Category: Books

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Sit Down and Read

College was a reading blight for me. I had other things to do, classes pulling my attention, and a pretty damaged ability to focus due to the introduction of a smartphone in my life. I was on-and-off reading books for fun, and felt pretty bad for accumulating books that I just was not getting to.

When I was an intern the past summer, I was hoping to change that. Yet I only made it through one book. Now that I’m in my real adult life, and settled in a bit, I’ve finally boarded the reading train yet again, and it is fantastic. It kicked off with reading Neuromancer by William Gibson over the course of a couple weeks. It was touch-and-go for a while there, but I made it through and very much enjoyed it. The past few fiction books I’ve read were sci-fi or technology thrillers of some variety. But I wanted to get back to where I was in high school and early college: able and willing to read just about any book I came across, even if it wasn’t very good. So, I recalled a recommendation an acquaintance gave to me, Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. It is classified as a science fiction novel, but really is just a post-apocalyptic novel taking place in modern day, after a particularly deadly strand of swine flu wiped out most of the world. I read the book in only two days.

Inspired by this quick finish, I went to the website whatShouldIReadNext.com and selected the first book I could find which was available as an eBook from the local library. It was The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler. This was further afield than most books I read, following a librarian whose sister, mother, and other females going back have all worked in various circuses, and all die via suicidal drowning. It’s unclear how much fantasy magic or legitimate “curses” are involved, but it was a surprisingly engaging read. I finished that in two days as well.

The book I am currently on — which has taken me longer mainly due to the holidays — is Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd. I started this book completely on accident: I thought I was getting a different book from the library, and just started. Luckily, it’s actually quite engaging. It takes place in WWI-era Europe, and may simply be a “follow this person’s life” book. Either way, I’m enjoying it.

It’s felt great to finally just sit down and read for long stretches of time. I’ve avoided some of the other tempting media (podcasts mostly), allowing my attention span to rebuild; this also puts me in a quiet mental space, giving my brain time to process and enjoy the ride a bit more.

While I am not as disconnected as CGP Grey is, and I still go on reddit and participate on the internet, it’s been nice to have these quiet moments with a book. It reminds me of when I had far fewer responsibilities, less to worry about, and I believe that’s been healthy for me. I suggest finding a way to be quiet, to be comfortable being alone without being lonely. It’s a good thing to be able to do.

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Book Review: “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger

In preparation for an upcoming (not soon) episode of Operation: Have a Conversation, I read the book Tribe by Sebastian Junger. Its description tends to focus on how it explores the way American soldiers who come back from war have trouble integrating themselves back into modern society, as being in the military provides a significant unifying bond that is not felt in today’s Western culture.
While I’m not sure what exactly we’ll get into when recording our episode about this book, I’d like to give a couple of thoughts that have lingered with me since I finished reading it earlier today.
First, this book is important. I think it would be good for everyone to read. It frames much of how we look at modern society very differently than I had ever perceived. It discusses how panic attacks and depression are evolutionary traits, and how society has developed in such a way to make these afflictions more prevalent. It thoroughly discusses our misunderstanding and mistreatment of PTSD, particularly among those who participated in violent conflicts.
This book can be very challenging in certain ways. It opens one’s eyes to a certain hypocrisy with which we live our lives, and also points out reasons to be somewhat afraid for the future of America. It gives some specific ideas about where we tend to fail as a culture and society, and gives some implications for how we can all work toward getting better.
It is hard for me to do this book any sort of justice. My thoughts are still unformed and not particularly cohesive. But after reading it, I’m very excited to discuss it with Mikhail and Jack, and hope you’ll take a chance to read it as well.
The book is less than 100 pages, and the audiobook (if that’s your style) is only around 3 hours. Yet there is a lot that happens. I highly recommend it.