I thought some of the people got a little tiresome. Maybe it's just me
348433
Okay.  I thought some of the people got a little tiresome.  Maybe it's just me, but it never really became clear to me why the author wanted to live in filth and hardship.
2429322
I'm sorry .. Maybe it's just me.. but I didn't like that much...
3446717
There was a noticeable dent in one of them, but I, personally don't mind it... it give it a little character but I'm sure others would probably not like it.
881840
Some of the side notes helped define the laws and the time and frame meanings of words no longer used in the same way currently and some of the comments were amusing. But there were some that I thought were not amusing or helpful, rather they cluttered up the pages and made reading distracting rather than helpful. Except for use of explanation I could have done without many of the comments inserted near the author's text.
4529686
I found several of the chapters hilarious. Some were so-so, but someone else may enjoy the so-so chapters a lot more than I did.
3680862
I know I'm in the minority here and I did enjoy the first half of the book, but the second half started to drag and I found myself just trying to get to the end.  The cute / funny comments Chris made on every page and almost every sentence were tiresome.  But overall an okay read.
200457
This part is a bit tiresome, sometimes, with view changes I don't much care for, but overall, I enjoyed it.
1847661
With all the great reviews, I guess I was expecting more. Maybe it was the writing style, a little choppy.  However, there were times that I burst out laughing.
341697
Given Albom's reputation and the preview,  it looked like a book that would help people (including me) better understand life.  Frankly I'm a bit embarrassed that I wasn't bowled over by it....maybe I'm too superficial to grasp the great truths that 5 star reviewers found. And I'm not going to read hundreds of positive reviews to convince myself I was wrong in feeling pretty flat at its end. I'm wondering if many of the gushing reviews fall under the "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome or if others read the book more carefully than I. I'm reminded of a scene in "Easy Rider" when one of the stoned characters (Peter Fonda?) remarks, "yeah man, I'm hip about time!".  Or maybe I'm stoned and "misremember" that.
4618251
It almost had me at hello... but then it said good-bye.  And tried to say hello again, before saying good-bye and coming back for a final hello.  There were a few times where I thought it should have ended before it finally did.  To each their own - I know a lot of people who thought this was the best one yet, I thought it was the least well done and tried to please too many.
2521615
I didn't really care for this, but others may have different opinions
4400101
I enjoyed parts of this book and thought there were some especially funny comments.  However, I also agree with some of the reviewers that it went a bit too far in places with TMI.  Other than that it's kind of cute and kind of funny... I never did finish the whole thing though as I got kind of tired of the ongoing sameness.
1027127
This is just some people who think they are very clever and in-the-know, much like teenagers. I was not amused.  This kind of humor is weak.  I have a very good sense of humor but this kind of bandwagon humor is to me, not clever and probably damaging to the development of thinking processes of young people who need to find employment and take life seriously.  Everyone it seems is out kidding around, expressing their anger, making movies of revenge and punishment.  We need to develop the virtue of taking responsibility to solve problems, not just sigh and say oh well that's the way it is, so lets just accept it and make a joke about it.  I am glad George Washington and John Adams did not take that road...
245888
Kind of silly, but for a light moment...it is ok.  To each his own..some people may like it better
than I did.
3769118
All the people in it are upper middle class white people. They seem to me to be bored. Their kids seem to want to either lash out (like Christina Ricci character Wendy) or withdrawal like Mikey (Elijah Wood). The adults seemed bored with life and was looking for excitement like "key parties" (throwing car keys into a fish bowl where women pick them out. A form of "Swinging").

It stuck me as terribly sad. Perhaps our way of life in Western civilization brings about evil. Too comfortable for our own good. Even in the poor parts of our country, we have it good compared to just a couple of hundred years ago. Yet human nature has this inbred part of us that says "more". Maybe it's our curse as well as our gift. To keep striving for more even if we have enough.
239390
I found that I couldn't really like the characters all that much. Despite their different lives and lifestyles they did seem to talk with the same voice really - mostly disgruntled with their lives.
772004
If you're sick of people who make noise and want some help fighting them, this isn't the greatest book. It has a wealth of information on noise sources and technologies but is too politically-correct for my liking. It reminds me of those who blame crime on upbringing, not character, i.e. "let's all try to get along" vs. do something about these idiots.

Sample quote: "By and large, the unabashed noise lovers I met seemed to me to be exactly as barbaric as was the greater society in which we mostly live today."

I find that quote to be a cop-out. The evil of people who force their (entertainment) noise onto others' should be dealt with in unapologetic terms. Noise from utilitarian sources like construction and traffic is really a separate issue but it gets blended together in this book, as if there are no real perpetrators. Boom car thugs and Harley dregs are selfish and there's no need to humanize them just to be fair or "understand their world." Over-analyzing bad behavior tends to excuse it in the end.

In the end, I think there's more psychological satisfaction in the rants of anti-noise activists, though he may be right that our best pragmatic hope is replacing noise with silence somehow.