Books of The Months — March, April and May 2020
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.
As I have mentioned in my earlier blogs, I pledged to read 50 books at the beginning of this year. But just like all things heading to a downfall in 2020, I haven’t quite been consistent with my reading in the past three months. However, I did love the few books I managed to pick up. Hopefully you’ll find a suggestion or two.
1. Know My Name by Chanel Miler
The book is gripping, emotional and intriguing. Public-ally known as Emily Doe, Chanel Miller was sexually assaulted on the campus of Stanford at a frat party by a student, Brock Turner. When you know the premise of the book you know that the book is going to be important. However, that’s not all. The book brings out the flaws and the incompetence of the American justice system. How long and draining it is, to prove a crime that was obviously committed. And it’s more or less the same everywhere. The whole process is somehow based on victim blaming.
”My pain was always less valuable than his potential “
Secondly, the book is about reclaiming identity. Chanel talks about how her whole personality was reduced to being a victim. She walks us through her journey from the night of the incident to living with it for the rest of her life. She talks about her pain and about her growth. The book is inspiring and moving, and definitely a must read (or must listen!). This book is definitely going to be one of my favorite books for a lot of reasons. I actually chose the audio book experience for this one which is read by Chanel herself. This made it all the more heartbreaking as you can feel Chanel’s voice cracking in anger and shock and tears in the aggressive parts of the book. It makes you feel the reality and the depth of the book.
2. Why We Sleep By Matthew Walker
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker discusses explains the most basic habit of a human — sleep, scientifically. He explains how neglecting sleep undercuts your creativity, problem solving, decision-making, learning, memory, heart health, brain health, mental health, emotional well-being, immune system, and even your life span. He explores the sleep cycle of a human being — and how age affects it. The book also covers the effect of substances such as coffee and alcohol, not in a “it’s bad for you way” but “what it does to you” way. I was
surprised by a lot of factors how lack of sleep may make your brain lose productivity or take a toll on your immune system. I don’t necessarily buy into all of Walker’s reporting, such as the strong link he claims between not getting enough sleep and developing Alzheimer’s. In an effort to wake us all up to the harm of sleeping too little, he sometimes reports as fact what science has not yet clearly demonstrated. But even if you apply a mild discount factor, Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book.
3. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
I usually don’t read psych thriller sort of books but I really liked The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. The premise here is simply incredible; we have a woman named Alicia Berenson who is accused of murdering her husband and proceeds to clam up and keep quiet for the following six years, living during this time in a mental care facility called The Grove for highly dangerous folks. Theo Faber is a psychotherapist extraordinaire and flawed individual. He already has a respectable job elsewhere, but decides to transfer over to The Grove, even though it is a sinking ship, because he is obsessed with Alicia and solving the mystery behind why she murdered her husband. Along the way, we get snippets into Alicia’s diary leading up to the murder, alongside of Theo’s point of view. Theo finds himself connecting with Alicia and feeling a desperate need to figure out why she did it. And, what’s more, he wants to figure out why she is silent. What can’t she say? What won’t she say? The more he digs into her life, her family, and her past, the deeper in he gets.
It’s a fast-paced ride with short punchy chapters (oh, how easy it is to think “just one more chapter”). The story has so many threads and little surprises to uncover. More questions arise at every turn. And even those who work out the main aspect of the mystery will probably still enjoy the journey of finding out why, and all the little shocking discoveries made along the way. It is true that those who have read a number of twisty mysteries will likely guess the truth, but I think there’s enough goodness here to make it enjoyable anyway. Or it was for me at least.
4. A Short History of Nearly Everything By Bill Bryson
This is a history of pretty much everything there is — the planet, the solar system, the universe, as well as a history of how we’ve come to know as much as we do. A book on science written by a non-scientist, this a perfect bridge between the humanities and the natural sciences. I found it fascinating and informative.
5. Man’s search for meaning by Victor E Frankl
As the title suggests, the book is about finding one’s purpose in our life. That meaning cannot be generalized. The book is divided into two parts, the first comes from experiences of the author in a co concentration camp. And what surprised me here was that how can someone suffering so much can write so thoughtfully about life. He talks about how one can derive meaning of their life from suffering or hope or love.The second part of the book gets very technical with a lot of psychological terms. The author goes on to explain “logotherapy”. I didnt enjoy it much.
6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon Lechter
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book that both taught me some things, and at some points made my blood boil. It borders on negligent in many areas, and is downright offensive in the guise of being ‘helpful’. I absolutely agree with one of the premises, that many people are financially illiterate. I also agree that many people aren’t able to teach their kids money stuff, because they don’t know that much themselves. This book made me think about what I’m doing with my money and gave me some insight into the kind of things I am now going to look into and research about them. However, it is fervently anti-intellectual. It totally disregards that not everybody has the capacity or opportunity to “pay themselves first” before paying bills, or quit their job to make money work for them. Money doesn’t just come to you if you try hard enough. The major flaw in the book is that it is written from a purely idealistic point of view.
What are you currently reading? And what are your thoughts on the books above? Let me know! :)
