emmakmanning's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
josieheadley's review
4.0
Very good, I think mostly because I read it over a month or so where it fit perfectly into my mindset and what I’ve been thinking about, good end of period in life read
Only 4 stars bc some essays are a bit contrived
Only 4 stars bc some essays are a bit contrived
fgriff's review
5.0
This book was introspective and existential.
Would not recommend listening to it on the way to work. Although it’s lovely, it gives you a lot to think about and consider and absorb, which is hard to process before a day at the desk.
Would not recommend listening to it on the way to work. Although it’s lovely, it gives you a lot to think about and consider and absorb, which is hard to process before a day at the desk.
emsemsems's review
4.0
“When my plants grow, it feels like they are teaching me to experience my own happiness in slow motion, not over the course of a few seconds, a few moments, but over the course of weeks, months. And when my plants die, when they start to dry out, or wilt, or rot at the root, they die slowly, too. Even in sadness, I have come to appreciate that there is something peaceful about how slowly that panic and hopelessness and frustration and guilt unfurls, every morning and every night, over and over again, and how slowly the plant teaches me to feel it, to accept it, until one day it cannot teach me anything, anymore.”
Like a very generous, steaming mug of camomile tea – this was such a chill/feel-good read. It’s hard to review a collection of essays that are so personal to the writer. I feel like creative non-fiction can only go either way of the rating spectrum. One can either like the writing a lot or think it’s a completely waste of time. I read the book and listened to the audiobook at the same time – which made for such a brilliant experience. I enjoyed the illustrations very much as well. And as a plant parent (albeit a rather half-arsed one), I love, love, love the plant references and of the way Sun had talked/wrote about plants in his life. Surely, this is the most ‘soothing’ audiobook I’ve ever listened to.
ricelatte's review
I dont quite understand what this book is, but at the point I stopped at it seems mostly like a book for workaholics that offers more... personal reflection than anything else. This is not something I can really relate to, and I'm not sure I've gotten anything that felt valuable to me so I'm DNF'ing but maybe ill come back to it later!
jenn_stark's review
5.0
for years i have made soft boiled eggs and was just fine with never really digging deeper and questioning the inconsistency of my results. and then i read jonny sun’s essay on eggs (one of the many brilliant essays in this collection) and now i get the perfect soft boiled egg every time. and that’s what this whole collection is — digging deeper and exploring the questions i’ve always had but never given voice to. highly recommended.