jo_22's Reviews (399)

I loved this! This is one of my favorite authors and I enjoyed it almost just as much as A Man Called Ove. I liked how the plot came together yet it was also so much about character dynamics and struggles with morality, decisions, relationship dynamics, and values. It was also funny and heartwarming as well as a sad mood, which made it kind of positively nihilistic. 
I didn’t care for the Roger and Anna-Lena storyline but it didn’t take much away from the book. I liked the unique writing style, it was an enjoyable experience to read and I couldn’t put it down at the end. 

Vonnegut is so creative, funny, and inventive while also making clever and bold arguments about humanity and meaning. 
I liked the many different settings of the book throughout space and time. 
I loved Sirens of Titan, it was a quick read because I couldn’t put it down. 
Themes are fate, identity, life’s purpose, humanity, time.  
Lots of good quotes from this book as well. I like how it’s an engaging story while also meaningful and I’m still processing. 
Vonnegut’s writing is some of my favorite. 

Really liked the audio version with some songs recorded for the audiobook. I liked her storytelling style and the personal reflections and ownership without shame towards her past self. Very refreshing and wholesome memoir. 

This premise was interesting but execution was terrible. Writing switched from 1st to 3rd person narrative haphazardly and story built up to no apparent climax nor closure of an ending. There were aspects of psychological thriller but because the execution was poor it felt like part of the “thrill” was just trying to figure out what was going on (& not in a good way like thrillers can be if we’ll-written). Would not recommend 

Flew through this book and really enjoyed it. It was unique and reflective and very poetic. The “plot” is very minimal and yet it almost feels as if there are ‘acts’ in the book — segments like in a play. 
The narrative perspective is unique — rarely naming names and both these aspects of the writing makes it relatable and endearing to read. 
There was also some humor. Lots of imagery in the details. No dialogue and yet the descriptive writing doesn’t feel lengthy or boring. 
Themes are related to life, aging, the beauty/comfort in routine & the mundane, human connectedness, relationships, and how we experience life with loved ones at different stages. 
Wasn’t going to give 5 stars but decided to because I couldn’t think of a valid reason not to. Would recommend especially for book clubs

I liked the topics and historical context about the drugs described but didn’t love the execution. There was a lot of memoir-type style mixed-in and I don’t mind that but it got very lengthy and opinionated. I wish there was more of a connected thread/theme/message throughout as it was really 3 separate small books compiled together which felt disjointed. 
Did not like his tone towards indigenous people in the last section.  Ultimately while I am not disappointed I read this book, it could have been better. Parts of it were engaging and had good research but I did not learn much new information and wish the author had a more cohesive point of view instead of compiled ramblings. 
I have heard his first book about psychedelics is better and so I might read that, but I would not recommend this book to a friend. 

Loved this and I think I read it at a great time/phase of my life. Makes me want to travel and be bold in being independent. Some quotes were extremely relatable and it make me reflect on a lot. 

I would guess there are some criticisms of this memoir and I wouldn’t say it is perfect, but I still really enjoyed it and gave it 5 stars.

Enjoyable book but not a lot of substance (which is expected in a beach read type of book). Good audiobook read to listen to since it’s lighthearted and comforting. I liked that MN was one of the main settings and the story was not too predictable. 

So odd and the arguments have some studies to back it up but are very generalized and the book involved too much anecdotal evidence that oversimplified addiction, mental illness and neurodivergence