Frank Bruni

I debated over whether to give this four stars or five. I have zero complaints about it: it was a solidly written book that easily kept my attention the whole way through. If I had to explain my hesitation over giving it five stars, perhaps it boils down to a lack of a wow factor. This book is a bit like the equivalent of a really good dish of spaghetti & meatballs -- tasty, flavorful, even a bit comforting, but yet it's never going to be something you call exciting, exactly.

Born Round is a show more bit of a tongue-in-cheek title. Ostensibly, it refers to a saying of his Italian grandmother's, something like, "Born round, you can't die square," meaning basically that people don't really change. In Frank Bruni's case, though, "born round" is also a bit of a lament about his natural tendency to love eating, and even overeating, resulting in a lifelong struggle (with battles both lost and won) to avoid a visibly rounded figure. I have seldom, if ever, read so frank (ha!) an examination of a man's body image issues. show less

[4.25] Log it as an eerie coincidence. I finished Bruni’s intriguing deep-dive into societal polarization and unbridled anger only hours before the first assassination attempt of a U.S. presidential candidate in decades. It is rare when I begin a book with my inner voice grumbling, “You probably won’t finish it.” I wondered if a book-length examination of our grievance culture that weaves together some previous newspaper columns would be overdose at a time when I often turn to books show more as an escape from our tumultuous times. But I soon realized that there were so many enlightening concepts to unpack and ponder that Bruni’s work would not end up on the DNF list.
The book’s promotional blurb and author interviews assert that Bruni takes aim at both sides of the political spectrum. This is a fair assertion, although it could be argued that more admonitions seem to be directed at the MAGA right.
The author doesn’t ignore the reality that addressing grievances has had positive impacts throughout history. Consider the civil rights movement. But he argues that toxic politics, the internet, AI and other forces have fueled an era of “extreme aggrievement.” The danger, he maintains, is that “grievance is the enemy of perspective, proportionality and nuance.“
In an interview in the Columbia Journalism Review, Bruni suggests that the media should avoid using tired playbooks that can lead to oversimplifying complex political issues. “Dicing and slicing political coverage sends this message that we’re in different camps that maybe compete against one another, rather than that we’re all Americans, ultimately in the same boat,” he says.
Bruni skillfully explores the dangers of confirmation bias, stressing the importance of training ourselves to consume “balanced news diets so we resist the temptation to overstuff ourselves with information that feeds our existing biases and misconceptions.”
The book is well-written, thoroughly researched and incredibly timely. show less

I knew Frank Bruni was a gifted writer from having read his NY Times columns. I knew he was a likable guy from having seen him on the cable news programs. What this book added to that was empathy, sensitivity, and an appreciation of life and of his fellow man. Not only is The Beauty of Dusk about Bruni’s battle with vision loss; it’s about dog behavior, city life, fashion, relationships, and the most impactful lessons of all for me because I am 72, aging. Frank Bruni is not only a gifted show more writer, he is a gifted human being. I am a better 72-year-old for having read The Beauty of Dusk. show less

I agreed with the premise of this book before I read it. Nonetheless, Bruni's investigation of the "college admissions mania" is full of fascinating anecdotes, information, and wisdom that will be very useful to me over the next few years as my son negotiates this fraught transition. Well done.