Peggy > Recent Status Updates

Starting this book for the fourth or fifth time no in the past 20 or so years. I don’t think a i’ve ever finished this book, and in fact, have had to buy at least 2-3 copies over the years as I kept losing them.

I’m determined to finish this book this time, and continue on to read the entire series.

Good so far, if a little repetitive

So far, so good. Really good, actually, despite it not being something I would have picked up on my own.

A mostly disappointing and mostly boring sequel to an amazing and hilarious first book.

Much less interesting, much less funny. Argh, I really wanted to like it, too. But I'm just plowing through so I can see Karlsson and Jonsson until the end. It better be a good ending.

I'm almost halfway done, and still can't remember which is the "upstairs brain" and which is the "downstairs brain." I'm sure that the points that the authors want to make are valid, well-reasoned, and practical, but the repetitive nature of the writing, like in so many self-help books, is driving me crazy. Is there a bullet-pointed version of the book??

This book has been excellent. The writing is superb, and there is so much beauty, even in how Gyasi writes about the unimaginable pain the characters experience.

Also, of course, I knew the theme was going to be about slavery, but it's been really hard to read at times--I feel like my heart is getting ripped out.

I actually tried reading this a few years ago, but my Japanese wasn’t good enough. I picked it up again some months ago, and was surprised at how much I was able to understand. I guess living in Japan for 9 years does result in some incidental learning, even when formal Japanese-language studies have ended. Am totally enjoying the book now. Yotsuba is so adorable!

I’m sad that the writer of this raw, beautifully written is dead—killed himself, no less, and I find myself looking for clues of unhappiness or depression in these pages.

But I am noticing this time, if I haven’t noticed before, what a poetic writer Bourdain was. He makes me want to visit all the places and eat most of the foods he writes about.

Some of the events from Trevor Noah’s life and South African history are so horrifying. But there were some positive, enjoyable ones too, thank goodness. It’s amazing that he grew up to be a comedian, given what he has gone through, although I have often heard that comedians often have bad experiences in their lives, and that is what makes them so relatable.

Surprisingly, not strictly/only about the brain, but also about relationships between a couple after a kid is born, the growth mindset vs fixed mindset, etc. Pretty broad range of topics gathered here. I am a little skeptical about some of the studies, though, since they are/were not randomized, controlled experiments, but observational or epidemiological studies. Still, many jumping-off points to go from here.

Well-written and funny at times, with interesting, un-cliched analogies and expressions, like “The reason for survival is as old as Darwin and as young as sexting.”

Currently on the section about the brain’s neuronal development, which is kind of a snooze.

I read a sample on Amazon/Kindle, and really enjoyed it, so I am excited about getting the book. Hope to learn many interesting and practical things about how babies develop!

I read a sample of this some time ago, and thought this line was hilarious: “For roughly 99% of the world’s history, 99% of humanity was poor, hungry, dirty, afraid, stupid, sick, and ugly.”

Now I’ve finally gotten the whole book and am looking forward to reading more.

Fascinating so far, but the (not even very detailed) descriptions of riots and people being burned alive make this a terrible book for bedtime reading. Will have to read it during the day.

I picked this up because I loved Jon Stewart as the host of “Tue Daily Show,” but this was only mildly entertaining. I’m giving up on this book.

Started reading this last year when my daughter was born, but put it down to read some other parenting books instead. Might pick it up again.