Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Woooooeeeewooooeeee. Misleading title alert!!!'Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs' by Paul Carter is a memoir of Paul's 35 years of life from 1969-2004. It's told in a chronological order and is centred around his work life in the oil drilling industry. This profession took him all over the world (Nigeria, Brunei, Colombia, Russia, Singapore, etc.,) and resulted in zany stories involving bar fights, a horny monkey, shocking injuries and a bar full of midgets.I summarised the book as follows. "It's definitely fun & enjoyable, but it won't leave much of an impression on me. There are a lot of crazy stories but I'm unsure of which parts are genuine, especially due to the clickbait title. However, it's a book that will make you want to travel and gain the wildest experiences from life (whether they be good or bad)."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:34) - Synopsis(2:41) - Storytelling: Artistry & embellishing(8:41) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(12:04) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Mon Ami, Hercule Poirot is on the scene!'Peril At End House' by Agatha Christie is a whodunnit crime story that will leave you guessing until the very end. Nick Buckley has 3 close calls with death before her cousin Maggie is killed in her place. Fortunately Poirot and Hastings are available to investigate the crime and untangle the weave of seemingly incomprehensible events.I summarised the book as follows. "I found this mystery quite fun despite the morbid nature of the crime. It's the perfect length for me & satisfied my OCD of wrapping up everything neatly in a bow. A book like this could be a 10/10 for others but I typically want something more out of the box with new concepts or ideas for my general reading. Nevertheless, it's an amusing problem to try and solve."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:39) - Synopsis(3:17) - Why Whodunnits?: What makes them special(9:32) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(11:29) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

The ritual of courtship has really changed in the last century & a half. 'The Portrait Of A Lady' by Henry James is a fictional (although realistic) tale of love set in the 19th century. It follows Isabel Archer, a beautiful middle class American teenager who is elevated into the upper society of Europe and is courted by a suite of bachelors. It features a core group of 12-15 ladies & gentlemen and explores the themes of love and societal expectations.I summarised the book as follows. "This book was perfect for lazy night time reading. There's not too many individuals to keep track of and those who exist had depth & complexity. Apart from the strange communication style between characters the rest (scenery, descriptions, plotline, etc.,) was top notch. A nice throwback to see how the upper class lived so very long ago."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:33) - Synopsis(2:59) - Societal Expectations(21:23) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(28:53) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

'Cilka's Journey' by Heather Morris is the sequel to 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' which we have covered on the channel before.I summarised the book as follows. "Didn't quite live up to the original, the book felt like it was several pages too many and while the story itself was great it could have been constructed in a better way."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out!If you'd like to support the team and grab the book, why not use this link! https://amzn.to/3cV7j87Timeline:(0:20) - Intro(1:00) - Synopsis(6:30) - Themes(10:55) - Takeaways(15:00) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

This recap was supported with the help of Petar the slav, many thanks for the boostagrams!Well I tried my best to understand what the Germans think about life but it wasn't too successful. I found the writing of Nietzsche and Heidegger to be quite obscure and didn't really learn anything from them. I did have fun diving into the Dune world though, just in time to see the upcoming movie. Juan enjoyed reading (as much as one can) about the story of The Tattooist Of Auschwitz and I reveal some of the upcoming books that will appear in December.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:23) - Value For Value: Petar's boostagrams(10:07) - Dune: Frank Herbert(12:33) - Beyond Good And Evil: Friedrich Nietzsche(14:30) - The Question Concerning Technology: Martin Heidegger(15:49) - The Tattooist Of Auschwitz: Heather Morris(18:31) - A sneak peak of December 2021Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

I don't use the word often, but 'polemical' describes this work perfectly.'Beyond Good And Evil' by Friedrich Nietzsche is mostly an attack on philosophers but also contains snippets of his general thoughts on the interplay between religion & society, the mindset of a free spirit and some other assorted rants. It was originally written in his native German and is mostly comprised of statements (rather than logical arguments) of his opinions on all these topics.I summarised the book as follows. "It's an angry book written in an angry way by an angry guy. I struggled to understand a lot but there were hints that it could become clearer with more reading of his other philosophical works. I'm not really convinced by anything he said as he provided no basis for his statements, they were all personal assertions. I might come back and try again one day but this attempt was of little value."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:28) - Synopsis(3:17) - The Free Spirit: A break from blind dogmatism(7:07) - Assorted Rants: Beyond sane and rational(13:55) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(20:51) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

More questions than answers, more confusion than clarity.'The Question Concerning Technology' by Martin Heidegger is a philosophical book containing multiple essays by the German philosopher. It centres around his concepts of 'Standing Reserve' & 'Enframing' but also contains a deconstruction of Nietzsche as well. The book contains no real structure but does have many helpful notes from the translator (as it was originally written in German).I summarised the book as follows. "I have no idea what this book was about. Major props and kudos to anyone who can understand it. I gave it a low rating not because I disagreed or disliked the thesis, simply because I didn't understand it. One of those books where I'm not at all encouraged to even attempt to read any of the author's other works."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:37) - Synopsis(2:43) - ???(4:49) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(9:04) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' by Heather Morris blends fiction with reality to bring the tale of the Tattooist of Auschwitz to us all, his love for Gita and the things one must do to survive.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out!If you would like to support the Mere Mortals, feel free to grab this book here: https://amzn.to/3H16rMOTimeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:30) - Synopsis(8:40) - Themes/Takeaways(11:34) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

He who controls the spice controls the universe!'Dune' by Frank Herbert is a sci-fi classic that is comparable with some of the other amazing fictional universes. The story takes place on Arrakis, a barren planet scarce of water but containing the immensely valuable spice. House Atreides suffers a catastrophic betrayal and so the young Duke Paul undergoes a quest for revenge and to restore his rightful inheritance. I summarised the book as follows. "It's a fun world and I can see why it has fanatical supporters. I found it easier reading than LOTR but also noticed myself skipping the poetry & songs. It's great for night time reading and to lose myself in the story, but I probably won't bother to dive fully into the whole Dune universe."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:33) - Synopsis(3:59) - Water & Spice: All you need in life(9:22) - The Essence of Sci-Fi: Making boring stuff fun(13:24) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(16:01) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Everything you know about human nature is a falsehood, but maybe that's a good thing.'Humankind' by Rutger Bregman is an argument for why humans are good at heart (and in action). He presents this as a dichotomy between the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes & Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Much of the book is spent debunking commonly cited examples of our innate cruelty (Milgram Shock/Standford Prison experiments), but also has anecdotes from history and more trustworthy statistics.I summarised the book as follows. "It's a crazy amount of condensed critical thinking. It burst a couple of ideas that were too simplistic but also might be refuted in the future for the same reason. It's well presented and contains elements of Rutger's personality (which matches my own) that made me like the book even more, although this obviously clouds my judgement as to the absolute 'truth' of his arguments. Nevertheless, being hopeful is fun!"I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:29) - Synopsis(4:19) - Veneer Theory: Are we about to crack?(7:44) - A Hopeful History: Mixing the future and past(11:53) - Personal Observations/Takeaways(16:27) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show