During a Lord of the Flies discussion, my sophomore English class agreed unanimously (I being the lone dissenter) that extroverts are inherently better leaders than introverts, and it's a commonly held perception in our aggressive "fight for what you want" society. However, I've never believed it, and neither does Susan Cain. Backed up by scientific studies and statistical evidence as well as various anecdotes, this book annihilates that assumption with a qualified thesis - introverts and extroverts can be equally effective leaders; they shine in different situations - that lends its assertions additional credibility.

That said, it's not the most engaging read; in some parts it's downright repetitive. Overall though, it addresses an important and relevant topic, and it's worth reading at least once.

This one came highly recommended, and it's easy to see why; it's simultaneously inspiring and motivational. It effectively incorporates personal anecdotes and experience to illustrate the advice being given, and it definitely makes me want to get up and shatter that glass ceiling.

The good intentions definitely come through, but the humor doesn't always quite hit the mark (some jokes are more groan-worthy or insensitive than others). Some pretty good advice, though nothing really revolutionary.

Of course it's a story that needed to be told, and of course Malala's an indisputably brave heroine. But I've always found it hard to relate to overly optimistic narrators, which I think detracts from the effectiveness of her storytelling, and I wasn't a huge fan of how almost every chapter ended with ominous foreshadowing ("Little did we know...").

3.5 stars? Idk.

If anyone reads this when I have passed to the big bad beyond I shall be posthumorously embarrassed. I shall spend my entire afterlife blushing.

Look, I love Carrie Fisher. She was real and flawed and awesome, and yes, she brought Princess Leia Organa to iconic life. Her story is an interesting one, but I might look for another version told by a biographer — I just didn’t feel like I got a very good sense of who she was during the times covered in this book. It seemed like 60-75% was devoted to the affair with Harrison Ford and her feelings about it, which are of course important and quite possibly life-defining for her, but for me as a reader it was a bit much, as were the poems she wrote about it.

And honestly, I was mildly disappointed that her iconic line (“I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra”) made no appearance, though she does mention Wishful Drinking, which is where Google tells me the quote originates, and contemplate the legacy she would leave behind after her death.

Loneliness is personal, and it is also political. Loneliness is collective; it is a city.

This is an interesting mix of biography and memoir, though it felt unbalanced to me (too much of the former, not enough of the latter), and I enjoyed her analyses of each artist’s work and life, as well as any parallels to her own journey. It made for a thoughtful commentary on the times and the nature of human existence, but sometimes the prose was stretched a bit thin.

I won’t lie, I was definitely wary of a book on the female brain written by a man. And it did come across as preachy, even slightly patronizing, in some sections — but in a way that suggests his confidence and self-imbued authority comes from education and experience rather than sexism (benevolent or otherwise).

The writing itself was stilted in some parts, awkward but comprehensible. (In particular I take issue with the phrase “brain envy,” whose connotation doesn’t seem to match the author’s intention.) It was simultaneously alarmist — “Your habits are literally killing you” — and repetitive; the early chapters in particular were loaded with anecdotes and brain scans that seemed to belabor the same few points.

That said, there was a lot of good informaion presented in this book. Concrete exercises and suggestions for habit improvement make the book a solid starting point for improving one’s own female brain, though I wouldn’t recommend it as one’s only (or even primary) resource for that pursuit.

The tone is both patronizing and paternalistic, and not a single one of the fifteen tips is revolutionary or even slightly surprising — possibly because this is meant to be a "holistic health guide" for collegiates, and there are really only so many components that go into a healthy lifestyle.

I’m actually not even sure how much research went into this book as the vast majority of the information is presented as common knowledge or opinion or learned from personal experience. And it's not all accurate; the summary itself implies that high school students have great habits that get thrown out the window with the freedom and stress of college, which just isn't true. My own bad habits started as early as middle school, but were definitely pretty set in high school: sleep deprivation (I actually get more sleep in college than I ever did in high school), physical activity and diet (I actually lost weight my first semester from all the walking around, intramural sports, and making an effort to eat well, which is more than I ever did living at home), and stress (after getting into college, I was much less stressed about classes and extracurriculars, being able to finally focus on what I wanted to do instead of what would look good on college applications).

How much of our lives, good and bad, should we credit to our personal decisions, and how much is just the inheritance of our culture, our families, and our parents who have failed their children? ... Where does blame stop and sympathy begin?

Required reading for my interdisciplinary seminar, but by far more interesting than the dry political theory books that make up the rest of the list. Brings into light a population that many of us don't give much second thought to unless it's relevant to our own lives, which is just one of the many problems with our current situation as a nation. Strikes a good balance between autobiography and commentary, making the narrative memorable and effective.