This was a nice, easy read that explored many of the questions we have as humans that are sometimes afraid to verbalize, or don't even know we need to verbalize! The humor and wit found in the answers of this introductory philosophy book make it an enjoyable read. This book makes you reflect on the bigger picture of life if you will. Will definitely recommend it.

Was all set to enjoy this book, and then the author mentioned he snickered and internally laughed at someone for their conviction which didn't align with his. I'm all for having differences of opinions, but as long as it's done respectfully... This, sadly, was not present here, which then killed it for me to keep on reading about someone who would be self-righteous and disrespectful to others.

I was very excited to read this book but I hadn't been able to get around to it due to some personal stuff, As much as I want to read it now, I am not in the right headspace to do so, so I am DNF'ing the book.
Thanks to the publisher for the copy.

Super cool read. Interesting and I love the humor I felt as I read it. Fun questions, with answers posed, you be the judge. Nice to just sit and take in others opinions. Ya know?

Ranging from unexpectedly simple philosophical questions to some of life's most complicated questions, "Ask a Philosopher" broke down philosophy into something that's understandable for a general audience. I enjoyed the author's writing style and thought process. The anecdotes about the people who came to the booth were also quite interesting.

Very, very quirky collection of answers to a quirky set of questions.

I think I like this book much more in concept than in practice with regard to the abundance of questions and my lack of attachment to most of them.

I adore philosophy and these tangential wonderings, but I didn't really feel like it was what I was expecting in terms of the way the writing went about exploring these common questions in more brief ways than I would've liked for some of the questions that were more interesting to me.

Hit or miss, I would say, but definitely worth a try regardless!

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

In this very strange year, a lot of people are contemplating the meaning of life. Ian Olasov's new book, Ask a Philosopher, has come along at the perfect time. He shares some of the common questions he's gotten while running his "Ask a Philosopher" table in New York City, such as "does God exist?", "do we have free will?", and "what's the best form of government", and gives answers from a philosophy perspective. He freely admits that some of these answers are contradictory, but that the universe is also full of contradictions. Interesting reading for anyone who enjoys thinking about big questions. Should start interesting conversations, too.

I was really intrigued by the title alone as it brought me back to my college days as a student sitting with others asking and answering wordly questions (which I now see was rather pretentious in nature as we provided only badly thought out infantile responses lol). I like the author's practical approach to some ideas that are thought to be fantastical; such as time travel. While the author was right in the beginning of the chapter that the answer is "likely a bit disappointing" he dug even further into the motivation of individuals who were seeking backwards time travel which was intriguing. Overall, this is a great book that will definitely get the wheels turning in your head about certain topics.

*An advanced copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A booth in a public setting, three bowls: one with philosophical questions on slips of paper, another with thought experiments, and a third with candy. sounds intriguing right? Ask a philosopher is a book about questions posed to a philosopher who sits in a booth and has people approach him or her to ask so called philosophical questions it shows how to think about the questions we want answers to and why they are important, very insightful and funny at times.

Ask a Philosopher is a superb book as quite simply the one complaint I generally hear about philosophy is that to a layperson it is inaccessible, and despite having read a large number of philosophy books over the years I agree that the general population can often have issues understanding and comprehending exactly what is being discussed. Of course, many people with varying degrees of interest and prior knowledge of philosophical concepts ask themselves the same questions about our existence and purpose for living to name only one and perhaps the most asked question of them all. Just because a person may lack the capacity to fully understand the often lyrical, convoluted and/or complex ways in which these writings usually lean does not mean they shouldn't be privy to the conversation surrounding that particular question or whatever question they may have.

Here, the author has made an accessible and overwhelming stint as a successful street vendor of philosophical answers into a book and explains everything in terms anyone can understand regardless of their education. Rather than treating the topic of philosophy as esoterical and much misunderstood, Ian Olasov opens it up to a wider audience than ever before and manages to make it a fun and entertaining experience along the way. It is a collection of answers to the philosophical questions on people's minds—from the big to the personal to the ones you didn't know you needed answered. From questions that we all wrestle with in private to questions that you never thought to ask, Ask a Philosopher will get you thinking. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Thomas Dunne Books for an ARC.

Within a few sentences, Ian Olasov's witty, down-to-earth, and stunningly readable prose captured my attention and did not let go until I got to the end of ASK A PHILOSOPHER. Coming out of a real-life "Ask a Philosopher" booths set up around New York City, the book poses important questions and provides insights, anecdotes, and approaches that only the most approachable philosophers could give. This book was a shocking, wonderful surprise, not at all the wisdom I expect from the typical, self-appointed, lofty geniuses pondering matters us mere mortals cannot comprehend through the fog of our dumb minds and drooling, pedestrian lives. Not at all. It is charming, witty, incredible fun and got me thinking about things I have never thought before. I had a rollicking good time with smart, accessible, and essential ideas. The highest, highest appreciation to Olasov, his publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is a good book. The title sets this work up nicely. Varied presuppositions regarding philosophy and/or philosophers abound. Olasov's approach attempts to reach the spectrum of those presuppositions by adding a relatively fresh, novel methodological approach to the corpus of philosophical pondering--an approach embodied by his 'Ask a Philosopher' booths.

If you're interested in learning a bit of philosophy and critical thinking skills while reading a fairly light, oftentimes entertaining read, then this might be a book for you.

DM

This was a fun read, as the author answered the most asked questions his team receives when they have philosophy booths for people to ask them things. Some of the questions I never would have thought to ask, but once I saw them, I was glad someone else asked them! This is just filled with little tidbits of knowledge about everyday things like if ketchup is a smoothie or not. Some questions were silly like that, but I found that I really wanted the answers!

Interesting concept... A team of philosophers set up a table in a busy area with a sign that said "Ask a Philosopher". People came up and asked questions (some original questions, some from a list). This book contains 50+ of those questions and answers.

The questions range from big ("what is the meaning of life?") to small ("is ketchup a smoothie?"). Some questions seemed very pertinent ("are people born straight or gay?") and some less so ("how do you know that 1+1=2?").

In any case, it was an interesting journey into philosophical thought and practice, if not entirely pragmatic.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my opinion. My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley. #AskAPhilosopher

It was interesting to read a philosopher's take on some of the questions that we have all asked ourselves at some point in our lives. It is thought provoking, sometimes humorous, and brings up a lot of ideas that I had not considered. Due to its nature, this book is difficult to 'binge read,' if you will. I think that it would make a great 'coffee table' book where you pick it up here and there to read a couple of the questions and answers.

Is ketchup a smoothie? Is it okay to have a pet fish? Why?

The philosophies of these burning questions, and many more, can be found in Ian Olasov’s book, Ask a Philosopher. I would say the answers to these questions, but that’s not really the way of philosophy. This book is lite enough that readers who have never touched philosophy will understand, and philosophy majors who haven’t touched the subject in years (who, me?) will be entertained and refreshed.

My favorite part of this book was actually the light hearted stories that came from the booth of the book’s namesake. Often people do not realize that many of the questions we seek answers to are a bit philosophical, or even that they can provide a fresh take on some ideas. Olasov does well in throwing in these stories to break up the philosophical questions, which are a little heavy at first, and take a lighter side through the second half of the book (i.e. is ketchup a smoothie though?).

I think this would be a great read for virgins of philosophy to dip their toes, or for people like me who were previously well versed in some our favorite philosophers, like good ol’ Manny, but have been out of the game for a while.

I was a philosophy major in college, so I was highly intrigued when I saw this book. I love the idea of wandering philosophers, setting up stands for questions about life. Unfortunately, the idea may be a great one, but the book wasn't - at least not for me... I found the writing dry and overly complicated. The book purported to be for regular people who wanted an introduction to philosophical thinking and considerations, but it felt unnecessarily convoluted and lost me early on (frankly, in the preface - although I kept reading into a number of the actual questions). This one just didn't do it for me...

This is a fun book to see what questions people ask and how a philosopher would reply. I was not in agreement with some of the answers I read. I will be honest, I did not read them all. I feel this is a book to pick up from time to time, read a couple questions, and contemplate the answers. I also feel this is a interesting book for an educator to use to get student's minds working. Even if the answers are not shard, you can ask the questions and get conversation going. I look forward to continually reviewing this book over time.

Has a lot of interesting questions that Ian answers. I skipped a few sections I wasn't that interested in and some sections were very short. Overall if you are interested in Philosophy, then this a good jumping-off point.

A very interesting attempt in making philosophical constructs seem less abstract and dry by using a question that most can relate to from daily life. However, that strength also leads to a weakness - the jumping around of topics with varying degrees of importance, relatability and scope. That approach makes for uneven reading, if you plan to read cover to cover. The book is better treated as a random sampling in each sitting, with 3-5 questions that may pique ones interest at that time.. While entertaining, it does not however equip the reader with a set of tools or constructs one can leverage easily. If a separate section (or an appendix) that provided a more thorough theoretical framework or thought tools, it may have been more helpful.