I wanted this book to be a dark sexy thriller.

The sexy parts weren't nearly as sexy as I wanted, and the final release from the build up of the main people-who-should-just-have-sex-already was pretty dissapointing.

The thrilling parts also weren't as thrilling as I wanted. The spookiness was barely spooky. I was never really scared or worried about what was coming next.

And the darkness was just, unpleasant. Not particularly creative or twisted, just... sad.

And finally - the writing itself did nothing to redeem the above.

There are however, two things about the book that excited me.

First -- I'll be very curious how it gets translated to the upcoming movie. How do you do a book-within-a-book in a film?!

Second -- I happened to pick up Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin while in the middle of this. There's a moment in Verity where the protagonist has to pick a psuedonym in a hurry - and she chooses Laura Chase. What are the odds!?!?! -- that's the writer in the book-within-a-book in Blind Assassin!!

People would not stop recommending this book! I heard about from so many. I suppose that's what happens when you play Dungeons and Dragons.

This book is pure entertainment. I kept thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it, even while reading, but it kept proving me wrong again and again. I heard it described as "the reading equivalent of watching someone play a video game on youtube." And... that's a task I really don't enjoy! Early in the book especially, there were scenes that were literally our hero Carl learning how to use an inventory menu!

And yet, it was enjoyable. The monsters were creative, the fight scenes exciting, the missions heartfelt, the kitty cat hilarious, and the bad guys deep down are a capitalistic megacorp! What's not to like.

12 hours through the audiobook, and I understood how there could be 8 of these books published. There was a lot of great teasing of what's to come, and though I started out thinking there's no way I'd read them all, I could see easily see myself downloading book 2 before a plane ride.

I read this following up on my reading of An Immense World - one of my favorite books maybe ever.

Ed Yong is truly terrific - his storytelling is compelling, and the facts he finds and the wonder and delight he brings to the natural world is so contagious.

That said, I simply care a lot less about the microbial universe than I do the world of animals, so the book was much less enjoyable. The animal facts in An Immense World are so fun, because animals are relatable. The breadth of stories in I Contain Multitudes hit a lot less hard. I don't have associations with viruses vs bacteria vs cells, etc. In the same way that I do birds vs fish vs bats - and hearing cool fact after cool fact of "tiny things" ultimately became somewhat repetitive.

Furthermore, we are only beginning to understand the microbial universe, and Yong does the responsible thing and avoids wild claims. So much of the books is about things that we <i>could</i> know, or that are likely to be very interesting as we learn more.

The book is great - and I count him now among my top authors. I cannot wait for his next book. But this book suffers from it's comparison to the absolutely amazing Immense World.

I read this book to complement my newfound swim hobby.

The book was enjoyable. Tsui is a good writer - but the topic matter didn't end up being all that interesting to me. I already basically knew that people had a deep relationship with swimming. In fact, part of picking up the hobby was trying to get "in on" this thing that everyone else seems to love so much!

I enjoyed hearing about the Samurai swim techniques.

But most of all, the book was fun because Tsui is local to San Francisco, and she talks about a swim club in the San Francisco Bay that I know a number of members at. It's a local book -- and hey -- one day, I think maybe I will try swimming in the bay.

If I do though, it will be because I was convinced by my friends who do it, not necessarily by this book.

I enjoyed reading this book. It's fun to stew a little bit in an obscure world like lighthouses, and it's not a dry history book. The author comes to Foghorn's from an arts perspective, from experimental noise.

As such, it's chock full of interesting recommendations and resources-- the book also made me interested in Sheffield, where the author received her Ph.D. and where Sam Aaron -- creator of Sonic Pi had incubated his work for many years. (https://sonic-pi.net or track down some work by Cabaret Voltaire).

I also got through this book during a prolonged stay in foggy Inverness, CA - and it was a terrific mood piece - much of the book dwells on lonely coasts.

And finally - my favorite part was reading about the author's pilgrimage to San Francisco, and to hear about her visit to the control room for the horns that blare from the Golden Gate Bridge, the very ones I hear from my bedroom (supposedly on average of 2.5 hours a day).

It seems as though people hate when foghorn's are installed, and they hate when they're removed. I, certainly, would feel a certain loss if the sound stopped resonating along the gate.

The books 3 rating is not because it was unenjoyable, but because it was not terribly consequential and because so much of my enjoyment was specific to the time and place.

I'll pass along the citation I got from this book, from a San Francisco character, a pioneer of "Deep Listening":

Being used to a sound in your environment is tuning it out. By inverse- paying attention to sounds attune you to the environment. -- Pauline Oliveros

This book had it all.

It was a non-stop barrage of incredibly interesting animal facts. They were presented in such a way that Lucy could pop in to the audio for a short car trip, and she enjoyed the small pieces, but they were laid out in a well structured overall narrative.

And if it was just the animal facts, it would have been great, but Ed is also a captivating writer, and the book is constantly making you re-evaluate how YOU perceive yourself and the world around you.

Absolutely loved.

This was a fun read to listen to while walking with a baby, essentially a water creature strapped to your chest. An enjoyable way to immerse yourself into the absurdity of intelligence, and to get some fun animal facts.

Though there are many wow moments about octopuses, it ultimately wasn't that consequential of a read.