Stories (Abridged) Audiobook

" This was a great listen. I never realized how much story is an essential element of our lives. Story telling allows us to understand our existence, learn things, relate to others, and myriad of parts of life. The author takes us through them all. "

" Litterature went scientific, esp. Darwinian. Stresses the centrality of fiction and narrative in homo sapiens' lives. Easy reading, premium content. Ultimately revolutionary. I cannot ask for more. "

" Decent and as short as it was at 200 pages, still felt longer than its ideas. "

" While well written and engaging, Gottschall doesn't present anything truly revelatory or groundbreaking. I kept finding myself saying okay but where is this argument going, and in the end the argument really didn't go anywhere that has not already been explored. "

" a thoughtful, well-written intellectual examination of storytelling, which incorporates neurology, anthropology, sociology, popular culture, computer games, and poetry. those who spend a great amount of time thinking about story (e.g. novelists) may find a few fresh insights but shouldn't expect any epiphanies. "

" I've read a lot of this elsewhere. The first couple chapters had some interesting nuggets, but I didn't find the book all that engaging. "

" This book validates a lot of my feelings about the importance of narrative in our lives. We tell stories because that is what it means to be human. "

" Excellent analysis of the various functions of story and storytelling in society, and how humans have always been "storytelling animals". "

" Nothing that earth-shattering or new. "

" An interesting book that explores the role that stories play in society and human well being. "

" An interesting read on the various ways narrative permeates our lives, from childhood to adulthood, unconscious to conscious, and individual to society. "

" The author draws from such fields as psychology, biology, and neuroscience to explain why humans are hard-wired for telling and enjoying stories. Breezy and interesting. "

" Offers fantastic insight into how humans know and interpret the world through storytelling. Extremely enlightening. A must read for all writers and readers. "

" A bit too breezy in places, but overall fascinating. I did, however, take issue with his criticisms of the character of Sherlock Holmes--they seemed both pointless and rude. "

" Meh. Really interesting concept, but there wasn't much meat on the bone. "

" Nicely done look at the power of story in human life, culture and history, and a good apology for the appeal of story in all its forms, from the nearly always fabricated stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, to the advent of storytelling mediums like MMORPG and LARP. "

" Intriguing. The Storytelling Animal supports a lot of the current conversation among library trainers about using Story to help make staff training stick. "

" I loved the closing of the book, a glorious summary of the power of story. The subtitle of the book, How Stories Make Us Human, is never proved out. The book is about the centrality of story to human nature. Worth the read. Thought-provoking. "

" VERY good book - maybe the best non-fiction book I've read in a while - about how our lives are surrounded and influenced more than anything else by "fiction" or story. "

" Very quick read. Not very well organized but I did enjoy it. "

" I had trouble reading this because the style is so formulaic. Malcolm gladwell's shadow is wide and deep and heavy. "

" So delightful! I recommend it to everyone, readers, writers, consumers of any kind of fiction. "

" Enjoyable & informative. I didn't find his evolutionary arguments convincing at all. "