May 2019 Book Wrap Up
Digital Minimalism inspired me to delete Facebook and Facebook messenger off my phone which has been very liberating—don't miss them at all. Although not quite as good as Deep Work, Cal Newport is very persuasive for living a digitally minimal life.
It was an excellent month in the fiction department with three 5-star reads. Can't wait to check out the AMC NOS4A2 series, and I'm beginning to think I might have to read all of Barry Eisler's books.
Quote for Pondering:
“The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd gods building a better world and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in T-shirts selling an addictive product to children. Because, let’s face it, checking your 'likes' is the new smoking.”
— Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism
📚DEVOURED
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (F) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[Stephen King’s son, thriller/horror, current AMC series] // GoodReads Review
Livia Lone & The Night Trade, both by Barry Eisler (F) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Basically if Dexter Morgan and Lisbeth Salander had a baby, it would be Livia Lone.] // GoodReads Review (s)
📚IMPACTFUL
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[Feminism, essays] // GoodReads Review
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Productivity, psychology: Basically one giant justification for getting rid of (or severely limiting) social media.] // GoodReads Review
📚ENJOYED
We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Autobiography, memoir] // GoodReads Review
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Autobiography: The Jerk IRL] // GoodReads Review
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [ Science, history] // GoodReads Review
📚WOULD RECOMMEND TO CERTAIN FOLK
The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Business, inspiration] // GoodReads Review
The Wild Muir by Lee Stetson (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Environment, adventure] // GoodReads Review
📚MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Biography, history: Banana republics] // GoodReads Review
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Autobiography. Not as good as the HBO show.] // GoodReads Review
Feminasty: The Complicated Woman's Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy Without Drinking Herself to Death by Erin Gibson (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ [“Humor,” essays] // GoodReads Review
📚MEH
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt (NF) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Sociology, psychology; Educational whinging] // GoodReads Review
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James (F) ⭐️⭐️ [“Mystery” / Predictable snooze fest] // GoodReads Review
