Mere Mortals Book Reviews
by Kyrin Down & Juan Granados
Latest episode
The Military-Coinage-Slave Complex | Debt: The First 5000 Years…
The Military-Coinage-Slave Complex | Debt: The First 5000 Years…
About this podcast
Hey we are the Mere Mortals and we review books of all genres/styles but with an emphasis on those that have stood the test of time (the 'classics' if you will). Join us on Weekly live episode on Thurs 11am AEST (Thurs 1am UTC+0) plus bonus episodes from my cohost Juan.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 418 episodes
- The Military-Coinage-Slave Complex | Debt: The First 5000 Years (David Graeber) BOOK REVIEW · 43 minNothing 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…
- A Storm of Swords Part 1 Review: I Couldn't Put It Down · 9 minA 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…
- Quotes & Life Lessons | 1984 (George Orwell) BOOK REVIEW · 41 min1984 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…
- Average Investing Advice | Big Mistakes (Michael Batnick) BOOK REVIEW · 18 minAverage 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…
- We Are Evolving, Just Backwards! | The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) BOOK REVIEW · 23 minWould 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…
- A Clash of Kings Review — Is Bigger Actually Better? · 12 minA 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…
- Sexual Tension On An Unexpected Journey | The Wayward Bus (John Steinbeck) BOOK REVIEW · 22 minSure 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…
- Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — My First Kafka Read Was Weird · 15 minMy 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…
- Why Murder ... Why Not? | In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) BOOK REVIEW · 20 minThe 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…
- This Bestseller Made Me Feel Stupider | The Psychology of Stupidity Review · 13 minCan 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…
- Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Powerful Ideas, Frustrating Read · 22 minCan uncertainty make you stronger and does Antifragile actually show you how? In this Mere Mortals Book Review, Juan explores Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by…
- We Want to Slow AI Down. Can It Work? · 14 minCan we slow AI development down while everyone is still trying to win the race? In this episode of Mere Mortals Book Reviews, I'm reviewing an article: “We Must Pace the…
- I Never Watched Game of Thrones. Then I Read the Book | Book Review · 16 minI never watched Game of Thrones. Then I finally picked up George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones and I get it now. I went into the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire with…
- I Read Elon Musk’s 69 Rules for Success | The Book of Elon Book Review · 12 minI read The Book of Elon by Eric Jorgenson, a collection of Elon Musk’s most useful ideas on purpose, engineering, business, hiring, intensity and problem-solving, presented…
- Homer’s Odyssey: Still Worth Reading Today? · 13 minIn this Mere Mortals book review, I talk through The Odyssey by Homer the famous follow-up companion to The Iliad, and one of the great adventure stories of the Western canon…
- The Hairy Ass Of The Art World | Get The Picture (Bianca Bosker) BOOK REVIEW · 29 minArt is hairy, art is context, art is beauty and ..... art is big butts!? In this episode, I dive into 'Get the Picture' by Bianca Bosker, a 2024 book that explores the…
- Philosophy Mixed With Business | Zero To One (Peter Thiel) BOOK REVIEW · 16 minAbstract ideas made definite. In this episode of Mere Mortals book reviews, I dive into Peter Thiel’s 'Zero To One' and why its big-picture thinking resonates more than tactical…
- Like Me Please! | How To Win Friends & Influence People (Dale Carnegie) BOOK REVIEW · 24 minI'm begging you PLEASE, I'll be your very best friend. In this episode I review Dale Carnegie’s classic 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' nearly a century on from its…
- The Iliad by Homer: Rage, Glory & Why This Ancient Epic Still Hits Hard | Book Review · 20 minMost people approach The Iliad expecting the Trojan Horse. Instead, they find something darker: a story about wounded pride, uncontrollable rage, brutal violence and the moment…
- Thoughts Influence Your Character | As A Man Thinketh (James Allen) BOOK REVIEW · 20 minI was wrong and I admit it .... this is the real OG self help book. Today I dive into James Allen’s 'As a Man Thinketh' (paired in my edition with From Poverty to Power) and it…
- Gaming In The OASIS | Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) BOOK REVIEW · 20 minWhat happens if the game really is better than real life? In this episode I dive into 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline and explore whether a virtual paradise can outshine the…
- Life & Death Battles Getting Silly | Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman) BOOK REVIEW · 16 minAre you entering into the dungeon? In this episode of Mere Mortals Book Reviews, I dive into 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' by Matt Dinniman, a fast-paced RPG romp that mixes real-world…
- Boy Did I Remember This Wrong | Think And Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) BOOK REVIEW · 36 minThe classic self-help book is a bit different than I remember. In Napoleon Hill’s 'Think And Grow Rich' I discover it’s not quite the book I remembered. I walk through what…
- Fossil Fuels To The Rescue | How The World Really Works (Vaclav Smil) BOOK REVIEW · 22 minJust how reliant are we on fossil fuels ..... well it turns out a lot! 'How The World Really Works' by Vaclav Smil showed me just how much we still need petroleum and coal to…
- Coco Chanel: Genius, Myth & The Cost of Reinventing Yourself · 26 minAfter a short hiatus, I’m back with a paired review of The World According to Coco and The Little Book of Chanel. Truthfully, neither book is extraordinary on its own. But…
- Can AI Solve Everything by 2035? The Case for Abundance · 18 minIn this episode of Mere Mortals, I review Solve Everything: Achieving Abundance by 2035 by Dr Peter H. Diamandis and Dr Alexander D. Wissner-Gross, a bold manifesto arguing that…
- Dario Amodei’s AI Warning: We’re Closer Than People Realise · 17 minIn this episode of Mere Mortals Book Reviews, I break down The Adolescence of Technology by Dario Amodei and why it reads less like a tech article and more like a civilisational…
- This Book Predicts the Future (And It’s Terrifying) | Accelerando Book Review · 9 minI don’t even have the physical book… because Accelerando is free online and after reading it, I understand why it’s become a cult recommendation. This is dense, idea-heavy…
- The Habits of High Performers | Book Review (James Laughlin) · 12 minWelcome back to the Mere Mortals Book Reviews. Today I’m reviewing Habits of High Performance by James Laughlin, a practical, activity-driven book built around foundational…
- Tolkien’s Final Battle | The Return of the King Book Review · 11 minWelcome back to another edition of the Mere Mortals Book Reviews — and this time it’s the final instalment of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. (00:00)…
- 17 Lessons from Mastery (Robert Greene) That Actually Change How You Work · 18 minThis is the book learnings companion to my Mastery book review: I pulled 17 personal takeaways (from ~70 notes) and unpack what they mean in real life. We go from vocation and…
- Mastery isn't talent, it's a process | Mastery Book Review · 21 minMastery is not a gift handed to the “talented", it’s a ruthless process: time, patience, humility, apprenticeship, and the emotional control to not quit when it gets boring. In…
- How to Collect Art: The Brutal Truth About Galleries, Power & Pricing · 22 minEver looked at the art world and thought: how does any of this actually work? I read How to Collect Art (2024) by Magnus Resch to figure out whether a normal person can buy a…
- Mere Mortals - How to review books · 4 minA short snippet on the way we do things behind the scenes as the new year approaches and a concerted effort in our book reviews rises. Connect with Mere Mortals: Website…
- The most unique book in the Alex Rider series | Secret Weapon Book Review · 8 minIn this Mere Mortals book review, I dive into Secret Weapon, the 12th entry in the Alex Rider series, but not a traditional one. Instead of a full-scale mission, Horowitz…
- Helm’s Deep to Shelob | Book Review The Two Towers · 14 minA raw, no-fluff review of The Two Towers — the darker, tighter middle act of LOTR. I cover the split structure, why Book III feels punchier (Helm’s Deep, Ents), why Book IV slows…
- Action-Packed Throwback with a Soft Spot | Book Review Never Say Die · 11 minAlex Rider returns in Never Say Die — a fast, zany, throwback instalment that swaps grit for velocity. I break down what works (pace, scale, that classic Rider ingenuity), what…
- Not a sequel, but a reckoning | Book Review Russian Roulette · 13 minHorowitz turns the camera away from Alex and into the fire that forged Yassen. Set around the Stormbreaker timeline, this darker companion novel binds the series together with…
- When the book finally draws blood | Scorpia Rising Book Review · 10 minAlex Rider stops being bulletproof. In Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz cashes in every IOU the series has dodged: real stakes, identity games, and a gut-punch that actually…
- Urgency Is Non-Negotiable | Crocodile Tears Book Review · 8 minA new villain and a new frontier. Crocodile Tears throws Alex Rider into the jaws—literally. We open in Scotland, meet philanthropist-on-paper Desmond McCain of the First Aid…
- Enemy Within: Alex Rider’s Darkest Test | Snakehead Book Review · 8 min“The enemy isn’t out there. It is within.” That line sets the tone for Snakehead, the seventh Alex Rider novel: darker, sharper, and closer to the bone. We open in Australia…
- When a Teenage Spy Goes to Space | Ark Angel Book Review · 8 minInto space we go! Ark Angel takes Alex Rider higher, literally, as he stumbles from a hospital bed into a conspiracy that leads straight into orbit. Anthony Horowitz throws his…
- Alex Rider’s Identity Crisis | Scorpia Book Review · 8 minScorpia isn’t just another Alex Rider adventure, it’s the book where everything shifts. Darker, grittier, and more morally complex, this is where Alex discovers the terrifying…
- Careful what you wish for: Eagle Strike Book Review · 10 minIn this review, we dive into Eagle Strike, the fourth Alex Rider book by Anthony Horowitz. Alex finds himself on his own against the billionaire villain Damian Cray, with MI6…
- Debunking Quacks & Biased Media | Bad Science (Ben Goldacre) BOOK REVIEW · 38 minThere will always be someone selling BS, but you can learn how to spot it. 'Bad Science' by Ben Goldacre is an expose of sorts showcasing instances of media (individuals & as a…
- What It Takes To Lead | Lee Kuan Yew (Allison & Blackwill) BOOK REVIEW · 40 minThe future of Asia is interesting but even more so is the man who created it! 'Lee Kuan Yew' by Allison & Blackwill is a compiled selection of speeches & quotes from Lee Kuan…
- Worldbuilding on Steroids: Fellowship of the Ring, Book Review · 12 minTolkien doesn’t write chapters; he builds civilisations. The Fellowship of the Ring is a slow, deliberate march through languages, histories and the lived feel of time, a…
- Semiconductors Shape The World | Chip War (Chris Miller) BOOK REVIEW · 34 minA world changing industry that kind of happened by coincidence. 'Chip War' by Chris Miller is a detailed history of the semiconductor industry from its origins in the 1950's to…
- Strength Without Noise: Lessons from Skeleton Key’s Villain · 10 minIn this Mere Mortals book review, we revisit Skeleton Key, the third Alex Rider novel, blending teenage espionage with lessons on stoicism, discipline, and composure. Beyond the…
- Historians Attempting Poetry | The Lessons Of History (Will & Ariel Durant) BOOK REVIEW · 18 minNot only is history written by the victors, but it's altered by the academics! 'The Lessons Of History' by Will & Ariel Durant is a small book that attempts to sum-up the…
