Scan barcode
cloudyowls's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is an incredible book that should be read by people everywhere, with every belief. We must all learn the wonders of conversation just like Marron and create that bridge with people that think differently from us.
megan_fink's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
3.0
amaldae's review against another edition
3.0
Profoundly empathetic and delightfully self-reflective, but JFC I'm tired of women's trauma being someone else's learning experience
moz_art's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
3.0
shesometimesreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
woman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
Dylan Marron seems to have invented his way into being a popular podcaster. (I don't listen to podcasts, so I'm guessing here.) In a way his thought experiment here is a little like the internet and social evolution at large: our world culture is trying to renegotiate the social contract to include online interaction.
It's clear that he's not trained in psychology or social history, but he makes no claims to be. He lays out the history of his podcast, specifically the story behind his engaging with haters. He began by puncturing conservative hate-screeds with humor. He keeps track of the hate mail he gets, and one day he found that a hater actually had a life besides hating.
He mentioned the non-hating posts the person put on Facebook, then realized when he got an angry, hurt response that he'd basically outed someone without asking. That evolved to inviting haters to dialogue with him, and how he endeavored to meet them halfway--to negotiate a genuine conversation, even if no one's mind is changed.
That's the part of the book that interested me. I wish there was more effort like that out there. It's scary, how polarized our society is getting. Many of us know, and have in our families, people whose political stance is very different. How do we get along? Also, what are haters like when they aren't hating? Most aren't little Hitlers or Jeffry Dahmers.
The book was funny, rueful, reaching for empathy and compassion, and a breath of fresh air after listening to the hate vomit of politicians gleefully reproduced on the air by journalists always looking for more tooth and claw.
Copy provided by NetGalley
It's clear that he's not trained in psychology or social history, but he makes no claims to be. He lays out the history of his podcast, specifically the story behind his engaging with haters. He began by puncturing conservative hate-screeds with humor. He keeps track of the hate mail he gets, and one day he found that a hater actually had a life besides hating.
He mentioned the non-hating posts the person put on Facebook, then realized when he got an angry, hurt response that he'd basically outed someone without asking. That evolved to inviting haters to dialogue with him, and how he endeavored to meet them halfway--to negotiate a genuine conversation, even if no one's mind is changed.
That's the part of the book that interested me. I wish there was more effort like that out there. It's scary, how polarized our society is getting. Many of us know, and have in our families, people whose political stance is very different. How do we get along? Also, what are haters like when they aren't hating? Most aren't little Hitlers or Jeffry Dahmers.
The book was funny, rueful, reaching for empathy and compassion, and a breath of fresh air after listening to the hate vomit of politicians gleefully reproduced on the air by journalists always looking for more tooth and claw.
Copy provided by NetGalley
sparkdust's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
aallyoop_reads's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Thank you to Atria Books for an early copy of Conversations with People Who Hate Me in exchange for an honest review.
I had not heard of Dylan Marron before reading this book, and found the premise fascinating. He conducts a social experiment to hold conversations (not debates, nor attacks) with internet trolls. The book features these conversations, but also dissects the notion of internet hate and whether his approach was actually making a difference in making the internet a less hateful place. There was a lot of interesting analysis of why people choose to send hurtful messages to others, and he ponders such ideas as to whether showing empathy to his haters is equivalent to endorsing bad behavior. Overall, I enjoyed the concept, but parts of it were slow. I enjoyed Marron's humorous tidbits about his personal life scattered throughout each chapter.
Thank you to Atria Books for an early copy of Conversations with People Who Hate Me in exchange for an honest review.
I had not heard of Dylan Marron before reading this book, and found the premise fascinating. He conducts a social experiment to hold conversations (not debates, nor attacks) with internet trolls. The book features these conversations, but also dissects the notion of internet hate and whether his approach was actually making a difference in making the internet a less hateful place. There was a lot of interesting analysis of why people choose to send hurtful messages to others, and he ponders such ideas as to whether showing empathy to his haters is equivalent to endorsing bad behavior. Overall, I enjoyed the concept, but parts of it were slow. I enjoyed Marron's humorous tidbits about his personal life scattered throughout each chapter.