Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Nothing like a little anthropology to conjure up some new ideas.

In this episode, I unpacked 'Debt: The First 5,000 Years' by David Graeber and explored why this book grabbed me despite a few early red flags. From the outset, Graeber challenges the standard story that barter came first and money naturally evolved from it. Instead, he argues that credit and debt were the original foundations of exchange, with coinage arriving much later and often tied to violence, taxation and the needs of states and armies. I walked through how that idea reframes the way we think about money: not as a timeless necessity in every context, but as one tool among many that humans have used depending on trust, scale and social relationships.

I also dug into the book’s broader and more provocative themes, including slavery, religion, moral obligation, capitalism and the strange relationship between debt and power. What I appreciated most was how Graeber opened up entirely different ways of thinking, even when the book became messy, overly theoretical or wandered off on tangents. I came away with more questions than answers, particularly around whether money is always needed, how trust-based systems work, and what all this might mean for a more digital future. My overall take: a creative, mind-expanding read that’s full of fascinating ideas, even if it’s not always tightly argued or easy to summarise. I gave it a 6.5/10. 

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Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:30) Opening thoughts and book overview
(00:03:54) Why Adam Smith's barter story is challenged
(00:09:40) Tallies, trust and the origins of debt
(00:12:07) Coinage, violence and taxation
(00:14:20) Slavery, religion and the morality of debt
(00:16:24) When money works and when trust works better
(00:20:54) Key quotes and the book's biggest ideas
(00:30:20) David Graeber, activism and writing style
(00:34:24) Debt jubilees and practical takeaways
(00:36:15) Final verdict, rating and recommendations
(00:41:44) Closing remarks and what is next 

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 A Storm of Swords Part 1 had me questioning a character I thought I'd made my mind up about and reading chapter after chapter when I should have put it down.

In this spoiler-light review of Steel and Snow by George R.R. Martin, I explain why the first part of A Song of Ice and Fire's third novel exceeded my expectations after A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings.

New points of view change how you see the world, the action steps up, and the groundwork from the earlier books starts paying off. I cover the pacing, character writing, fight scenes and why I recommend reading the first two books before this one.

This review covers Part 1: Steel and Snow only. I avoid the major plot reveals, although I mention new viewpoint characters and give a small hint about an incident.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Why readers told me to expect more
00:59 The viewpoints I wanted to see
01:55 New perspectives changed my mind
03:15 The action steps up
03:51 Why I couldn't put it down
04:30 Why you need the first two books
05:26 Characters that still feel like themselves
06:15 A request for The Winds of Winter
06:30 My verdict on Steel and Snow
07:20 Why the fight scenes stand out
07:56 What should I expect from Part 2?

Without spoilers: does Part 2 raise the bar again, or should I temper my expectations? Let me know below.

Subscribe to Mere Mortals Book Reviews for more honest reading reactions, fantasy reviews and the next steps in my A Song of Ice and Fire read-through.

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1984 is my favourite book of all time. However, it's certainly not fun to read. Orwell's style is rather dry & aside from 'Animal Farm' or 'Homage To Catalonia' most of his other works are so bleak as to be uninspiring. I don't believe the fictional world of 1984 is likely to occur & wouldn't be sustainable even if willed into existence. Despite this it has shaped my worldview more than anything else. Little lessons that add up to how I think, what I believe, who I am, the way I live & act/behave. Below is a selection of quotes & what they have taught me:

"Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes." - It's ok to dislike pain, yet there will be suffering. Figure out what is avoidable & unavoidable. Examine your suffering & you'll find out most is crafted by your thoughts, not pain.

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” - This is a skill developed by the party, showcased by O'Brien & has a negative connotation. Yet life is inherently paradoxical, one cannot outthink a paradox. Lean into them & develop a humour of the absurd.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” - You get to decide your destiny. Your interpretation of reality will affect your life quality much more than the actual nature of 'objective' reality.

“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” - Take heart if you desire the truth, it can be alienating & cruel to realise. This courage also needs to be tempered with proof that you are actually correct.

"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood" - Love is the most semantically overloaded word in English. To be loved can mean anything. To be understood you must know yourself to your deepest core & then someone else must know you to an equal level.

Eth Tx: 0x8f8448b51dc60a82ba377203d0feeebe23279d08047b2e3daa206903cdf0ad62

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Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:40) Favourite quotes and the lessons behind them
(00:03:46) What has changed since his earlier 1984 reviews
(00:06:39) A brilliant book, but not an enjoyable read
(00:11:45) Physical pain, suffering, and grief
(00:14:57) Doublethink, paradox, and living with contradiction
(00:19:03) Truth, reality, and rewriting the past
(00:25:41) Love versus being truly understood
(00:34:20) Why 1984 endures and a blockchain experiment
(00:38:00) Final recommendation and closing reflections 

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Average advice will get you average returns.

In this episode, I review 'Big Mistakes' by Michael Batnick, a short investing book that profiles famous investors and the bad calls that shaped their careers. I run through the book’s structure, some of the names featured — including Benjamin Graham, Jesse Livermore, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger — and why I found the core premise more interesting than the execution. While the book tries to distil each investor’s major error into a neat lesson, I came away feeling that many of those conclusions were either too vague or too forced to be genuinely useful.

My main takeaway is that this one lands as fairly average advice dressed up with great source material. I dig into why I wasn’t convinced by some of Batnick’s interpretations, especially around whether he properly identified what these investors actually got wrong, and why I’d generally recommend going back to the original books and histories instead. Overall, this was a disappointing read for me and one I couldn’t strongly recommend, finishing with a low rating and a reminder that sometimes the summaries are far less valuable than the source itself. 

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Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:14) How the book structures investor mistakes
(00:03:01) Why the lessons feel vague and inconsistent
(00:07:55) Critique of Michael Batnick as the guide
(00:13:14) Final verdict and better investing approach
(00:17:02) Next reading plans and closing remarks 

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Would you rather evolve into an Eloi or a Morlock?

In this episode, I dive into H.G. Wells ’The Time Machine', a short but hugely influential classic that may be one of the earliest stories to imagine time travel as a machine-driven journey into the future. I walk through the novel’s framing device, the Time Traveller’s unsettling visit to roughly 800,000 AD, and the split future of humanity into the carefree Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks. From there, I unpack why the book still holds up: its eerie vision of evolution, class division, and social decay, plus the way Wells blends scientific curiosity with imaginative speculation to create a compelling early sci-fi adventure.

I also share what stood out to me most as a reader: the novel’s clever structure, its surprisingly gritty tone, and Wells’ deeply pessimistic view of humanity’s future. While I don’t rate it as an all-time personal favourite, I do think it’s well worth reading if you’re interested in the roots of science fiction, time travel stories, or how late-19th-century anxieties about class, progress and civilisation found their way into fiction. It’s a quick read, historically important, and full of ideas that still feel worth discussing today. 

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Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:15) The Time Traveller sets off and reaches the far future
(00:02:44) Eloi paradise and the horror of the Morlocks
(00:04:49) Social themes and evolution gone backwards
(00:08:30) Science fiction ideas and suspended disbelief
(00:11:47) Narrative structure and standout moments
(00:14:01) H G Wells and his bleak view of humanity
(00:17:23) Final verdict and why the book still matters
(00:19:18) Comparisons, Weena and the book's darker edge
(00:21:59) What I am reading next 

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A bigger world. More perspectives. Nearly 900 pages. But is A Clash of Kings actually better than A Game of Thrones?

In this Mere Mortals book review, I share my honest thoughts on George R. R. Martin’s second A Song of Ice and Fire novel—as someone reading the books without having watched the television series.

I enjoyed the journey, particularly Tyrion’s chapters, Arya’s perspective and Martin’s immersive writing. But the slower build, scattered storylines and unresolved threads left me missing some of the first book’s intensity.

00:00 Is bigger actually better?
00:15 A Clash of Kings: the setup
01:59 My verdict versus A Game of Thrones
04:07 A bigger world, more unfinished stories
06:44 Tyrion shines—but where is Robb?
08:04 Pacing and the Battle of the Blackwater
09:05 Arya, food and immersive detail
10:15 Was it worth the read?
11:09 Your thoughts—and what comes next

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Sure is a lot of hanky panky going on in a sexually repressive time.

In this episode, I review John Steinbeck’s The Wayward Bus, a 1947 novel that sits somewhere in his middle period and while not usually counted among his greatest literary achievements is clearly packed with the sort of vivid, messy human character work he does so well. I walk through the book’s loose premise — a stranded bus, a roadside station, and a cast of passengers and workers thrown together — and talk about why the story feels less like a tightly structured plot and more like a vehicle for Steinbeck to explore personality, motive and tension. For me, that’s where the novel really shines: not in grand narrative payoff, but in the way Steinbeck builds believable people and lets their inner thoughts drive their actions.

I also dig into what I saw as one of the book’s strongest undercurrents: the sexual tension running through nearly every interaction. Set in a more outwardly modest post-WWII, the novel still reveals how little human nature really changes beneath the surface. I reflect on the ways desire, jealousy, insecurity and attraction shape the characters and how Steinbeck captures those dynamics with an honesty that still feels recognisable today. My overall take: The Wayward Bus is a solid, casual Steinbeck read — not on the level of East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath, but still an enjoyable novel if you love sharp character observation. I gave it a 6.5/10.

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Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:20) The Wayward Bus synopsis and cast of characters
(00:04:13) Steinbeck's loose storytelling and postwar setting
(00:06:45) Camille, desire and repression on the bus
(00:09:58) Can men and women be just friends
(00:12:33) Why human nature has not changed much
(00:15:15) A real life example of social and sexual tension
(00:17:29) Final verdict and where this book fits in Steinbeck
(00:19:42) What Kyrin is reading and episode wrap up 

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My first Franz Kafka read was weird, vivid and surprisingly enjoyable. In this Mere Mortals Book Review, I share my thoughts on Metamorphosis and the other short stories in this Penguin collection.

From Gregor Samsa’s transformation to a tense taxi dispute and an unexpected insight about achievement, Kafka packs strange situations, precise details and memorable ideas into remarkably short stories.

I discuss alienation, family dependence, Kafka’s writing style, and why reading at a conversational pace helped me enjoy this collection.

⚠️ Spoilers: the Metamorphosis plot discussion starts at 07:39 and includes the ending. Skip to 09:59 to avoid it.

CHAPTERS
00:00 My first encounter with Kafka
00:30 Kafka’s background and literary legacy
01:55 What’s in this short-story collection?
03:03 Kafka’s style and finding my reading pace
04:29 Tiny details that make the writing vivid
05:58 A short reading and everyday observations
07:39 Metamorphosis plot and themes — spoilers
09:59 Point of view and writing outside a day job
11:05 The Aeroplanes at Brescia: the taxi dispute
13:07 The biplane and perfect achievement
14:30 Final thoughts: would I recommend Kafka?

Have you read Kafka? What did Gregor’s transformation mean to you—and which Kafka book should I read next?

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The best way to understand apathy is to not understand at all.

In this episode, I’m back with a review of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the 1966 classic that helped define the true crime genre. I unpack the book’s retelling of the brutal Clutter family murders in Kansas, the psychology of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock and Capote’s readable, gripping style. While I can appreciate the book’s historical importance, strong reporting and the way it gives readers close access to the killers, I kept coming back to the same question: why? For me, the most unsettling part was that there doesn’t seem to be any satisfying meaning behind the crime beyond damaged people committing senseless violence.

I also reflect on why true crime generally doesn’t work for me, despite how popular it is. Reading this didn’t leave me feeling wiser or more understanding of the world — it mostly left me feeling sad. I touch on the ethical questions around capital punishment, the lack of redemption in the story and why meaningless suffering makes this such a heavy read. My final take: it’s an important and well-written book for those interested in true crime, but personally it wasn’t for me and I land at roughly a 2.5 out of 10. 

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Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:01) What In Cold Blood is about
(00:02:19) The killers and the senseless motive
(00:07:05) Why true crime leaves him cold
(00:09:54) Truman Capote and the book's reporting style
(00:11:52) Capital punishment and moral questions
(00:15:42) Final verdict and whether it is worth reading
(00:18:13) What is next for the book reviews 

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Can a book about stupidity leave you feeling stupider? The Psychology of Stupidity, edited by Jean-François Marmion, promises explanations from some of the world's smartest people. I finished it wondering how it became a bestseller.

In this Mere Mortals Book Review, I explain why the collection disappointed me: repetitive discussions of terminology, arguments I found one-sided, and interviews that didn't deliver the depth I was hoping for.

I also discuss the handful of ideas I did find interesting, before looking more closely at the book's treatment of artificial intelligence, meat-eating and intelligence, and its conversation with Daniel Kahneman.
These are my reactions to the book and the way its arguments are presented. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear what worked for you.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The book and its big promise
00:21 Red flags—and my dad's warning
01:01 What I hoped to learn
01:41 The “world's smartest people” pitch
02:37 How the collection is structured
03:06 My verdict—and the few bright spots
04:09 Repetition instead of insight
05:30 The artificial intelligence argument
08:19 Meat-eating, intelligence and missing balance
10:30 The interviews I wanted more from
11:47 What did I actually learn?
12:23 Would I recommend it?

BOOK
The Psychology of Stupidity
Edited by Jean-François Marmion

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