This may not be a popular opinion here, especially going by the glowing reviews I'm seeing here on goodreads.
But I've just ploughed through one of the most painful, rambling 30 pages I've read in my life (academic books included). And, although I usually tend to have an almost uncontrollable compulsion to finish almost every book I've started, in this particular case, it's been relatively simple to make the decision to add it firmly to my DNF pile. I do not even think I will give it another try. Not for the next few decades, at least.
I'm sure JK makes some valid points, like the fact that we are all a product of our conditioning and we need to break out of it to really learn and grow.
I also completely understand the fact that education needs to be redefined to include all-round development of a student, instead of merely focusing on technical knowledge. This latter argument is a fact that the schools ostentatious founded on JK's philosophy would do well to understand better (given the propensity of at least some of them to misconstrue this advice as a diktat that they should *not* focus on technical knowledge at all! Mega face-palm!)
However, it is very painful to sift through all the rambling to try and unearth a few pebbles of wisdom. The language especially, is extremely trying.
Rambling, unedited and conversational stream-of-consciousness style of prose, it started to get on my nerves after the first page and a half.
In short, I found myself concluding after the first 20 odd pages, that life is too short to waste reading this book by JK, ironically titled "What are You Doing With Your life?"
As far as I'm concerned, this is yet another case of the emperor not having any new clothes.
Oh, and maybe JK gets to actually providing solutions later on in the book (I wouldn't know), but whatever I read was just him going on and on about how human behavior is so very flawed, without offering any constructive suggestions.
He successfully lost my attention completely at the point when he declared that human thought has never, and will never, solve any problems.
Once that idea is put into print in a book, I really cannot force myself to read any further. I do not appreciate self flagellation to *that* degree!
Another, potentially scandalous thing I'm going to say is this: the crazily-abstract rambling of the book reminded me very strongly of "Swamy" Nithyananda (I know, I expect a reasonable amount of hate for having drawn this comparison).
But actually, on balance, I'd rather listen to Nithyananda. At least he's entertaining. I can laugh at what he says without giving it a second thought; and that is time better spent than reading abstruse (pretentious) rambling!
