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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
I enjoyed this collection of essays, especially a grouchy refutation of the power of meditation.
Such a fascinating and chaotic book. At times I was drawn in by the deep dissection and analysis of life, relationships, and psychology, and other chapters I struggled through the dense sesquipedalian prose. At its peak, it provided new perspectives and ideas about relationships, consent, and stuff.
As great as Becca Rothfeld is at criticism, in my opinion she's ten times more interesting when she's writing about herself. I was super excited for this one and ended up feeling pretty disappointed. She sets up a lot of strawmen- like a takedown of minimalism that ended up semi-ironically praising hoarding (and let me say from personal experience that even mild hoarding is deeply soul-sucking and probably more fundamentally "American" than Marie Kondo minimalism, which basically no one follows in practice and is more of a vague aspirational phenom), or acting as if mindfulness is really practiced by a significant number of its proponents "every minute" of the day when in reality it's just not. So she ends up writing weirdly dull sentences like "I would posit that the world of Sex and City is preferable to one in which women who had premarital sex became untouchables."
Also the abundant alliteration must abate or I will abhor her next article.
Anyway, i'm just being harsh on this book because the essays online that made me want to read it were VERY good. As a Roman Catholic with anorexic tendencies in a very happy and very vanilla relationship, I disagree with huge parts of her core thesis, but I will never stop being a stan.
Also the abundant alliteration must abate or I will abhor her next article.
Anyway, i'm just being harsh on this book because the essays online that made me want to read it were VERY good. As a Roman Catholic with anorexic tendencies in a very happy and very vanilla relationship, I disagree with huge parts of her core thesis, but I will never stop being a stan.
aarrgh I feel bad about my reaction to this book. While I wasn't particularly familiar with the author (but had read her writing on Sally Rooney), I was excited enough about this book that I purchased it, and was interested that is was highlighted in Slate Culture Gabfest.
I wasn't particularly gripped by most of the writing (hating on Marie Kondo doesn't feel very interesting or unique to me), but I was particularly repulsed by “Wherever You Go, You Could Leave” which seemed to be a juvenile and snide reaction to mindfulness. Which is fine, but not something I wanted to spend time with.
By the end, I was fine to (re)read the discussion/critique of Rooney, and maybe I was more interested in the author supporting things rather than knocking them down (even [b:Mating|527513|Mating|Norman Rush|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641402163l/527513._SY75_.jpg|1691965], which I actually would have been happy to read further analysis of, because I just don't appreciate that book to even a fraction of the author's fascination).
I wasn't particularly gripped by most of the writing (hating on Marie Kondo doesn't feel very interesting or unique to me), but I was particularly repulsed by “Wherever You Go, You Could Leave” which seemed to be a juvenile and snide reaction to mindfulness. Which is fine, but not something I wanted to spend time with.
By the end, I was fine to (re)read the discussion/critique of Rooney, and maybe I was more interested in the author supporting things rather than knocking them down (even [b:Mating|527513|Mating|Norman Rush|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641402163l/527513._SY75_.jpg|1691965], which I actually would have been happy to read further analysis of, because I just don't appreciate that book to even a fraction of the author's fascination).
DNF at 35%. Enjoyed the first essay but the rest were not what I was expected from the title of the collection.
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
There were certain essays that I loved. Since I read the audiobook I don’t have the essay titles but the ones on mindfulness, on hysteria, and the last essay were particularly interesting. I had trouble with the narrator because I couldn’t tell when quotes ended and the authors words started, making critique and references jumbled. I don’t think the essays fit together very well especially with the title.
DNF at 22%. There are so many types of excess that are shamed, so why is she so focused on defending only the shame placed on the excess of the wealthy? Maybe she explores other cases later on, but it wasn’t growing on me after 3 essays.
A lot of essayists think they don't need academic rigor if they have vibes. Sound undergraduate strategy, absolutely noxious at this level.
informative
reflective
medium-paced