ecm1101's review against another edition

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funny informative medium-paced

4.0

dogearedandfurry's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting to read. But sometimes the tone was a little snide and off putting.

adamo010's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

Easy to read in small pieces over a long period of time.

sreesha_diva's review against another edition

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 I finished the January chapter (10%) and decided it wasn't for me, at least, not at the moment.

I discovered this book because someone compared it to Cunk, and I thought, "I've GOT to read that!" But it started with a Woody Allen quote (enough to judge) and got pretty boring soon after. Maybe I'll go back to it, maybe I won't. I don't think I'm missing it out on anything. 

fluffyturtle's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

sbauer378's review against another edition

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5.0

Super fun to read. Didn't take long to get through at all.

hvanhooser's review against another edition

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2.0

A silly goofy read but nothing super memorable. Higher if you want a daily read like those daily calendar things. 

roksyreads's review against another edition

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funny informative slow-paced

2.5

This was my final non-fiction and penultimate read for 2022. Whilst enjoyable and intriguing at times, I had many issues with the way this book was presented.

First, it really should be titled "Bad Days in 'Western' History" or similar. A whopping 54% of the days centre on events from the USA, and very, very few of the remaining stories originate from outside of Europe. And yes, I did go through each day and count, if only to verify that I wasn't imagining such a bias.

Second, it's clear that the author really wanted to write a book about American Sports anecdotes, but he (or the publisher) felt this wouldn't target as big an audience. However, having more than 1 baseball anecdote is definitely an indulgence on the part of the author, and whilst he's certainly entitled to make such a decision, I am certain that there were many more interesting anecdotes that could have taken their place.

Third and finally, whilst many of the stories are genuinely "gleeful" in nature, encouraging a strong sense of schadenfreude, there are plenty of intensely grim and even gruesome stories. Often, these are intermingled with more humorous anecdotes, and the transition between them can be jarring.

picklebread's review against another edition

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2.0

Bad Days in [Mainly American] History

anniegroover's review against another edition

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funny informative medium-paced

4.0