Scott Vann

Listening to Rakoff made the book feel much more intimate and real. I don't think I would have read his cancer story the way he reads it, and it was touching, sad, and funny all at the same time.

If you know David Rakoff's story, and are aware of his recent death, the book is heartbreaking and also a celebration of a great talent. Having heard him on This American Life many times, listening to this book was a great tribute to an amazing talent.

Probably not. Sam Harris' writing style is a bit too overloaded with hyperbole for my tastes. I've been an atheist a long time, and I agree with many of his premises in this book, but I think he makes a few logical leaps that are too far, and then brags about having proved his point. Then the whole final chapter with the rationalization for mysticism just kinda put this on my no thanks list.

Dumb. The last chapter is dumb, it is self contradictory, and is insulting to rational free thinking people who do not have a desire for any form of religion or mysticism.

Yes, at some point Sam Harris needs to apologize for going off the deep end in this one.

If you're capable of turning of the thinking part of your brain, and you can tolerate the silliness that abounds in this book, it was actually fairly enjoyable.

I used it to pass time in traffic on the drive home from work. It did it's job in that I was kept entertained and had fun with the book.

Women who like romantic comedies, people who liked Romeo and Juliette.

I am still crazy about zombie stories, but this one wasn't my cup of tea.

Honestly, Julie is a prop. We never really learn anything meaningful about her as a character, or what is so special about her that she drive's R's recovery. Really, her dead boyfriend has more to say and is a more interesting character. Julie is just a run of the mill post apocalyptic teenager caricature of Juliette from Romeo and Juliette. I think the whole R&J thing was a prop that the author used to carry a unique idea, but ultimately it falls flat.

This book is a great character driven drama set in a post apocalyptic world that is utterly believable. The author wrote this as if it were poetry, and poetry plays large in the pace of the book and the ultimate outcome of the story. Lots and lots of people have complained that this book is really hard to read as it takes great liberties with punctuation. Mark Deakins does an outstanding job reading it and you get to enjoy all the great things this book has to offer without the hassle of trying to figure out the prose.

Higg is my favorite character, he seems real. I feel like I understand him, and he grows as a character while driving the story forward.

** Spoiler alert ** there is a very sad moment when Higg's dog dies. It is the moment when the story changes, when Higg is driven to find meaning and search for hope in a hopeless world.