Josh Bokor
Ken Jennings doesn't simply just recount his time as a contestant on 75 straight games of Jeopardy! He talks about his personal life, stories of the founders or those who popularized trivia in many different formats, and the history, culture and true meaning of trivia itself. He goes out of his way to talk to everyday people who love trivia and it's very wholesome to read how much trivia means to people. It's very insightful, charming, and above all fun to read. I also like the little trivia questions thrown into each chapter too.
Ken Jennings doesn't simply just recount his time as a contestant on 75 straight games of Jeopardy! He talks about his personal life, stories of the founders or those who popularized trivia in many different formats, and the history, culture and true meaning of trivia itself. He goes out of his way to talk to everyday people who love trivia and it's very wholesome to read how much trivia means to people. It's very insightful, charming, and above all fun to read. I also like the little trivia questions thrown into each chapter too.
It's fun and nostalgic to look back on the internet and how things have (and haven't) changed since the 90's and 2000's. Leslie's writing is entertaining to read, especially the first half of the book where she goes in depth on her childhood and young adult life. The second half for me goes off the rails a bit where she's quite annoying and bullies others way too much (sorry, but I just frankly don't care about your dog or your dog mom Facebook group) and goes to show that maybe I'd prefer not to be judged if I ran into her at a park. It's a light read that doesn't go way too in depth on things but I would prefer her writing to be less obnoxious and more focused on the internet itself as a whole.
It's fun and nostalgic to look back on the internet and how things have (and haven't) changed since the 90's and 2000's. Leslie's writing is entertaining to read, especially the first half of the book where she goes in depth on her childhood and young adult life. The second half for me goes off the rails a bit where she's quite annoying and bullies others way too much (sorry, but I just frankly don't care about your dog or your dog mom Facebook group) and goes to show that maybe I'd prefer not to be judged if I ran into her at a park. It's a light read that doesn't go way too in depth on things but I would prefer her writing to be less obnoxious and more focused on the internet itself as a whole.
I love Jacobs' book “The Puzzler” and I really wanted to dive into his other books. Whatever topic he writes about (the Constitution, the Bible, fitness, knowledge, puzzles), he dives into it with so much fearless commitment, it often ends up being interesting, educational, ridiculous, and hilarious. “It's All Relative” is all of the above, even more so than “The Puzzler.” Jacobs dives into genealogy head first by embracing the fact that we are all family and we are all cousins, no matter how distant. He even attempts to host the world's largest family reunion. I won't spoil what happens with that, but this book is engaging, insightful, and funny that I can't put it down. He approaches this topic with such an open and creative mind and he also shares much of his own family roots and history. If you don't know much about genealogy already, you'll learn a lot from this book. I also appreciate the many resources on how the reader can personally dive into their own family's roots. This book is an absolute blast and I cannot wait to read his other topical observations and ridiculous challenges he sets for himself. With all the hate, racism, and division in this world, “It's All Relative” certainly proves that we're all more similar than you think, and asks the fair question: can we all just get along, at least a little...?
I love Jacobs' book “The Puzzler” and I really wanted to dive into his other books. Whatever topic he writes about (the Constitution, the Bible, fitness, knowledge, puzzles), he dives into it with so much fearless commitment, it often ends up being interesting, educational, ridiculous, and hilarious. “It's All Relative” is all of the above, even more so than “The Puzzler.” Jacobs dives into genealogy head first by embracing the fact that we are all family and we are all cousins, no matter how distant. He even attempts to host the world's largest family reunion. I won't spoil what happens with that, but this book is engaging, insightful, and funny that I can't put it down. He approaches this topic with such an open and creative mind and he also shares much of his own family roots and history. If you don't know much about genealogy already, you'll learn a lot from this book. I also appreciate the many resources on how the reader can personally dive into their own family's roots. This book is an absolute blast and I cannot wait to read his other topical observations and ridiculous challenges he sets for himself. With all the hate, racism, and division in this world, “It's All Relative” certainly proves that we're all more similar than you think, and asks the fair question: can we all just get along, at least a little...?
As a certified “Klostermaniac,” I wanted to dive into his first book, “Fargo Rock City,” which covers his young adolescence in North Dakota as a hard rock / heavy metal fan during the 80's and 90's. Since this was written in early 2001, some of his takes haven't aged as well as others (“Appetite for Destruction” is NOT better than “Nevermind”) but overall this is a solid book that goes through all things heavy metal and hard rock, the ups and the downs of this long hair, drug fueled era. Guns n Roses, Motley Cru, Poison, Sabbath... you name it, it's covered. As you'd expect with a book by Chuck, it's going to be written in depth through his long winding, heavily detailed, sometimes annoying persona. It's certainly not for everyone, but those are all the reasons why I love his writing. Though there are rough edges that will be smoothed out with later books, “Fargo Rock City” shows the early signs of what's to come and is a great read for heavy metal fans or for those who are unfamiliar with the genre/era like myself.
As a certified “Klostermaniac,” I wanted to dive into his first book, “Fargo Rock City,” which covers his young adolescence in North Dakota as a hard rock / heavy metal fan during the 80's and 90's. Since this was written in early 2001, some of his takes haven't aged as well as others (“Appetite for Destruction” is NOT better than “Nevermind”) but overall this is a solid book that goes through all things heavy metal and hard rock, the ups and the downs of this long hair, drug fueled era. Guns n Roses, Motley Cru, Poison, Sabbath... you name it, it's covered. As you'd expect with a book by Chuck, it's going to be written in depth through his long winding, heavily detailed, sometimes annoying persona. It's certainly not for everyone, but those are all the reasons why I love his writing. Though there are rough edges that will be smoothed out with later books, “Fargo Rock City” shows the early signs of what's to come and is a great read for heavy metal fans or for those who are unfamiliar with the genre/era like myself.
It's interesting to read about whiteness in hip-hop and its impact in social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects from Tanz's point of view, since he's a white, obsessive male hip-hop fan. It's not a casual or comforting read, one that is pretty insightful and highlights from different perspectives in the hip-hop community and those who are out of it and instead are in offshoots of the genre. Although much has changed since its initial publication in 2007, “Other People's Property” is a proper telling of race's impact in hip-hop and it's definitely an introduction for a much larger and more in depth book on the topic.
It's interesting to read about whiteness in hip-hop and its impact in social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects from Tanz's point of view, since he's a white, obsessive male hip-hop fan. It's not a casual or comforting read, one that is pretty insightful and highlights from different perspectives in the hip-hop community and those who are out of it and instead are in offshoots of the genre. Although much has changed since its initial publication in 2007, “Other People's Property” is a proper telling of race's impact in hip-hop and it's definitely an introduction for a much larger and more in depth book on the topic.
Fantastic. Honest, humbling, entertaining, motivational, inspiring and (no surprise) funny, “I Can't Make This Up” is an excellent memoir that stacks up with some the best memoirs from modern day comedians. Kevin Hart isn't afraid to be confrontational about himself and it's really refreshing. He proudly accepts his weaknesses, learns from his many mistakes and ultimately he becomes a stronger individual because of them. It's great to see how his humbling and difficult past has positively impacted him to make massive successes within his career. Also one other thing, I have zero idea why the book's cover has a bunch of puppies on it...? It's cute regardless!
Fantastic. Honest, humbling, entertaining, motivational, inspiring and (no surprise) funny, “I Can't Make This Up” is an excellent memoir that stacks up with some the best memoirs from modern day comedians. Kevin Hart isn't afraid to be confrontational about himself and it's really refreshing. He proudly accepts his weaknesses, learns from his many mistakes and ultimately he becomes a stronger individual because of them. It's great to see how his humbling and difficult past has positively impacted him to make massive successes within his career. Also one other thing, I have zero idea why the book's cover has a bunch of puppies on it...? It's cute regardless!
I was pretty hyped for this book since its release last year and it definitely surpasses my expectations. “Filterworld” goes through the history of algorithms, culture, personal taste and curation, and how algorithms are making culture more boring, less personal, and more nondescriptive. Kyle Chayka does a great job explaining how we've come to this point of the inescapable, inhuman algorithmic impact on culture and how we as users make decisions and interactions with the world through both his own experiences and in historical context. The book's topics, especially when writing about the importance in music and art's curation, discovery, and archival process, I find fascinating and hugely important when it comes to expanding user's minds, diving into context and cultural history, as well as actually finding your own taste from humans rather than the algorithm giving it to you. It's also interesting to read about Chayka's personal takes and experiences as well as his algorithmic cleanse that he did for three months and what came out of it. This book is essential for any reader, aware or not of this cultural flattening. It's an extremely important and vital issue to be aware and worried about, especially how dividing, boring, dangerous, and dull social media has become and is yet another reason why I revoltingly hate and avoid using it at all costs.
I was pretty hyped for this book since its release last year and it definitely surpasses my expectations. “Filterworld” goes through the history of algorithms, culture, personal taste and curation, and how algorithms are making culture more boring, less personal, and more nondescriptive. Kyle Chayka does a great job explaining how we've come to this point of the inescapable, inhuman algorithmic impact on culture and how we as users make decisions and interactions with the world through both his own experiences and in historical context. The book's topics, especially when writing about the importance in music and art's curation, discovery, and archival process, I find fascinating and hugely important when it comes to expanding user's minds, diving into context and cultural history, as well as actually finding your own taste from humans rather than the algorithm giving it to you. It's also interesting to read about Chayka's personal takes and experiences as well as his algorithmic cleanse that he did for three months and what came out of it. This book is essential for any reader, aware or not of this cultural flattening. It's an extremely important and vital issue to be aware and worried about, especially how dividing, boring, dangerous, and dull social media has become and is yet another reason why I revoltingly hate and avoid using it at all costs.
“Born Standing Up” is a solid, well written debut memoir from the stand-up comedy legend Steve Martin. It's quite short and to the point at around 200 pages total but Martin does a great job covering his massive rise to fame and decision to step away from performing stand-up and pivoting to film. It could've been a bit meatier, that's my only complaint.
“Born Standing Up” is a solid, well written debut memoir from the stand-up comedy legend Steve Martin. It's quite short and to the point at around 200 pages total but Martin does a great job covering his massive rise to fame and decision to step away from performing stand-up and pivoting to film. It could've been a bit meatier, that's my only complaint.