Scan barcode
wenzday01's review against another edition
2.0
It was just boring. It presented anecdotal stories of why people dreams but it didn’t feel like there’s a lot of scientific evidence behind it. Maybe it’s because there’s still so much to learn about it. I’d rather reread Why We Sleep.
curlyybones's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and learned a lot. The balance between outlining the science and the narrative of her research journey flowed very well. And as someone that didn’t have much prior knowledge (aside from the spiritual side of things) I found it very easy to follow.
I would’ve liked to see more about otherworldly implications as well as what different cultures think about the subject, but I can see why she wanted to keep everything factual. The author mentioned that scientists interested in sleep/dreams aren’t taken very seriously amongst the community and provided interesting insight on that aspect as well. I didn’t realize how badly freaky Freud screwed everything up for everyone that came after him.
I would’ve liked to see more about otherworldly implications as well as what different cultures think about the subject, but I can see why she wanted to keep everything factual. The author mentioned that scientists interested in sleep/dreams aren’t taken very seriously amongst the community and provided interesting insight on that aspect as well. I didn’t realize how badly freaky Freud screwed everything up for everyone that came after him.
beth_has_books's review against another edition
3.0
This felt like a couple of different books in one. There are a few chapters which relate to the title by explaining the "why" and details of the science around it, which were very interesting. Then other chapters are about recommending discussing dreams with people, and there is a lot about how to do lucid dreaming.
I was not sold on the lucid dreaming chapters. This was because the book was convincing about why normal dreaming is important. This information resonated with my own experience of having gained insights into my emotions and processed grief through dreams. It also provided new information for me about how they are good for memory formation. So I don't understand why I would want to bring my conscious mind with its rationality, pre-conceptions and inhibitions into the dreams, because that seems it would spoil the whole point of them. The author does show how it can be good for people who are having unhealthy recurrent nightmares, which (from the numbers she gives) are only a small percent of the population. Despite this, the author presents the lucid dreaming as if it is self-evidently a good thing for anyone who values dreams, with the only question being around how to achieve it.
The other chapters about dream recall, discussing dreams with other people, and the author describing conferences and retreats about dreams were all quite readable, despite not being what I expected to find in the book.
I was not sold on the lucid dreaming chapters. This was because the book was convincing about why normal dreaming is important. This information resonated with my own experience of having gained insights into my emotions and processed grief through dreams. It also provided new information for me about how they are good for memory formation. So I don't understand why I would want to bring my conscious mind with its rationality, pre-conceptions and inhibitions into the dreams, because that seems it would spoil the whole point of them. The author does show how it can be good for people who are having unhealthy recurrent nightmares, which (from the numbers she gives) are only a small percent of the population. Despite this, the author presents the lucid dreaming as if it is self-evidently a good thing for anyone who values dreams, with the only question being around how to achieve it.
The other chapters about dream recall, discussing dreams with other people, and the author describing conferences and retreats about dreams were all quite readable, despite not being what I expected to find in the book.
bleary's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting in places but a little unfocused. Also, would be better titled "How We Dream".
laurab2125's review against another edition
3.0
Actually, 3.5 stars. Robb does a good job covering the science -- it's well-sourced and I found that aspect of it more interesting than I thought I might.
Meanwhile, I expected more on the "how to" of lucid dreaming and an answer to the book title's question of why we dream. Or perhaps the answer is that we have a lot of theories and a lot of things that seem to come from dreaming, but we don't really know enough yet to definitively answer that particular question.
Meanwhile, I expected more on the "how to" of lucid dreaming and an answer to the book title's question of why we dream. Or perhaps the answer is that we have a lot of theories and a lot of things that seem to come from dreaming, but we don't really know enough yet to definitively answer that particular question.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
this is such a fun book! goes deep into the culture of lucid dreaming and dream recall,
raises the idea that dreams might be the body and subconsiouness's way to alert us of things we might overlook , and that when most body functions are shut down, our brain will be free to pay attention to these things. we can use these things in medicine in and psychiatry. since dreams alot of the times tell us things that we missed. I also am grateful for the bit about Nabokov that I need to read.
raises the idea that dreams might be the body and subconsiouness's way to alert us of things we might overlook , and that when most body functions are shut down, our brain will be free to pay attention to these things. we can use these things in medicine in and psychiatry. since dreams alot of the times tell us things that we missed. I also am grateful for the bit about Nabokov that I need to read.