Kevin McDonagh > Recent Status Updates

Didn't appreciate the intro which felt hurried and formulaic but after getting past that the chapters are fascinating. I had associated Plantations with cotton and sugar but 50% we're oil palm? Each chapter is a separate topic likely reformatted from a journalist commission. Dense and interesting.

This book is making me very happy. An incredible character on a journey so easy to write about.

There's a whole lot more heart than than I expected in this recital

This is great. Far beyond my expectations, an achievement!

Blast guests off their seats by adding this thrill power to your bathroom.

No doubt this is great literature but wooft. It's like turning a radio nob tuning into aspects of america.

This is one of those rare books which improves after a few chapters. I get the district feeling that the author wrote the first few chapters last in a rush to flesh out some context they felt missing and join up the more exciting part of the story but I fear some people may never get there. Oceanography, sociology, technology, space and fauna are a good mix though.

Lots of interesting gems in here but it's certainly not as readable as Sapians. Although the text is quite dry it pieces together a very clear historical narrative which seems like it's attracting quite a lot of flack https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorian...

This is hilarious. Loving a far broader appraisal of Kinkade beyond "s£&t".

The Author seems to wander into adjacent aisles like a kid in a supermarket. The prose is really compelling.

This is going to take a while. A great teammate of vocabulary on display and cool how it flips into different regional dialects. So far it's a bit 'magnolia' in it's having concurrent stories. No real grasp of what if anything is unraveling but the writing will keep me reading.

I’m enjoying each of the chapters, it feels like a digest of long form opinion articles with ample citations. I’m a sucker for good research and I often get as much or more enjoyment out of following up on the notes in appendixes.

Flew through Metamorphosis, poignant read on how relationships change. Kafka wrote seven books and never published any of the them during his life. Dead at 40. Cultural icons never age as I grow fungal.

This is certainly a great big journey, a great early example of how literature can take you on experiences you may never want to partake in yourself. So many whales being killed and harvested for the oil in their sculls, makes for some challenging reading.

Kind of old world American so far. I enjoy the buddy comedy relationship between the native American and the westerner. Ahab's just been introduced and the crew seem to have changed the tempo. It's written in very short chapters which makes it a bit harder to read in one sitting but easier to read in chunks.

Such rewarding moments from within a time and town in which I've never lived but with which I feel completely familiar.

Racey pulp fiction, reminiscent of the 'space merchants'. What I like is that the story seems like a who dunnit or chase, but all the final conclusions seem to constantly be given away, then aha! There's more action. Quite rewarding.

The style is fascinating. Completely different to anything I've read. This would be a very difficult book if it weren't for my recognising the Calvinist environment in which it's set. This is a very natively Scottish tale.

Surprising little insights from philosophy to recent infrastructure history. Really quite enjoying this one.

Pleasantly surprised at it’s in-depth and well rounded introduction. I’ve just read nearly 100 pages of set-up which supplied ample context for the lamen and also for experts. Tbh I was worried this was going to be more of a puff piece as an investment thesis for a VC fund but it’s already impressed me in it’s holistic rebuttal to the loaded term ‘metaverse’.

Twist, twist, bang, bang!

Bam bam bam. Blake Crouch always quotes such a satisfying hyper mix of science and melodrama

Different to how I imagined. Enjoyable, and much more focused on a central character's feelings than most sci-fi books.

Chess books which are more than just move by move games are much easier to read. Just a little less concentration demanded. Pretty sensible stuff speaking about ‘imbalances’.

Took it on holiday and still trying to get through it.

Slow going, I pick this up and review a game every now and then. They are all really good games. It's so simple watching someone else win chess logically...