Books of December ( 19- 22/100)
December was a really busy month, year end, budget, life changes, reading took a setback until the holidays. I never back down or give up on a challenge, so I still read 4 books before the break (well one I read on New Year’s eve but I still count it as December).
I love you but I hate your politics — Jeanne Safer, PH.D. When I started the blog, I decided as principle that I would not write negative reviews. If you don’t have anything nice to say, just be silent was the motto. Luckily I only had to apply this twice so far. I love you but I hate your politics is the second book. I found the premises of the book interesting, why are politics so divisive nowadays, and how can we manage to have harmony in our relationship and not feel disconnected, when we have opposite views than our partner? The stories were fun to read, and familiar in a way that is very common in expat circles (after all, if we come from different countries we often don’t even discuss politics when we start dating). What I didn’t agree to, are the methods that were recommended by the author to the various couples, to avoid conflict and get along. Likely I am naive, or hold my principles too close to my heart, but certain social and political views are important to me, and to not feel supported, but just brush the issue under the carpet and ‘let everyone have their politics’ is something that I find hard as a compromise. What I do agree on, is that often ideological disagreement obsesses couples and blinds them to the underlying dynamics that are actually driving them apart (and are not only related to politics). If you are in such a relationship thou, and this advice worked for you? I would love to learn more about it.
Is butter a carb? — Rosie Saunt. I love science. I find nutrition extremely interesting (both because I had my own nutrition / food struggles as a teenager and later in life, and because I have a young daughter). I also find extremely hard to find blogs or books that are fact and science base and debunk common myths. Is butter a carb? Does exactly this. It warns against the danger of anecdotal evidence, explains the real science behind the food we eat every day, why there is nothing to fear from carbs, fat or gluten (for the majority of not allergic people) and so on. It’s easy to read, and full of citation to validate the science behind each claim. I will keep it on my bookshelf for future references.
How to have a good day — Caroline Webb. Preface: the book foundation is that we feel good and therefore have a good day when we are able to have a good, productive, creative, smooth day at work. I am sure we all agree that we can many other forms of good days (an easy pick for me is a day at the beach reading), but the tips found here are to help us having a good day during our working week. This was also one of the books mentioned in ‘Make Time’, so it’s not surprising that the suggestions are similar. In a nutshell: Set out clear intentions for your day. Try to eliminate distractions (thou I found the how still a bit vague, I keep going back to Indistractable for that), use positive language to motivate yourself — control over our day makes us feel good. Schedule breaks: time that was scheduled to be ‘wasted’ isn’t wasted, it’s ‘recharging and selfcare’. Break down big goals in small tasks. Build rapport (real one) with people at work, pleasant relationships at work makes us happier (having survived the most straining work environments only thanks to my work friends and work-wife I totally agree to this). Create your own decision making routine (or process). Last but not least, start and refer often to your brag book, looking back at our successes builds our confidence.
Do you mind if I cancel — Gary Janetti. This was the perfect light and funny read to ring the new year. I was reading it on the 31st of December, when i found myself too tired to party, and I finished it on Jan 1st, relaxing on the first day of 2020. It’s smooth, and makes the time pass really fast. It’s realistic and funny (in a dry and self deprecating / self aware way), and makes it easy to imagine ourselves in the most improbable scenarios (especially if we are born after the 70ies, not LGTB, and not from New York). I also found it perfect to start the new year, after all, no matter how many awkward situation Gary describes, he made a successful career for himself, and gives hope that even if we don’t have everything figure out by our mid (or late) twenties things will be OK.
