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My Planet: Finding Humor In The Oddest Places (2013)

by Mary Roach(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1621450716 (ISBN13: 9781621450719)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Reader's Digest

review 1: This is a side of Mary Roach I really wish I'd never seen. I'm sure these stories were hilarious in small doses when originally published, but all together they came off as whiny and self-centered. This should have been called, "My Husband", although Ed seems to be her whole world as documented here so maybe the title is appropriate. Until I picked this up, Mary Roach was one of my favorite authors. I loved her humor and her tenacious research and approachable way of describing science. Reading these often abruptly-ended essays back to back, I started to notice her tendency to explicitly endorse gender stereotypes (a la, "men have _____ gene, that I, as a woman, do not") as a means of setting up her next demonstration of her husband's quirks. It would have upset me to see ... morethat kind of nonsense from any author, but it made me especially sad to see it from one of my literary idols.Sadly, I had no desire to finish this collection. I got it from the library, but had I purchased it (as I usually do with Roach's books) I would have been pretty pissed. The only reason I am bestowing two stars instead of one is that before I got sick of the whining and blatant gender stereotyping, this book did make me laugh out loud in expected Roach fashion. I just wish she'd kept it a bit classier (as only a woman who so elegantly writes about floating space poo can).
review 2: I've read Mary Roach before and I really wanted to like this book thinking it was another witty Mary Roach novel. The Readers Digest logo on the front should have clued me in, but I was skimming the new books at the library right before close and picked it up anyway. The concept of this book, if you weren't clear, is a collection of 62 essays that I think were written for Reader's Digest. I think the last time I perused a copy of R.D. was in my Grandmother's bathroom while dealing with the aftermath of Thanksgiving dinner. The essays started out amusing for me and it was great to be able to pick up the book, read an essay or two and set it down when the kids came screaming into the room about who hit who. Sitting down and reading this for more than 10 minutes at a time though is not recommended. All of the stories start to take on the exact same format and tone. My OCD wouldn't let me give up on completing the book, so I soldiered on and made it to the end. Maybe one monthly in a Reader's Digest to be enjoyed during gastrointestinal distress may make these more amusing but power reading 60 of these babies in the span of a couple of days left me wanting to beat my head against the wall. less

Download links for: My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places

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