earlyandalone's review against another edition
4.0
I was on the fence about this one when I started, but the last few essays in the collection are really powerful and beautiful.
hananr8's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t remember where exactly I knew about this book. I think someone mentioned it in an article but I am not sure. I am just grateful that this book found its way to me.
The book is a collection of essays talking about a number of mundane topics you think you have read everything that’s ever written about them. How wrong you would be. I felt sad reading about friendship and we all now what a positively happy topic friendship is.
It is the kind of books that one can’t simply be finished with. You read it once for content, then you read countless other times to mend your heart. Not because it offers you some priceless wisdom but because it is beautiful and insightful. Reading the book feels like two strangers discussing how wistfully painful it is to be a person in the world.
The book is simply brilliant!
The book is a collection of essays talking about a number of mundane topics you think you have read everything that’s ever written about them. How wrong you would be. I felt sad reading about friendship and we all now what a positively happy topic friendship is.
It is the kind of books that one can’t simply be finished with. You read it once for content, then you read countless other times to mend your heart. Not because it offers you some priceless wisdom but because it is beautiful and insightful. Reading the book feels like two strangers discussing how wistfully painful it is to be a person in the world.
The book is simply brilliant!
dixiet's review against another edition
4.0
3-1/2 rounded up. I really liked most of the essays. Didn't care for the cartoons at all.
daniell's review against another edition
3.0
These are fun essays from Tim Kreider's life recounting stories and what they've come to mean of them. A few of the subjects covered are the quick passing of his youth, the friendship that ended with his hyper-intellectual friend, and the sisters of his he met when he made contact with his birth mother. Kreider is most famous for writing political cartoons, and this mind is evident in the rich-image way he presents his experiences. My favorite was the notion of a soul toupee--the idea that we all have a cover for our worst selves, and that we usually do a bad job of it. This made for excellent casual reading!
mwcooper11's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
charity1313's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This was a weird read for me. On the one hand, I highlighted a bunch of great writing and I definitely laughed at points throughout. On the other hand, I didn't find the author to be likable and was very annoyed. I got bored a couple of times and nearly quit. I'm not sure if the essays that were great made up for the ones that were not.
friedeggnes's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
It's hard to write a review for a book that's a little bit of everything. We Learn Nothing is about so many things - it's about relationships and friendships, it's about being an adult and not quite feeling like an adult, it's about being a little different but it's also about being the same as everyone else, it's about politics and gender identity, it's about every little thing that comes together to make life "life". I find myself a little less alone in the world after reading this. In a way, the series of essays is like a good friend who you can tell just *knows* you from the way you make eye contact. In a way, the series of essays is like the very act of making eye contact.