Batched Books Reviews Archive #4

Period: 2021.12.14–2022.06.07

Non-fiction

• How to Change Your Mind (1+/4) — It’s probably the biggest disappointment of my reading this year. The topic (psychedelics) seemed like one with a lot of potential yet the book completely failed to deliver. Most of it is completely meritless histories of random people intermingled with descriptions of psychedelic trips, also without anything interesting in them. There is maybe half a chapter on neuroscience behind those substances which might have been interesting if it wasn’t butchered, simplified, and squeezed so much. Out of 13 hours of this book, there are maybe 3 that were actually interesting. But somehow I finished it, mostly because the writing itself is good.
• Naked Statistics (3-/4) — If you had a statistics course at the university you won’t find much new content there but it might be a good refreshment. Rather well-written and not too technical.
• Practicing Mindfulness (3-/4) — I didn’t take too much from it but it confirmed my belief that “The Great Courses” is a good quality standard. It’s at least 3rd book I read from the series and are were good. This one is worth reading if you want to learn more about mediation but probably won’t change your life (didn’t change mine).
• Tools of titans (3/4) — Probably not as great as reviews suggest, but definitely worth reading. Having this amount of insights from different people, guarantees you will find something useful. But to manage expectations, I think I got something from maybe ~25% of the interviewed people
• The Psychology of Money (3/4) — I somehow expected it to be more on “money” and less on “psychology” but Im still satisfied with reading it. Gives a nice view into why humans do what they do with money.
• Desert Solitaire (3+/4) — A very “weird” book. It’s basically a journal and never stopping image of wilderness. A lot of descriptions of nature, which I would never believe to be interesting… but they were! Definitely worth reading if you look for something different than typical fiction or non-fiction books.

Fiction

• Project Hail Mary (4/4) — Absolutely fantastic. If you’ve read and enjoyed ”The Martian”, you will enjoy this one just as much. It was picked as a top listen of 2021 by Audible and it’s well deserved.
• Dungeon Desolation (2+/4) — Part 2 of Divine Dungeon Series. The idea is interesting (the main “hero” being a dungeon), but the execution is mediocre.
• Broken Empire Series (3+/4) — This is one of the few series I’ve read more than once. I love the main character who is clever, ruthless, and utterly broken. The world-building is also incredibly interesting.
• The Shadow of the Torturer (3/4) — The story, if there is one, is not particularly interesting. However, the world-building, language, and style are all impressive. They give the reader the sense that they are reading something more than just another work of fiction.
• Fate of the Fallen (2+/4) — I loved King’s Dark Tidings from the same author, but this one doesn’t live up to that level of quality.
• Infinite (2/4) — Based on the number of reviews, this book seems to be quite popular. I have no clue why. Spacecraft, cryogenic sleep, and problems — can it be any more clichéd? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent sci-fi book, but there’s nothing really great about it that would justify its popularity.
• Hyperion (4-/4) — Considered one of the biggest sci-fi classics, and not without reason. I read it as a child in my native language, and now I have revisited the story in English. The plot is intriguing, and the writing is excellent.

What is this?

Batched Books Reviews Archive is a series of my typical book reviews, but they contain positions I read before I started writing the reviews in their current form. They have been revisited and converted to the current standard, but they may not live up to the current level of quality.