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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
It's rare that I read non-fiction, I seem to find it somewhat boring.
But the neurologist Oliver Sacks has pleasantly surprised me with his fascinating collection of case studies. Let's start by stating that the month I spent reading through 246 pages and taking in every detail has been so very informative and has even provided me with a foundation for future discussion.
This piece of writing is split into 4 parts and each segment is like a whole new book itself. For me the 3rd part was of the least interest and that the 4th one was the most touching and extraordinary but of course this will be different for every reader.
I now can't wait to accustom myself with some other writing produced by Oliver Sacks. Highly recommend to anyone thinking of psychology and neuroscience in the future or people who want to broaden their knowledge in general.
It was nice to see so many mentions of literature, art and psychology itself with some famous names (Dostoevsky, Mendeleev, Freud, Thomas Mann) creeping up every so often.
But the neurologist Oliver Sacks has pleasantly surprised me with his fascinating collection of case studies. Let's start by stating that the month I spent reading through 246 pages and taking in every detail has been so very informative and has even provided me with a foundation for future discussion.
This piece of writing is split into 4 parts and each segment is like a whole new book itself. For me the 3rd part was of the least interest and that the 4th one was the most touching and extraordinary but of course this will be different for every reader.
I now can't wait to accustom myself with some other writing produced by Oliver Sacks. Highly recommend to anyone thinking of psychology and neuroscience in the future or people who want to broaden their knowledge in general.
It was nice to see so many mentions of literature, art and psychology itself with some famous names (Dostoevsky, Mendeleev, Freud, Thomas Mann) creeping up every so often.
informative
slow-paced
This book has some fascinating patients with very strange symptoms. I enjoyed reading about those very much. Then, the author would analyze possible causes, which was also somewhat interesting... the surprise was how philosophical he got. With each case he would question how different diagnoses affect a person's humanity and what it means to have a soul and the like. Unexpected and at times long and drawn-out.
I read this book in college in a cross-curricular course titled Perception and Illusion. I found the stories amazing and would like to read this book again...
Entirely too technical/medical and I CANNOT get into it. I shall not force myself.
Though antiquated in some ways, as a form of narrative nonfiction it still succeeds. It’s engaging, thoughtful, full of empathy, genuinely interesting. This book has been picked apart by people in the field now, but I am, to say the least, a laymen, and so I wasn’t bothered by that as much; mostly the actual language to describe the patients is what signals how out of date it is.
Nonfiction isn’t my preferred genre either, so while it was engaging, that’s basically the ultimate high praise from me. But I’ve also read things like When We Cease To Understand, where the narrative is as good as fiction, and acknowledges that even nonfiction is generally pretty much just selling the viewpoint of an individual, which is basically all but fiction to me, anyway.
But, this was far better than I expected. So there’s that. A three star read means it met my expectations, just that it didn’t exceed them. And for such a lauded modern classic as this, that’s high praise, I think.
Nonfiction isn’t my preferred genre either, so while it was engaging, that’s basically the ultimate high praise from me. But I’ve also read things like When We Cease To Understand, where the narrative is as good as fiction, and acknowledges that even nonfiction is generally pretty much just selling the viewpoint of an individual, which is basically all but fiction to me, anyway.
But, this was far better than I expected. So there’s that. A three star read means it met my expectations, just that it didn’t exceed them. And for such a lauded modern classic as this, that’s high praise, I think.
Very interesting and thought-provoking, but goodness does it feel needless wordy. Incredible musings but I wish it didn't feel so padded with overly specific verbiage. The final act was understandably dated in terminology, but also was the most difficult read because the "ahas" largely felt like they surrounded the concept that individuals with different needs or lower IQs were complex begins (gasp!).
troppo una via di mezzo: lo avrei voluto più scientifico o più narrativo
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced