Reviews
I is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way We See the World by James Geary
diane's review
2.0
I guess I'll file this under "not for me." Boring. I kept putting it down and not wanting to pick it up again. It may have a lot of good information in there for someone, but not for me.
maddykpdx's review
4.0
A friend once said to me, "People who speak in metaphors can shampoo my crotch," a phrase that, I believe, is itself a metaphor...amiright?
In any case...Geary's book is an incredibly readable examination of the metaphors that permeate our world, how our senses and our minds are inextricably linked by metaphor, and why living in a literal world is, in fact, an impossibility. This book is pretty short (yay!), and includes loads of psychological case study references, which I loved - science! I feel smarter.
In any case...Geary's book is an incredibly readable examination of the metaphors that permeate our world, how our senses and our minds are inextricably linked by metaphor, and why living in a literal world is, in fact, an impossibility. This book is pretty short (yay!), and includes loads of psychological case study references, which I loved - science! I feel smarter.
pearseanderson's review
3.0
I disagree with a lot of how Geary presents metaphors (really man, read more Lakoff, Johnson, Black, and Berggren before you start to discuss metaphor theory and its implications), but I love how intense/compact/detailed his chapters were. I had to breezed through sections because of finals week, but I plan on returning to Geary in the future. This deserves my full time. Although it could use an update—I found a few glaring errors.
tumbly_weed's review against another edition
4.0
An incredible compendium of sources, facts and theories, this is a very broad survey of the places metaphor is used in human culture. As a general survey however, which is difficult enough for a material object to achieve, many of the sections did not provide ample arguments for there to be so many sections, indeed many arguments seemed directed at a previous chapter. I found these subsections very interesting theoretically, but was unsatisfied by a number of attempts at conclusions. The ending felt abrupt.
The book also lacked intense examinations of writing, which could easily have been explored in a variety of sections. A lot of studies were mentioned, but fewer literary immersions. There were definitely moments of lovely writing, however, and I get the sense that hanging out with Mr. Geary would be a pretty fascinating afternoon of conversation and learning a variety of new things.
A post-script note: I read this book as part of my investigation on metaphor for my dissertation, so in its comparisons to somewhat more intense reading, it pales a bit. However, it is fairly light and engaging reading for a less rigorous study of metaphor and it definitely engages many more examples of metaphor as a general census (and does a good job of explaining each) than anything else I've found so far!
The book also lacked intense examinations of writing, which could easily have been explored in a variety of sections. A lot of studies were mentioned, but fewer literary immersions. There were definitely moments of lovely writing, however, and I get the sense that hanging out with Mr. Geary would be a pretty fascinating afternoon of conversation and learning a variety of new things.
A post-script note: I read this book as part of my investigation on metaphor for my dissertation, so in its comparisons to somewhat more intense reading, it pales a bit. However, it is fairly light and engaging reading for a less rigorous study of metaphor and it definitely engages many more examples of metaphor as a general census (and does a good job of explaining each) than anything else I've found so far!
sarahjsnider's review
4.0
We use metaphor approximately every ten to twenty-five words. Once you can accept Geary's broad interpretation of metaphor (for me, it was somewhere toward the end of chapter 1), this book is an illuminating (metaphor!) study of how metaphor is important and our language affects our thinking.
erinelizabeth's review
4.0
"We can so seldom declare what a thing is, except by saying it is something else" --George Eliot
loppear's review
2.0
Pop sci-ish and literature-ish tour around metaphor's pervasive role in language. Tries to bring in cognitive and behavioral research, but without much direction or identity. Not what I expected, and not good at the lower bar it aims for.
bookwormmichelle's review
5.0
FASCINATING little book exploring metaphor--it's not just for English majors anymore. This book examines how metaphor shapes everything from our language to the way we construct reality and then think about it. Really delightful! You HAVE to love a book with chapter subtitles like "The Earth is Like a Rice Pudding" or "How High Can a Dead Cat Bounce?" :-)
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