Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Kyrin Down & Juan Granados
  • 4.7 (12)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Semiweekly

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.

  1. 7h ago

    Sexual Tension On An Unexpected Journey | The Wayward Bus (John Steinbeck) BOOK REVIEW

    Sure 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 period and while not usually counted among his greatest literary achievements is clearly packed with the sort of vivid, messy human character work he does so well. I walk through the book’s loose premise — a stranded bus, a roadside station, and a cast of passengers and workers thrown together — and talk about why the story feels less like a tightly structured plot and more like a vehicle for Steinbeck to explore personality, motive and tension. For me, that’s where the novel really shines: not in grand narrative payoff, but in the way Steinbeck builds believable people and lets their inner thoughts drive their actions. I also dig into what I saw as one of the book’s strongest undercurrents: the sexual tension running through nearly every interaction. Set in a more outwardly modest post-WWII, the novel still reveals how little human nature really changes beneath the surface. I reflect on the ways desire, jealousy, insecurity and attraction shape the characters and how Steinbeck captures those dynamics with an honesty that still feels recognisable today. My overall take: The Wayward Bus is a solid, casual Steinbeck read — not on the level of East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath, but still an enjoyable novel if you love sharp character observation. I gave it a 6.5/10. If you got value from the podcast please provide support back in any way you best see fit! Timeline: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:20) The Wayward Bus synopsis and cast of characters (00:04:13) Steinbeck's loose storytelling and postwar setting (00:06:45) Camille, desire and repression on the bus (00:09:58) Can men and women be just friends (00:12:33) Why human nature has not changed much (00:15:15) A real life example of social and sexual tension (00:17:29) Final verdict and where this book fits in Steinbeck (00:19:42) What Kyrin is reading and episode wrap up  Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

    Sexual Tension On An Unexpected Journey | The Wayward Bus (John Steinbeck) BOOK REVIEW

  2. 5d ago

    Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — My First Kafka Read Was Weird

    My 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 Penguin collection. From Gregor Samsa’s transformation to a tense taxi dispute and an unexpected insight about achievement, Kafka packs strange situations, precise details and memorable ideas into remarkably short stories. I discuss alienation, family dependence, Kafka’s writing style, and why reading at a conversational pace helped me enjoy this collection. ⚠️ Spoilers: the Metamorphosis plot discussion starts at 07:39 and includes the ending. Skip to 09:59 to avoid it. CHAPTERS 00:00 My first encounter with Kafka 00:30 Kafka’s background and literary legacy 01:55 What’s in this short-story collection? 03:03 Kafka’s style and finding my reading pace 04:29 Tiny details that make the writing vivid 05:58 A short reading and everyday observations 07:39 Metamorphosis plot and themes — spoilers 09:59 Point of view and writing outside a day job 11:05 The Aeroplanes at Brescia: the taxi dispute 13:07 The biplane and perfect achievement 14:30 Final thoughts: would I recommend Kafka? Have you read Kafka? What did Gregor’s transformation mean to you—and which Kafka book should I read next? Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

  3. Oct 7

    Why Murder ... Why Not? | In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) BOOK REVIEW

    The 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 true crime genre. I unpack the book’s retelling of the brutal Clutter family murders in Kansas, the psychology of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock and Capote’s readable, gripping style. While I can appreciate the book’s historical importance, strong reporting and the way it gives readers close access to the killers, I kept coming back to the same question: why? For me, the most unsettling part was that there doesn’t seem to be any satisfying meaning behind the crime beyond damaged people committing senseless violence. I also reflect on why true crime generally doesn’t work for me, despite how popular it is. Reading this didn’t leave me feeling wiser or more understanding of the world — it mostly left me feeling sad. I touch on the ethical questions around capital punishment, the lack of redemption in the story and why meaningless suffering makes this such a heavy read. My final take: it’s an important and well-written book for those interested in true crime, but personally it wasn’t for me and I land at roughly a 2.5 out of 10.  If you got value from the podcast please provide support back in any way you best see fit! Timeline: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:01) What In Cold Blood is about (00:02:19) The killers and the senseless motive (00:07:05) Why true crime leaves him cold (00:09:54) Truman Capote and the book's reporting style (00:11:52) Capital punishment and moral questions (00:15:42) Final verdict and whether it is worth reading (00:18:13) What is next for the book reviews  Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

    Why Murder ... Why Not? | In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) BOOK REVIEW

  4. Oct 4

    This Bestseller Made Me Feel Stupider | The Psychology of Stupidity Review

    Can 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 people. I finished it wondering how it became a bestseller. In this Mere Mortals Book Review, I explain why the collection disappointed me: repetitive discussions of terminology, arguments I found one-sided, and interviews that didn't deliver the depth I was hoping for. I also discuss the handful of ideas I did find interesting, before looking more closely at the book's treatment of artificial intelligence, meat-eating and intelligence, and its conversation with Daniel Kahneman. These are my reactions to the book and the way its arguments are presented. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear what worked for you. CHAPTERS 00:00 The book and its big promise 00:21 Red flags—and my dad's warning 01:01 What I hoped to learn 01:41 The “world's smartest people” pitch 02:37 How the collection is structured 03:06 My verdict—and the few bright spots 04:09 Repetition instead of insight 05:30 The artificial intelligence argument 08:19 Meat-eating, intelligence and missing balance 10:30 The interviews I wanted more from 11:47 What did I actually learn? 12:23 Would I recommend it? BOOK The Psychology of Stupidity Edited by Jean-François Marmion Subscribe to Mere Mortals Book Reviews for more honest reviews, practical ideas and conversations about the books we read. Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast  Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

  5. Sep 23

    Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Powerful Ideas, Frustrating Read

    Can 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 Nassim Nicholas Taleb. There are powerful ideas here, but I finished the book with mixed feelings about its practical application, repetition and relentless personal attacks. I unpack the difference between fragile, robust and antifragile, explore the barbell strategy and question how easily these frameworks translate into everyday life. My biggest takeaway? Via negativa: improving by removing harmful habits and unnecessary complexity. Sometimes progress comes from subtraction. We also explore why a system can benefit from failures that hurt its individual members, my pushback on Taleb’s views about technology, and the ethics of becoming stronger at someone else’s expense. Glad I read it, but would I recommend reading every page? CHAPTERS 00:00 Introducing Antifragile and Taleb 01:30 Why I picked it up 02:08 Structure, maths and optional chapters 03:23 Fragile vs robust vs antifragile 04:51 The limits of antifragility 06:25 The Hydra, aviation and individual sacrifice 08:58 Longevity and Taleb’s confrontational style 10:45 Where I push back on health and nature 12:00 The barbell strategy: can you apply it? 13:49 Convexity, concavity and practical usefulness 16:06 Via negativa: improvement through subtraction 17:04 The Lindy effect, technology and AI 18:34 Too long, too repetitive, too many attacks? 19:43 The ethics of shifting risk onto others 20:51 My verdict: should you read it? 21:40 What I’ll apply to my own life What’s one thing you could REMOVE from your life to make it better? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe to Mere Mortals Book Reviews for honest reflections on books, big ideas and their place in everyday life. Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

  6. Sep 14

    We Want to Slow AI Down. Can It Work?

    Can 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 Frontier” by Dario Amodei. I unpack the proposals for embedded evaluators, coordination between AI companies and international cooperation. Then I share where I'm supportive, where I'm sceptical, and why reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile has me questioning the comparison between AI safety and aviation. We also explore recursive self-improvement, the tension between global cooperation and US–China competition, and whether today's AI capabilities already give us enough to work with. This is my personal reading and critique of the article. Read it yourself and tell me where you agree or disagree. READ THE ARTICLE https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier CHAPTERS 00:00 An article review with big implications 00:32 The controversy behind the conversation 02:25 What does “pacing the frontier” mean? 03:36 Embedded evaluators: independent eyes inside AI labs 05:29 Antifragile, aviation and learning from failure 07:23 Recursive self-improvement and company coordination 09:18 Global cooperation meets US–China competition 11:32 Different levels of AI pacing 12:17 My verdict: slow down, pause or keep going? Should AI companies slow down, pause completely or keep pushing forward? What would change your mind? Subscribe to Mere Mortals Book Reviews for more reflections on books, articles and the ideas they leave us wrestling with. Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast  Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

  7. Aug 25

    I Never Watched Game of Thrones. Then I Read the Book | Book Review

    I 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 almost no connection to the TV series. In fact, years ago I made it about four minutes into episode one before turning it off. The book was a very different story. It starts slowly enough, building the people, families, politics and world but somewhere around the first third it starts accelerating. By the final few hundred pages I was absolutely smashing through chapters just trying to find out what happened next. In this review I get into: Why George R. R. Martin's POV structure works so well How he manages to interweave so many characters and storylines Why the world somehow feels enormous while remaining grounded The comparison with The Lord of the Rings The brutality, darkness and unpredictability of the story Why the final third completely hooked me The slightly uncomfortable reality of starting an unfinished series Whether you should read the book if you've already watched the show My rating: 9/10. 00:00 I finally read A Game of Thrones 01:02 Going in without watching the TV series 03:09 The problem with starting an unfinished series 05:11 Bigger than The Lord of the Rings? 06:19 Why the POV structure works so well 08:15 When the book hits overdrive 10:47 The dialogue, brutality & darkness 11:51 Why the fantasy still feels grounded 13:46 My final thoughts 14:47 Should you read A Game of Thrones? Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

  8. Jul 24

    I Read Elon Musk’s 69 Rules for Success | The Book of Elon Book Review

    I 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 largely through Musk’s own words. Rather than another Elon Musk biography, this book attempts to distil his operating system: how he thinks, why he works with such extreme intensity and which principles have shaped companies including Tesla and SpaceX. But does it offer anything genuinely new? 00:00 What is The Book of Elon? 00:28 How I received the book 01:03 This is not an Elon Musk biography 01:48 Three million words distilled 02:24 More than 1,000 source references 03:10 The 69 Core Musk Methods 03:35 How the book is designed 03:56 My background with Elon Musk 04:42 Why so much of it felt familiar 05:45 Is it useful as a reference book? 06:35 Why I probably wouldn’t reread it 07:19 Who should read this book? 07:55 Elon’s “ultra hardcore” philosophy 08:24 Success because of—or despite—his methods? 08:43 My biggest criticism of the book 09:49 The reader who may find it transformative 10:26 My final recommendation 10:58 Elon Musk’s recommended reading list 12:01 Final verdict Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Xs9DjsurFq Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

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4.7
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Kyrin Down & Juan Granados
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    412
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Mere Mortals Book Reviews
  • Show Website
    Mere Mortals Book Reviews

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