Reviews and Comments

Pretty breezy and engaging. Some things I'll definitely try to put into practice.

Kiddo is really enjoying this series.

I thought this one started off a bit slow and anecdote-heavy which is a complaint I've had about several recent nonfiction books I've read. Fortunately this time those anecdotes were just laying the emotional groundwork for a treatise on how our (humans in general, but particularly humans in wealthier countries) lives are only possible as we know them because of big investments in infrastructure made decades ago.

I appreciated the author's emphasis on needing not just to invest in maintenance of what we have but a hopeful tone about what's possible if we rethink our tendency toward large centralized structures and consider smaller, more localized solutions that can be combined (like a series of smart micro-grids for power that use wind in windy areas or solar in sunny areas but also use storage and interconnects to let those solutions complement and supplement each other).

Taking a break from the Series of Unfortunate Events, started reading this one to the kiddo.

Still enjoying reading these with the kiddo.

I thought it was interesting that Count Olaf is barely in this one, and the misery and cruelty mostly come from the situation and the setting, as well as their caretaker, "Sir".

Still, a fun read full of dark humor and a bit more absurdity this time. Already starting on the next one.

The children are placed with their aunt Josephine who is defined by her fear of everything. It's a bit of a change of pace from the first two. Josephine's fear of everything comes off a bit one-note, even among the typically clueless adults in the series.

Olaf's plot is pretty obvious from the start too.

There is a scene that stands out with a bit of gratuitous transphobia and fatphobia as well.

Despite all that the relationships between the siblings and the fun of watching them work to free themselves from their situation make up for a lot and leave this a pretty enjoyable story.

Really enjoying reading this series to my child. She and I both have a similar dark sense of humor and that fits well with these books.

The villain's scheme is more abstract and less gross than in the first one which is much appreciated.

Already started on the next one. I feel like we're going to blow through the whole series this year.

I came across this book at the library, and, having heard of the associated podcast I decided to give it a try.

I've never actually listened to said podcast, and if I'm being honest I'm not a huge fan of the McElroy Family family of podcasts in general.

That said, this was a delightful read. As with other recent D&D live play adaptations into other media (see: "The Legend of Vox Machina") it really does capture the spontaneous humor of play at the table, while (I assume) cleaning up some of the diversions and focusing on the plot. I enjoyed the DM interjections in particular.

Definitely a fun read, and I'll be on the lookout for others in the series.

Read this to my kid after we'd watched the Netflix show together.

I really enjoyed the asides to the reader. They reminded me a bit of The Hobbit even if the tone was quite different.

It's definitely very dark. My kid and I share a taste for the macabre so we both ate it up. It starts with a tragedy, then moves into a nice mix of farce and heartbreak. I'm excited to start the next one.

I found this book much more interesting than a lot of nonfiction books I've read lately, but it still had that same feeling of "I want to convince you that this thing is good, so I'm going to spend 200 pages telling stories about people who were already convinced".

The stories were actually interesting, though. Demonstrating how experts in construction, aviation, and medicine rely on checklists so they won't trip over the mundane aspects of their jobs. I guess the point is to show that these respected professionals use checklists, so the reader shouldn't feel as if they were beneath them.

I could have used a bit more advice on how to make a useful checklist. There was some in a few places, but it was definitely not the point.

Hard to say much about this book without spoiling the fun. I definitely recommend going into it knowing as little as possible.