4 Books That Made Me Go ‘Whoa!’ in 2018
A little while ago, I wrote about how we all set targets and goals, but I argued that attaching a deadline to them basically kills your goal-achieving ninja mojo. Well, you’ll be surprised to know I didn’t take my own advice, and back in the beginning of 2018, I set myself a highly ambitious Goodreads reading challenge. I dared myself to read 52 books this year — and for those who didn’t (or couldn’t) do the math, that’s roughly one book per week *gulp*.
Inspired in part by my lifelong love affair with books, my favourite sitcom character, Rory Gilmore, and by the scores of successful people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Ariana Huffington — and countless others who’ve evangelised the myriad benefits of reading, I arrived on the seemingly achievable number of 52.
Did I make it to Peak 52?
Not even close!
But I did manage to read a whole bunch of wonderful books this year, the best of which I’ve listed here:
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life’ by Hector Garcia Puigcerver and Francesc Miralles
I’ll admit, my favourite book this year was one that I never even intended to read! I picked this one up on a whim — as it sat on my Airbnb host’s coffee table for days (back in my not-so-distant past life as a millennial gypsy), silently beseeching me to read it. And boy, was I bloody glad I did!
I breezed through the book, picking up nuggets of wisdom along the way about the oldest, healthiest tribe of Japanese people, and how Ikigai helps them achieve success in longevity. Without giving too much away, Ikigai is an ancient Japanese concept, the visual representation of which looks a little something like this:
The Japanese believe everyone has this ikigai — or fundamental purpose — and the book reveals how to uncover whatever it is that puts you in a state of “flow”, which then sets you on the direct path to achieving your dreams and such.
Although I’m a fierce lover of all things fiction, this book was a refreshing change in my usual reading routine.
‘The Buddha, Geoff, and Me’ by Edward Canfor-Dumas
My second favourite this year was yet another book I didn’t pick out for myself. This little gem was gifted to me by a friend on my birthday, with the grave promise that it would “change my life”.
And so, with such great expectations, I jumped on the gravy train.
I’ve briefly mentioned my Buddhist practice before (and I promise to go into it more depth soon), but I was still sceptical when I began reading the book. Well, for starters, it seemed to contradict a lot I already knew about Buddhism, and secondly it was eerily similar to my own journey with faith in the beginning. While I didn’t care too much for Ed, the main character, when I began the book — thinking of him as a whiny, often irresponsible sort of chap, I soon realised that he was, in a way, mirroring many of my own faults.
This book turned out to be everything a great book should be — funny, sad, thought-provoking, often silly, but downright meaningful.
And so I highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their understanding of the quote-unquote spiritual side of things, or simply to everyone looking for a great read.
‘The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time’ by Will Durant and John Little
Right, so I’m beginning to sense a pattern here: 3 of my top 5 are books I might not have read if it weren’t for other people! While I’ve spoken at length about the power of recommendations in a reader’s life, I didn’t think so many of my favourites this year wouldn’t have even entered my ever-expanding “to-read” list of books (552, at last count!).
This particular book was a loan from a neighbour — highly recommended and game-changing in many ways. Durant, a Pulitzer prize winner and best known for his 11-volume magnum opus ‘The Story of Civilisation’ (incidentally a long-standing member of my “to-read” list), has an authoritative yet witty voice and a clever way of turning somewhat drab subjects into must-reads. I loved rifling through Durant’s picks for all-time best thinkers, poets, writers, and ideas — all the makings for a complete nerdgasm.
‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson
This one came highly recommended all around — and so I was super excited about reading it. Almost 10 pages into the book and I wanted to curse everyone who’d praised it so highly. Manson’s voice as a writer was brash, aggressive, and trying-too-hard-to-be-funny-witty-and-cool at first, and I admittedly struggled, often harbouring the fantasy of giving it up as a bad job mid-way.
But persevere I did, and it paid off.
The book has no earth-shattering revelations; nothing most of us don’t already know, but it all comes together to paint a brilliant, compelling picture of why we, in all fairness, shouldn’t give a f*ck.
Manson demonstrates, paradoxically enough, that by precisely not giving a f*ck, that we can achieve our greatest desires.