Gravy's Reading of The Toaster Oven Mocks Me by Steve Margolis
- Gravy
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Gravy's Reading of The Toaster Oven Mocks Me by Steve Margolis
Kindle book: 152 pages
Current page: 54
Memoir, Synesthesia, Humor
Author has multiple forms of synesthesia. Very funny. Incredibly interesting. A few typos so far. Fairly sexist, sadly.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- gali
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"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
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Yeah. I think he's "of a certain age" so I'm not surprised.
I love reading about synesthesia. It's just so fascinating to me.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- gali
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"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
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The author has an odd form (well, several odd forms) of synesthesia. He sees colored vapor or shapes around moving objects (and colored, moving shapes when he's running/driving/etc.). It changes depending on the speed. I can't imagine being able to accurately know how fast something was moving just by looking at it.
This really proves that anyone who truly believes we have only five senses is a fool.
I can't even form an opinion at the moment. His is such an odd case that it's almost unbelievable. Time-lines just float in front of him when he thinks about them. And they don't appear as a straight line, but are still accurate. It's so strange. The whole thing is so strange.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
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His need to always keep this hidden is painful.
He's currently recalling when he used his synesthesia to cheat on tests in school. (I suppose that's one way. )
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
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I feel like the author might also be autistic. I know of other synesthetes that are also autistic, so it wouldn't be a surprise.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
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-D.
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It really is fascinating!Darrell Ingrum wrote: ↑15 Dec 2021, 18:11 Thanks so much for sharing. I'd never heard of the author's condition and now, after reading your comments and his book's description on Amazon, I'm enthralled! (Pretty glad that it's available through Amazon Unlimited, too.) Gonna read it right away. I think this book will be fun to talk to my wife about, too.
-D.
If you find yourself interested in reading more first-hand accounts of synesthesia, let me know. I can offer some recommendations.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
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Current mood with the book:
This is going to turn out to be one of those books where I enjoy it for its subject matter, and even the writing, but really dislike the author and his view of the world.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- Gravy
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I'm not a fan of this kind of memoir. I have learned about different forms of synesthesia, but there's really not enough information to make it interesting. This sucks.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- gali
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A pity! At least it is a short book.
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"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
- Gravy
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It contained some things that I was unaware of (types of synesthesia; some of the author's synesthesia actually disappearing for a time, which I've never heard of before), but was overall more just a general recounting of the author's life, who just happens to be a synesthete. I do not like the author at all. To use the old joke; 'if you looked up toxic masculinity in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of this author.'
He literally lied to his wife for at least ten years. I can't even.
Anyway, there are much better memoirs that center synesthesia much more, and with much more information about it. This one was worth reading only because it was short and easy to read. I still only gave it a 1 (and kind of wished I could give it a zero). I'm glad I'm done.
On to the next!
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
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Now I want to know what he lied to his wife about - the synesthesia? There's an episode of "House" called "The Right Stuff" that deals with synesthesia. I always wondered if people who are really good artists are more prone to things like synesthesia. When I draw, unless it's something I've drawn a lot, I prefer to look at pictures and draw from that. Some people can remember things and duplicate them very well, simply from memory. Also, diabetics will sometimes have issues with seeing things. So, artistic diabetics are more prone to synesthesia? It seems like a bit of a leap, but possibly! Thanks for sharing information about the book - I almost want to read it because he seems like such a jerk - almost...Gravy wrote: Finished!
It contained some things that I was unaware of (types of synesthesia; some of the author's synesthesia actually disappearing for a time, which I've never heard of before), but was overall more just a general recounting of the author's life, who just happens to be a synesthete. I do not like the author at all. To use the old joke; 'if you looked up toxic masculinity in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of this author.'
He literally lied to his wife for at least ten years. I can't even.
Anyway, there are much better memoirs that center synesthesia much more, and with much more information about it. This one was worth reading only because it was short and easy to read. I still only gave it a 1 (and kind of wished I could give it a zero). I'm glad I'm done.
On to the next!
La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
- Gravy
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Yes, it was about his synesthesia, but he also didn't tell her when he fell into a debilitating bout of depression, and when his synesthesia actually disappeared (his theory was it was due to the depression, but could've been a number of things, all of which I think he should've been open about. (Maybe that's just me, but I get the feeling he would expect to be told if the roles were reversed, so...)Bigwig1973 wrote: ↑30 Dec 2021, 00:36Now I want to know what he lied to his wife about - the synesthesia? There's an episode of "House" called "The Right Stuff" that deals with synesthesia. I always wondered if people who are really good artists are more prone to things like synesthesia. When I draw, unless it's something I've drawn a lot, I prefer to look at pictures and draw from that. Some people can remember things and duplicate them very well, simply from memory. Also, diabetics will sometimes have issues with seeing things. So, artistic diabetics are more prone to synesthesia? It seems like a bit of a leap, but possibly! Thanks for sharing information about the book - I almost want to read it because he seems like such a jerk - almost...Gravy wrote: Finished!
It contained some things that I was unaware of (types of synesthesia; some of the author's synesthesia actually disappearing for a time, which I've never heard of before), but was overall more just a general recounting of the author's life, who just happens to be a synesthete. I do not like the author at all. To use the old joke; 'if you looked up toxic masculinity in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of this author.'
He literally lied to his wife for at least ten years. I can't even.
Anyway, there are much better memoirs that center synesthesia much more, and with much more information about it. This one was worth reading only because it was short and easy to read. I still only gave it a 1 (and kind of wished I could give it a zero). I'm glad I'm done.
On to the next!
I believe there's a theory that Van Gogh was a synesthete. A good number of musicians have said they have synesthesia. It does indeed seem to be a pattern.
I'm fascinated by the sheer diversity in how all of our brains work. Like the difference between those who can and those who can't 'see' in their minds, and things like time blindness, etc. We all walk around under the assumption that everybody's brains work in a fairly similar way to our own, but it's just not the case, and I love learning about all the variation.
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.