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alanffm's review
3.0
This was a very enjoyable read by a man who's reflected a lot on life. Kreider's retrospectives are full of wisdom and his writing is very clear. My only criticism is that, despite his clarity, there is nothing profound about his essays: the lessons he teaches, at least to me, seem like common sense. Regardless, it was a very smooth book full of witty writing and feel good stories that I'm happy to have read and would recommend.
xoshea's review against another edition
I didn't love this book. In fact, I wanted, several times, to just abandon it altogether. I realize that personal essays are not my favorite, and while I did love a couple of the essays this guy published in the New York Times, reading a whole bunch of them at once, was a bit, well, overwhelming.
I did really appreciate, though, that near the end, when I was on the verge of abandoning this book entirely, he included a quote from Ranier Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet, and, for that reason alone, I am glad I kept reading.
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” -- Rilke
I did really appreciate, though, that near the end, when I was on the verge of abandoning this book entirely, he included a quote from Ranier Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet, and, for that reason alone, I am glad I kept reading.
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” -- Rilke
sovietsurvey_0241's review against another edition
4.0
Decent book, some of Tim's stories are thought-provoking and heart felt, while others are more bland. Tim's writing style is easy to read and entertaining, plenty of jokes thrown in.
hoboken's review
5.0
A small sample of the wisdom.
"It makes me proud of all of us who are secretly going to pieces behind closed doors but still somehow keeping it together for the public, collaborating in the shaky ongoing effort of not letting civilization fall apart for one more day."
"Most people are just too self-absorbed, well-meaning, and lazy to bother orchestrating Machiavellian plans to slight or insult us."
"The left blames Corporate America for the ruinous state of the union, while the right blames the Government. Not many people on either side seem to have noticed that these alleged antagonists are literally the same people. They move from regulatory agencies to lobbying firms, Congress to corporate boards and back like Afghani warlords switching sides . . . depending on who's paying better that week."
"It turned out I'd been asking the wrong question; it was never is she a woman or is he a man but what is a friend?"
"Her only real wish throughout her transition was that others should see her as the person she felt herself to be--which wish is shared by everyone and is of course granted none of us."
"It makes me proud of all of us who are secretly going to pieces behind closed doors but still somehow keeping it together for the public, collaborating in the shaky ongoing effort of not letting civilization fall apart for one more day."
"Most people are just too self-absorbed, well-meaning, and lazy to bother orchestrating Machiavellian plans to slight or insult us."
"The left blames Corporate America for the ruinous state of the union, while the right blames the Government. Not many people on either side seem to have noticed that these alleged antagonists are literally the same people. They move from regulatory agencies to lobbying firms, Congress to corporate boards and back like Afghani warlords switching sides . . . depending on who's paying better that week."
"It turned out I'd been asking the wrong question; it was never is she a woman or is he a man but what is a friend?"
"Her only real wish throughout her transition was that others should see her as the person she felt herself to be--which wish is shared by everyone and is of course granted none of us."
manda2491's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book immediately after reading Kreider's NY Times piece "The Summer That Never Was." I felt an eerie connection to the sentiments he described in his essay which, to my delight, was echoed in this collection. Kreider's writing is deeply humanistic and self-conscious fueled by his own doubts, insecurities, and skepticism. It is balanced between being hilarious/clever and philosophical/wise - managing to really get to the heart of the human experience with brutal honesty. Unfortunately, the essays do lack a claim to longevity as people will forget about the specific political fears surrounding the Bush Administration and hope of the early Obama years. Likewise, Kreider writes from the distinct perspective of a New York liberal which may not appeal to all audiences (but is due, in part, to why I find him so charming). I truly, truly loved this collection.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. A man in his forties, a political cartoonist who lives in New York and has never married, tells stories about his friends and his life. The writing in this is equal to the best of David Sedaris, although his style is a little more verbose, a little less punchline. But I didn't care for the cartoons at the end of each chapter or his newspaper editorial page drawing style.
I loved the essay about getting stabbed, the essay about losing touch with his Peak Oil obsessive friend, as well as his essay about twenty years of friendship with a character named Skelly, a compulsive liar and a lot of fun. The author is both observant and intelligent, and is good at wringing meaning from a life that seems to have been lived in bars, with the same group of friends for decades. And this:
I loved the essay about getting stabbed, the essay about losing touch with his Peak Oil obsessive friend, as well as his essay about twenty years of friendship with a character named Skelly, a compulsive liar and a lot of fun. The author is both observant and intelligent, and is good at wringing meaning from a life that seems to have been lived in bars, with the same group of friends for decades. And this:
The Soul Toupee is that thing about ourselves we are most deeply embarrassed by and like to think we have cunningly concealed from the world, but which is, in fact, pitifully obvious to everybody who knows us.
nursewretched's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0