a book about loosing privacy, the word "privacy" was used maybe twice?
Way. Too. Much. Dialog.
Overall, it is a good book to read to give you an idea about a possible future and scare you a little. It was not very bad, but it wasn't good. I know writing is hard and I believe Dave Eggers did a great job explaining the dangers of tyranny through social media in words that seemed to say that it was an absolute democracy instead. But God, So much of it sounded like being there only for the sake of word count or bringing a fantasy to life. But it was ok. 3/5
Great idea for a book, very realistic and something that is not that hard to imagine happen
A little surprising ending
Wonderfully shown how the right words could affect so many people and make them think that something horrible is in fact amazing and benefiting everyone
Shows some ideas that are outrageous - encouraging discussion, which is what a book should do
Things I did NOT like:
The main character - I hate The Catcher in the Rye less after reading his, and I hate that book very much. Mae lacks any personality, is affected by everyone, agrees with everything anyone says. And after she gets some power, she becomes very selfish, very confident, very arrogant - going from one extreme to another. And not because she changed, but because something new affected her to be so. I do not call that a character development. I call that eye-rolling bullshit. She overreacts about 368 people not liking her. She goes from missing her best friend to hating her guts in a sentence. She finds a guy disgusting, but (p.347) suddenly bizarrely attractive to her again". And there is so much more! I couldn't stop rolling my eyes to be honest. Sorry.
Annie was such a Mary Sue most of the time, being basically just cut off from the story without any logical explanation. There is a explanation of some sort, but I don't think it makes much sense.
The unnecessary sex scenes. You are making a book about a dystopian future. I really did not find sex in the bathroom stall a value adding scene.
Even though it was a book about loosing privacy, the word "privacy" was used maybe twice?
Way. Too. Much. Dialog.
Overall, it is a good book to read to give you an idea about a possible future and scare you a little. It was not very bad, but it wasn't good. I know writing is hard and I believe Dave Eggers did a great job explaining the dangers of tyranny through social media in words that seemed to say that it was an absolute democracy instead. But God, So much of it sounded like being there only for the sake of word count or bringing a fantasy to life. But it was ok. 3/5
sevseverance's review against another edition
4.0
I love Dave Eggers, I didn't like his last book very much so was a little worried about this one. It was more of the Eggers writing and characters that I liked. The book is also terrifying as it talks about the expansion of technology- specifically tracking and sharing everything. The argument is always well you're not doing anything wrong, why should you care if you are being recorded- but I think Eggers could have explored this argument more. I was also exhausted by all the social media. At one point her parents say they would have to spend 16 hours to respond to all the kind messages they have received. It does seem a little crazy to spend that much time. I find myself scrolling through Facebook and then remembering I could be doing something more productive. I highlighted a lot of portions to look back at. Eggers did make me think and it will take me a bit of time to fully digest this book.
anwh618's review against another edition
3.0
This only gets three stars because of the overall plot of the book. I've never before read a book where there wasn't one character I liked.
I also found the author's dialogue style to be infuriating. He appears to have missed that 10th grade English class in which alternatives to "he said/she said" were discussed.
I'm really looking forward to the movie because, as I said, the story was interesting enough to keep me going. But the writing left a LOT to be desired, in my opinion.
I also found the author's dialogue style to be infuriating. He appears to have missed that 10th grade English class in which alternatives to "he said/she said" were discussed.
I'm really looking forward to the movie because, as I said, the story was interesting enough to keep me going. But the writing left a LOT to be desired, in my opinion.
amandagibsonauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, very good book! Just wow, MIND BLOWN. Not how I expected the ending to be.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
Bullet Review:
DNF at 18% or the second disc.
Another one of those dysotpias that thinks it's 1984 or Brave New World, but it's more like a 24 piece puzzle for a preschooler.
A company exists whose product is to get rid of Internet anonymity - and people DO IT? And NO ONE says anything about this? There is NO commentary in the media about the violation of privacy?
Almost 1/4 of the book is on Mae's FIRST WEEK at this company? I spent way too much time on her work metrics than I know about my OWN work metrics!
And why do I even CARE about Mae in the first place? Because she has college loans and a dad with MS? Whoopeedoo!
And this company ERADICATED internet trolls?!
We ARE reading fiction, aren't we?
I suppose this is a good idea, but really, does anyone think that giving up anonymity, putting ALL your eggs in one basket, and setting up zillions of cameras EVERYWHERE is a good idea? If we had a hard time with Snowden, how do you THINK this would actually go down?
My eyes are near about to roll out of my head.
DNF at 18% or the second disc.
Another one of those dysotpias that thinks it's 1984 or Brave New World, but it's more like a 24 piece puzzle for a preschooler.
A company exists whose product is to get rid of Internet anonymity - and people DO IT? And NO ONE says anything about this? There is NO commentary in the media about the violation of privacy?
Almost 1/4 of the book is on Mae's FIRST WEEK at this company? I spent way too much time on her work metrics than I know about my OWN work metrics!
And why do I even CARE about Mae in the first place? Because she has college loans and a dad with MS? Whoopeedoo!
And this company ERADICATED internet trolls?!
We ARE reading fiction, aren't we?
I suppose this is a good idea, but really, does anyone think that giving up anonymity, putting ALL your eggs in one basket, and setting up zillions of cameras EVERYWHERE is a good idea? If we had a hard time with Snowden, how do you THINK this would actually go down?
My eyes are near about to roll out of my head.
kenf25's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
eiridium's review against another edition
4.0
Read based on recommendation from The Bestseller Code. Good read and far better than the abysmal movie adaptation which made the book more difficult. A little too transparently extreme viewpoints of principal characters makes for a seeming lack of subtlety. Enjoyable nonetheless.
keen23's review against another edition
4.0
We all know that Amazon will eventually take over the world, right? This book outlines how it will happen, willingly for most people.
dontstopreadin's review against another edition
4.0
The best thing about this book is over over-the-top this is. Yeah, it's a basic concept. We get it. That's not what makes it great. It's not "omg this is SOOO deep we could all be like this." It's how ridiculous some of the things that go down in this (think of the turtle and shark scene) and how the characters still accept things. It's a telling of humans more than what technology and social media does to us. What validation makes us create and how we will turn a blind eye to problems if they don't directly affect us. I found this fabulously fun. A different kind of dystonia.