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But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
marydith's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
3.75/4
The overall premise here is really interesting, and something that resonates with me as a person who grew up in a strict southern Baptist environment with a very “this is right and this isn’t,” worldview. I love Klosterman’s personality- I think it’s one of his strengths as a writer- but I feel like we lose that a lot in this book. The moments where he’s talking about how we collectively perceive culture are really strong.
Overall, thought provoking and fun, if a little redundant at times.
The overall premise here is really interesting, and something that resonates with me as a person who grew up in a strict southern Baptist environment with a very “this is right and this isn’t,” worldview. I love Klosterman’s personality- I think it’s one of his strengths as a writer- but I feel like we lose that a lot in this book. The moments where he’s talking about how we collectively perceive culture are really strong.
Overall, thought provoking and fun, if a little redundant at times.
crazylady_usmc's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
geoffdgeorge's review against another edition
Read this in intervals between novels. I like Klosterman. We might not always look at things using the same pop-cultural touchstones, but his patterns of thought resemble my own.
I also like the concept for this book. I think more people should think more often about the ways in which they (and we all) might be wrong. Doubt is a good thing! A healthy thing. And I feel like things wouldn't be half as bad as they are if so many people weren't walking around with blind certainty all the time and spewing that blind certainty out onto the internet for the rest of us to encounter—like finely misted spittle.
Point is, the book is likely to be a quick, enjoyable read for anybody who sits down and dedicates themselves to the task. Pick it up if you're interested in entertaining some of the ways that people hundreds or thousands of years from now might look back on us and see us as misguided, uninformed, or completely absurd.
I also like the concept for this book. I think more people should think more often about the ways in which they (and we all) might be wrong. Doubt is a good thing! A healthy thing. And I feel like things wouldn't be half as bad as they are if so many people weren't walking around with blind certainty all the time and spewing that blind certainty out onto the internet for the rest of us to encounter—like finely misted spittle.
Point is, the book is likely to be a quick, enjoyable read for anybody who sits down and dedicates themselves to the task. Pick it up if you're interested in entertaining some of the ways that people hundreds or thousands of years from now might look back on us and see us as misguided, uninformed, or completely absurd.
maticorde94's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read
Not a bad book. Sometimes it got a bit repetitive and tiring. But it stated an idea that I always think about about the development of society.
Not a bad book. Sometimes it got a bit repetitive and tiring. But it stated an idea that I always think about about the development of society.
tiarala's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this one. Klosterman is at his best when he's talking pop culture, and this book is worth the read if only for the discussions on music and TV. He lost me occasionally during his more philosophical deep dives, wielding circular language that was more confusing than thought-provoking (and, possibly, a bit over both his head and mine).
The choice of a British woman reader for the audiobook was an odd one, but in his own way I'm sure it was deliberate. She was lovely, but through her voice we sort of lose the author's, and I think that's a shame.
The choice of a British woman reader for the audiobook was an odd one, but in his own way I'm sure it was deliberate. She was lovely, but through her voice we sort of lose the author's, and I think that's a shame.