Jon Ronson's audiobook (podcast?) is a fascinating peek into a shadowy industry. There are many things wrong about the ubiquity of free, easily Googled pornography on the Internet. Ronson talks to those who have been victimized but don't receive any sympathy: the creators of said pornography and some consumers who have experienced extreme consequences as a result of their indulgences. ( )

I absolutely loved this short, episodic audio book. It was really fascinating and wrapped up in a way that choked me up a little bit. I absolutely recommend it. ( )

This is a great.. is it a book? Is it a documentary series? It's a documentary series, isn't it. I can't count a 3 and a half hour documentary series towards my reading challenge, can I. Awww.

Anyway it's excellent. It's pro-sex worker and anti thoughtless copyright infringement. He didn't say anything about university students downloading dozens of textbooks they've been told to buy that cost between 40 and 200 euro each, so I assume that's still ok. ( )

What a bizarre, tragic, funny, weird journey Ronson takes us on with this, a strange peek into some of the corners and offshoots of the porn industry.

I love Ronson's stuff, but my standard complaint still applies. Ronson digs, finds the most fascinating people, then settles for asking only a handful of questions before moving on to the next. I understand that he's got lots of people to get through, but there's times where we're given only a glimpse, a chance to touch only the surface, without any opportunity to dig deeper, to get to the roots.

That frustrates me, all the time I'm being entertained by what I do get.

Just once, I'd love Ronson to go in depth with a single topic. ( )

[a: Jon Ronson|1218|Jon Ronson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1428023511p2/1218.jpg] is one of my favorite authors. I'll put that out there right now. He's consistently informative and amusing, while still treating his subjects with the curiosity and empathy that I wish more authors had. No matter how absurd the subject Ronson approaches is, he handles it with care. That was no different with this series, which dealt with a very strange subject indeed.

[b: The Butterfly Effect|35841729|The Butterfly Effect|Jon Ronson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501291693s/35841729.jpg|57352321] focuses upon the invention of free internet porn. In the early 2000s a fellow named Fabian pioneered the service that allowed people to upload their own videos to the web. Ronson asked the natural question: How did the invention of free streaming internet porn affect that industry at large? More, what did its butterfly effect spread throughout our culture? How did it affect legislation, children, and porn stars?

This series was enlightening and maddening, fascinating and laden with empathy. Ronson interviewed the man who started it all, and directors, actors, people who purchase custom pornographic films, and the people who purchase sex dolls. He interviewed people charged as sexual offenders for the simple act of sending a text message or playing a game at a sleepover at the age of 7.

Two of the most heartwrenching moments for me throughout the series was a fellow he interviewed who talked about buying a sex doll. The doll resembled his sister, who had long since passed. He bought the doll to put it in a chair in his mother's house, as his mother suffered from Alzheimers and he couldn't bear putting her through the explanation of how his sister died every single day. The other was a fellow who requested a custom pornographic film that only included the woman telling him that people cared, people loved him, and that he didn't need to kill himself. Nothing sexual, just a reassuring message. The people involved didn't charge him, and simply hoped the video got to him before it was too late.

The world is a place both wonderful and strange. I'm forever grateful there are people like Ronson who highlight that fact. ( )