Book Report

[stormkeeper_lovesall]

 
I really need to write more fanfic. Because I'm reading too much - just did a book report and here's another one!

Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari -  I’m not sure where I start because the book feels so monumental, other than to say “read it!” (Or listen to it; I actually listened to this one in the car on audio.) Okay, in fact I’m just going to admit that my review will not do it justice, and I’m going to paste in someone else’s words:“One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one - Homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago, with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.”
(Back to me now). The book was endlessly exciting and fascinating and fresh, and I’d read it again someday. Grade: 9

 

Mindwise by Nicholas Epley – Got this one from a Little Free Library. It’s about how bad we are at trying to figure out what’s going on inside other people’s heads. It covers common mistakes we make and how we can do better. Two techniques that don’t work so well: trying to read body language and “just using empathy”. Rarely is reading body language successful, and for people trained on it, usually the only folks who see any gains are those who were very bad at it to start with. And when we try to just use empathy, we are wrong as often as we are right. Best way to find out what someone wants for their birthday or how they feel about an issue is to just ask them. Also, an insight from earlier in the book: “Your ability to engage with the minds of others is one of your brain’s greatest abilities. You’ll be happier if you actually use it.” I do believe this to be true and have noticed myself following it even since reading this book. Grade: 8

 

The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams – Man, we can all use some hope now! The legendary Jane Goodall is candid about the trouble that the world is in….as she says, even surviving COVID won’t matter if the planet becomes more uninhabitable. And yet. Goodall finds reasons for hope and she lays all of them out with evidence and examples. There are some great stories in here, like the one about two men in China who plant trees. One is blind and one has no arms, and yet they’ve been at this for years. I also liked the format of the book as most of it is told in the style of conversations between the two authors. There are so many good examples and stories in here. Read it, especially if you are feeling down on the world. (Though I do emphasize that the authors don’t sugarcoat the dire straits were are in either!) Grade: 8

 

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim – This was a lush, delightful fantasy story about a young woman who is raised in a family of tailors and is the best one, but a girl has limited options to move up in this world. But then some things happen and she is taken to the palace disguised as her brother to compete to become the Imperial Tailor. The author wove a good tale and I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if I liked it enough to read the second book in the series. Grade: 5

 

Haven by Emma Donoghue – The legendary Emma Donoghue, who has penned some of my favorites like The Pull of the Stars, The Wonder, and the creepy but compelling Room. Oh my goodness this is another incredible novel! In fact, I read it in two days. Picked it up on an afternoon when it was exactly what I needed, and I couldn’t put it down. It was so, so good to be back in the hands of a master storyteller. What is this book about? Three Irish monks circa 700 BCE go set out in a boat to find a desolate island to live out their lives in worship. Could not put it down. Grade: 9

Comments

[nytshd3]

No such thing as reading too much!!

Sapiens sounds great! It's definitely hard to make something like that into interesting reading (very easy to get too into the science and weigh it down a bit) so how cool!

Mindwise brings up a really good point on something I've always struggled with. It's SO EASY (for me, anyway) to think you know how someone is going to react, especially someone you know very well, and you can have a whole argument with someone in your own head based on what you think they're going to say. And then when you actually interact with them, it goes a TOTALLY different way. Always better to just talk it out even though it can be scary.

The book of hope and haven both sound lovely! Once I get all of these thank you notes and xmas cards done and sent out I hope to spend some of my downtime relaxing and reading :) Thanks for sharing as always :)