Burning Questions

This was my first Margaret Atwood book, which has me resolved to read more Margaret Atwood books. Reading her words is like listening to a bohemian aunt who has lived an interesting life and whose wisdom is colored by the pessimistic lens through which she views the world. I enjoyed every essay, even when she was talking about a book I had never heard of or a topic I wasn't that interested in; a good writer can make any topic worth your time.

i hate to rate this as low as i am because some of these essays are at least 4 star essays, and because i love her so much. but enough of this book was uninteresting or just meh to me, that i have to. still, the essays that are great are so great, and there are a large handful of them, which does make this worthwhile to read. also, i suspect that even though many of these audio readers were excellent, that i would have liked this better had i read it rather than listened to it; even those essays that i wasn't much into i think i would have enjoyed had i been reading instead of listening. so maybe it's my fault that this gets a lower rating than it deserves.

this is a collection of essays and book reviews and talks and general musings. show more it's obviously well written; some of these are exceptional. they cover a wide range of topics, so it's not surprising that they didn't all interest me. she has such a vast knowledge; this was impressive in showing off how much she knows about so many topics. many of those topics, though, i zoned out listening to.

the ones that i particularly liked were ancient balances and the futures market: stories we tell about times to come show less

Series of essays written between 2004 and 2021 on topics related to social trends and possible future disruptions. Atwood is a big picture thinker. She takes an idea the relates it to other relevant subjects and themes, making her points along the way. Margaret Atwood’s essays are intelligent and witty. Her self-deprecating sense of humor shines through. She addresses issues such as civil rights, climate change, feminism, and literature. Provides a peek into the process of writing several of her books. I enjoyed her answers to questions she is often asked by readers. This compilation includes speeches she has given on a variety of occasions, and essays she has written over seventeen years, so there are a few overlaps and repetitions. show more Margaret Atwood is a treasure. In my opinion, we can never have enough writers like Atwood who boldly push boundaries and spur people to think about important topics. show less

Series of essays written between 2004 and 2021 on topics related to social trends and possible future disruptions. Atwood is a big picture thinker. She takes an idea the relates it to other relevant subjects and themes, making her points along the way. Margaret Atwood’s essays are intelligent and witty. Her self-deprecating sense of humor shines through. She addresses issues such as civil rights, climate change, feminism, and literature. Provides a peek into the process of writing several of her books. I enjoyed her answers to questions she is often asked by readers. This compilation includes speeches she has given on a variety of occasions, and essays she has written over seventeen years, so there are a few overlaps and repetitions. show more Margaret Atwood is a treasure. In my opinion, we can never have enough writers like Atwood who boldly push boundaries and spur people to think about important topics. show less

This book contains sixty essays, speeches, introductions and musings written by Margaret Atwood between the years of 2004 and 2021. This is such a wide variety of topics, both literary and current events, that my head is still spinning - it feels like a virtual fire hose of information.

Some were absolutely brilliant and spoke to me. I especially enjoyed her writings about the [Hand Maid’s Tale] and how it seems so prophetic today. I also enjoyed the writings about [Alice Monro], another Canadian author who is a favorite of mine.

With this huge breadth of subjects, some did not resonate. I was not familiar with some of the authors she wrote about – I’m sure this is a lacking on my part and I should take as recommendations the show more unfamiliar-to-me authors she praises.

This woman is brilliant. Alas, she sometimes left me in the dust. Although I read only a few essays each day, I think I need to have a copy of this in my own library, to revisit even more slowly. show less

These essays were a joy to read. After a while though, the subject matter became repetitive and I didn't finish all of them.

Atwood's writings from here and there, over the years. Not a coherent collection in my opinion, but an interesting listen. I'm not sure if I remember much after a couple of months, though.