neven's reviews
1907 reviews

The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul by Douglas R. Hofstadter

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5.0

An excellent collection of writings of all sorts, with brief but insightful comments from Hofstadter and Dennett.
Le Ton Beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language by Douglas R. Hofstadter

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4.0

A unique look at language and beyond, woven through with a painful emotionality.
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter

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3.0

Smart and well written, but a bit bland and meandering for Hofstadter's standards.
Selected Poems, 1947-1995 by Allen Ginsberg

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2.0

Ginsberg can be terribly entertaining and powerful. He can also be trite and plain unlikable.
What We Believe But Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty by John Brockman

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2.0

I find the Edge Question to be a very odd format - it doesn't lead to particularly revealing writing. Most pieces here seem to be either obvious or controversial but unable to defend themselves due to space restrictions.
Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

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3.0

This is a bona fide classic, though I find pretty much all of Sacks' later writing to be less defensive, more concise, and more effective.