"A daughter was only a temporary guest, quietly awaiting another man to scoop her away, along with all her financial burden."
This was Etaf Ru✒︎5 stars
"A daughter was only a temporary guest, quietly awaiting another man to scoop her away, along with all her financial burden."
This was Etaf Rum's debut book. It follows Isra as she leaves her home in Palestine to be married off to an American man. Isra hopes the she will be more free in America, but she'll soon find that the expectations that women face are not much different there. We also follow her daughter Deya years later who is now at about the same age as Isra. Both Isra and her husband were killed in a car crash when Deya was young, but Deya questions whether this was really how her mother died. A Woman is No Man is a story about sexism, the patriarchy, Palestinian trauma, and hope.
I really loved this book. The themes were very strong as well as the characters and their arcs. Every character felt real and was complex. Rum explored how the patriarchy affects both women and men from an Arab lens. Fareeda- Isra's mother-in-law- internalizes her misogyny, helping to further women's oppression by being a tool in the system. Adam- Isra's husband- and his brothers, are forced to work long hours away from home; to be real men. Rum's prose is simple, yet quite heavy-handed in its messaging. The plot, while developed, was lackluster in comparison to how Rum studied and built her characters throughout the novel. Isra's life is bleak, yet even by the end of the book, she still holds onto a dark hope for her future- we know how this turns out. Her daughter Deya hopes to be different from her mother- to break the cycle- but she doesn't feel like she has choice. Woven throughout the book is the stark message that "a woman is not a man."
This book is very dark. Obviously, every Arab or Palestinian-Arab family or community is not like this. Rum's experience seems to come from a place of violence, which is not unlike many other women from any culture around the world, and she alone cannot speak for every Arab experience. However, sexism and patriarchy do not discriminate and I appreciate how Rum explored these issues in her own community in a thoughtful and clear way. I know many catholics, for example, who are exactly like the characters in this book- hypocritical, misogynistic, conservative, and violent- so I related to it despite the fact that I'm not Arab.
The biggest criticism of this book is that it lacks nuance. Personally, I didn’t find this to be the case. It definitely could have been more well-rounded, but I do not think that Rum so aggressively left out any complexity like other reviewers claim.
I truly think you should check out this book if you haven't already. Rum is a great writer and I can't wait to read more from her.
"Living as we do in the world of digital noise, constant emails, busy urban life, and the twenty-four hour news cycle, we are unwittingly r
✒︎4.5 stars
"Living as we do in the world of digital noise, constant emails, busy urban life, and the twenty-four hour news cycle, we are unwittingly riding an unending emotional rollercoaster that demands quick reactions and immediate responses. Those who demonstrate controversy, fast thinking, and loudness are rewarded with more attention and more opportunities, and so the cycle continues. Today, in seeking balance, we must strive to radically remove ourselves from this pattern."
The Seven Circles is a self-help/wellness book co-written by two Native American influencers- Chelsey Luger and her husband Thosh Collins. Although calling it just a "self help" or "wellness" book takes minimizes the authors integrity and transparency as Indigenous people. As the authors discuss, both self-help and wellness have become highly commercialized- a way to sell us more products that can "fix" or health issues. But our issues are deeply ingrained in our American society and how it functions: living inside, sitting down most of the day, the inability to travel on foot or bicycle, and so much more. Luger and Collins promote living our lives through an Indigenous lens in order to stay healthy. Through their seven circles (movement, community, food, ceremony, sacred space, sleep, and land) we can return to a healthier lifestyle removed as much as possible from our commodified, capitalist lives.
"Indigenous people make up only 5 percent of the world's population, yet they protect 80 percent of the world's biodiversity. This is proof that Indigenous leaders, climate activists, and governments are truly the carriers of the knowledge we need to move forward into a livable, breathable future."
I really loved this book. It is the kind of book that you go back to time and time again to optimize your healthy living. The author's Indigenous perspective was very refreshing as they said exactly what I've been thinking for years. I truly believe in the knowledge that Indigenous people hold, and I think that the least we can do- as people on their land- is listen and implement it into our lives while supporting them- not the many people who wrongly profit off of their traditions.
I especially liked the section in the "Food" chapter where they discussed hunting and anti-hunting sentiments, especially from vegans. As someone who hunts and believes in eating meat that you've hunted yourself- not the meat from industrial factories that abuse their animals and workers- reading what they wrote here was like a breath of fresh air. Is eating meat really unethical or rather is the problem really the industrialization and commodification of animals for hundreds of millions of people to over consume?
Overall, the only reason why I'm not rating this five stars is simply because some of the text wasn't brand new and life-changing. That's not to minimize the content. I simply didn't connect to the book on a very deep level because some of the information didn't completely change my mindset since it wasn't new to me. I think for anyone who values Indigenous knowledge and/or is new to health and wellness, they'd really love this book....more
"Trust was such a fragile thing; it took decades to consolidate, seconds to shatter, and a lifetime to repair again."
I will accept no slander✒︎5 stars
"Trust was such a fragile thing; it took decades to consolidate, seconds to shatter, and a lifetime to repair again."
I will accept no slander of this book.
A Song to Drown Rivers is a retelling of the Chinese legend of Xishi. Xishi was born into a small village with striking beauty. Everything changes for Xishi when Fanli, the military advisor to the Yue king, approaches her with a way to use her beauty in order to bring down the Yue's rival kingdom- the Wu kingdom. Xishi is set to infiltrate the Wu castle as a concubine for the king and win his approval over in order to make the king do whatever she wants.
I will admit that the book isn't perfect. It doesn't really have any fantastical elements, despite it being marketed as a fantasy. I think that the biggest pitfall of this book was its length. It could have well done with being about a hundred pages longer. Of course, I rated it five stars, so my love outweighed my complaints, but the ending did feel rushed, and I think Liang could have expanded more on the world. Aspects of the plot also seemed to have little direction, such as Xishi's heart condition. I think all of this could have been solved had the book been longer.
Despite this, I really loved this book. I sparsely annotate my books, but I found myself doing that quite a bit while reading this. I was so invested in the plot. I found Xishi and Fanli's romance captivating and heartbreaking. I thought the character exploration was also on point. I personally loved the exploration of Fuchai and Xishi's relationship and how in the end, (view spoiler)[even the Yue kingdom could not be trusted. (hide spoiler)] I was on the edge of my seat, mouth agape, at multiple points throughout this book, tense with worry for Xishi during her mission.
Even though I am well-aware of this book's flaws, it doesn't override the emotional connection I formed with the characters and their stories. It's rare that a book provokes such emotions from me, and I won't discount that. I will think about this book for a long time....more
I've never had an interest in reading one of Handler's books. Honestly, I didn't even know that she had published multiple books. I listene✒︎3.5 stars
I've never had an interest in reading one of Handler's books. Honestly, I didn't even know that she had published multiple books. I listened to a podcast episode with her as a guest a few months back and placed the audiobook of I'll Have What She's Having on hold. Well, I finally got it and I was pleasantly surprised.
Handler's narration was full of life, and I loved her unique voice. This newest book of hers focuses a little bit on her earlier life, but centers more on experiencing the Covid-19 outbreak, her relationship with having children, and a few of her romances, including her relationship with comedian Jo Koy. I appreciated her honesty about her flaws, her journey to self-improvement, and her self-introspection. I found that she had a respectable awareness of her privilege as a wealthy white woman. For example, she had a chapter where she discussed unintentionally vacationing with the Bush's. Handler reflected on how hypocritical this seemed due to her differing political views. I found the exploration of her proximity to those with power due to her wealth to be very interesting.
I expected this book to be more humor-focused. I'll Have What She's Having definitely reads more like a self-improvement book than a comedic exploration of her life. I did laugh at a few times throughout the book, and I loved Handler's dry-humor, but I wish it had felt less self-aggrandizing. The book also felt a bit meandering or disjointed at times. Some stories were funny and honest, and I appreciated Handler's self-reflection and insight in those ones. Others felt a bit random, and I felt they didn't serve much of a purpose in the book as a whole work. I wish it had felt more cohesive. That being said, it is a memoir and I'm sure Handler found value in all of these stories.
If you like Chelsea as an artist, then I would recommend checking this book out. It offers a lot of insight into her life and insight for life in general. I especially enjoyed her exploration of being a single woman without children. However, I wish the book felt more organized and had been written a bit less like a self-help book. I will be checking out some of her other books, though....more
"By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, an
✒︎2.5 stars
I don't know.
"By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary. Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."
I've been meaning to get into Jane Austen for a while now. I'm not going to completely write her off, or even this book, because I recognize the cultural impact that Jane Austen and her work has had. I also do look forward to reading her other books since many of them have been highly revered for years.
I was pretty bored reading this book, I'm not going to lie. I found it hard to connect to the plot and the characters. I don't think that the writing is for me. It felt very overwritten to me, with some of descriptions being way too long and confusing. I was lost during the plot at multiple points and lost track of the characters. I also found that the ending was very rushed and I think a more well-rounded ending would have greatly benefitted the central romance.
I understand why this book is so widely loved. I did like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy especially and their slow-burn romance. I do appreciate Austen's ability to write with subtly and nuance as well, but I just don't that this book is for me. I felt that the book was entirely too long without me getting much substance from it. It felt meandering and boring.
I think that reading Pride and Prejudice for a second time will do me well. I did enjoy some parts of this book, and by no means hated it, and I think that a re-read will help me understand the plot more. I just didn't connect to the writing much. I finally get to watch the 2004 movie adaptation now that I've read the book, though, so hopefully I enjoy that more.
"Eliza Bennet is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art."
Britney Spear's memoir was something I think a lot of us had been waiting for. News about her conservatorship didn't really pick up much stea✒︎4 stars
Britney Spear's memoir was something I think a lot of us had been waiting for. News about her conservatorship didn't really pick up much steam until only the past couple of years or so. Like many, I was inundated with "free Britney" signs and hashtags. I've long since learned about her situation, and again, like many, was happy when the news broke that she was finally free. Hearing her story finally be told in her own words, I hope, was liberating for her.
The narrator for the audiobook, Michelle Williams did a great job. Spears introduces the audiobook in a short segment and clarifies that she won't be reading it herself due to not wanting to live through her pain again. Williams had a distinct voice that somehow managed to come across like it was still Britney reading it. I know that people believe that Spears used a ghostwriter, but regardless, the writing still felt like it was Britney telling her own story for the first time.
Listening to this book was truly gut-wrenching. Of course, people have heard of what Spears had gone through, but hearing it in her own words was entirely different. I enjoyed hearing about how much she loves music, singing, her children, and so on. Learning about her childhood helped me understand her as a person better. I also personally related to her family's dysfunctional dynamics. Britney was honest and vulnerable discussing her relationships, her abortion story, and of course, her conservatorship. Britney has truly been through so much. For 13 years, almost every part of her life was controlled, even down to what she ate. I can only begin to imagine what it was like. How the media and the paparazzi have treated Spears is truly disgusting. Not only did she experience sexism and body-shaming, but straight up abuse from these people. It was very telling, and I appreciated her story as well as her reflections on her life.
I feel like the release of this book may have been rushed a bit to capitalize off of Britney's freedom. I don't know that for certain, but by listening to this book, I feel like at times she was only scratching the surface. I wish she had more time to process and heal before jumping to write (or ghostwrite) a memoir.
I still would highly recommend this book for anyone who is curious about Britney's life, or anyone who wants to hear a story of how a woman endured so much, yet still manages to be a force of positivity and understanding....more
If you don't know who Drew Afualo is, she is an online creator and influencer who is most popular on TikTok. She blew up on TikTok around 202✒︎4 stars
If you don't know who Drew Afualo is, she is an online creator and influencer who is most popular on TikTok. She blew up on TikTok around 2020 after she had been fired from her corporate job. Drew is known for calling out bigoted- most commonly, misogynistic- men online. Her videos are quite controversial to many due to her use of body shaming to make fun of men who leave hateful- and even violent- comments directed not only her, but other women and marginalized people online. I've always had mixed feelings about Drew's content, which I won't get into here since I'm here to review her book, not her TikToks, though the two are connected.
Loud is in part a memoir, but can also read like a self-help book at points. Since Drew was only 28-29 when this book was released, it is not filled with troves of content about her own life. Drew sometimes uses her own life experiences to create explanations for why she makes her kind of videos online, or for why she is so outspoken for marginalized people. I personally enjoyed these parts of the book the most. Drew explores her Samoan identity and her relationships with her family, boyfriend, and herself. I really loved the chapter about her sister's coming out story. The rest of the book feels, as others have described, like a big-sister giving a pep talk to her younger sibling. Drew's writing voice is very endearing and it's very easy to connect to her story and messages.
I did find Drew's exploration of feminism to be a bit rudimentary. It definitely has a place for younger audiences, no doubt. I definitely think this book would have been an important listen for me if I had it when I was 14, for it's not just a lesson on feminism and the patriarchy, but a good resource for how to stand up for and accept yourself. I don't, however, consider Drew to be the most radical leftist, so from my standpoint, I felt like the book would have benefited from more discussions on other systems of oppression that are deeply intertwined with the patriarchy, like capitalism and colonialism. I don't expect for Drew to write a book about being a political revolutionary or something, I just appreciate these discussions being included when we're talking about feminism, LGBTQ rights and so on, especially when Drew has built a lot of her brand on intersectionality.
In the end though, the book did what it set out to do, and it was an enjoyable read. I have mixed opinions on Drew's videos, so I really appreciated the chapter further explaining why she chooses to "be mean" to terrible men. Overall, Loud helped me connect with Drew and her messaging more, but I wish I personally could have gotten more out of it.
"It was also a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he ever had. It was irresistible."
✒︎4.5 stars
Magnus Bane is one of my favorit
"It was also a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he ever had. It was irresistible."
✒︎4.5 stars
Magnus Bane is one of my favorite literary characters of all time. After I read the (mostly) disastrous Mortal Instruments series, I knew I wanted more from Magnus. I also liked him in other series by Cassandra Clare, but he was done dirty in The Mortal Instruments.
I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection. Although they were co-written by other authors, they all blended together very well and read like any other book in the shadowhunters universe, which was a good thing. My favorite by far was The Last Stand of the New York Institute which showed the backstory behind "The Circle" from The Mortal Instruments series. All in all, I really loved seeing the inclusion of well-known characters in the shadowhunters universe and the backstories behind some of the world's lore. Some of the stories were weaker than others like What Really Happened in Peru and the odd inclusion of a "bonus story" at the end that was just a collection of voicemails that people left Magnus after he broke up with Alec.
I likes the stories with Alec at the end purely because I love Magnus, but I am Alec's number one hater. I will not forget how he slut-shamed Magnus because he is a warlock who has lived likely 500+ years. Obviously, I get why there were stories that included Alec, but I could have lived without it.
"Love did not overcome everything. Love did not always endure. All you had could be taken away, love could be the last thing you had, and then love could be taken too."
As I've been trying to do with all of the memoirs I've read lately, I listened to the Audiobook of My Body, and as with all the rest of them,✒︎4 stars
As I've been trying to do with all of the memoirs I've read lately, I listened to the Audiobook of My Body, and as with all the rest of them, the experience was 100% better hearing the author narrate their life in their words. Ratajkowski has a very soothing and monotone voice which made the listening experience quite enjoyable. Beyond that, though, you could hear the emotion in her voice throughout the audiobook. At one point, during the last bit of one of her essays, she chokes up while finishing her story. It made me empathize with her life in a different way than I would have gotten just by reading the book.
My Body is a collection of essays chronicling different moments in Ratajkowski's life, from sexual assaults and abuse that she experienced, to her relationship with her mother and her illness. While ranging from various discussions, I found every essay to have its own merit. Ratajkowski writes very beautifully, poetic even, and I appreciated her reflections on her own body image, the beauty and modeling industry, misogyny, among other things. Her essays were honest and captured how exploitative the modeling and beauty industry can be, but beyond that, how misogyny and rape culture affects women.
I do think that certain subjects could have been expounded on. Ratajkowski did an excellent job examining her own life and career, but I've seen others lament at how she didn't delve more into her own privilege or the systems of oppression that she admitted she exploited to get to where she is now (i.e. capitalism.) I believe this is a fair point that I hadn't considered while initially listening to the book.
At its core though, My Body does exactly what it set out to do in the title- examine Ratajkowski's relationship with her body- and does so very poignantly.
My review may be a bit biased. Matthew McConaughey has always been one of my favorite actors, starring in two of my favorite movies of all ti✒︎4 stars
My review may be a bit biased. Matthew McConaughey has always been one of my favorite actors, starring in two of my favorite movies of all time: Interstellar and Dallas Buyers Club. I also find him as a person to be incredibly interesting and naturally hilarious. Going through his Instagram profile will certify me a couple of laughs. I've even made a comedic sketch centering around him once.
As most recommended, I listened to the audio version of this book and did not regret it. McConaughey has a very pleasant voice and implements a couple of funny accents throughout that gave the audiobook character. The flow of his narration is very unique, so like all the other reviewers, I would have to suggest that you check out the audiobook over the written version.
In the actual book itself, McConaughey recounts many interesting, funny, and insightful life stories from when he was a child and throughout his acting career so far. Some of his insights held something of value, while others felt entirely nonsensical. For example, he interrupts his train of thought often with random life lessons or "bumper stickers". While this writing style was completely on brand with his character, it made his story feel disjointed. On top of this, the latter half of the book felt very rushed. I could totally see this book benefitting from another 100 pages. I understand if he didn't have a ton to say about every single role he's ever had, but it felt like he skimmed through the last 10 years of his life. I, and I bet others, would have loved to hear more reflections on his later years.
Some of been critical of McConaughey, saying that he comes across as incredibly self-absorbed in this book, and at times, that is true. McConaughey describes his parents as insane violent people, how he was molested by a man, and also describes other notable life-events that you would think would be deserving of at least a page of reflection, but McConaughey brings these up in a few, or even one, sentence without much elaboration. It made the book feel more like a self-help book with a bit of a famous actor's life sprinkled throughout than a true retrospective memoir.
In the end though, I did like his "greenlights" metaphor for life, and I do find him to be a very eccentric person and a talented actor and liked the ride I was taken on throughout the book. However, it could have been a very easy five-stars from me if McConaughey had made it a bit longer and less rambly....more
Originally published in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows Angelou's life as girl until the age of 16. Angelou has long been regar✒︎4 stars
Originally published in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows Angelou's life as girl until the age of 16. Angelou has long been regarded as one of the greatest poets of all time, and an writer who I have always looked up to. Reading her memoir was a natural next-step.
I didn't necessarily "read" this as I listened to the audiobook narrated by Angelou herself. Her narration itself was great. Each word was laced with emotion. It felt as though I was listening to stories from an older family member. The writing itself was (obviously) poetic with many different literary devices and descriptive imagery throughout. Angelou tackles the racism and sexism, among other things, she faced as a black girl, born in 1928 and growing up in Arkansas and later, St. Louis and California. In Angelou's writing she displays courage, humanity, honesty, and wisdom. It is easy to connect to her story, no matter your background. Regarded as a classic, it's easy to see why.
Despite this, I felt that some chapters in this book were uninteresting and at times, the book dragged and even felt convoluted due to how Angelou chose to format the chapters. While I appreciated her thoughtful writing, listening to it in a spoken format instead of written made it hard for me to understand what was occurring at times. I felt that the book overall could have benefited from being a bit shorter.
That being said, this is a memoir and each story was clearly included for a reason that was deemed necessary to Angelou, and I don't want to undercut the importance of the novel itself and its success. I just found myself having a hard time connecting to certain chapters and her writing style....more
The Many Selves of Katherine North was gifted to me by my cousin a while ago. I was hesitant to read it because I was uncertain as to whether✒︎4 stars
The Many Selves of Katherine North was gifted to me by my cousin a while ago. I was hesitant to read it because I was uncertain as to whether I'd like it due to it's obscure concept, but at long last I finally picked up the book...
Our main character, Katherine North, is a phenomenaut. Essentially she can project her consciousness into "Ressies" which are lab-grown living animals. For her seven-year tenure at SehnCorp, she has worked with Ressies for research-purposes. For someone her age, it's amazing that she can continue to project into Ressies without issue; most people can't stay mentally fit to continue projecting for that long, let alone at the age of nineteen. When Katherine is recruited to join a new indenture within the company that is highly commercialized, she becomes dubious of the company's true intentions and whether they care about the ethics of what they're doing at all.
The plot switches between two timelines- the past (pre-Kit leaving the company) and present (post-Kit leaving). I found that the two separate timelines added some mystery and suspense to the storyline. Overall, I really loved the concept in the book. The reader is made to consider animal rights, life, consciousness, reality, and the exploitation all of these concepts by for-profit companies. This book is definitely sci-fi with a bit of speculative fiction, as I could see a reality where "projecting" is actually possible, and no-doubt some company like Amazon would find a way to exploit it for profit. I also enjoyed Kit's character and her backstory.
Beyond that though, the story felt a bit convoluted at times, which other readers pointed out may have been written that way due to Kit's increasing mental instability throughout the book. Regardless, this made the reading experience worse than it could have been. Geen's writing is kind of poetic and figurative at times which I found hard to understand at times, almost like the actions and "stage-directions" of the book weren't well described. The writing felt kind of dissociative, and disjointed. I will admit, I was a bit confuse by the ending as well which may have been a me problem and not the writing, per say, but I wish I could have felt more fulfilled by the ending as I did like most other parts of this book.
Overall, this book had a very strong concept with decent execution. It's a strong debut book by a small-author, so despite my misgivings, I still think it's worth the read. ...more
The 4-Hour Work Week is 300 pages that you'll really have to sift through in order to find something of value. I honestly don't think that th✒︎3 stars
The 4-Hour Work Week is 300 pages that you'll really have to sift through in order to find something of value. I honestly don't think that the book itself is bad, for Ferriss offers some genuinely good advice that I have since implemented. For example, he offers a helpful diagram on how much time you can waste by checking your email (or social media as well in my case) multiple times a day instead of just one set period after you have finished your most important tasks. I also appreciated the journaling exercise about a third way through the book where you write down what you dream of having, being, and doing in the next 6-12 months no matter how "unrealistic" it is. It honestly did help me re-evaluate my day-to-day actions and whether I'm doing what needs to be done to get me to that point. I also genuinely appreciated the 80/20 mindset since it can also be applied to many things in life not related to work. The problem is that I don't think that I needed to read through this entire book just to get a few valuable pieces of information.
In truth, I ended up skimming through almost an entire section of this book which focused on creating products in order to make a profit. I have never been interested in this, specifically drop-shipping, so it would have been a waste of time to read through this. Moreover, I think that the "4-hour workweek" is an exaggeration, unless you want to be as much of a capitalist pig that the author is. I honestly thought I was going crazy while reading this, until I read reviews from others who affirmed my beliefs. Ferriss's whole message is just get everyone else to do the work for you so that you can hopefully make a lot of money and get to do whatever you want. He has an entire section devoted to how to hire virtual assistants from other countries to do everything for you all while only paying them dirt money. His insights on avoiding the news are helpful until he makes an argument to just make your friends do unpaid labor for you and summarize the world news for you everyday. He claims he is part of the "new rich" but I think he's just like the rest of the rich- an asshole. He is obsessed with saving time to a point of extreme. I am all for working less and "de-centering" work if you will, but most of us genuinely do not and will never have that privilege. I found his tone to be incredibly naive and even ignorant. Someone, somewhere, will have to do the hard labor. Ferriss essentially argues for making these people do everything so that a select few can travel the world while working less than ten hours a week. This book is everything wrong with capitalism perfectly described in a self-centered entrepreneur's own words.
Beyond that, through no fault of his own, many of the information in this book is outdated due to its time of publishing. I did happened to have the expanded edition, but it was only published a few years after the original book, so not much had changed regarding its contents. It also included a few extras at the back of the book which honestly didn't add much. I did enjoy reading some of the personal stories that readers sent in, but that was about it.
I'm disappointed, but not surprised. The poem at the end truly spoke to me, but the reality is that no one will ever be able to live a life of luxury while still living under capitalist exploitation. I do like his messaging that traveling isn't as far-fetched as one might believe. I have never travelled, really, due to financial insecurity, but I feel inspired to make it work now. All of the good in this book, though, is completely overshadowed by Ferriss's inability to not be a scumbag.
I truly was not expecting what was in this manifesto. I had known of The Unabomber through pop cultures references and the like, but I had ne✒︎3 stars
I truly was not expecting what was in this manifesto. I had known of The Unabomber through pop cultures references and the like, but I had never known what he personally stood for, or why he felt it necessary to kill people. I read this for a YouTube video, so I think that my thoughts on this manifesto will be more refined by the time I publish that, but in sum, I don't think that Kaczynski's thoughts were well thought out or organized. I'm not writing off his thoughts because of his actions, alleging that he killed people simple because he was "crazy", I truly just did not find his ideologies to be very sensible. Take that with what you will.
Industrial Society and Its Future is written in a paragraph by paragraph form, divided into separate sections. It flows well and is easily digestible. Beyond that though, I found Kaczynski's beliefs to be very contradictory. In the very first paragraph, he says, "The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy if those of us who live in 'advanced' countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation."
I agreed to a certain extent and was interested to hear him outline what has caused these incredibly negative impacts on human and environmental health. I was surprised when I turned the page though and saw in bold, glaring letters "THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MODERN LEFTISM" what he says is, "one of the most widespread manifestations of the craziness of our world...". He claims that the "psychological tendencies that underline modern leftism" are "feelings of inferiority" and "over-socialization". He goes on to claim that terms that have been deemed "politically incorrect" only garnered those negative connotations by leftists themselves.
"These negative connotations have been attached to these terms by the activists themselves."
Yet he doesn't seem to care about why people eventually deemed certain euphemisms negative. He uses the word "negro" as an example, since it once held "no negative connotation" to refer to an African, but leaves out the part where racists used that word to demean and "other" Black people. He does make a few good points about the issues with modern day leftism such as how many people who are offended about certain terms are often people offended on behalf of those marginalized groups. However, these valid critiques are overshadowed by his rantings about how leftists hate white males, America, and "anything that has an image of being strong, good, and successful" saying, "[the leftist] hates America and the West because they are strong and successful." While he vaguely mentions how leftism often coincides with anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist beliefs, he completely shrugs these aside and instead claims that leftists hate America because he (the leftist) has an inferiority complex. Again, Kaczynski does present some valid critiques of leftism, another one being how they often do not criticize the same issues in America when they are present in communist countries or within marginalized communities. Though right after he says this, he then complains about the collectivist attitudes of the leftist.
"He can feel strong only as a member of a large organization or a mass movement with which he identifies himself."
He does admit that these are not accurate depictions of everyone who is a leftist, but that it is a "rough indication of the general tendency of leftism" and while I agree with some of his critiques, I do not believe that these issues are present within real factions of leftist- maybe liberals masquerading as leftist, but not within the actual leftist movement. Kaczynski also is under the impression that the obsession with morality in leftists actually does more harm than good, to the point where they don't even allow themselves to have impure thoughts. Generally speaking, I agree with this sentiment, but I fail to understand how this segment is related at all to his main belief: that industrial society is making humanity worse off.
While the bulk of this book sounds like eco-fascist propaganda, it's clear that his beliefs do not easily fall within one side or another. Within the notes he says about conservatives that they, "... are just taking the average man for a sucker, exploiting his resentment of Big Government to promote the power of Big Business." A good take if I've ever heard one. At another point in the 50th paragraph he says, "The conservatives are fools: They whine about the decay of traditional values, yet they enthusiastically support technological progress and economic growth. Apparently, it never occurs to them that you can't make rapid, drastic changes in the technology and the economy of a society without causing rapid changes in all other aspects of the society as well, and that such rapid changes inevitably break down traditional values."
His disdain for leftism seems completely antithetical to his beliefs that industrial society is harming our people and planet, for Kaczynski does not mention capitalism at all except when he is blaming the entirety of the world's problems on the extremely minority group of leftists. How can someone hate industrialism so much but not once criticize the exploitative system that has brought society to this breaking point? Most of his qualms are with the psychology of industrial society and how man does not feel as though he does anything valuable anymore like hunting and gathering, but again a lot of this can be explained by the fact that we need to work 40+ hours a week, likely at a desk, likely sitting down to and from work in a car, likely shopping at Wal-Mart because everything has become an easy commodity for those in wealthier nations. He does at one point criticize the car economy, but says the solution is living in small isolated communities rather than the government providing better infrastructure to incentivize other forms of travel. In essence, the only way to fix our reliability on cars would be to regress to the time of the Puritans where it took months to travel across states. He attributes all of society's psychological problems to the fact that we are living under conditions that primitive humans were not meant to live under, which isn't entirely wrong, but he claims that technological advancements are the main problem, not the root of those advancements or nearly every other problem he illustrates within his manifesto: capitalism.
I'm not trying to be facetious- I truly believe that most of his outlined problems are caused by capitalism, not leftists advocating for feminist rights, or advances in medicine. Kaczynski feels as though the modern man has lost freedom because he is not in control as an individual. Again, he is not entirely wrong, but instead of tangible solutions, he instead drones on about how collectivism is ruining society, imploring that we return to small tribes where we do not act or even communicate with other people outside of those groups. More importantly, he argues that man should be able to make all of his choices as an individual, without any regulations or government to hinder his "freedom". Clearly to Kaczynski, the individuals rights are much more important than the betterment of the collective.
Many of his fears are eerily similar to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; rampant hedonism, the overmedicated society, boredom, a society where humans are genetically modified. In fact, in paragraph 170, he mentions Brave New World by name.
In general it seems that Kaczynski had some very good criticisms, but the very wrong answers. One reviewer put it well, saying, "My rating of this prose is not based off whether I agree with Kaczynki's ideology or not, it's based off his argument. He makes a weak argument in this essay and completely takes all credibility away from it in his last paragraph. That said, he makes some great observations and his model for man's 'power' is very interesting. Still, this essay isn't worth killing anybody over."...more
This has to be one of the best memoirs that I have ever read, and while I haven't read a lot of them, I can tell that every memoir I read aft✒︎5 stars
This has to be one of the best memoirs that I have ever read, and while I haven't read a lot of them, I can tell that every memoir I read after this will have a hard time living up to Finding Me.
I actually listened to the audiobook version of this book, and it was 100% worth it. I've never been a big audiobook person, but I recently signed up for Libby and figured that I would try it. I thought that the best way to dive into the audiobook world would be through a memoir narrated by the author themself. I don't think I'll ever go back. Hearing Viola Davis tell her story in not only her own words, but also in her own voice was incredible. From the first few sentences, I was hooked. We know that Viola Davis is an incredible actress, but that talent also translates perfectly in an audiobook format. Each sentence is narrated with so much emotion. I deeply connected to her story. Even the voices she used for the dialogue were captivating and further immersed me into her life more than I think I ever could if I had physically read this book.
Beyond that, Davis's writing was everything that I could have wanted in a memoir. She talks of her childhood and life with such honesty; from the poverty that she lived in, to the racism and misogyny that she experienced as a child and as an adult in the acting industry. I developed a newfound respect for her due to her ability to reflect on her life with such nuance. You can tell that she has spent many years working through her trauma and life in general. For example, her father- who abused her mother- is a fully fleshed out person. She writes about him with honesty, but also with the complex compassion that a child feels towards their abusive parent. I related to her views on life, childhood trauma, and escaping poverty through one's craft. I can only hope that one day I can write a book with this level of mastery. Not only that, but also that I can learn to heal and grow from my trauma in the wise way that Davis did.
Rarely am I this compelled by someone's life story. Even if you have never watched any of Davis's credits, I would highly recommend that everyone check out this book- particularly the audiobook. I will continue to think about Finding Me for years to come.
Originally, I doubt I would have ever read this book, as I hadn't heard of it before adding i✒︎3 stars
I have never had such mixed opinions on a book.
Originally, I doubt I would have ever read this book, as I hadn't heard of it before adding it to a list of books that I would read for a YouTube video I'm working on. Brave New World presents a society where the population is controlled based on their own volition. The people take a mind-numbing drug called soma to get rid of any bad feelings; they have no solitude; "everyone belongs to everyone"; they partake in mindless sex and relationships; humans are created in labs and assigned to certain castes; they worship Henry Ford and over-consume new products as a way to feel pleasure constantly. As many have said in their reviews, "1984 shows you a world where you are forbidden to read a book, and Brave New World shows you one where you are manipulated into not bothering to read it in the first place". Huxley states in the forward of my edition that, "A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude."
I had a very hard time getting into this book. The beginning especially is written very clinically, but overall Huxley's prose is dry and at times, confusing. In one chapter, the character POV switches by the sentence. I might have had a more enjoyable time with this book if had read it in a classroom environment rather than on my own, as I struggled a lot with some of the concepts in this book.
Despite that, I found myself liking and disliking this book in almost equal parts. Brave New World is extremely disturbing and depressing for it examines our humanity under a self-subjected totalitarian government. The people have huge orgies together. The "Savage" John self-harms himself for enjoying solitude a little too much. Babies are electrocuted and "conditioned" to behave a certain way; to never question their place in society or civilization. It was a grueling read due to all of these factors. 1984 never truly disturbed me like this book did.
By far the most interesting part of Brave New World is the debate over whether this world is a utopia or a dystopia. Now, the obvious answer is dystopia, but to the untrained reader, one might fall for the idea presented by Brave New World's own government: that happiness and health is better than being a fully-fledged human who suffers and actually lives, for what is living if we do not struggle?
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly as spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamor of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
The "Savage" John, even affirms most readers thoughts when reading, saying towards the end,
"'But I like the inconveniences.' 'We don't,' said the Controller. 'We prefer to do things comfortably.' 'But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.' 'In fact,' said Mustapha Mond, 'you're claiming the right to be unhappy.' 'All right then," said the Savage defiantly, 'I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.' 'Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent... the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind.' There was a long silence. 'I claim them all,' said the Savage at last."
Is happiness and mindless pleasure enough for living a life? Again, this was by far the most interesting concept explored within this book. Beyond that though, I didn't really find this world to be as prescient as so many other reviewers have claimed. Maybe it's just where I live and who I surround myself with, but I don't see mindless entertainment, loveless sex, superficial relationships, and over-medicating to be the most imperative problems that our society is facing. Now, anti-intellectualism, that is a different story. Maybe I just misunderstood some parts of this book, but I found a lot of the book to be a critique of sexual permissiveness, rather than anti-intellectualism. Anti-intellectualism is the one constant between every authoritarian and dystopian society, for if the public does not or cannot educate themselves, then we have nothing to fight back with. I'm not saying that over-medicating or mindless consumption is not a huge problem within our society today- it most certainly is. Naturally, some parts of this book are very obvious in our world, and I appreciated those aspects of this book, but the idea that humans will be bred in laboratories, unable to question their place as individuals, just doesn't seem all that realistic to me. Furthermore, the idea that sex-obsession and the desire to seek mindless pleasure are widespread issues leading to the deterioration of our society is pretty far-fetched. I highly doubt that the trajectory that America is on right now would lead us to a world where the people are controlled by being drugged up and fucking each other. Again, that is not to say that I misunderstood Huxley's forewarnings, especially where consumerism is concerned, but I simply did not connect to these aspects of the book.
I read this book for a YouTube video that I've been working on for the past two months. Like most of the books on my list for the video, I wo✒︎4 stars
I read this book for a YouTube video that I've been working on for the past two months. Like most of the books on my list for the video, I would have never picked up this book on my own. I usually hate self-help and self-improvement books, but I found some useful insights from this one.
Atomic Habits is based on the basic principle of making habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. For breaking bad habits, it would be the inverse of that list: make it invisible, make it unattractive, make it difficult, and make it unsatisfying.
Throughout the majority of the book, Clear breaks down each point within four different sections. I actually ended up finding his introduction to be the most compelling part of the book. In the first ten pages, he tells his own story of a traumatic injury that nearly ruined his baseball career and how he had to build himself back up with good habits. I have been dealing with a serious injury that has left me mostly debilitated for the past four months and I ending up crying when he described how quickly his life had changed in just a few seconds. I am glad I read this book when I did since the next few months for me are going to be gruesome in building myself back to where I was physically prior to my injury.
All in all, I did find some useful insights from this book, but as a perfectionist and a very obsessive and compulsive person, I definitely was already doing a lot of the tips Clear recommended throughout the book. I think that if you are someone who really struggles with building and keeping habits, Atomic habits will be just for you. What I found to be obvious may not be obvious to others.
Again, this book was not revolutionary to me, so I don't feel like it is a solid five star book. On top of that though, I found that a select few of the author's tips were either A) outdated due to the publishing date or B) not relatable for some subsets of the population. I'm kind of nitpicking though. Overall, I think that you should check this book out if you somehow haven't already as there is a good chance that you'll get something useful out of it....more