Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Why I have it: Recommended by a friend.
Summary: Ronson has traveled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public (social media) shamings and examines the idea that we are using shame as a form of social control.
I’m thinking: Yes, already hooked.
The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel
Why I have it: This will sound cryptic but I feel strongly about telomeres.
Summary: Telomeres (the capped ‘ends’ of genes that protect our DNA) play a role in aging – not just the superficial stuff like wrinkles and grey hair, but other things like stopping cells malfunctioning and turning into cancers. This book looks at what we can do to protect our telomeres, slow down disease and lengthen life.
I’m thinking: Yes – interesting.
Missoula by Jon Krakauer
Why I have it: Not sure but figure I must have read a good review – it’s not the sort of book I’d seek out otherwise.
Summary: Missoula, Montana, is a typical college town, with a highly regarded state university, a lively social scene, and an excellent football team. Krakauer uses Missoula as a case study to show why acquaintance rape is so prevalent on American campuses, and why rape victims are so reluctant to report assault.
I’m thinking: No. Too brutal.
Yay for telomeres! I want to read that too. And last year I read Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Test and really enjoyed reading it
He’s got an engaging style – reckon I’ll have a Ronson binge once I get started!
I really like Jon Ronson so he gets my vote. I’ve not read the book but the interviews he gave around its release were really interesting.
Both So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and The Telomere Effect sound interesting. I really liked Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, but wasn’t sure I could stomach reading Missoula.
I plan to read the Telomeres book too. Just my kind of science non-fiction 🙂
I wholeheartedly recommend So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed – it’s terrifying but also brilliant.
I’ve been wanting to pick up some Krakauer for years but I also don’t think I’ll be reading this one. Subject matter that I have zero interest in reading about. I’m sure he tells an excellent story though.
You get the feeling that the people who SHOULD be reading this book would also be the last to pick it up.