Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are by Bill Sullivan

I read a lot of trash but occasionally, I'll deign to pick up the occasional Smart People Book™. Especially books about psychology and biology, since I have a degree in Psychology and was interested in the specialized fields of neuroscience and cognition. PLEASED TO MEET ME is a book about biological psychology and evolutionary psychological (or Psycho Bio™ and Evo Psycho™, as I like to call them) and how genetics influence crucial parts of your Special Snowflake Persona™ that you thought were just you but are actually due to SCIENCE.

For example, in this book you will learn that Scary Genetic Science™ helps play a role in influencing not just your personality, but also: your taste in food, your fears, the likelihood of you being LGBT+, your impulse control, your political beliefs, the types of men or women you're attracted to, and so much more! What's that? You're a free-willed person and NOT a Frankenstein's monster? That's super cute, because the book ends with the future of human evolution and GMOs and cyborgs. HA.

I think you need some understanding of psychology and biology before reading this book. I was familiar with most of the studies because of my degree, but I think it might be difficult for non-majors. That said, this is incredibly engagingly written and the way that the author integrates fun pop-cultural references into the book make it easier to figure out what he's talking about because of how he draws parallels between difficult scientific concepts and relatable pop-cultural concepts. Sometimes it could almost be a little much, but he's funny as fudge, so I'll forgive it. Picture a fun textbook, and you'll have some idea of what the reading experience of this book will be like.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! 

3.5 out of 5 stars