Reviews

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

mollywetta's review against another edition

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I couldn't put this down! I love all the details and the contradictions the author finds in herself and in the world of tech.

cindypepper's review against another edition

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4.0

As somebody who worked in tech for several years in Silicon Valley, I was apprehensive about reading this. Wouldn't I be reading things I already knew -- and had lived? But I figured it might be interesting to read about Silicon Valley from a different lens, that of somebody who had never had a life in tech planned out for herself.

Uncanny Valley is riveting, almost in the way Gossip Girl can entice you by making you feel like you're part of an outer circle but not quite in the inner circle. I love the oblique references to various Silicon Valley companies and people; most are quite obvious in a mutually understood way ("A social network everyone said they hated", "A search-engine giant down in Mountain View") that makes for a nice puzzle. Others require a bit of sleuthing and Googling. Uncanny Valley is stylish, but it's still hawkishly observant and stripped of the rose-colored glasses.

stine_0's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

4.0

seristof's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

2.75

jacquelinein's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

emlh's review against another edition

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3.75

I’m glad I read it, and I learned quite a bit. But I felt like she blurred the lines between subjective and objective a bit based on her personal experiences. Also a bit over critical of tech workers in general (eg their personalities and habits)

mjerr23's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

aqua_moon's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced

2.75

I liked the first chunk of this book but as it went on, there was less and less to really take from it. Weiner is a great writer but by the end of the book I wasn’t convinced she had anything new to say on her topic of choice. Maybe it’s just my own impatience but this felt very white feminist-y and I think there are more interesting perspectives out there to read from instead. 

caroline2499's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

ljutavidra's review against another edition

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4.0

Zaboravila sam koliko sporije čitam knjige u fizičkom obliku.

Elem, o čemu se ovde radi? Autorka raskrinkava Silicon Valley, ali ne u smislu da je procurila neke informacije, već je sve njen lični doživljaj. Kao prava milenijalka kuka na sve i svašta, ali s pravom. Donekle sam stekla utisak da joj je ipak prijao taj ušuškani život u raznim startapima jer niko zdravorazuman ne bi proveo toliko godina u toj sredini a da mu se to ništa ne dopada. Razumem da nije znala ni ko je ni šta je, ali ima tu elemenata mazohizma, ako ćemo sad dublje da ulazimo u njenu natalnu kartu.

Muka joj je od samozadovoljnih CEO-a, CTO-a i drugih skraćenica, muka joj je od kolega programera, smatra da to što radi nema nikakvu vrednost, a onda kupuje skupe patike koje nijednom nije obukla. Kupila ih je samo zato što su ih svi nosili.

Neću da lažem, na par mesta sam se prepoznala i zgrozila. Ali za razliku od autorke, shvatila sam kad je to okruženje postalo toksično i kad mi se pružila prilika, napustila sam sve to na (nadam se) donekle civilizovan način. Da li žalim za tim? Možda ponekad; kolege su mi bile uglavnom kul, plata je bila fina, posao je bilo koliko toliko podnošljiv. Ali onaj najgori momenat je kad shvatiš da ti ljudi na kraju dana nisu porodica i nije im stalo do tebe. To je ono što je u prirodi startapova; na početku se svi družite i sve je super opušteno, a kasnije shvatiš da si se uljuljkao u neku nepostojeću ideju i onda se probudiš i shvatiš da to sve ipak nije onako kako si mislio.

To je na fin način prenela na papir i ova autorka i teško je u nekim segmentima ne poistovetiti se sa njenim razmišljanjima. Naročito deo kada je razbijala glavu u tome da ništa neće ostaviti iza sebe. Sve je na internetu, neopipljivo. Da li njen rad menja svet? Pa, i ne baš. I sve usputne komentare koje je dala na konto tehnologije i nedostatka žena u istom su pogodili metu.

Napisah i ja memoar sad, joj.
Pomešana osećanja, ali krajnja ocena 4.