I’ve read a lot of books recently. One a day, actually.
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
I wish I had written this book. It’s such a good story. Ove is a curmudgeonly old man who likes to yell at people not following the rules. He’s extremely handy and we learn he is mourning his wife of forty years. She just died of cancer and he wants to die as well.
But people around the neighborhood need him and he slowly finds purpose. I highly recommend this book.
Ove has got up, the cat is sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. It sports a disgruntled expression, as if Ove owes it money.
Plagues and the Paradox of Progress, Why the World is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways
by Thomas J. Bollyky
I have no idea why this book was on my to-read list. The author looks at past plagues and explains why cities, especially poor cities, could spawn the next plague. It’s kind of an interesting read, cheering on the eradication of smallpox, but there are a lot of statistics in here that make it kind of a dull read too.
Yet, as the economist Joan Robinson once wrote about underemployment in Southeast Asia, “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all.”
People need purpose.
10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story
by Dan Harris
Another self help book espousing the virtues of meditation. Yeah, I get it. This book had way too many biographical details and not enough on meditation.
The fact that you exist is a highly statistically improbable event, and if you are not perpetually surprised by the fact that you exist you don’t deserve to be here.
The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth
by M. Scott Peck
I was excited to read this book because it had a star next to it on my list which means that more than one person recommended it to me, but I really disliked this book. The author isn’t my type of guy. He’s a psychiatrist and advocates for open marriage. The language in the book was flowery and there was too much talk of religion.
Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy
by Ken Page
I think the gist of the book is to love yourself and then you can find love. The author recommends you do all these different meditations and exercises and to spread the book over several weeks and you’ll find love. I read it in a day and didn’t do any of the suggested activities.
Bobos in Paradise, The New Upper Class and How They Got There
by David Brooks
Oh man, this is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It was so boring and the author has a sense of humor that does not mash up with mine at all. He uses dated references and name drops people I don’t know.
A Bobo is a term he coined for the bohemian bourgeois people that dominate today’s upper echelon. The author argues that we live in a meritocracy and the reign of the WASP is over.
I don’t buy it.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
This is an adorable story of a magical girl. She’s wrenched from her mother’s arms shortly after birth and left in the woods where a witch cares for her and gives her magic.
I feel like I’ve read a lot of magical and powerful girl stories lately.
Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your Relationship
by Mira Kirshenbaum
If you’re ambivalent about your relationship and unsure whether to stay or leave, this is an excellent book to help you make up your mind. The author is a clear, concise writer and she asks insightful questions.
The Power
by Naomi Alderman
Have you ever heard the saying, “men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”
This book imagines if the opposite were true. What if women, and only women, had the power to zap electricity through their hands and hurt other people? Society would upend. There would be a new world order.
This is a fascinating book and really well done.
Dang! On a roll.
I kinda liked 10% Happier. I listened to it in audio, Harris is the reader. His voice is… painful, but it humanizes the topic a bit. I guess I related to the figgityness of a blundering novice.
Too bad to hear about Brooks, I want to read more of his work.
Oh man, I wonder why the publisher let Dan read it if his voice is painful. And he’s a news reporter, so shouldn’t he be good at that type of thing?
Aw. The Road Less Traveled is my favorite self help book of all time. I read it every time that I have relationship troubles, whether with a child or a romantic partner. and it makes me see things more clearly.
I am an atheist but was not at all bothered by his chapters on grace because I think those things can be widely interpreted.
I have dogeared and underlined so many passages in this book and have multiple copies. And now I have no neurosis or character defects at all 😉
Anyway, maybe it is a better book for another generation….You might go back to it someday and find it more relevant.
Love your blog and your honest, irreverent account of life 🙂
I really wanted to like it! I don’t know why it didn’t speak to me. I’ll keep it on my list and give it another reread in a few years. Maybe it will speak to me then.
I read it some time ago – maybe a different version though? I also wasn’t awed by it, BUT I totally don’t recall anything about open marriage in it! Is that, open marriage as in an open relationship?!?
It was in a footnote, so not super obvious.
I love your book reviews. You get straight to the point, which I really appreciate. And it’s great that you don’t just read new books – you often read books that have been out for a while.
I really liked 10% Happier, but I get your criticism about it being autobiographical. You might enjoy Harris’ second book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, more. It’s more directly about meditation, plus in a way it’s sort of (very sort of) structured like a buddy-movie-road-trip. (I have to admit, I’m a sucker for that genre.)
I hope you keep posting these reviews!
I appreciate your comment. 🙂
Open marriage AND religion in the same book? Does not compute..
Right?!
Ha… for some of us a bit TOO familiar with religion, maybe it does compute – maybe not exactly what he means by open marriage, but it’s very popular across multiple religions, to allow marriages where a man has HIS options open to have multiple wives, but where the wives have no options.
I saw a film adaptation of A Man Called Ove. I thought it was quite good.
It’s an excellent story. I could see how it could be well adapted to film.
I think you were expecting too much from Bobos by David Brooks- I mean he wrote that in 2001.
Yeah, I don’t know why that book was on my to-read list.
Agreed, the film re: Ove was quite good; didn’t know there was a book, I’ll have to check it out. And I’m most interested in your stacking order in the top photo, for some reason. I’m sure there’s a hidden message there for your readers, but I’m still working on decoding it.
No significance in the stacking order. Sorry, I wish I were more creative!
Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis
Excellent. Thanks for the suggestion!
I stumbled upon NPR’s annual book list. They have a clever little filter tool, as well, although you should remember to unclick one criteria as you filter on another, lest you get a zero combo .https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2019
I love this. I didn’t realize there was a sequel to the handmaid’s tale!
I’m pretty sure that it is impossible to read a book a day. Haha
Definitely not impossible!