Scan barcode
raijoy's review against another edition
5.0
I would listen to Elisa talk at length about nearly anything. Utterly engrossing and so smart.
floortje_fauna's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of essays on disaster culture in three parts, looking at a wide range of topics such as climate anxiety, compassion fatigue, the unreliability of memory, sickness, social media exposure, and the role of the media.
Learned a lot, preferring the first and the third part. Plus, great title and cover.
Learned a lot, preferring the first and the third part. Plus, great title and cover.
combito's review against another edition
5.0
WOW--
The crazy thing is that I was aware of or had researched almost all of the events and phenomena her essays touched on. Still, this collection blew me away. I've been recommending this to anyone who will listen.
The crazy thing is that I was aware of or had researched almost all of the events and phenomena her essays touched on. Still, this collection blew me away. I've been recommending this to anyone who will listen.
thrilled's review against another edition
3.0
who would read a book all about disasters like the titanic, 9/11, and hiroshima on a beach? it's me. hi.
ssalamanca's review against another edition
4.0
"'Conventionally beautiful' and 'not conventionally beautiful' both sound like insults"
"Loneliness and longing and nostalgia do feel sometimes like varieties of happiness, like something to indulge in, like when I read old emails on purpose to make myself miss someone."
"By hiding who's really responsible for our current, terrifying predicament, 'we' provides political cover for the people who are happy to let hundreds of millions of other people die for their own profit and pleasure."
"Our cultural calculus on what constitutes the "worst" disasters must include how much publicity they get."
"You can't prepare for the worst-case scenario when the scenario keeps getting rapidly worse."
I absolutely loved the beginning 2/3 of this book but started to feel as though reading it was a chore by the end. This is mainly due to my own personal preference for the topics discussed, not the writing quality. I think the author does an amazing job balancing her opinions with facts, creating a thought-provoking and informative series of essays. It was especially ironic reading the essay surrounding pandemics and I would be interested in seeing a second book with post-COVID insights.
"Loneliness and longing and nostalgia do feel sometimes like varieties of happiness, like something to indulge in, like when I read old emails on purpose to make myself miss someone."
"By hiding who's really responsible for our current, terrifying predicament, 'we' provides political cover for the people who are happy to let hundreds of millions of other people die for their own profit and pleasure."
"Our cultural calculus on what constitutes the "worst" disasters must include how much publicity they get."
"You can't prepare for the worst-case scenario when the scenario keeps getting rapidly worse."
I absolutely loved the beginning 2/3 of this book but started to feel as though reading it was a chore by the end. This is mainly due to my own personal preference for the topics discussed, not the writing quality. I think the author does an amazing job balancing her opinions with facts, creating a thought-provoking and informative series of essays. It was especially ironic reading the essay surrounding pandemics and I would be interested in seeing a second book with post-COVID insights.
itsolivia's review against another edition
4.0
The deal: It’s a series of literary essays on topics mostly related to disaster (doom, terror, memory, tragedy, etc.).
Is it worth it?: This was my first time reading Gabbert, and overall I’d say probably? The last few essays felt a little too privileged neo-liberalist blah blah blah, but the ones that are stellar (the first handful) are pretty stellar.
Pairs well with: sitting on my hands in a futile attempt not to make Leslie Jamison comparisons
B
Is it worth it?: This was my first time reading Gabbert, and overall I’d say probably? The last few essays felt a little too privileged neo-liberalist blah blah blah, but the ones that are stellar (the first handful) are pretty stellar.
Pairs well with: sitting on my hands in a futile attempt not to make Leslie Jamison comparisons
B
aguytheguy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Gabbert has a way of interweaving her essays to create almost a conversation like peace. Highly recommended especially if you’re in a reading slump
bbbunny's review against another edition
5.0
This quote from the book perfectly describes my reading experience with it:
“It was so good I didn’t want to read it; I’d read ten or twenty pages and then put it down and look for something worse to read instead. I either wanted to save it for my future self or didn’t believe I deserved it.”
“It was so good I didn’t want to read it; I’d read ten or twenty pages and then put it down and look for something worse to read instead. I either wanted to save it for my future self or didn’t believe I deserved it.”
adriancurcher's review against another edition
4.0
I can't think of the last time I devoured a collection of essays this quickly. Even though this book was clearly very much finished before this insane pandemic year, I can't think of a piece of writing that feels more prescient and necessary right now.