Tag: book blog
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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
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This Reading Challenge Was a Strange Mix of Privilege and Desperation
Excess & Limitations Last year, I began my 52-Book Reading Challenge because I needed a change. If you have read some of my content, you can probably tell the types of things I was struggling with at the time: health issues, toxic relationships, and questioning lifelong unhealthy beliefs. That being said, the opportunity to read… Read more
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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A World Without Women: A Thought Experiment
For my 2025 Reading Challenge, I recently read two science fiction graphic novels that imagine a world without men: Y: The Last Man and Woman World. I found myself wondering about the opposite scenario. What would happen if all the women were gone instead? What Would a World Without Women Look Like? 1. The Event The storylines of Y:… Read more
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Book #35- Reflections on “Woman World”
Book #35 Woman World By Aminder Dhaliwal Book Choices So far in my Book Reading Challenge, I have deliberately read different types of books in succession. For example, a light-hearted romance might be followed by a serious memoir, or a therapy book by a work of science fiction. This variety is intentional. But that is… Read more
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Book #34- Reflections on “Y: The Last Man”
Book #34 Y: The Last Man By Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, & José Marzán, Jr. This graphic novel contains some mature language and themes, including a racial slur. I hesitated to include it in my Book Reading Challenge, which is mostly clean. However, I believe books like this are worth discussing. This blog is… Read more
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The Role of Technology in Education
What is the Role of Technology in Education? In the future, will technology act as a supplement or a replacement to the way we teach? The needs of modern students are shifting and so are my views about what education should look like. Fiction, AI-driven apps, and my own experiences with formal schooling and self-directed… Read more
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Book #33- Reflections on “Ready Player One”
Book #33 Ready Player One By Ernest Cline This book takes place in a dystopian future where personal and collective problems can be ignored by plugging into the OASIS: a virtual reality universe where you can interact with users from all over the world. It has its own timezone, its own currency- which is more… Read more
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Book #32- Reflections on “Raising Hare”
Book #32 Raising Hare By Chloe Dalton Wild Animals This is a charming story of a successful career woman who moves back into her parents’ house during the pandemic and begins to raise a baby hare that is found alone nearby. I found myself getting really attached to the hare’s journey. Her story reminded me… Read more
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How Our Parents Shape Our View of God (And How to Rebuild Your Own)
“Problems with (emotionally immature) parents may have affected your impression of God and your trust in religion. Kids often form their image of God based on their parents…” – Lindsay C. Gibson, Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People Our View of Religion is Affected By Our Parents In her book Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People, psychologist Lindsay C.… Read more