alexiswiththefreckles's Reviews (603)

The last 1/4 of the book really saved it for me. I honestly didn’t see the twists coming (but also wasn’t really looking for them). The first part was a little too political for my tastes, but that’s personal preference. 

A friend promised me that Mary Roach can make anything interesting and funny, and turns out they were right. My goal to read one nonfiction book a month is not going well, but I’m glad I finally got to this one. The mix of humor, science, and humanity kept me going. I really enjoyed the structure of this book - literally going from start to finish (and probably smart to start with a chapter about sniffing beer, rather than enlarged colons). 

Overall enjoyed it much more than I was expecting and will be picking up more of Roach’s work!

I went in expecting a bit more emphasis on mother-daughter relationships, and got a bit more of advice in navigating the medical system with elderly patients. Feel like the book would have benefited from a bit more length and consideration of some of the sentiments expressed