Philip of Macedon
asked:
So, who's actually read it? It's interesting that this book is still more than a month from release, but there are already a dozen ratings for it and zero reviews. I'm confident it'll be a good book, because Helen and James do fantastic work. But this seems to provide more evidence of the disappointing recurring theme I see on Goodreads, which is that a lot of people rate or review books they haven't even read.
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Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody,
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Madly Jane
I have an early copy and have already read it though I have not rated it. I am reading it again soon with notes. This is really a well researched book and very thought provoking. I see many more books coming down the pipeline with similar themes. It deserves ALL the stars.
Sarah
I've read it and gave it 5 stars. Really sums up what's happening culturally lately, especially over the pandemic. Even the language you hear/see people using on social media has an origin in the Theories the authors discuss here.
Ikanto
Have started reading it - about third the way through. Really brilliant so far: just understanding the background of how we got here has actually given me more compassion for the 'activist' position. It's put the madness into perspective. The best antidepressant. Will review when I finish it - but suffice to say, many friends and family will be getting this for birthday, and possibly christmas presents.
Angie Boyter
Philip, Publishers send out hundreds of copies of books before they are published so people can publish reviews to gin up enthusiasm before the book is released. Just because the book has not been published does not mean the reviewer has not read it.
Eli
Probably because the title gives away the entire thesis. This is clearly some attack piece that uses cherry picked research and copious appeals to emotion to try to make snowflake conservatives feel safe again. It's a literary safe space, if you will, where entitled white people can retreat into an echo chamber where "western ideals" are being attacked by out of control minorities demanding radical things such as basic human dignity, legal protection, and equal access to economic opportunity. And there's probably gonna be some straw-man argument about how "Postmodernism" or "wokeism" or whatever you want to call it is different from "The Enlightenment." Because the Enlightenment was about questioning dogma and looking at objective evidence and postmodernism is...also about that? The folks who whine about modern progressivism have never had a very cogent argument. This book is just one more turd on the shitheap.
Men Read Too
I bought it on 10/6 and finished it a few days ago. I wanted to buy it sooner, but Amazon kept listing it as 'out of stock' so I finally ended up driving to the bookstore. Overall, it was very difficult to put this book down. A book like this is much needed for our society. People should encourage others to read this.
Greg Mueller
I read it and had nightmares for a few nights, no joke. So much makes sense now, and it's clear where the heart of the problem lies. I had heard of postmodernism before, but had no real understanding of it.
Daniel
Seems like how people will poorly rate a film on rotten tomatoes before it's released, but in reverse.
Frederic
While it's possible that some people review books without reading them, other readers are given and typically declare that they've read advanced copies of books from publishers, which allows some reviews to appear before the book is broadly for sale.
Roy Clarke
Pierre Bayard (professor of Literature at the University of Paris) in his French bestseller, "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read" (Bloomsbury, 2009), puts forward good arguments for discussing books that one has not read.
Jennifer Maloney
Publishers send out arcs (advanced reader copies) ahead of time for people to review. That’s likely what’s happening.
Elizabeth R.
I am skeptical that so many people have read this book of dense, awkward prose, and then rushed over to GR to write intense reviews. I get that the controversial topic will draw more readers, but even so.
Sharon Barrow Wilfong
It's for sale right now on Amazon.
Woolstar
Unfortunately goodreads rewards the earliest reviewers with first placement in the listing, leading to gaming the system. Unfortunately I do not hold my breath that the ranking of reviews will be changed for the better.
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