Quick note before I get into reviews: in October, I finally started to make use of my GoodReads account. In the past, I'd misunderstood the purpose of GoodReads - I thought that I would have to somehow log every book I've ever read on it, and that I'd constantly have to be updating my progress for every book I read, which isn't practical with the amount I'm reading. But! After actually exploring a bit more, I realized that users don't actually have to "update progress" for books they're reading. I spent some time entering in the books I've read since 2014 (the year I started keeping track in list form), which took a bit of time, but was easier than I'd thought. So far, GoodReads has been really useful for sorting and organizing my books and seeing them in visual groups. And I haven't found it tedious to mark what I'm "Currently Reading" when I start a new book, even though I sometimes finish a book in less than a day.
Aside from jumping onto the GoodReads learning curve, I read a really varied mix of books in October. Out of the nine books I read and the one that I started at the end of the month, five (half of them) were the first books of series. I generally avoid starting more than one or two series at a time, but somehow it worked out that a number of the books that I reserved to check out from the library were part of series. I actually didn't mind as much as I thought.
Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel (2016)
"If you left a weapon with someone so they could defend themselves, and you found out they were killing each other with it, you'd probably want to take it back or get rid of it."
The format here is different and interesting - the author tells the story through interviews, journal entries, and transcribed audio logs from a handful of characters. Though I didn't love all the different voices, I liked the unique style and will probably read the other books in the series. And while the book is definitely SciFi, I felt it would be quite accessible for non-SciFi readers. Sleeping Giants is largely an exploration of cost vs benefits (the needs of many outweighing needs of the few) in the context of war, and I assume that line will continue in the next book in the series.
Related Reads
The Martian (Weir)
Three-Body Problem (Liu)
My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell (1956)
"Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen. Each day had a tranquility, a timelessness, about it, so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of the night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us, glossy and colorful as a child's transfer and with the same tinge of unreality."
This book was absolutely a joy to read. It's a recounting of the author's childhood spent in Corfu, and the writing is chock-full of lavish descriptions and childlike wonder. I loved exploring the outdoors and observing bugs and animals as a child, so I really related to the author's experiences. Some might understandably find the constant descriptions all a bit too much and the portrayal of the author's family members and family friends a little jarring. For me, though, the aura of the book is truly magical, and I'm eager to read more by Durrell.
Related Reads:
Belles on their Toes (Gilbreth)
Rascal (North)
Boy (Dahl)
Surprise Island (Warner)
It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle - Mark Wolynn (2016)
"Our core language insists on being heard. When we follow where it leads and hear its story, it has the power to defuse our deepest fears."
In order to really get the best understanding of this book as possible, I took copious notes while reading and completed the included exercises. I found the book generally well-written. However (and it's a big however) - I just couldn't buy into the author's overall thesis that family trauma is clearly passed down generationally to the extent that he postulates. Certain elements I could accept - such as the fact that a child born after their mother had traumatic experiences while pregnant may have higher instances of PTSD, and that a child who observed his parents live through trauma may experience similar feelings of trauma later in life - but other examples used just felt like too much of a stretch, and I didn't find his reasoning for these well-explained. I also was bothered by the author's strong and constant advice to forgive and accept one's parents; while what he says about reconciliation is true in many cases, he doesn't allow for cases of genuinely toxic or dangerous family members.
The bottom line for me: the book is helpful in the general sense of giving some advice that's good overall (forgive family members, release bad memories, explore your family's history for deeper understanding of trends), and some of the family explorations, connections, and exercises are interesting to think about, but I remain unconvinced of his overall methods. For instance, in some of his exercises, he has you trace an issue in your life (panic attacks and claustrophobia coupled with a fear of dying alone, for instance) to a possible family member who had a related experience (say, you find that your grandfather died trapped in an elevator, where he would have had feelings of panic, claustrophobia, and he died alone). He then has you go through mindfulness exercises where you basically confront your fear, visualize talking to your deceased relative, and release the fear "back to where it originated from." Perhaps my main issue with this form of therapy is largely me not buying into it, though; I wouldn't go so far as to say that it couldn't be useful for those who are able to relate to it.
Related Reads:
The Body Keeps the Score (Van der Kolk)
(See Bibliography)
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach (2003)
"I like the term 'decedent.' It's as though the man weren't dead, but merely involved in some sort of protracted legal dispute. For evident reasons, mortuary science is awash with euphemisms.... Decomposed brain that filters down through a damaged skull and bubbles out the nose is 'frothy purge.'"
If you're into history, interested in crime investigation, or are a doctor, you'll find this book especially interesting. I'm not a terribly squeamish person, but I had a little trouble getting through the book; I was doing all right until nearer to the end where there's a chapter on cannibalism. The author maintains a sense of humor that's necessary in her unflinching exploration of what happens to bodies after death (especially those donated to science), but sometimes it felt a bit jarring. I did appreciate that Roach talks about her own experiences regarding the death of her mother. The book is overall pretty fascinating and obviously highly researched, but I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of stomach.
Related Reads:
(See Bibliography)
(to be continued in Part 2)
Aside from jumping onto the GoodReads learning curve, I read a really varied mix of books in October. Out of the nine books I read and the one that I started at the end of the month, five (half of them) were the first books of series. I generally avoid starting more than one or two series at a time, but somehow it worked out that a number of the books that I reserved to check out from the library were part of series. I actually didn't mind as much as I thought.
Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel (2016)
"If you left a weapon with someone so they could defend themselves, and you found out they were killing each other with it, you'd probably want to take it back or get rid of it."
The format here is different and interesting - the author tells the story through interviews, journal entries, and transcribed audio logs from a handful of characters. Though I didn't love all the different voices, I liked the unique style and will probably read the other books in the series. And while the book is definitely SciFi, I felt it would be quite accessible for non-SciFi readers. Sleeping Giants is largely an exploration of cost vs benefits (the needs of many outweighing needs of the few) in the context of war, and I assume that line will continue in the next book in the series.
Related Reads
The Martian (Weir)
Three-Body Problem (Liu)
My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell (1956)
"Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen. Each day had a tranquility, a timelessness, about it, so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of the night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us, glossy and colorful as a child's transfer and with the same tinge of unreality."
This book was absolutely a joy to read. It's a recounting of the author's childhood spent in Corfu, and the writing is chock-full of lavish descriptions and childlike wonder. I loved exploring the outdoors and observing bugs and animals as a child, so I really related to the author's experiences. Some might understandably find the constant descriptions all a bit too much and the portrayal of the author's family members and family friends a little jarring. For me, though, the aura of the book is truly magical, and I'm eager to read more by Durrell.
Related Reads:
Belles on their Toes (Gilbreth)
Rascal (North)
Boy (Dahl)
Surprise Island (Warner)
It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle - Mark Wolynn (2016)
"Our core language insists on being heard. When we follow where it leads and hear its story, it has the power to defuse our deepest fears."
In order to really get the best understanding of this book as possible, I took copious notes while reading and completed the included exercises. I found the book generally well-written. However (and it's a big however) - I just couldn't buy into the author's overall thesis that family trauma is clearly passed down generationally to the extent that he postulates. Certain elements I could accept - such as the fact that a child born after their mother had traumatic experiences while pregnant may have higher instances of PTSD, and that a child who observed his parents live through trauma may experience similar feelings of trauma later in life - but other examples used just felt like too much of a stretch, and I didn't find his reasoning for these well-explained. I also was bothered by the author's strong and constant advice to forgive and accept one's parents; while what he says about reconciliation is true in many cases, he doesn't allow for cases of genuinely toxic or dangerous family members.
The bottom line for me: the book is helpful in the general sense of giving some advice that's good overall (forgive family members, release bad memories, explore your family's history for deeper understanding of trends), and some of the family explorations, connections, and exercises are interesting to think about, but I remain unconvinced of his overall methods. For instance, in some of his exercises, he has you trace an issue in your life (panic attacks and claustrophobia coupled with a fear of dying alone, for instance) to a possible family member who had a related experience (say, you find that your grandfather died trapped in an elevator, where he would have had feelings of panic, claustrophobia, and he died alone). He then has you go through mindfulness exercises where you basically confront your fear, visualize talking to your deceased relative, and release the fear "back to where it originated from." Perhaps my main issue with this form of therapy is largely me not buying into it, though; I wouldn't go so far as to say that it couldn't be useful for those who are able to relate to it.
Related Reads:
The Body Keeps the Score (Van der Kolk)
(See Bibliography)
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach (2003)
"I like the term 'decedent.' It's as though the man weren't dead, but merely involved in some sort of protracted legal dispute. For evident reasons, mortuary science is awash with euphemisms.... Decomposed brain that filters down through a damaged skull and bubbles out the nose is 'frothy purge.'"
If you're into history, interested in crime investigation, or are a doctor, you'll find this book especially interesting. I'm not a terribly squeamish person, but I had a little trouble getting through the book; I was doing all right until nearer to the end where there's a chapter on cannibalism. The author maintains a sense of humor that's necessary in her unflinching exploration of what happens to bodies after death (especially those donated to science), but sometimes it felt a bit jarring. I did appreciate that Roach talks about her own experiences regarding the death of her mother. The book is overall pretty fascinating and obviously highly researched, but I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of stomach.
Related Reads:
(See Bibliography)
(to be continued in Part 2)
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