#BookReview: The Myth of Experience by Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth

Argumentum Ad Verecundiam. This book had an excellent premise, but just a mediocre implementation. Soyer and Hogarth excel when showing how one’s own experience can blind oneself in numerous areas and arenas, and suggest ways to overcome this blindness. But then fall to their own blindess in accepting and even appealing to the “authority” of “experts” in various topics – seeming to completely disregard that these very “experts” have the exact same problems with being hampered by their own experiences that Soyer and Hogarth are attempting to show us how to overcome in this book. Ultimately, they make a lot of good points, which is why the book gets as many stars as it does. That you have to wade through so much muck to get to all of them is why it *only* gets as many stars as it does. Still, absolutely something everyone should read, and thus recommended.

This review of The Myth Of Experience by Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth was originally written on July 1, 2020.

#BookReview: Healthy Habits Suck by Dayna Lee-Baggley

Strong Start, Falters About Halfway In, Never Really Recovers. This book had an intriguing premise – it was going to explain the scientific reasons for why you don’t want to be healthy and help you overcome them. And it had some excellent points in the beginning regarding human evolution, even as it glossed over any actual science or citations. But around halfway in it begins using a particular metaphor that effectively says “you’re not to blame” and rather than continuing with the quasi-scientific explanations it goes full bore with this metaphor through the end of the book. Intriguing in the first half, and genuinely well written throughout. May be exactly what people who generally read self help books are looking for. Recommended.

This review of Healthy Habits Suck by Dayna Lee-Baggley was originally published on May 24, 2019.

Featured New Release of The Week: I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan

This week we look at a fiction book that covers some real world scenarios in such a realistic manner that it could almost be said to be a self help book. This week, we look at I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan.

Honestly, this book was one of those that struck so very many chords once it really got going. While setting things up the book was somewhat focused on the couple’s kids, which was throwing this childfree reader a bit – just isn’t something I personally relate to, and thus a bit harder for my mind to get into that kind of story.

But then the book got into the meat of its story. I don’t think I ever even read the blurb for this book, the title alone was intriguing enough to get me to read it, so I don’t want to discuss too much here that could give away key plot points, but let’s go in with some things that really hit home for me: Like one character in this book, I am obviously a blogger. What is less obvious on this site is that I’ve been doing it for a decade now across a few different topics, and while I don’t have near the reach the blogger in this tale did, the fact that we have that similarity alone was enough to begin to draw me in. Then the dynamics between the husband and wife here. I’ve seen myself on both sides of the discussions raised throughout the remainder of the book after a certain key event, and to say this dynamic hit home is a bit of an understatement.

Ultimately, Pagan here has written a tale that will be readily identifiable to many and has done so in an extremely realistic manner. This is one of those books that can at times be uncomfortable in its uncanny reality, yet by the end gives a supreme catharsis. Sometimes, those are the best books around. This one certainly feels like one of those.

This was yet again a new-to-me Lake Union author, and I’ll be looking forward to Pagan’s other work. Very highly recommended.

And as always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
Continue reading “Featured New Release of The Week: I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan”

#BookReview: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

Greatest? Maybe. Most Hilarious? Quite Possibly. What happens when you get two very busy comics who each have one breakout role on television and who happen to be married to each other get together to discuss their nearly two decade long relationship? Hilariousness ensues, that’s what. They get into controversial topics from time to time, and this is definetly not a book you want to listen to with kids around (and you need to actually listen to this one, rather than read it, even if you know their voices precisely… which would be kind of creepy anyway… moving on…), as there is a fair amount of… colorful… language used (though nothing XXX rated, just to be clear). Overall, a truly hilarious tale about their lives together and their thoughts on relationships, fashion, celebrity, and all kinds of other things. I actually got my Closer badge on Audible with this book, thanks to a 6 hr drive – and it is absolutely worth reading in one sitting. 🙂

This review of The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman was originally published on October 21, 2018.