Category: 2025 Book Challenge
-
I Read 52 Books in One Year- Was it Worth It?
Trying a Different Approach to Learning After I finished my master’s degree, I felt more disenchanted than inspired. But why? I had the diploma, the debt, and the societal recognition. What was missing? That was in 2016, and since then education has experienced seismic shifts: rising costs, increased online learning, emerging AI technologies, and an… Read more
-
Book #52- Reflections on “The Psychology of Money”
Book #52 The Psychology of Money By Morgan Housel The Making of a Financial Mindset When I was a child, I would sneak $20 bills into my parents’ bedroom dresser when they were fighting. Like most married couples, their fights were about money. And, like most children, I believed it was my responsibility to fix… Read more
-
Is Consumerism Ever Good & Minimalism Ever Bad?
Maximalism & Minimalism Is consumerism ever good- and is minimalism ever bad? We’re often taught that restraint in buying is virtuous, while abundance is shallow. But reading Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella made me question whether the moral divide is as clear as we pretend it is. In this book, Kinsella contrasts a shopaholic sister with an… Read more
-
The Word I’d Be Most Honoured to Receive
The Different Types of Gift-Giver I recently read Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, just in time for the holidays. It gave me a lot to think about regarding my own shopping habits. In the book, there are the typical holiday archetypes: the shopaholic, the regifter, the “just buy me my usual aftershave” type, and the eco-conscious. I… Read more
-
Book #51- Reflections on “Christmas Shopaholic”
Book #51 Christmas Shopaholic By Sophie Kinsella After I finished this book, I realized that it is part of a series. Damn. I feel like I missed an opportunity for some backstory and character development; but the book still worked well on its own. I have a lot of respect for Kinsella’s ability to do… Read more
-
Book #50- Reflections on “A Christmas Carol”
Book #50 A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens Pop Culture Has Infiltrated My Mind I had never read A Christmas Carol before, so my knowledge of this story came entirely from secondhand references- mostly pop culture parodies. This is unusual for me. I am the type who prefers to read the book before engaging in any of… Read more
-
Causes of My Depression That Had Little to Do With My Brain
Is Depression Caused By a Malfunctioning Brain? Right off the bat, I want to stress that I am not a doctor, so this post is in no way intended to provide medical advice. What I am hoping to achieve is to normalize the topic of depression and humanize it with lived experience. Depression can make a person… Read more
-
Book #49- Reflections on “Lost Connections”
Book #49 Lost Connections By Johann Hari Hari’s Relatable Story of Depression For over a decade, Johann Hari struggled with depression. He was told it was due to a chemical imbalance in his brain and that antidepressants were the solution. The dosage steadily grew and so did his struggles with the medication’s symptoms. Yet, things… Read more
-
The Long Road to a Split-Second Decision: How Character is Built Before the Moment
The Making of an Impulse Our split-second decisions might feel erratic, but they aren’t random. They are connected to our long-term behaviour. It isn’t an obvious, direct correlation. Sometimes we can surprise ourselves in the moment; we might be overcome with panic, confusion, or another strong emotion. But other times our responses are entirely predictable.… Read more
-
A Split-Second Impulse, a Lifetime of Consequences
The Impact of Our Impulses I recently read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and reflected on the lessons it teaches in my latest post. But something else struck me. In each of the five lessons, one factor played a critical role, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad: the impact of our split-second decisions.… Read more
-
Book #48- Reflections on “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”
Book #48 The Five People You Meet in Heaven By Mitch Albom A Cynic Tries to Keep an Open Mind I have fallen out of love with spiritual books in the past few years. I find that books like that can be shiny and simplistic, and maybe even unintentionally harmful. They often praise virtue without… Read more
-
The Awkward Ethics of Creating Online
Am I a Contradiction? I was quite critical toward influencer culture in my latest post regarding the fictional novel People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd. The book follows an influencer mother who shapes her life, and the lives of those around her, for the sake of content. It is a timely and unsettling read. I discussed the… Read more
-
Book #47- Reflections on “People Like Her”
Book #47 People Like Her: A Novel By Ellery Lloyd A Modern Thriller I usually don’t like thrillers, I figure life is scary enough. But this fictional novel caught my attention as a conversation starter for the ethics and dangers of our modern online world. And I couldn’t put it down. It is definitely twisted,… Read more
-
An Uncomfortable Pattern in 46 Books
Good & Bad Themes During My Book Reading Challenge Throughout my year-long Reading Challenge, I have intentionally selected books that span a wide range of topics, voices, and experiences. And many positive themes keep appearing- like the importance of self-expression and community. But some disheartening patterns have surfaced too, such as the prevalence of sexual… Read more
-
Writing About Women Who Share a Name With Their Pain
A Recurring Dilemma While writing my latest post about I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I ran into the same dilemma I had when discussing Shari Franke’s memoir The House of My Mother. Both books involve daughters reclaiming their voice from abusive mothers, and each presented a particular challenge when it came to writing about them.… Read more
-
Book #46- Reflections on “I’m Glad My Mom Died”
Book #46 I’m Glad My Mom Died By Jennette McCurdy An Unexpected, But Familiar Story I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy is an account of the author’s life as a former child star, which was heavily influenced by her overbearing mother. It reminds me of another book I read during my 52-Book Reading Challenge: The… Read more
-
Blooming & Wilting Under Another’s Gaze
When a Gaze Grows a Person Have you ever had someone look at you with stars in their eyes? Their face lights up. Both of you seem to expand to a place where every colour is brighter, every smell sweeter. You feel warm inside. Loved. This person could be your mother, father, partner, perhaps even… Read more
-
Book #45- Reflections on “Women Don’t Owe You Pretty”
Book #45 Women Don’t Owe You Pretty By Florence Given So, You Think You’re Really Pretty? When women are asked if they think they are pretty, the “correct” answer is supposed to be no. It demonstrates humility and shows others that you aren’t vain. So when the concept of pretty privilege entered into mainstream conversation a few… Read more
-
Book #44- Reflections on “Algospeak”
Book #44 Algospeak By Adam Aleksic Comparing Old & New Language The latest three books in my Book Reading Challenge have been: Despite their age, I was struck by how relevant each of these books are. They aren’t just outdated classics, but rather timeless mirrors of the human condition- something that remains very much alive… Read more
-
Jekyll & Hyde as a Couple: The Hidden Pattern in Toxic Relationships
Something Familiar About Jekyll & Hyde After reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I wrote a blog post exploring three ways the “Hyde” in each of us can appear in modern life. In both that post and Stevenson’s novel, Jekyll and Hyde represent two sides of a single person: Dr. Jekyll is… Read more
-
Book #43- Reflections on “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
Book #43 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson Last week I read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was surprised by how relevant its themes are to our modern world. This week, for Halloween, I picked up The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and it feels jarringly applicable… Read more
-
What Shakespeare Understood About the Power & Peril of Imagination
What a Lunatic, Lover, and Poet Have in Common “The lunatic, the lover, and the poetAre of imagination all compact.”1 -Theseus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream This famous line from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream means that lunatics, lovers, and poets are each entirely full of imagination. They don’t see the world as it objectively is, but rather… Read more
-
Confused Affections
By all the vows that ever men have broke (In number more than ever women spoke), – Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Man Teaches a Girl About Love I was a young teenager when a man forty years older told me: “You just have to tell a girl you love her a thousand times and then she will sleep with you. You don’t even have to mean it.” He was… Read more
-
Book #42- Reflections on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Book #42 A Midsummer Night’s Dream By William Shakespeare The Enduring Value of Words This year, I have devoted countless hours to exploring other people’s written words during my 52-Book Reading Challenge, while also giving space to my own through my blogging journey. This experience has renewed my appreciation for the power of language. There… Read more
-
Book #41- Reflections on “Frankenstein”
Book #41 Frankenstein By Mary Shelley Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a classic that has been on my reading list for a long time, and Halloween felt like the perfect season to read it. Two things struck me about this book: (This post will contain spoilers.) Adapting to Mary Shelley’s Writing Style Since this book was… Read more
-
Book #40- Reflections on “Factfulness”
Book #40 Factfulness By Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, & Ola Rosling Factfulness by Hans Rosling had been recommended to me for years, and my 52-Book Reading Challenge has been the perfect excuse to finally pull it off my “To Be Read” shelf. This book uses data mixed with human experience to challenge misconceptions that the… Read more
-
Book #39- Reflections on “How to Give Up Plastic”
Book #39 How to Give Up Plastic By Will McCallum A Fortuitous Find I had never heard of How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum until I came upon it 40% off in a bookshop. The arresting title and cover caught my attention, so I decided to give it a read. I am really happy that… Read more
-
Book #38- Reflections on “The Power of Now”
Book #38 The Power of Now By Eckhart Tolle Are You Living in the Past, Present, or Future? The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is the type of book that I could read once a year and still gain new insights from. It is about relinquishing your addiction to past or future thinking and instead… Read more
-
Book #37- Reflections on “By Chance Alone”
Book #37 By Chance Alone By Max Eisen One Book to Represent Them All I have now read my 37th book of my 52-Book Reading Challenge: By Chance Alone by Max Eisen. So far, this challenge has contained books of all different genres: fantasy, memoir, self-help, socio-political, and more. And two themes have come up again and again,… Read more
-
Book #36- Reflections on “Milk and Honey”
Book #36 Milk and Honey By Rupi Kaur This poetry book addresses sensitive topics such as sexual abuse and emotional manipulation. It may not be for everyone. My intention with this blog post is to lift some of the burden and trauma off of those who have gone through this, and move the conversation toward… Read more