Silentalker

probably the best Bond book

Reviewed: 14-01-21

If you've never read a Bond book I think this would be the best place to start; if you don't enjoy Moonraker then you likely won't enjoy any of them. It's an easy read, and quite engaging. I wouldn't sit down and read a book like Moonraker, but it's a great book to zone in and out of while you wash dishes, tidy up, or sit on a bus.

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Dated but adequately enjoyable short(ish) story

Reviewed: 19-01-20

This is the first Bond book I've read, and my overarching impression is that it hasn't dated particularly well; Bond's sexism and racist stereotypes are, in the end, justified and normalised in the book in a way that wouldn't be accepted now. Reading it as an adult, you can place it in the context of the time and place it was written, but it's not a book I would let my kids be influenced by. I feel like the portrayal contrasts somewhat with Craig's portrayal of Bond in the modern films, where the racial stereotypes have been dampened down and/or vanquished, and Bond's poor treatment of women is distinct from the films' treatment of them.
*Spoilers*
For example, in Craig's Casino Royale, Vesper gives as good as she gets in verbal exchanges and often has the upper hand on Bond. She has real agency in the plot, telling Le Chffre that Bond has noticed his tell, deciding not to give Bond the extra funds to rebuy into the game, saving his life after he is poisoned, and bargaining for Bond's life to be spared in return for the poker winnings. In the book she is basically just dragging Bond down throughout by endlessly messing up. The only thing of value she really does is kill herself (to spare Bond). She isn't really given a personality or any meaningful behaviours, so she felt more like a plot device than a developed character.
My point here is that I don't have a problem with having a protagonist with a questionable moral compass, so long as you as the audience are forced to confront the reality of that moral dubiousness. This is something that books like A Song of Ice and Fire, or TV series like Breaking Bad do excellently: the writers force you to recognise the dissonance between your support for the protagonist, and the fact that who they have become and what they are doing isn't necessarily something to celebrate. This is something that Casino Royale fails to do.

Aside from these criticisms (which could be levelled at a lot of books of that era), Casino Royale is very readable, but not especially well written. It is the kind of book with which you can enjoyable pass a few hours, but which won't stay with you once you have finished it. I probably won't bother reading any other Bond books, but I wouldn't be bored if I was forced to. The writing wasn't bad so as to be a distraction from the story, but neither was it good enough to be inherently enjoyable: it was simply an adequate medium for narrating the story. This is why I gave it 3 stars.

The narration was pretty good. I have no complaints about it and would happily listen to other books narrated by Dan Stevens.

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Peterson is a controversial but incisive thinker

Reviewed: 27-02-19

I'm broadly a lefty and read this book mostly to find out if all the outrage that Dr Peterson's interviews generate among many liberals was justified (not to conflate the economic left with liberalism - I am possibly closer to the former than the latter). Firstly, let me say that he is an excellent writer and an intelligent and helpful thinker. Whilst a lot of his rules and advice is unobjectionable, I do disagree with many of his assertions in this book, primarily because we don't have identical systems of value, ontology or epistemology. The tl;dr is that this book is worth reading regardless of whether you expect to agree with it.

I think much of the outraged reaction that 12 Rules has generated comes from a) a poor comprehension of what Peterson is trying to accomplish in writing this, and b) not having actually read the book. I think a lot of upset people have taken the twelve (ish) recommendations in this book as a description of how people would/should behave in Peterson's utopia. Maybe this perception is correct, but I doubt it. the overwhelming impression I get is that Dr Peterson is compassionate and practical and is prescribing as best as he can the ideal approach to life for a person reading 12 Rules as a self-help book, given the (approximately) fixed society that the person lives in.

There is also a big bag of gender debate that is complex and controversial and that I think both sides (Peterson and his critics) get wrong too often. For example, Peterson claims that there is no evidence that gender is a social construct and seems to imply that he believes it is entirely or at least predominantly biological. This is an absurd claim that is immediately disproved by a consideration of the huge variety of ways in which expectations and understandings of gender roles differ across cultures/societies. Unequivocally gender (differentiated from sex) is at least partially, and apparently significantly, socially constructed. On the other hand, it is also absurd to claim that gender is entirely socially constructed (as if the routine differences in hormone levels that sex-dependent biological events trigger have no effect on our long term behaviour). Peterson also correctly points out that this extreme understanding of gender is essentially incompatible with the basic conclusions of the transgender movement.

Don't believe everything you think, and don't only read things that you already agree with. Read this as a self-help book, read it because it's a good read, read it to challenge yourself. would recommend.

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Read it!

Reviewed: 27-06-18

This is excellent: excellently written, excellently narrated. If you are, have ever been, or have ever known a boy or man then you should read this book. A wonderfully accessible critique of masculinity and its perilous effects on boys and men. It's also funny.

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Interesting, Accessible and Informative

Reviewed: 05-06-18

This was a great book. I annoyed everyone around me the entire time I was reading it by constantly pausing it to tell them cool facts I'd just learned. For a layperson like myself, it was also very accessible but not oversimplified. You can tell that she actually did run each chapter past her family after writing it, and the personal touch works really well.

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Hilarious

Reviewed: 05-06-18

Carry On, Jeeves was my first P. G. Wodehouse and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narration is outstanding. I would recommend to anyone.

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Excellent and informative

Reviewed: 06-04-18

Any additional comments?

The book covers the biology of weight gain and weight loss very well at a level appropriate for someone with little or no prior knowledge. The science seems to be critical and reliable, particularly with regard to the choice of studies and data. Dr. Fung explains how the common understanding of weight gain and loss is (significantly) wrong, and sets out a framework for understanding weight gain as being fundamentally hormonal. The points can be a little repetitive sometimes, but each chapter does cover something important and new. The final chapters contain condensed and actionable advice for what lifestyle changes you can make.

Overall, I thoroughly recommend this book, even if you don't have any desire to change your weight (although it concentrates on obesity, the books themes are really about eating and not eating healthily). It was easy to listen to, informative and credible.

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Interesting, enjoyable and surprisingly wise

Reviewed: 10-01-18

I enjoyed this. I didn't know much about Kevin Hart and was surprised by his story. It's not as funny as stand-up (as some have claimed) but it is genuinely laugh out loud in parts and it never got boring. His narration was also excellent.

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