The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Jonathan Haidt)

Why I have this book: I have seen the author online many times, so I bought his book. Or I bought it first, and then found him online. I don't remember. I ended up buying the audio version, too, for my son to listen to. (I had to bribe him $10, but it was well worth it!)

I gave this one three stars. I was surprised I rated it so low!

I actually agree with everything he says about social media and technology. No arguments from me there! I think he could have taken his warnings further when it came to the dangers of pornography and the reasons it's dangerous. He was fairly brief about that and didn't really expand on why it's so harmful.

I also didn't totally agree with his assertion that kids should be free-roaming. I get that there needs to be a balance, but he and I differ on how much "Get outside and I don't want to see you until dinner!" there should be. It's not risky or scary until it's your child who goes missing... and it's always someone's child. Girls and women are sexually assaulted. Kids make decisions that do require parents to track and be aware of where their kids are and what they are doing.

It felt a little like he is super on top of the dangers of technology (which I agree with), but not real tuned into the reality of what can and does happen in real life. Maybe he's more willing to take that chance than I am. I do try to be balanced about it, but I'm sure we all come at it from different experiences and thus make our boundaries from those perspectives.

In any case, the book does have valuable information. It seemed too long for the topic. I think he could have focused on the dangers of pornography for young children and for teenagers more than he did. I do agree with some of his opinion on real-life experiences but not entirely. Overall, it's a worthwhile read, and I did see my son take to heart some of his advice, so I'm happy about that.

I think it was pretty clean. He does mention pornography and suicide and other things related to technology. 

The Wedding People (Alison Espach)

Why I have this book: My daughter recommended it, so I purchased the ebook version, then later purchased the audio so I could keep reading even when I was busy.

There was so much I liked about this book. I like the stories of women who discover their independence and find their inner strength and do things that help them grow and become who they want to be. This book had that. It was also humorous and interesting and had me super curious about what would happen. It would be a four-star read for me if I were just basing the rating off of that stuff.

I dropped it to three stars, though, because there was way too much talk about sexual things. There wasn't much descriptive sex, if any (can't remember), but way too much talk. Seems unrealistic, especially amongst strangers/people who aren't that close. It distracted from the story, in my opionion.

Still, I'm not sad that I read it.

I'm sure there was profanity, and like I said, there was plenty of sexual talk. The story also involved divorce and death of a spouse.

Happiness Falls (Angie Kim)

Why I have this book: My friend read it and gave it five stars, so I borrowed both the ebook and audio version from the ebook library.

This book was fascinating and engrossing from start to finish. The audio narrator did a great job which no doubt added to the experience. The author's note at the end was also very interesting.

I gave it four stars on Goodreads. Very good read.

There was profanity, and the story dealt with a missing person and not knowing if they are dead or alive.