dominika_benmichael's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise but that's about it. Some of the stories were interesting, others not so much, most of them only barely happened on "The Day" and they didn't come together into a cohesive narrative of what that day was like. But what I really dislike is the tone of the book, very judgemental and flippant, it's hard to get over to get into the book on your own.
tdwightdavis's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Such a great idea: a journalist has strangers choose a day, a month, and a year out of a hat and reports it in-depth. The day chosen, December 12, 1986, wasn’t a notable news day and fell on a day of the week and a week of the month notoriously slow for news. But what Weingarten proves is that there’s no such thing as a slow news day. People’s lives are changed. Technology is proven to work or not work. Stories are written. Love blooms or dies. Every day is a complex tapestry and if we have the empathy and patience required, we can see the beauty being woven all around us.
bet27's review
4.0
Wow. I was hooked by the premise--choose a random day and find out what happened on it to try and answer whether there is such a thing as a normal day--and I was not disappointed. An intriguing depiction of how even a seemingly ordinary day holds moments that affect lives for years to come. Weingarten doesn't waste words, so when a story seemed to be "uneventful" I soon knew a surprise was coming. While some stories were sad, and even devastating, I was left feeling more hopeful about the possibilities of life and with a greater sense of appreciation about what may appear to be the mundane days of my life. Gathering, confirming, and culling the details for this book must've been daunting, but the end result is worthy of such efforts. A great book for book club discussions.
plaidpladd's review
2.0
So hard to know how to rate this book. Really stellar concept, but the execution can't live up to it. A few of the stories were really interesting and well-written. Many were kind of boring. Many were written with weird (1980s-style?) sexism and judgments from the author.
cook_memorial_public_library's review
5.0
A 2019 staff favorite recommended by Mary. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sone%20day%20weingarten__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
readers_block's review
5.0
wow wow wow wow.
stunning. spectacular. one of my favorite books I've read in a while. a collection of various stories from a day picked out of a hat by a supremely talented journalist. i was riveted from start to finish.
"We are all serving time on death row, only the length of our stay is indeterminate. Dead people, walking. If our lives are to be fulfilling, we must be grateful for the experience alone. Those who have had a brush with death and survive, who have come nakedly face-to-face with their own mortality, get a visceral glimpse at that truth. It is terrifying and humbling, it changes perceptions and priorities and delivers awe. But denial tends to quickly take hold again—we navigate our terrors through denial—and we return to the mundane: our old habits, our take-for-granted thinking. Each moment becomes once again just another in a series of unremarkable moments, instead of a soul searing blast of the inexpressible wonder of being."
stunning. spectacular. one of my favorite books I've read in a while. a collection of various stories from a day picked out of a hat by a supremely talented journalist. i was riveted from start to finish.
"We are all serving time on death row, only the length of our stay is indeterminate. Dead people, walking. If our lives are to be fulfilling, we must be grateful for the experience alone. Those who have had a brush with death and survive, who have come nakedly face-to-face with their own mortality, get a visceral glimpse at that truth. It is terrifying and humbling, it changes perceptions and priorities and delivers awe. But denial tends to quickly take hold again—we navigate our terrors through denial—and we return to the mundane: our old habits, our take-for-granted thinking. Each moment becomes once again just another in a series of unremarkable moments, instead of a soul searing blast of the inexpressible wonder of being."