I loved this collection of essays! My favorite is the first, She’s Lost Control Again. I love the ties she makes to her life alongside the song by Joy Division. I wish there were more stories!

Quick, simple read—finished this in two days—but it’s SMART. I’ve only read Maris Kreizman’s publications about books, so her pivoting to politics was a surprise to me (who did not read the back of the book).

Don’t think I’ve ever read an essay collection that’s so connected, so concise.

While there’s nothing revolutionary in this book, it was nice to read someone neatly articulate some of the thoughts I’ve also had on America’s healthcare system, the publishing industry’s low wages and high expectations, diet culture, and more. Diabetes runs amuck in my family, so I also enjoyed reading how Maris’ disability touches her entire life.

Also: I love seeing people I know’s names in the acknowledgements 🫶🏻

Thank you Ecco/HarperCollins for the ARC !

My short review: Exceeds Expectations.

Like Maris, I've only ever moved to the left politically since first hearing the name Bill Clinton as a child of the 90s. But unlike Maris, I would have a very difficult time putting my thoughts and feelings into a cohesive, well-written, compelling, and righteously angry record of THIS moment in time.

This collection, her words, give voice, structure, and sense to a confusing and confounding broken system of politics, capitalism, and makes personal the struggles we may not see or emphasize with firsthand like wages and unions in publishing (although that was very personal to me too!) as well as being a diabetic in life and a woman in any profession (something foreign to me, made more real through her experiences in a way I haven't quite ever read before).

Maris writes directly to you, the reader, without making you feel stupid or ashamed or talked down to, making this collection far more accessible and actionable than many of the others I've read (and also enjoyed!) that come across as more academic or didactic (like Lauren Oyler, etc.). These are excellent, relevant, and relatable essays that must be read!

Maris Kreizman’s I Want to Burn This Place Down is a blazing, no-holds-barred essay collection that hit me like a wake-up call. Her mix of personal grit and cultural sharpness challenges everything from the American dream to the way we live now. It’s raw, smart, and unapologetically fiery—a must-read for anyone ready to rethink and rebuild.

Full disclosure that I've been a Maris Kriezman follower for many years and have always appreciated and respected her points of view. She's the kind of person you can just tell is a "good" person by what she posts and how she communicates. I've been excited to read her book ever since she announced it and a book with this title (and amazing cover) feels like it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time.

As someone who's just a few years younger than Maris, I grew up in what seems like a similar family in a similar socio-economic status. I too believed that hard work would guarantee wealth and security, democracy in America was a sure thing, and cops are heroes here to protect us. As I get older, I constantly realize how much I was lied to and am still being lied to. And I'm not even someone who depends on medication to live, like Maris, logistics of which only add to the baffling state of our country.

Honestly, my only issue with the book is that it isn't longer! I would have happily read a few more essays from Maris. I imagine this was a hard book to "finish" since it seems like every day there's another lesson on how we were lied to and a reason for why we want to "burn this place down." Between the rapid advent of AI and the continuous dismantling of our country's democracy, Maris probably already has enough material for another book.

Winning essays by the host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Maris Review. There is a good bit of nostalgia in these pages as Maris examines where she came from and where she has been. What I liked best about the book, which is the same as the now defunct podcast, is all of the great book recommendations.

Engaging, timely, and relateable. A recommended purchase for collections where memoirs and political commentary are popular.

I have been a fan of Maris Kriezman's writing for years, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of her essay collection I WANT TO BURN THIS PLACE DOWN! Knowing the general vibe of the book is about range at institutions letting us down and the idea of getting more leftist as we get older, instead of the common "getting more conservative" trend, made me even more excited. The idea that if we worked hard and played by the rules we would succeed in life is the great con most millennials bought into at a young age, and dealing with the stark reality that that is not the case is something that needs to be examined over and over again, so I'm always glad to see it in a book like this.

Kreizman's thesis that it is never too late to become radicalized could not be more needed than right now. The title, taken from one of the best scenes in MAD MEN, is both a wish and a warning. I feel like the country is currently burning down, and we need everyone to be radicalized enough to rebuild it as soon as possible.

I wish the essays were a bit longer, and had a bit more grit and teeth. I can feel the anger from Kreizman below the surface, I just wish she went a little harder. But talking about the union organizing at the publisher that is publishing the book we're reading was pretty badass, as well as her essay on copaganda where she reveals both of her twin brothers are cops. She is a fascinating author, and a hugely important person in the book world, and I hope she publishes more!

I felt, unfairly to this book, a little misled by the title. "I Want to Burn This Place Down" made me think that I was getting a book of essays that mirrors the incandescent rage I've been feeling these days. I didn't get much incandescent rage, which left me feeling a bit let down, but I did get a fun and insightful group of essays about Maris, her childhood, and her thoughts on life. Enjoyable, if not exactly what I expected.

In this book, Maris has chronicled the consequences of being an ambitious woman in an industry and society that's hellbent on failing us. She has made me feel seen and validated.

This is relatively short essay collection on topics related to culture, politics, and health. Kreizman details milestones in her career, a successful marriage, and her experience with Type 1 diabetes.

I loved this essay collection. Despite being an upcoming release, however, it already feels a little outdated in our rapidly-changing political climate. Mentions of Elon Musk just a few years ago were unsettling to me. I’m looking forward to keeping up with Kreizman’s work as we all try to navigate the world we live in now.

This was overall a worthwhile read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 rounded down to 4. I really can't decide if this should be a 4 or a 5!

I really liked this book, as it talked about Kreizman's learning and unlearning as time went on. I love books like this because we all have learning and unlearning to do. It can be vulnerable to highlight the areas where you used to be wrong so I always really appreciate books like this.

I really enjoyed the different areas that Kreizman covered! I'd definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book!

A strongly written book with a good dose of humor. It’s a challenging time for those of us paying attention and this book gets at a lot of the issues. I appreciated being able to read it so much!

A thoughtful collection by a woman who finds herself growing increasingly leftist with age, rather than the saying that as we get older we grow more conservative. Her medical conditions, experience, and sympathy continue to make her lose faith in institutions and the system. She casts her gaze on our health care system, the climate crisis, politics, feminism, and so many societal expectations and myths. Recommended.

Maris Kreizman's book is a perfect read for those of us trying to survive this post-pandemic, current-fascist moment in time. Her essays are funny, but not forced, and eminently relatable in that they say some of the long-unspoken quiet parts out loud. For example: It's OKAY not to want kids! Who says you're missing out on something that doesn't interest you? And, oh, yes, that doesn't mean you're broken.

And there's plenty more, including the radical life change that comes for a type-1 diabetic now that she wears a continuous glucose monitor. Awesome and life-giving, right? Sure, unless you doomscroll your own blood sugar and lean toward navel-gazing, in which case you run the risk of micromanaging your pancreas and walking into a pole on the street, giving yourself a subdural hematoma, and dying while binge-watching true crime. Or your glucose monitor. Figuratively, of course.

Kreizman manages to quantify the effects of climate change in terms of walking your elderly pug, and admitting that some of us now feel like elderly pugs since the air we breathe has turned on us.

There is, of course, much more, which is to say: READ THIS BOOK. And it's not just for childless cat ladies. And, for all you childless cat ladies out there, myself included, we rock. And we don't care to hear anyone say otherwise.

This book was fine. I think each essay alone was good and enjoyable, and they did flow together a little bit, but I was expecting a different feel based on the title and blurb. While she definitely talks about the end of her belief in institutions, it is not as much of a theme of the book as I had originally anticipated. The title is more of a single reference to a single essay than an overarching theme, which I think means people who pick this up might not enjoy it as much as anticipated, particularly those (like me) who were not familiar with the author prior to this book of essays.

One thing I personally enjoyed, as someone who did not come to politics until well after college, was her writing on not really being a feminist at a young age and to this day being quite un-read in Feminist theory. I feel like most feminist writers have always been feminist and took Women and Gender Studies 101 fall semester of freshman year, which makes me feel disconnected to the writing, as a cis white woman who just didn't get what all that was about until later in life. That essay made me feel seen, and I greatly appreciate that.

I also really enjoyed her chapter on Copoganda, particularly when she reveals that her brothers are cops. I would personally love her examination on her relationship with her brothers in related to this, as someone whose loved one is struggling with their family going down the Fox News path, but I also know that is not something she has to share if she doesn't want.

Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Did not finish. I believe the main message is extremely important, but there are much better, comprehensive works on community work and mutual aid.

I loved Maris' fresh and funny essays, filled with personal warmth and political fury. Definitely relatable content for disenchanted elder millennials everywhere.

I greatly enjoyed this collection of essays. I found myself connecting with Maris and actually wanted more from her perspective from the end. I laughed at certain points while also feeling her struggle/pain in others. It was something that has helped me feel better right now that I don't feel so alone in these similar revelations and thoughts. I rated it 4.5/5 stars mostly because I just wanted more! I was sad when it ended.

Kreizman is a very likable narrator, whose most despondent moments somehow give me hope, probably because they made me feel less alone.