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wint's review
4.0
incredibly funny. made-me-chuckle-out-loud funny. i picked it up after reading one of his very good articles about the unexpected spread of the "terrifying ordeal of being known" bit on tumblr, whose original essay i didn't know was also in this book.
i already liked his prose a lot, but certainly didn't expect to find it as relatable as it is, well, at least as much as a 18 year old woman can relate to the problems of a (at the time) 46 year old man, but a lot of the musings about existential dread, political anxieties and general loneliness hit specially hard, for reasons that forgo explanation.
i already liked his prose a lot, but certainly didn't expect to find it as relatable as it is, well, at least as much as a 18 year old woman can relate to the problems of a (at the time) 46 year old man, but a lot of the musings about existential dread, political anxieties and general loneliness hit specially hard, for reasons that forgo explanation.
junkiehumpback's review
4.0
Some stories, amazing - some, dragged but all took a unique perspective on a very relatable feeling.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
”And I’ll probably still be evading the same fact I’m evading now: that the life I ended up with, much as I complain about it, was pretty much the one I wanted. And that whatever dissatisfactions I have with it are really with my own character.”
As with so many of the books I read, I can’t remember why I wanted to read something by Krieder. Somewhere I ran across his name and/or writings and thought I would enjoy what he had to say. Now that I have access to ebooks from three different library systems, it is easy to just download a book and add it to my reading pile and so I do.
I did enjoy reading Krieder and learning about his relationships with women and with his cat. The essay on the cat was amusing. My favorite essays were about Krieder’s teaching. I suspect he is an excellent teacher and that his students learn a great deal.
I hope that someday, I will read more essays by him.
As with so many of the books I read, I can’t remember why I wanted to read something by Krieder. Somewhere I ran across his name and/or writings and thought I would enjoy what he had to say. Now that I have access to ebooks from three different library systems, it is easy to just download a book and add it to my reading pile and so I do.
I did enjoy reading Krieder and learning about his relationships with women and with his cat. The essay on the cat was amusing. My favorite essays were about Krieder’s teaching. I suspect he is an excellent teacher and that his students learn a great deal.
I hope that someday, I will read more essays by him.
wordlover's review against another edition
5.0
He is so wise and funny and self-aware and insightful - wonderful essays, every one of them worth reading.
bibliocyclist's review against another edition
4.0
"If you want to enjoy the rewards of being loved, you also have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known."
"We all die in exile."
"Maybe the moral is, nothing works."
"A man who is in a room with a cat—whatever else we might say about that man—is not alone."
"If I ever have a terminal illness, the way I'd prefer to learn about it is by dying."
"All the dread of a false accusation masks the fear of a just one."
"Some days self-awareness mostly seems like a source of embarrassment, enabling you to watch yourself fucking up with greater clarity."
"It is a joy to be hidden, but a disaster not to be found."
"The nice guys and the creepy guys are all the same guys."
"De gustibus non est disputandum."
"Onward."
"We all die in exile."
"Maybe the moral is, nothing works."
"A man who is in a room with a cat—whatever else we might say about that man—is not alone."
"If I ever have a terminal illness, the way I'd prefer to learn about it is by dying."
"All the dread of a false accusation masks the fear of a just one."
"Some days self-awareness mostly seems like a source of embarrassment, enabling you to watch yourself fucking up with greater clarity."
"It is a joy to be hidden, but a disaster not to be found."
"The nice guys and the creepy guys are all the same guys."
"De gustibus non est disputandum."
"Onward."
tscott907's review
5.0
...if you want to enjoy the rewards of being loved, you also have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.
Like a lot of people, I was introduced to Kreider's work reading the above quote. With I Wrote This Book Because I Love You, he expands upon the ideas of love, tenderness, and openness. I loved this book because of Kreider's honesty - it's not often that someone writing about his past relationships is willing to admit that their downfall is his fault. He's also just really, really funny, which I appreciate as it kept the book from feeling repetitive and dry. My favorite essays in the collection (though they're all excellent) are "Oof," (printed in the Times as "I Know What You Think of Me",) "The Feast of Pain," "On Smushing," and "Orientation."
Like a lot of people, I was introduced to Kreider's work reading the above quote. With I Wrote This Book Because I Love You, he expands upon the ideas of love, tenderness, and openness. I loved this book because of Kreider's honesty - it's not often that someone writing about his past relationships is willing to admit that their downfall is his fault. He's also just really, really funny, which I appreciate as it kept the book from feeling repetitive and dry. My favorite essays in the collection (though they're all excellent) are "Oof," (printed in the Times as "I Know What You Think of Me",) "The Feast of Pain," "On Smushing," and "Orientation."
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