SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

Hello and thank you for joining us for June's online book club discussion. My name is Diana, and this month, we'll be chatting about Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz.

This book is interesting, funny, and at times, rather shocking. It is available from the Library in several different formats, which are accessible at the following link: https://bit.ly/2M1Iw3G

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions throughout this month. If you've started reading, please feel free to share your thoughts so far!

Hi Diana,
Thanks for the warning regarding some of the language the author uses. It is rather shocking. So far (a few chapters in) I’m finding it really interesting but wishing he had used different data sets. I have zero interest in the sexual proclivities of people who use porn sites or whatever. I suppose it’s interesting for scientists but I definitely enjoyed the part on horse racing more.

I am listening to the audiobook and I can already see some disadvantages as the book obviously includes a number of graphics. I am also interested in some of the other books he references, although Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink” has been on my bookshelf for ages and now I’m not so sure if I want to read it ;)

Hi Heidi,

Thank you so much for your comments. I'm glad you are finding it interesting and I do hope readers aren't too put off by the language and sexual content!

I also listened to the audiobook my first time around so I am finding it quite handy to be able to refer to the graphics this time around. We do have plenty of print copies of the book available if you want to reference them ;)

This book is definitely in the spirit of books like "Blink" and "Freakonomics"....and all have somewhat mixed reviews. Interesting!

Hi Diana,
I am finding the book interesting into the third chapter regarding economics, unemployment rates and the housing market. I find it rather tiring how Seth seems to tie everything back to porn sites. He seems to really stretch the data so it is inevitably linked to porn which I really question so far.

This book is growing on me. Like Nancy said his ability to link *everything* back to porn sites is tiring but underneath all of that I do think he has some interesting observations. It is definitely cutting edge research which I can appreciate.

Also, the audio book has an "enhanced" cd which has all of the graphics. While it's probably more beneficial to have the graphics right beside you while you're reading I don't feel like I'm missing out that much.

Thank you so much for your comments ladies.

Nancy, I'm happy to hear you are finding some of the topics interesting. I do agree that his continued focus on porn is not only off-putting but also rather tiring. I wonder if this is his own personal bias/interest or if publishers thought this kind of salacious research would sell more books...either way, I can promise I will not make pornography the focus of our discussions!

Heidi, because I exclusively listen to audiobooks during my commute I did not even realize there was an enhanced CD! This is great to know and I'm glad that you now have access to that part of the book!