Here are a selection of great books I read in 2018! New entries coming online daily as we approach the new year!
“21 Lessons for the 21st Century” – Yuval N. Harari
Review (4/5) – Get the Book!
What Harari has done here is quite a feat. He has squeezed what could easily been a series of books into one volume, covering topics like:
- The resurrection of nationalism.
- What to do in a post-jobs world.
- The opportunity cost of fighting terrorism.
- Why we need a deep understanding of suffering and how to attain it.
- What should we teach our kids in school to prepare the for the future?
- How to live in the age of biotech, algorithms and AI.
- Is religion still relevant?
- Do we need a whole new ideology to deal with the problems of the 21st century when liberalism just wont cut it anymore?
- Culturism vs. Rasism.
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
The book is relevant, nuanced and sometimes frightening. It’s a source of endless discussions around the kitchen table.
“In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” – Gabor Mate
Review (5/5) – Get the Book!
An excellent introduction to the complex problem of addiction. Dr. Gabors is specialized in the study and treatment of addiction. His book offers portraits of his patient lives, stories about his own addictive behaviors and the path to recovery.
“As a rule, whatever we don’t deal with in our lives we pass on to our children”
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
Regardless of your degree of addiction or whether your drug of choice is heroin, TV, food or shopping – reading the stories and research presented in this book will help to shine a light on your own addictive tendencies.
“12 Rules for Life” – Jordan Peterson
Review (5/5) – Get the Book!
Life is suffering. How do we deal with that?! We face it, we bare it. Hell is a bottomless pit and in spite of how fucked up and unfair things are, we still can make it even worse. Let’s not do that! What if we instead get our act together and prepare ourselves to face suffering when it comes knocking? That’s the better path. And we all know where we fall short.
Peterson puts the responibility of all the world and all of it’s suffering on the individual. “If we all lived properly, we will collectively flurish.” If we put ourselves in order, maybe we will do the same to the world?
📝 “Aim up, pay attention, fix what you can and don’t be arrogant in your knowledge , strive for humility, be aware of your weaknesses. Consider the murderousness of your own being before condemn and judge others. Maybe you missed the mark? And most importantly, don’t lie! Lying is the path to hell.”
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
The book is fantastic, but maybe more importantly – it led me to examine the world of Jungian psychology – and what a wonderful rabbit hole it is to dive into! Leading me books like these:
“Demian” – Hermann Hesse
Review (4/5) – Get the Book!
A short and moody novel that revolves around young Sinclair and the difficult task of finding oneself. Growing up in a protected and pious middle class home he eventually has to face the real world. Sinclair gets a new mysterious classmates, Demian, who guides him to detach and revolt from the superficial world of form and awaken to his true self.
📝 “All I really wanted was to try and live the life that was spontaneously welling up within me. Why was that so very difficult?”
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
This is most memorable fictional book I’ve read this year. A coming of age story with strong connections to Jungian psychology and symbolism. It came to me at a perfect time; Since I, much like Hesse did when writing the book, just “began to explore the writings of Freud and Jung on dreams and archetypes”. Something that really influenced Hesses writings.
“Trust Me, I’m Lying” – Ryan Holiday
Review (4/5) – Get the Book!
“Each generation of media has a different cock in its mouth.” – Ryan Holiday, Trust me I’m lying.
😔 I thought I was on top of my media game and was able to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. I WAS WRONG!
📰 😱I knew the situation was bad; I even quit following “the news” 3 years ago because I thought it misrepresented reality to a larger degree than it represented it (and also for the sake of my wellbeing). But Ryan Holidays confessions from his career as a media manipulator paints a even darker picture than I could ever imagine!
——- WHY THIS BOOK? ———
👨🏼💻Understanding the structure and constraints of click-based media is essential. These structure explains almost everything they do. It’s in the nature of the system.
🥇 The first half of this book is should be mandatory reading (the other half turns into a bit of a rant). This is probably the book that influenced me the most this year!
Find more great reads on my book reviews page and the Great Books List