Jamie Cooperstein runs a hospitality consulting business; in her brief (148 page) 2025 memoir True Hospitality, she writes breezily about her 10 yearsJamie Cooperstein runs a hospitality consulting business; in her brief (148 page) 2025 memoir True Hospitality, she writes breezily about her 10 years working as a concierge in Philadelphia, first in a luxury hotel (the Rittenhouse), then in a nearby luxury high-rise condo (Two Liberty Place).
This was a quick read, with most chapters lasting for only a few pages and largely staying superficial and focused on vignettes (including some gawking, namedropping moments that felt included for salaciousness) without delving too much into the author's feelings or analysis. Though, she does tellingly write:
I knew I wanted to stay in the world of luxury hospitality...the level of discernment and service I'd grown accustomed to and was groomed to provide for a clientele that enjoyed limousines, bottle service and acclaimed chefs - all of which I'd enjoyed learning about, test deriving, and enhancing my own life with. Everything looked so glamorous especially when you were seeing only a small snapshot of the guest's actual life whole they vacationed. I wanted to be a jet-setter too. I yearned ot find a successful attorney or notable doctor to be my life partner and travel companion and have someone put rose petals on our bed.
So the work brought her a lot of wish fulfilment and fantasy too. That was the main pull of tension I sensed in the work -- her resentment at some of the spoiled, overly demanding clients juxtaposed with her not-so-secret desire to be one of them. Very similar vibes to Stephanie Kiser's memoir Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant about working as (highly-paid) nanny to affluent New York families.
Ultimately, Cooperstein transitioned from being a concierge to consulting in hospitality, after she married a doctor and his income (who, coincidentally, she was set up with via a resident at her luxury condo complex).
Joe Dunthorne is an English novelist. Children of Radium is a nonfiction family memoir tracing the story of Dunthorne's great-grandfather Siegfried MeJoe Dunthorne is an English novelist. Children of Radium is a nonfiction family memoir tracing the story of Dunthorne's great-grandfather Siegfried Merzbacher, a German-Jewish chemist whose work helped develop Nazi hazardous agents used during World War II. Though Merzbacher and his immediate family fled to Turkey and survived the war, many extended family and friend were not as fortunate. Merzbacher left behind voluminous but apparently not very well-written unpublished memoirs when he passed away, and Children of Radium seems to be Dunthorne's quest to honor his great-grandfather's legacy as he contended with his complicated feelings after the death of his grandmother (Merzbacher's daughter) and his family becoming naturalized as dual German-British citizens (basically to regain EU privileges after Brexit).
This is a brief memoir but still came across as unfocused to me -- probably owing to the fact that there's still a lot of unknowns about his great-grandfather's life -- a reminder that even as copiously as one writes, there can still be so much left unsaid.
My statistics: Book 120 for 2025 Book 2046 cumulatively...more
Bernie Marcus (1929-2024) and Arthur Blank (1942-) co-founded the Home Depot, a Georgia-based home improvement warehouse chain that has stores all oveBernie Marcus (1929-2024) and Arthur Blank (1942-) co-founded the Home Depot, a Georgia-based home improvement warehouse chain that has stores all over North America, in 1978. Their 1999 business memoir, written alongside professional writer Bob Andelman, tells the story of the founding of Home Depot 20 years on in typical braggadocious business speak of the late '90s. I found this book interesting in parts, dry and repetitive in other parts. It would be interesting to get an updated afterward to this book now that the Home Depot is nearing its 50th anniversary -- the stores today seem quite different from how Marcus and Blank describe them 25 years ago.
In my 3rd fiction read for 2025, I picked a book that I'm sure has inspired many English doctoral level dissertations, Daphne du Maurier's 1938 gothicIn my 3rd fiction read for 2025, I picked a book that I'm sure has inspired many English doctoral level dissertations, Daphne du Maurier's 1938 gothic thriller Rebecca. I read the book largely unspoiled, having never seen any of the film adaptations or clicked the spoiler-walled text of my GR friends' reviews. This was an entertaining, provocative novel reminiscent of earlier gothic works in the typical English major's canon that was definitely worth the read. Now onto the spoilered section...
(view spoiler)[I would say there is enough foreshadowing in the book that the revelations in the final third didn't come as a surprise to me. Early on, when we meet our never-first-named narrator and she meets Maxim de Winter, a man twice her age who simultaneously infantilizes her and treats her cruelly, and generally seems brooding and dangerous, my initial reaction to learning that his first wife died (probably inspired by today's true crime stories) was "oh, he must have killed her."
The Kindle edition I read had an afterword by the late writer Sally Beauman whose analysis resonated with me. She discussed how parts of du Maurier's personality were likely fused into the dual characters of Rebecca and the unnamed narrator - the private rebellion (Rebecca), and the outward quiet compliance (narrator). I do read Rebecca and the narrator as two sides of the same character, with the narrator being the hollow remnants of a much more vibrant, strong-willed character that's largely been extinguished (at least outwardly) by the patriarchal society of England between the two world wars. There were occasional flashes of Rebecca's willfulness that managed to escape into the narrator's actions, like purposely breaking a de Winter family heirloom (told in a very depersonalized way) and moments of coldness and cruelty that that are out-of-character for the narrator's mild mouse personality. Rebecca's way of existing in society was too brazen so she had to be put down in some way (either from her husband's gun or the cancer that would have killed her otherwise), but more subtle acts of defiance can persist. Once Rebecca's remains are found and Maxim confesses to the narrator that he killed her, the narrator morphs from her affected "Alice in Wonderland" innocent persona to a much older, jaded one, their marriage is finally consummated (reading between the lines), and while she outwardly helps Maxim escape punishment for his crimes, she relegates him to a life in exile -- Manderly having gone up in smoke -- with her presence and the spectre of Rebecca continuing to haunt them.
A strong 4-star read for me -- my main critique is that the first 2/3rds of the book drags on way too long. (hide spoiler)]
Fiction book 3/10 for 2025 Book 118 for 2025 Book 2044 cumulatively...more
In her 2025 book Atomic Dreams, and despite the broad-sounding title and subtitle, journalist Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow reports on the story of the In her 2025 book Atomic Dreams, and despite the broad-sounding title and subtitle, journalist Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow reports on the story of the . The Diablo Canyon plant has been controversial for many years, as it's near several fault lines, and many continue to grapple with the ethics and safety of nuclear power as a clean(er) energy source compared to burning fossil fuels (generating carbon emissions and exacerbating climate change) and even renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels (the materials for which aren't necessarily clean to manufacture or to dispose of). Tuhus-Dubrow researched and interviewed many key figures in the Diablo Canyon debate, including politicians supporting or opposing legislation to keep the plant open, social organizations both pro- and anti-nuclear power, many of whom with vested interests in this plant in particular (and increasingly wielding social media and influencers to sway the discussion), scientists and engineers who work and research in the nuclear energy space, and indigenous peoples who claim right to the land on which the plant is built. Tuhus-Dubrow makes an insightful point that historically, progressives have opposed nuclear energy on emotional grounds, but as climate change worsens, many are now softening their stance, recognizing nuance in the issue, or even switching stances entirely (the author herself admits she started her research in the anti category and, while she's not a "nuclearist" (the somewhat demeaning nickname she coined for pro-nuclear power folks) after finishing this book, she now understands the issue is more complex than she initially realized).
This is an interesting read, though I can't comment on the strength of the research (as footnotes, per usual, are not included on audiobooks). I'd recommend it with the caveat that it's focused on one specific nuclear plant, and not a more expansive discussion of the state of nuclear energy in the US or globally in general.
Eliot Stein is a journalist who runs a BBC column called , where he travels the world to find unique artisans and dying traditions; many ofEliot Stein is a journalist who runs a BBC column called , where he travels the world to find unique artisans and dying traditions; many of these same stories are explored in more depth in this eclectic book. For instance, Stein traveled to Sardinia to track down the last artisan making , to Taiwan to interview , and to Eutin, Germany where . There are also many vignettes that don't seem to have appeared in Custom Made, like traditions of English beekeepers, Kerala mirror artisans, and Cuban factory lectors (professional readers who read aloud newspapers and books to factory workers -- a role that I'm shocked has survived past the Walkman era). Stein tells these stories with a lot of sentimentality, sometimes bordering on the maudlin (similar to Nate DiMeo in The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past - I was frequently reminded of that book while reading this one), expressing regret that many of these traditions will likely die out once the last people skilled in these traits are no longer around. I suppose I'm less sentimental, and my perspective is that many things aren't meant to last, for better or for worse. Still, definitely a very interesting read that would have broad appeal.
Erika Howsare is a poet and writer. In 2024's The Age of Deer, she explores the nuanced history of humans' relationships with deer, from one extreme (Erika Howsare is a poet and writer. In 2024's The Age of Deer, she explores the nuanced history of humans' relationships with deer, from one extreme (humans going to great lengths to save wounded deer, protest deer culling, etc.) to the other (humans going to great lengths to hunt deer, win hunting prizes for the most impressive specimens, etc.), as well as the middle ground (federal, state, and municipal programs navigating culling and birth control programs, roadkill issues, public safety, and other topics).
I've been a vegetarian for almost three decades, yet have almost always cared for cats who are obligate carnivores; my current two eat venison (deer meat) as a regular part of their diet, so I know these ethical dilemmas well. I confess I fast-forwarded through several parts of this audiobook that get quite graphic. Overall, I found this book thought-provoking and uncomfortable (but in a good way).
Bill Eddy is a lawyer and mediator who's espoused the concept of BIFF communication (brief, informative, friendly and firm) to deal with HCPs (high coBill Eddy is a lawyer and mediator who's espoused the concept of BIFF communication (brief, informative, friendly and firm) to deal with HCPs (high conflict personalities) and difficult communication in general, with the goal of deescalating heated situations to restore (more) functional dynamics. 2021's BIFF at Work (written with Megan Hunter, who coaches on dealing with difficult communications) is a follow-up to Eddy's previous book, 2011's BIFF: Quick Responses to High Conflict People, Their Hostile Emails, Personal Attacks and Social Media Meltdowns, that focuses on BIFF communication in the workplace setting.
I appreciated that this is a very practical and succinct book. Much of the book consists of Eddy and Hunter presenting various challenging scenarios, writing an off-the-cuff response that many of us would be tempted to send (much of the book focuses on written communication, though a few vignettes at the end focus on verbal communication), analyzing why these reactionary responses are not BIFFs in a methodical, logical manner, and then re-writing them in BIFF style. The checklist they use to determine if a response is a BIFF or not:
- is it necessary to respond in this situation? (if no, then don't respond) - is it brief? - is it informative? - is it friendly? - is it firm? - does it contain advice, admonishments, or apologies? (if yes to any of these, it's not a BIFF, as these are sticking points that may further escalate rather than deescalate the situation)
In the final section, Eddy and Hunter present brief tips on coaching others to write BIFFs -- basically, it's asking them the questions above, as well as asking them to predict how the other person is likely to respond to the message, and if this predicted reaction is likely to lead to escalation or deescalation.
Definitely a useful book and method that I'll be working to implement in my own communications.
My statistics: Book 112 for 2025 Book 2038 cumulatively...more
Jaap de Roode is a professor of biology at Emory University . In his 2025 book, Doctors by Nature, de RoodeJaap de Roode is a professor of biology at Emory University . In his 2025 book, Doctors by Nature, de Roode focuses on animal behaviors that, unwittingly or intentionally, have beneficial impacts on their health in their natural habitats -- like honeybee propolis ("bee glue") being antimicrobial for honeybee colonies, dogs eating grass to provide protection from parasites, caterpillars eating milkweed for similarly antiparasitic reasons, and cats going crazy for and rolling around in catnip as it may protect against mosquito bites. de Roode underpins these findings with the fact that many human medicines (homeopathic remedies as well as many mainstream antibiotics and anticancer drugs) have also been derived from natural sources, some of which were initially identified by humans observing animals' use of specific plants from which the active compounds were isolated and investigated. Some of the research detailed is de Roode's own, while other parts comes from other labs studying animal behavior in what sound to me like well-designed experiments; it fits in with the common thread of the evolutionary arms race of defenses and counter-defenses members of an ecosystem engage in for continued species survival (there are a lot of similar themes explored in Richard Dawkins' latest book The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie). I am not sure that calling this behavior doctoring is the best choice of wording (de Roode uses this phrase many times throughout the book, talking about how animals are natural doctors), as that implies a level of basic knowledge and intentionality underpinning acts that seem to be largely instinctual for animals; still, I found this an enjoyable, informative read.
Jane Rosenberg has a very niche, fascinating job -- she is a professional courtroom artist. As cameras aren't allowed inside the courtroom in most US Jane Rosenberg has a very niche, fascinating job -- she is a professional courtroom artist. As cameras aren't allowed inside the courtroom in most US federal cases, the only visual depictions capturing the proceedings are hand-drawn by a small cadre of professionals employed or freelancing for media outlets.
Rosenberg's 2024 memoir Drawn Testimony reflects upon her 40-year career including many high-profile and memorable cases, her impressions of the justice system (there is no obligation for courtroom sketch artists to be fair and impartial in their opinions -- only the requirement to draw what they saw in the courtroom accurately), and the time she accidentally became the story (for drawing NFL pro Tom Brady in a way that made it look like his facial features were melting). Various sketches are included in the Ebook version, though I was disappointed that they were all rendered in grayscale in the Kindle edition (Rosenberg sketches them in full color using pastels), though not as many sketches as Rosenberg describes in the text (this book would have been the perfect opportunity to include more art, not less!).
Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) was a South African conservationist and generally fascinating human being. His 2009 book The Elephant Whisperer, written Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) was a South African conservationist and generally fascinating human being. His 2009 book The Elephant Whisperer, written with Graham Spence, spans around 10 years' time and tells the story of a herd of wild African elephants that Anthony took into the animal reserve he managed, Thula Thula, in 1999, as well as other adventure stories of life at Thula Thula in the pre-smartphone era (reader discretion advised - there's a lot of violence and death described - this is not particularly a feel-good book). Anthony's bond with the elephants seemed quite extraordinary, particularly for elephants raised in the wild, though the history of human:elephant interactions goes back centuries (particularly with Asian elephants who humans have trained to do logging work and heavy lifting - see Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II). That being said, this book itself came across as embellished and scattershot in parts -- Anthony seemed like such a high energy person that he was unlikely to sit down for hours and write, so I wonder if the writing process of this book was that he spent hours telling stories to Graham Spence who then wrote them down in an engaging, action movie-esque script to emulate Anthony's frenetic lifestyle.
Anthony's widow, Francoise, continues to run Thula Thula and has written several follow-up books about the elephant herd featured here, including 2018's An Elephant in My Kitchen and 2022's The Elephants of Thula Thula.
My statistics: Book 109 for 2025 Book 2035 cumulatively...more
William Vanderbloemen is a pastor-turned-executive-recruiter for religious leadership roles. In his 2023 leadership development book Be the Unicorn, wWilliam Vanderbloemen is a pastor-turned-executive-recruiter for religious leadership roles. In his 2023 leadership development book Be the Unicorn, where he leveraged his connection to get a glowing forward by John Maxwell, he presents findings from extensive surveys he's conducted of "unicorns" - people who stand out in various facets of the business world by being exceptional at various traits including likeability, persistence, and responsiveness. He presents each of the 12 unicorn traits with many personal anecdotes, some of which really shouldn't be lauded (like how he and his firm test candidates' response times by sending them late night texts and rewarding those who respond right away -- neglecting boundaries and common phone do not disturb settings). He also namedrops quite a bit, like wringing out the anecdote of how he met former US president Bill Clinton over several different unicorn traits. I think the biggest flaw of the book, however, is that what's a so-called unicorn trait for one job may be something totally undesirable or detrimental for a different job, which Vanderbloemen fails to point out. For instance, if you're looking for an executive assistant who's responsive 24/7 and has no personal boundaries they're unwilling to cross, by all means test them by sending them an 11 PM text, but if you're looking for an executive director whose primary strength should be honing your organization's vision and big picture output, you're unlikely to find many in that camp who'll respond to 11 PM texts before they're even hired and getting paid (or even after).
Overall, lots of better business and leadership development books out there told with more humility and circumspection. A few of my top recommendations are:
Kari Ferrell (b. 1987) is a Korean-American adoptee who became Internet Notorious in 2009 as "the Hipster Grifter" for scamming her friends and hookupKari Ferrell (b. 1987) is a Korean-American adoptee who became Internet Notorious in 2009 as "the Hipster Grifter" for scamming her friends and hookups (several years before fake heiress Anna Delvey became Internet Notorious for similar cons on a grander scale); she served prison time for these offenses. Ferrell's 2025 memoir, You'll Never Believe Me, recounts her life so far, from being a transracial adoptee, growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area, engaging in criminal behavior from her teens into her twenties, her incarceration, and her post-prison life including going to therapy (as the title alludes to) and visiting South Korea for the first time in her 30s.
I felt like Ferrell portrayed herself as a victim far too much in this memoir - basically chalking up her criminal activities to the past traumas she never dealt with until her late 20s. While many adoptees struggle with issues of abandonment, and transracial adoptees (particularly those of color raised by White families without connection to their cultures or countries of origin) can have a tough time with identity formation and integration, I think it's fair to assume that the vast majority of these adoptees don't commit felonies on their way to healing or as a retributive way to deal with systemic racism. Ferrell didn't just commit crimes against strangers or big corporations, but a large part of her grift was stealing from her friends. Even by the end of the book and after years of therapy, she didn't seem very sorry about what she did -- she just found more ways to rationalize it.
Dalton Conley is a who holds both a PhD in sociology from Columbia and a later-in-life PhD in biology fDalton Conley is a who holds both a PhD in sociology from Columbia and a later-in-life PhD in biology from NYU; his research focuses on the interaction between genes (particularly polygenic indices, PGIs, which are constructed based on combinations of inherited gene variants obtained from genome-wide association studies) and behavior (both on an individual level and a society-wide level). In his 2025 book The Social Genome, he opens with the story of how he and his second wife decided to have a child, and how he, in all seriousness, sought to eugenically engineer this child by selecting for embryos with favorable PGIs for traits he was selecting for -- thankfully, however, it appears these requests were not entertained. (This is the same man who named his first two children from his first marriage , and as much as I hoped this was satire, it appears to be true).
The rest of the book is very "out there." And I say this as an MD and PhD who clinically practices in the diagnostic genomics space and envisions a mid-term future where whole genome sequencing is more widely adopted by the general public (for better of worse). In 2025, genomic medicine is at the level of defining and characterizing single gene alterations that lead to disease, as well as pathway-level alterations that lead to disease phenotypes, and in some cases, providing gene therapy and gene-targeted chemotherapy. Things get blurry and veer far away from evidence-based practice the more you move from single gene variants to polygenic risk scores (particularly if the variants composing such scores are not well-characterized on an individual level) as a way of risk stratification. Conley proposes a lot more than that in this book, and many of these propositions made me deeply uncomfortable. I would advise fellow readers, particularly laypeople, to treat this book as more of a work of science fiction than science fact.
My statistics: Book 106 for 2025 Book 2032 cumulatively...more
We Are the Baby-Sitters Club is a series of essays edited by Marisa Crawford and Megan Milks about adults reflecting back on their experiences with thWe Are the Baby-Sitters Club is a series of essays edited by Marisa Crawford and Megan Milks about adults reflecting back on their experiences with the Baby-Sitters Club media empire, including the original series of books by Ann M. Martin, the various spinoff books, the '90s made-for-TV adaption, the '90s movie, the 2020-2022 Netflix remake, the graphic novels, and, apparently, fanfiction. As with any eclectic essay collection, there were hits and misses. The standout essay for me was writer Gabrielle Moss' contribution about how the Baby-Sitters books fit into and reshaped the YA and young reader genres in the late '80s and '90s, as I recognized a lot of the book series mentioned (having dabbled in many of those series in as a '90s kid). Many essays talked about the way people of color have been represented in the series, exploring Jessi Ramsay (the only canonically Black main character) and Claudia Kishi (the only canonically Japanese main character) in depth, often with conflicting viewpoints between essayists. Several also talked about LGBTQ representation in the series, mostly exploring how the character of Kristy Thomas is queer-coded but never openly stated to be queer, and how this upset several essayists. And several essays dive into the deep end of Baby-Sitters club fan fiction, where it's clear the authors are using the characters as vehicles to channel their own fixations, which is...frankly much of fanfiction regardless of the fandom.
Personally, though I read several dozen Baby-Sitters Club books between roughly the ages of 8-11, they were never my favorites, as I found the topic of baby-sitting kids utterly unappealing, and the interpersonal dynamics of bunch of adolescents similarly non-gripping. I never had a character I identified strongly with (as many of the essayists here do), and it's not a series I've thought about in several decades. To this series' credit, I did find it more compelling than the vapidity of Sweet Valley High. I was a voracious reader as a kid, but my favorites from ages 8-11 were more along the lines of the action-packed mysteries (Hardy Boys, the Three Investigators), often with sci-fi or fantasy elements (The Dark Is Rising sequence, various Anne McCaffrey and Bruce Coville books) that focused less on relationship.
That being said, for those who enjoyed this series or its spin-offs, this'll probably be a nice nostalgia read as well as provide connections to various social media sites where these interests can be revisited.
My statistics: Book 103 for 2025 Book 2029 cumulatively...more
In journalist David Shipler's 2004 book The Working Poor, Shipler recounts the life stories and circumstances of around a dozen individuals working loIn journalist David Shipler's 2004 book The Working Poor, Shipler recounts the life stories and circumstances of around a dozen individuals working low wage/minimum wage jobs in the late '90s and early '00s. These include people who've fallen on hard times due to extenuating circumstances (often health emergencies and/or medical bills) and are trying to rebuild, as well people who are continuing the cycle of poverty in which they were raised, or who may struggle with addiction or dependence, leading to stasis in their circumstances. Shipler also interviews social workers, bosses, healthcare workers, teachers, and others who interact with many of his chosen subjects, revealing large communication disconnects and sometimes the phenomenon of the blind leading the blind (the chapter about teachers is particularly damning). Sometimes the characterizations feel judgmental, and the book goes on for about 50 pages too long in my opinion, as Shipler doesn't really present viable solutions or distillations, just a lot of anecdotes. Though this book was published over 20 years ago as I read it in 2025, I feel like much the same narrative could be written today, except the focus would have to expand to include gig workers.
Rob Pope is an English ultramarathoner who, between 2016 and 2018, Rob Pope is an English ultramarathoner who, between 2016 and 2018, , sometimes even in full Forrest Gump cosplay. The run wasn't continuous -- he took breaks along the way and flew back to England many times due to his visa status -- and cumulatively he ran for 422 days averaged 37 miles/day. His run was inspired by his love of the movie Forrest Gump, curiosity of and appreciation for American culture, and his late mother's edict to do something to make a difference -- through his run, he raised nearly $50K USD for various charities, though he struggled financially for much of the run and found himself couch-surfing or camping outdoors some nights. He was accompanied by family and friends for parts of the run, while other parts he ran by himself, propelling his equipment in a running stroller he nicknamed Pram Solo and leading many passersby to think he was actually running with a baby (leading to some police calls during highway segments of his run); this was somewhat poetic in that his run finally ended in Utah's Monument Valley when he proposed to his girlfriend who had recently given birth to their first child.
Ian Karmel is an American comedy writer, and his coauthor and sister Alisa Karmel is a psychologist. In T-Shirt Swim Club, Ian recounts his experienceIan Karmel is an American comedy writer, and his coauthor and sister Alisa Karmel is a psychologist. In T-Shirt Swim Club, Ian recounts his experiences as a child, teen, and adult while being overweight, and in final third of the book, Alisa shares a few of her own experiences but mostly gives unsolicited and sometimes bad advice to readers who may also struggle with their weight in a way that makes me unsure she understands concepts of nutrition and energy homeostasis. For instance, she talks about her own experience with yo-yo dieting and cheat days, talking about how after cheat days, she'd step on the scale the next morning and be up 1-3 pounds, so clearly cheat days weren't working for her. This is a misunderstanding of body metabolism - you simply don't gain 1-3 pounds of fat overnight. Day-to-day weight fluctuations are caused by factors like fluid retention and digestive tract contents, which is why looking at weekly and monthly weight averages (ideally collected from weighing oneself at least several times each week, if not daily, at the same time and in the same conditions each day) is a much more reliable indicator of weight loss, gain, or maintenance. By contrast, Ian, who has successfully lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off thus far, did so by making sustainable lifestyle changes -- good for him! It's not about dieting and restricting, as Alisa keeps harping on, but about healthy lifestyle changes you can continue for the rest of your life.
Ian's part of the memoir was what I'd expect from a comedy writer -- lots of self-deprecating jokes, funny anecdotes, flippancy, and occasional poignancy. It reminded me of Jen Lancaster's approach in her books about struggling with weight, such as Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer and Bright Lights, Big Ass. That being said, this style isn't for everyone; I only have limited tolerance for it and was ready for the book to be over well before it was (and I should've skipped the final third, Alisa's part, in retrospect).
Jefferson Fisher is a Texas-based personal injury attorney who also has a podcast, Youtube channel, etc. that he leveraged into this book deal about bJefferson Fisher is a Texas-based personal injury attorney who also has a podcast, Youtube channel, etc. that he leveraged into this book deal about building communication expertise. While none of the advice in this book is groundbreaking or revolutionary (it borrows a lot from Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People And The 8th Habit, particularly "seek first to understand, then to be understood", in my opinion), it's a perfectly serviceable read that I think is relatively well-thought-through, as Fisher demonstrates how he's used many of these behaviors and strategies in his own personal and professional life.
My statistics: Book 96 for 2025 Book 2022 cumulatively...more
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