You all should know who the fabulous Greta Christina is by now. And now she’s become even more fabulous by writing a book!
I was originally going to wait for the print version since I don’t have an ebook reader, but I couldn’t stand the wait. So I downloaded the Kindle App for my iPhone, prepared to squint at my screen during my flights to and from the Reason Rally. Then I made the mistake of starting to read it early… and I plowed through the whole thing in a day. I couldn’t put it down.
But it’s not surprising. Greta has always had the special power to calmly and pointedly explain even the most rage inducing or complicated topics. I often find myself reading her posts on a topic I’ve talked about, thinking “I wish I would have said it that way!”
And this book is no different. As someone who has been reading Greta’s blog for 6 years and has been an atheist activist for 5, most of the stories and arguments weren’t new to me. But they were put so eloquently that I still gobbled them up, and stored them away in my brain for future debates. Especially the various hilarious quotes involving peanut butter, hair dyers, drowning in chocolate, and parrots.
So in short: buy it now. You won’t be disappointed.
I also was going to wait for the print but wasn’t able to overcome my desire. Not being ipad or e-reader or even smart-phone equipped, I found the free Kindle for PC app (never knew there was such a thing before Greta forced my hand) and bought and read Greta’s book last night. !
So, anxious heathens (or curious pious) who have not given in to the iDevice overmind, there is still a way to get some enjoyable enlightenment! And that’s always the best kind …
Oh, another thing to add to those on the fence about waiting for the print version, is that the kindle version contains many hyperlinks throughout the book text (not footnotes, but hyperlinks in the main text itself) that go directly to great references from not only Greta’s blog, but other sources as well. So even if you are a paper book person like me, there are benefits to this e-book that I did not personally anticipate.
Still waiting for the hard copy. But waiting anxiously…
And bought. This just got bumped to the top of my reading list. :D
Just finished it. It’s about 80% or so rehashed from some of her Gretaest (sic) Hits, but those were consistently terrific anyway, so it’s good stuff.
I have a pet hypothesis that I’m the person (in this comment from 2008)
who first called Greta’s attention to the phenomenon that’s #2 on her Litany of Hate, the fact that atheists and similar skeptics in the United States have been repeatedly denied custody of their children on the explicit grounds of their irreligion. Law professor Eugene Volokh did the actual, y’know, work on bringing this disgusting practice to light, but I think I’m the one who first showed it to Greta.
Even if I’m right, it represents, er, a pretty minuscule contribution to the greater cause (not to mention to Greta’s impressive body of work)… but I’ll take all of the penny-ante ego boosts I can get.
“So in short: buy it now. You won’t be disappointed.”
That is what Casey Hudson said!
Bought it for my Kindle. I’m not a good at articulating my thoughts and this book seems to help.