A beautiful example of rethinking old ideas to form a story that feels both original and authentic. What emerges is a fictional biography with a themeA beautiful example of rethinking old ideas to form a story that feels both original and authentic. What emerges is a fictional biography with a theme of "be careful what you wish for". The story spans centuries; French historical fiction intertwined with a contemporary New York narrative, all following one life's events.
Addie has promised her soul to gain freedom from her peasant life, a life where she has no say in who she is to marry, where she is to live, or what she is to do. In doing so, she has unwittingly become free of the world. Losing the ability to leave any marks or be remembered, except by the Devil...
What follows is a lonely 300 year-long journey of her struggle to keep finding a reason to live. In a life without her name, anyone to love, or anything to leave behind, she turns to art as her refuge, becoming a muse. But the Devil wants her soul, and the story cannot be so simple.
A haunting book. Superficial in concept but deep in execution. Examining themes of loneliness, mental health, and philosophical ideas on living. Written in a poignant, poetic, but beautiful demeanor, highly recommend. ...more
Am I a Racist? No. Is that enough? No. Am I an Antiracist? I am now.
Kendi's book is an in-depth exploration of the concept of race, from its roots in sAm I a Racist? No. Is that enough? No. Am I an Antiracist? I am now.
Kendi's book is an in-depth exploration of the concept of race, from its roots in slavery to its present branches of discrimination. His account is partially biographical, using his experiences to illuminate ideas, define words he has learned, and then relearned. Each chapter begins with terms and definitions and expands into his narrative. Subjects covered are broad (power, biology, capitalism, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, gender, color, success).
Hearing the author speaking on television and not liking his, what I mistakenly thought, militant attitude on race, I purchased this book as part of my "outside of my comfort zone" genre. These are usually books I do not want to read but will give a chance because they have buzz. They are also books I think will be a waste of time (in this case because I was already "not racist", what else do I need to learn?). But every once in awhile I read something so different, it changes me. This is one of those books.
This book helped me realize my thoughts on race had stagnated. What I mistakenly thought was a full understanding of this issue, was in reality, understanding just what I was comfortable with. I started reading before the death of George Floyd, and after his death, reading each word weighed heavier. The concepts explored in this book did not ring hollow, but my old thoughts on race did.
Change does not happen overnight in an entire population, but it can happen overnight in an individual. Reading and applying this book are my first steps toward change. I implore everybody to read this book, especially those who label themselves as "not racist" and see no gain from this book. You can be better; You can do better.
Some quotes:
The language of color blindness—like the language of “not racist”—is a mask to hide racism.
The defining question is whether the discrimination is creating equity or inequity. If discrimination is creating equity, then it is antiracist.
The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.
In my first course with Mazama, she lectured on Asante’s contention that objectivity was really “collective subjectivity.” She concluded, “It is impossible to be objective.”
Pan's Labyrinth, known as El laberinto del fauno in its native Spanish, is a mysterious, dark, and spellbinding fairytale played out in an enchanting Pan's Labyrinth, known as El laberinto del fauno in its native Spanish, is a mysterious, dark, and spellbinding fairytale played out in an enchanting movie directed by Guillermo del Toro. It takes place in fascist ruled Spain in the deep forest after world war two. It follows the life of a young girl, anti-government guerrillas, and the Captian charged to exterminate the rebellion. The movie is a masterpiece, and the book is too.
It's rare to see a direct adaption of a film into a novel, the reverse being the norm. In this case, it's masterfully done. Whereas the movie is in Spanish, this book is brilliantly translated into English, stylistic integrity and essence preserved.
This book is not a prequel, sequel, or variation of the movie, but the same story intensified. Everything that occurs in the film happens in the book with more detail; characters are given backstories, reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Key objects have their origins explained, their enchantments and curses. And the main story is elevated upon a foundation of dark fairytales only hinted of in the movie.
Highly recommend the book and movie; Recommend watching the movie first, building the cast of character in your imagination, and letting the story linger on your mind for a bit. Then after some time has passed, read the book. The audiobook is enchantingly performed if you choose to listen to the book. ...more
The story of OKC is one of the strangest and interesting a city could have, who would have thought? Having lived in downtown OKC a few years, I know t
The story of OKC is one of the strangest and interesting a city could have, who would have thought? Having lived in downtown OKC a few years, I know the author has truly captured the essence of the city. It's a city that has been struggling for its place in the world since the day it was born right out of a gunshot. Anderson's proses are sublimely crafted in a way that the indescribable feelings many have about the city are put to words that are not only full of nostalgia, but full of "oh yeah, that is a perfectly weird but very accurate way to describe it!" head nods.
Most who live in OKC (or have done in the past) will thoroughly enjoy this book. Beginning with the prehistoric geography of the city to its ridiculous founding, on to the days of the bombing and the rise of the Thunder the author covers it all. For those not from OKC, still an excellent read... but highly recommend listing to this short podcast with the author describing one chapter from the book if unsure: The Worst Way To Start A City (99 Percent Invisible)
It's a hilarious, interesting, sad, beautiful, ridiculous book worth reading or listening too (perfect for road trips to/from OKC as I found). ...more
Being the progressive, open-minded, and thoughtful person that I am, when I saw this book pop up on my feed, I dismissed it; thinking it would not addBeing the progressive, open-minded, and thoughtful person that I am, when I saw this book pop up on my feed, I dismissed it; thinking it would not add much to my already developed views on the subject of feminism. However, the title drew me back to it. When I saw the author was Nigerian, I decided this book was so outside of my norm, it would probably be worth reading for the exposure to a different style of writing.
I am so glad I read this book, or long essay to be more descriptive. In only about an hour or two of reading, the author does such an eloquent job of combining personal narrative, common experience, and solid logic into purely distilled wisdom, I felt like I read a much longer text.
The percentage of sentences I highlighted for later reference easily surpasses any other nonfiction books I have read. This is technically a book about parenting, which serves as the perfect vehicle to deliver the author's points on feminism.
Highly recommend to everyone to read, regardless of your demographic. If this is a subject that resonates with you, you'll learn more about it. If this is a subject you don't care for, you will end up having a much better understanding of the people who do care about it or might just end up becoming one of them. ...more
This is the best book series I have ever read. I won't bother to properly review this book, but just say that this series has made me think about humaThis is the best book series I have ever read. I won't bother to properly review this book, but just say that this series has made me think about humanity and our relationship to the universe in a different way. That it was originally written in Chinese, and I read a translation (multiple translators at that), and it still made such an impact is impressive. This is hard science fiction, hard philosopy, and hard physics, but worth it. ...more
As a U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, I receive professional military education on leadership regularly, so much so that it is almost a nuisance. FroAs a U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, I receive professional military education on leadership regularly, so much so that it is almost a nuisance. From personal experience, I can firmly say that great leaders are not born, they are developed by their experiences and knowledge. The knowledge from this book has definitely made me a better leader.
Sinek's main purpose in writing this book is not to help others become better leaders so that they can jump up the corporate ladder, motivate subordinates, or increase productivity. The message of this book is that we need better leaders so we can have a better world; empathy is at the heart of his argument.
I highly recommend this book for everybody, I don't care if you are a CEO or a shelf-stocker. Leadership is not a position you have, but the person you are. When leading an organization, you don't want a team of dedicated followers ready to do your every whim, you want people who can lead themselves and those around them to accomplish the task.
This book will tell you that always making a profit for your company, being number one, or successfully accomplishing your mission does not make you a good leader. That is determined by how you go about achieving your results. It will also ask you:
Did you set up your organization for a short term gain or long term success? Did you empower your team and develop them into leaders, or just tell them what to do? Did you forgo personal gain to succeed, or choose to compromise your integrity instead? Did you create a culture that promotes a circle of trust, or did you create a culture that only values results?
I'm convinced reading this book will make a vast majority of people better leaders. I want everybody to read this book. Not just because I want everybody to be a better leader, but because a better leader is always a better person. ...more
This book is not for the causal reader; it takes place in a world where taboo does not exist, moral absolutist should stay away. The themes this book This book is not for the causal reader; it takes place in a world where taboo does not exist, moral absolutist should stay away. The themes this book explores are so diverse, the word that comes to mind is "cacophony"; how else would the topics of artificial intelligence, sadomasochism, and Asimov's laws of robotics come together? Surprisingly well. This book is as much science fiction as it is fantasy, and the philosophical questions it brings up will probably need to be addressed at some point in our society as we keep moving forward towards a technological singularity. Elements of this story definitely pay homage to classic science fiction, dystopian, and dark fantasy novels, but it remains very original. The ideas explored are challenging, but the narration is not. Highly recommend this book to those looking to challenge themselves by reading something completely outside of their normal reading habits.
I enjoy writing letters to people, it's a very intimate form of communication and adds a dimension of tone to writing that isn't possible electronicalI enjoy writing letters to people, it's a very intimate form of communication and adds a dimension of tone to writing that isn't possible electronically. The book follows Charlie via letters he writes to an unidentified person, chronicling his first year of high school. While you are reading these letters, you get the feeling you were meant to read them; Charlie is writing to you. It was difficult for me to put this book down, I had to forceable stop myself from reading so I could "participate" in the real world. It's an emotional book, and often painful to read. At times the book made me laugh, sometimes it brought me to tears, and other times I gasped in shock. It's written in a very easy style, and not hard to read at all. Anyone who is an avid reader or 80's/90's music junkie will find a plethora of reference to things they may have enjoyed. Charlie often talks about the books he is reading, a lot of them being book I have read myself, I only get even more engrossed in his letters when he discusses what he thinks about them (all of them are excellent books, I'm planning on reading the books he talks about that I have not read yet). Acts of abuse (physical, verbal, and sexual) are constantly in the letters; Charlie's mental health is a big part of the book as well. Drug abuse, suicide, and rejection, also have leading roles in Charlie's life. Charlie's definition of true or real love changes over the span of the letters, and the final conclusion he comes up with is beautiful and synonymous to mine. This is a wonderful book, it takes all these sad, scary, and painful things and turns out a beautiful story. Read it. ...more
Pretty simple, right? What do you mean you don't understand entropy? Of course you understand entropy, I assure you. Every time you see a sand castle crumble away in the wind, every time your car breaks down on the road, every time somebody you know dies and is gone forever... you are seeing entropy in motion. Entropy is the measure of disorder in a system... a measure of chaos. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that entropy in a closed system, be it your sand castle, car, or life... never decreases, it will only ever increase to maximum.
But here's the thing, it's not really a law by any means. Nothing in all of actual physics states that this must be, physics actually says it's perfectly possible for random sand molecules to be blown in a way where they land and form a perfect sandcastle (instead of making one crumble away). So why not? Why don't we see things like this happen? Statistics. Yes, the second law of thermodynamics is actually a statistical principle; entropy could indeed decrease in a system (any system like this would be considered a perpetual motion machine), but it's just not statistically likely.
Meaning a sand castle could coincidently form by the winds blowing dust randomly..., but it won't. It won't because the statistical likelihood of the wind and molecules to just happen to be in the right position and velocity for this sand castle to just appear is so slim, I do not have enough memory in my computer to type out all the zeros I need to put behind the odds of it happening (1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,...).
This statistical principle is so powerful and universal, we call it a law. It explains a lot of things in our universe. Before we knew about the second law of thermodynamics, it used to bother physicist that we could move in any direction in space (up, down, forward, backward) but we could only move in one direction in time. Space and time being so closely linked, why was it we could only move forward in time? It’s because entropy always increases that we move forward in time (and never back in time), in a way time is just a measure of increasing entropy. We only go from one moment to another as entropy increases.
Ahhh, I see what you are thinking. Yes, our universe is a closed system, and yes that does mean it will die, . You think it's a little sad that in the end chaos will always win? I don't think so, after all life is beautiful don't you think? Life is amazing in that it can bring a little bit of order in this chaotic world, but funny enough, without entropy there would be no life. So I don't think it's sad, it's just the natural state of affairs that we will grow old, live our lives fighting entropy, and we will die. it's really quite beautiful.
If you want to read a book that asks the questions: what if we could defeat entropy? What if we could win? What would happen? Read this book. ...more
Most would not think being inside the mind of a dog would be an entertaining or worthwhile experience, but Enzo is not like most dogs, Enzo is self awMost would not think being inside the mind of a dog would be an entertaining or worthwhile experience, but Enzo is not like most dogs, Enzo is self aware. Throughout the book, Enzo narrates his life, and the life of his master Denny, from their first meeting to the present. What follows is an incredible and unexpected story, filled with hilarious moments and heartbreak. Racing fans will especially enjoy the book as many anecdotes about race car drivers are interlaced into the story of Enzo and his master's troubles, and homage is paid to all the formula one racing greats, especially Ayrton Senna. Many driving techniques are beautifully explained for track application, followed by generalizations of these techniques being applied to Enzo and his master's various problems in life. Highly recommend this book for everybody, this is fiction at it's best; very difficult book to stop reading/listening to (the audiobook is very well performed). ...more
Cognitive dissonance is a topic everyone should look into, but people placed in positions of leadership or responsibility would really benefit from a Cognitive dissonance is a topic everyone should look into, but people placed in positions of leadership or responsibility would really benefit from a study on the matter. I enjoyed the examples presented in this book and related with a few of them as well, which helped me really understand the concept better. The the main issue I had with this book was its diminishing marginal return, the more I read the less I got out of it. Once the concept of cognitive dissonance is explained (very well too), the additional proses is just more in-depth examples and case studies. These examples are actually pretty interesting in their own right and kept me engaged in the book, but did not introduce any new concepts. Highly recommended for people interested in human psychology, people in positions of power, and anyone who's ever made a mistake. I listened to this book on Audiobook. ...more
Ayn Rand is a fantastic writer, her character development work in this book is amazing. This book is an introduction to her philosophy of objectivism Ayn Rand is a fantastic writer, her character development work in this book is amazing. This book is an introduction to her philosophy of objectivism in a way, and each of the characters represent a type of person. Howard, the protagonist, is the ideal man in this book. At first you cannot understand Howard, you do not like him. Then you want to not like him, but can't stop yourself. Then you understand Howard. This book is about the power of humanity, of individuals. It is about not conforming, it is about being who you are. You don't have to agree with Ann's philosophy on life to find this book immensely entertaining and thought provoking. ...more
His best book by far, amazing story and great character development. Not to mention all the awesome tips on how to keep your house clean and get bloodHis best book by far, amazing story and great character development. Not to mention all the awesome tips on how to keep your house clean and get blood stains out of almost any surface. ...more
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