All over the place but interesting

The Memory Illusion is a fascinating piece on neurology, psychology and, basically, how humans think and remember. Dr. Shaw is a luminary and fully grasps her subject. Unfortunately, what this book had in intriguing science it lacked in structure. All chapters (with the exception, perhaps, of the fourth one, which relates to the biology of memory) all feel the same; I couldn't tell you what each one was about.

Siri Steimo offers a relatively robotic performance (she occasionally sounds like a computer-generated narrator). However, she does provide some interesting nuances and intonations at times.

49 people found this helpful

Don't take your own memories at face value

Would you consider the audio edition of The Memory Illusion to be better than the print version?

I did not read this book, I only listened to it, twice in fact. I enjoyed it fully both times. Dr. Julia Shaw's scientific research does prove that you can't trust your own memories. Which makes some sides completed one sided during criminal investigations...

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Memory Illusion?

Everything with self examples.

Have you listened to any of Siri Steinmo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, I was moved by the fact that you can't blindly trust your own memories, or trust those that tell you that they know your memories, or what happened to you during a certain time or moment in life. Even their memories of that situation can be completely skewed which will in turn skew yours. Just like it most lines of business, you should document everything with proof.

16 people found this helpful

Great material ruined by terrible narrator!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Anyone who prefers a nasal, upper conscious millennial reading to them, rather than a thoughtful, in the moment narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

Brilliant insight into how the brain functions regarding memory. Very informative.

What didn’t you like about Siri Steinmo’s performance?

There is no kind way to say this. Steinmo has ruined this book. It's like being read to by a nasal human machine gun, whose sole mission is to selfishly get the words done with, rather than thoughtfully read the material, using words as conveyers of meaning.
She reads "at" the listener, rather than "to" the listener. I truly believe that Steinmo did not read the book at all before the recording session. What a let down.

Any additional comments?

Use narrators who can actually narrate, and not just make rapid noises with their nose.

6 people found this helpful

thought provoking

it's kind of strange, but knowing so much more about how people can misremember and develop faulty memories (including myself of course) gives me a certain sense of freedom. I have the freedom to react in multiple ways when I interact with someone that may be wrong or lying, and to question myself and seek independent evidence. it's great

27 people found this helpful

Very Informative!

An excellent book exploring our own minds and the way memories work. I learned a lot of information that I had not heard before and now have new ways to remember that information based on the studies and practices discussed in this book.

15 people found this helpful

Mediocre book made terrible by a poor narrator

Memory is a fascinating topic, and given the author's credentials, this book seemed worth a listen. I'm going to stop where I left off, about five hours in.

I suspect that this book was self-published to begin with. There's a Kindle edition, which was released in June, apparently at the same time as this Audible edition. It won't be published as a physical book until next year.

The text per se needed the benefit of a good editor. And to this point, about two-thirds of the way through, I find the author's conclusions to be poorly supported -- broad generalizations about impossibilities, without sufficient evidence. I am not referring to debunking claimed memories of being in utero or of being born, but to more common memories from older childhood. For example, the physiology of the developing brain may make it rare for an adult to be able to recall day-to-day information from her grade school years, such as being able to identify elementary school classmates in a photo (this is, according to the author, useless information which is shed along the way to streamline the brain's function), but surely it isn't impossible. I can do it well past middle age. Those particular neurons are not universally shed, Dr. Shaw, however dogmatically you wish to present your theories. I'd suggest consistently using qualifiers, such as "often" or "rarely" or "few" or "unusual" to make your conclusions sound like the product of a lively and questioning and open mind.

Still, it would be worth finishing this book, if it weren't for an atrocious narrator. Siri Steinmo sounds like a high school student reading aloud in class without having prepared, getting lost in syntax and mispronouncing words. In the first 30 minutes alone, she mispronounced at least half a dozen words, some of them multiple times. When she read, ". . . some of the most fascinating, sometimes almost unbelievable errors, alterations, and misapprehensions our memories can be subject to," she pronounced "subject" with the stress on the second syllable, as if she began to say "subjected," and only then realized that the last syllable wasn't there. Surely that kind of flub would call for a second take in a carefully produced recording. She's apparently unfamiliar with the word "behemoth," but far worse in this context, she doesn't know how to pronounce "synapse."

Note to Audible Studios: For nonfiction, especially, please find narrators who are at minimum familiar with the subject matter. Otherwise, books lose credibility (and narrators only embarrass themselves). But it would be particularly nice for books such as this one, written in the first person, if the narrator's voice might be congruent with the author's voice. In this case, that would mean a more mature, British woman, not a very young American.

If I'd used a credit or paid full price for this book, I'd have returned it. However, I bought it as a daily deal, and it's worth $2.95 to warn others not to waste a credit on this one. If you're keenly interested in reading it, I'd suggest the Kindle edition. Better yet, wait until next August, and check your local library.

14 people found this helpful

I forgot what I wanted to say...

Oh yeah, if you have not previously read about scientific research concerning memory, this is a good overview of the extant research. If you are familiar with the research, this adds nothing new.

As to her goal to make me doubt my existence as I recall it, I wasn’t convinced. Especially since I can and have documented key memories and have friends, family and acquaintances that have helped verify my recollections. Those memories which I can’t document I regard as suspect, but they are not critical to my day to day existence.

On the other hand, she makes many good points about the unreliability of undocumented, unsubstantiated memories. I too have implanted memories in people’s minds and manipulated their cognitive biases and think everyone could benefit from knowing how this can happen and that it can and does happen to them.

The narrator mispronounces several common scientific words or, is an American accent pronouncing British pronunciations, not sure. I got over it as the book wore on.

5 people found this helpful

Questioning all.

Insight to how minds work; the importance of critical investigation of our (and others) memories/biases.

10 people found this helpful

I never thought of it this way

Where does The Memory Illusion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Good non-fiction. Interesting psychology book.

What other book might you compare The Memory Illusion to and why?

Pinker's, "Better Angels of our Souls"

Have you listened to any of Siri Steinmo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator is great. Straight forward and direct. Makes the complicated story easy to listen to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I listened to it in segments. It is not a novel.

9 people found this helpful

Poor medium, poor performance

The anecdote / theory / example structure of the text begs for constant cross-referencing and review that is not possible in audio book format.

Also, the presenter doesn't know how to pronounce synapse...a jarring error that never ceases to annoy and ruins the experience.

2 people found this helpful