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clareobrien92's review
4.0
Enjoyable journey through the meaning of mystery with a dash of science. Not quite as much science as a book about love, but compelling writing nonetheless.
bootman's review
5.0
When I received an early copy of this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Jonah Lehrer is an awesome writer, and I enjoy mysteries and puzzles, so I thought the book sounded interesting. As per usual, Lehrer didn’t disappoint. I love to learn about human behavior, and something most of us love (even if we don’t realize it) is a good mystery. In this book, Lehrer discusses the psychology behind why we like stories with a good mystery and so much more. If you’re someone who loves books, movies, or TV shows with a good mystery, this book will help you understand why. As someone who writes content and works in marketing, I enjoyed the chapters discussing how to use mystery to get people engaged with your content.
Finally, something I loved the most about the book was it helped me understand why am the way I am. I’m always so curious and love to learn about so many different subjects, and it’s because I like to solve that sort of “mystery”. And why do I work so hard on problems that seem as though they can’t be solved? It’s just a mystery waiting to be solved. What’s really cool is Jonah Lehrer explains how schools can use mystery to help kids become more engaged in learning and develop better thinking skills, and it’s something I can definitely use as the father of a 12-year-old. So, when this book comes out on August 17th, I highly recommend you grab a copy.
Finally, something I loved the most about the book was it helped me understand why am the way I am. I’m always so curious and love to learn about so many different subjects, and it’s because I like to solve that sort of “mystery”. And why do I work so hard on problems that seem as though they can’t be solved? It’s just a mystery waiting to be solved. What’s really cool is Jonah Lehrer explains how schools can use mystery to help kids become more engaged in learning and develop better thinking skills, and it’s something I can definitely use as the father of a 12-year-old. So, when this book comes out on August 17th, I highly recommend you grab a copy.
nighthawks456's review
2.0
2.5 Started out intriguing but got stale after a few chapters. Tl;dr: mystery = "ooh shiny!" and humans like "ooh shiny", the thrill is the chase, etc. etc. I want Malcolm Gladwell to rewrite this book and give it more nuance.
apatrick's review
2.0
Lehrer doesn't really succeed in pulling together a bunch of essay ideas and turning them into a book. This is really just some tenuously related non-fiction pieces collected into one volume. It wasn't memorable. I read it less than a month ago and I can't even remember any of the interesting points. Something about how we are intrigued by stuff we don't know. Um, yeah. I dunno. pass.
melodyriggs's review
informative
fast-paced
4.25
Great book about why we are drawn to mystery and the importance of being okay with the unknown.
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