Sullivan has a very clear and entertaining writing style and the book contains more explanations to how our bodies and minds work than any other single volume I've read. ( )

I adored this book. I by no means am a science guru, however I found this book to be delightfully informative, educational, and not too bogged down with details. This is a quick tour of the human body's inner workings for the average laymen. From what are the only two fears humans are born with to why old people use so much perfume to why certain people are attracted to each other to addiction. So many aspects of our personalities and bodies directly correlate to our genes, our parents, our bacteria, and our environment. Straight up fascinating stuff. The author may lose some readers with his section on belief (politics man - but the science is SO COOL) and his section on souls, but hey, the more you know. Personally I loved it. I liked learning about the factors that made me tick. I would never have known! It was straightforward, funny, filled with lots of Star Trek and pop culture references. This book really reminded me of Mary Roach's books (Stiff, Gulp, Spook, etc.) and fans of her would definitely enjoy this book as well. ( )

I really enjoyed this book on the many factors that make up who and what we are. Primarily focused on how DNA shapes and determines what we become in our lives it probes areas that bring to light what life is and becomes for each of us. The author injects his wit and wisdom throughout the book on various aspects of where, when, and why things come together to mold us as unique individuals with common bonds. ( )

This review can also be found on my blog.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.

In Pleased to Meet Me, Bill Sullivan sets out to explain what makes us, well, us. Conversationally written, this is absolutely geared toward the lay reader. While going in with a solid foundation of biology wouldn’t hurt, Sullivan lays each topic out carefully and provides sufficient background for readers to understand the more advanced topics being discussed. There is truly just enough information for us to glean what we need from each section and although I occasionally wanted more, I knew it wasn’t feasible to go more into depth while covering such a wide variety of topics.

This was an incredibly insightful read. I ended up bookmarking what felt like almost every page in the book and marked up countless passages. There are constant gems of information that are either fascinating all on their own or feel highly applicable to day-to-day life. My only complaint really is that Sullivan is a little too conversational at times, although that could just be my personal preference. He made endless cheesy jokes and had constant commentary that began to wear on me. But honestly, it’s a small price to pay for the amount that I learned reading this, especially considering what an easy read it was.

I really can’t recommend Pleased to Meet Me enough to those interested. While scholars on the topic may find this a bit too surface-level for their interests, this is certainly a wonderful primer for those who want to understand the interactions between genetics, environment, and family history. I’ll probably find myself leafing through it again in the future and am excited to see whether Sullivan puts out something similar again eventually. ( )

Have you ever wondered why you do some of the things you do? Or just simply why you are the way you are? With a deeper knowledge of our genetics and how our body and environments interact, Bill Sullivan explains who we are based on our genetics. This topic may not sound like everyone's cup of tea (you might find out why if you read the book!), however, the writing is easy to read and relatable. This is accessible genetics the way you wish your high school biology teacher would have taught things and is filled with pop-culture references and engaging language that will appeal to science buffs and curious minds alike.

Broken into ten sections, the reader is introduced to their Maker, Tastes, Appetite, Addictions, Moods, Demons, Match, Mind, Beliefs and Future. In Meet Your Maker, a primer to DNA, genetics and expression is given for those of us who may not remember the finer points of biology or need a brush up.

My favorite section was Meet Your Tastes, the writing really dives right in to describe how genes are responsible for your love or hatred of broccoli and your tastes in general. It was amazing to see how well genetics could describe my tastes and what I enjoy. I was definitely able to pinpoint some of the tasting genes that I do or do not have just from reading (I am definitely not a supertaster, but I do have a variation in my TRPV1 receptor).

Meet Your Moods was another very informative section for me. Giving insight to how we feel the way we feel, Pleased to Meet Me describes just how much influence our gut bacteria has on the way we feel and made me think about just how much control I have over how I feel.

More than anything, Pleased to Meet Me continuously emphasizes not to judge people based on factors that they may not be able to control- their weight, addictions, moods, temperament or romantic preference. These are all based on genetic factors that we can better understand and- in some cases help one another with. There is a wide future for genetic engineering and the impact it can have on humans, but what we do with these discoveries and innovations is up to us and what our gut bacteria wants us to do.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )