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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Even though this book is aimed at kids, it is quite a nice read for an older audience too. A lot of the quirky language was not to my taste but that is personal preference.
I really liked the insight into a mortician's job and all the goings on regarding the work but I did find when the author spoke about things out of her actual scope of knowledge is where things fell apart a tad. I myself know more than an average person about decomposition due to my degree, I am nowhere near an expert but essentially, the things in this book were not new concepts. The extra information (for example how leaky bodies are), stuff not covered during my time studying, was great fun to read about.
A certain line struck me in this book, I do not remember the chapter but there was a sentence or so that was about the field I was much more knowledgeable. I did mention decomposition was covered on my university course, though not as in depth as a professional would require, but what I know very well is bones, human bones, ape bones, bones of our ancestors much different from us Homo sapiens, and frankly the sentence presented as fact was incorrect. Not completely false just lacking the nuance required when discussing cannibalism, it was a single line in a book not a big deal but it did make me really take the things being said with a grain of salt. I was already doing so considering this is a pop science book and pop science media is generally abysmal at conveying nuance to a general audience, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I did also flick through the bibliography and some of the sources were not to my taste, and not something I would have personally used.
Saying all this, this is a very broad book covering many topics, a book aimed at a general audience and kids, so I wasn't too harsh on my rating and for what it was, it was an enjoyable experience. I can not judge a pop science book for being a pop science book, I already know that you can not translate expert level knowledge into a quirky book aimed at quirky kids, it is not a textbook. As a pop science book it does a good job but I would take it as just that, a surface level fun book, and I do not think it was aiming to be anything more, I did not pick it up expecting such either. Still a little disappointed though.
Three stars, I did not hate it but I did not love it, it was just an enjoyable read, a perfect three honestly.
I really liked the insight into a mortician's job and all the goings on regarding the work but I did find when the author spoke about things out of her actual scope of knowledge is where things fell apart a tad. I myself know more than an average person about decomposition due to my degree, I am nowhere near an expert but essentially, the things in this book were not new concepts. The extra information (for example how leaky bodies are), stuff not covered during my time studying, was great fun to read about.
A certain line struck me in this book, I do not remember the chapter but there was a sentence or so that was about the field I was much more knowledgeable. I did mention decomposition was covered on my university course, though not as in depth as a professional would require, but what I know very well is bones, human bones, ape bones, bones of our ancestors much different from us Homo sapiens, and frankly the sentence presented as fact was incorrect. Not completely false just lacking the nuance required when discussing cannibalism, it was a single line in a book not a big deal but it did make me really take the things being said with a grain of salt. I was already doing so considering this is a pop science book and pop science media is generally abysmal at conveying nuance to a general audience, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I did also flick through the bibliography and some of the sources were not to my taste, and not something I would have personally used.
Saying all this, this is a very broad book covering many topics, a book aimed at a general audience and kids, so I wasn't too harsh on my rating and for what it was, it was an enjoyable experience. I can not judge a pop science book for being a pop science book, I already know that you can not translate expert level knowledge into a quirky book aimed at quirky kids, it is not a textbook. As a pop science book it does a good job but I would take it as just that, a surface level fun book, and I do not think it was aiming to be anything more, I did not pick it up expecting such either. Still a little disappointed though.
Three stars, I did not hate it but I did not love it, it was just an enjoyable read, a perfect three honestly.
fast-paced
This has been my least favorite of Doughty's books...I've really enjoyed her other two books, so was super keen to pick up this one as well. While there were some really interesting facts sprinkled throughout this book, there was something off about the humor. It generally felt like she was trying too hard to make the joke, or come up with the perfect pun, and a lot of the time these attempts fell flat. The amount of these attempts at hilarity were also disproportionate to the rest of the book, multiple jokes and funny "wink-wink" moments were littered on every page and were way too close to the last one to have any real humor. In fact the opposite happened, I started rolling my eyes and generally getting frustrated with the silliness. Even with that said, this was still a fun and interesting read with some really cool historical, medical, and morbid tidbits to keep you curious.
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
fast-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
I always enjoy listening to Caitlin talk about death.
dark
funny
fast-paced