Reading Period: August 18 - September 22
1. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (A), by Julian Jaynes
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22478.The_Origin_of_Consciousness_in_the_Breakdown_of_the_Bicameral_Mind
Disingenuous psychobabble. A unfortunately comprehensible work of anti-scientific, non-falsifiable garbage. The core theory is somewhat interesting (consciousness is a product of human language that emerged three thousand years ago). But the rest can be left in the trash. It was interesting to learn that the conquistadors were conscious, but the Incan people were not (and yes, you can estimate what this assumes). What was most frustrating about this book was that everything is fit to a theory, versus the other way around. The key two points of evidence are the Iliad and the Odyssey, and random anecdotal pieces of artwork, in which the conclusion is that humans used to hear godly hallucinations and now hear their own voice. Why exactly? Apparently conflict and interaction with different types of people, and advanced language. This kind of thinking can be applied to anything, given that we have little written history from 3,000+ years ago and consciousness is a mystery. It's a work that is disrespectful to the intellect and frustrating, but if you're interested in having your blood boil might actually be worth the read!
2. Mayo Clinic: Guide to Your Baby's First Years (A), by Walter Cook
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55538250-mayo-clinic-guide-to-your-baby-s-first-years
Very interesting. Not quite as good or informative as Mayo Clinic's guide to pregnancy, but still worth the read. The format of these books is a bit weird, as there's walkthroughs of certain months/years/milestones and also random segments of other information. I throughly enjoyed the month-by-month breakdown of the first three years of a child's life. Some of the sections to specific symptoms and remedies can be skipped. It's pretty crazy how life forms, and reading this while watching it happen in real-time fills me with a sense of awe at the whole process.
3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (A), by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17125.One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich
Reminds me a bit of King Rat, but Russian. A bit depressing and straightforward. I haven't read much Russian literature, there's probably deeper areas to probe but overall thought the book was fine.
4. The Creative Act (A), by Rick Rubin
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60965426-the-creative-act
A collection of thoughts and aphorisms by Rick. Nothing too insightful, but I think it's useful to put on your "creativity" hat every once in a while. Probably not worth the read, unless you want some artistic motivation.
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (A), by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193755.The_Diving_Bell_and_the_Butterfly
Overall a decent book. Pretty unbelievable that Jean-Dominique wrote this while effectively immobilized (locked-in syndrome, could only move his left eyelid). Worth the read for the novelty and brevity alone.
6. The Maniac (A), by Benjamin Labatut
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75665931-the-maniac
Staggeringly good book. 10/10, and right up my alley in terms of content and style. I couldn't stop once I started, and was enthralled the whole way. The split of fiction and nonfiction felt novel and compelling, and the cast of real characters with imagined thoughts really grounded the immersion. The ideas are immense but subtle, and overall I felt that every page was captivating. This is one of the few books that I'm going to buy in print and re-read down the line.
7. When We Cease to Understand the World (A), by Benjamin Labatut
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62069739-when-we-cease-to-understand-the-world
Not quite as good as The Maniac but still thoroughly compelling. Benjamin is probably now up there with Ted Chiang in my roster of great authors that map perfectly to my interests.
8. Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (A), by Christopher Janaway
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19512.Schopenhauer
Pretty decent overview of Schopenhauer's life and work. Honestly, I thought he was more influential. Aside from heavily influencing Nietche's worldview, he wasn't well known in his time and he certainly wasn't the star philosopher of his age (Hegel). These sort of intro books are pretty useful, but never quite great.
9. The British are Coming (A), by Rick Atkinson
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41812830-the-british-are-coming
This book has rave reviews, but honestly I wasn't feeling it that much. It felt like a fairly boring retelling of revolutionary history, in ways that books like Founding Brothers weren't. Perhaps I am more into the political intrigue and ideological differentiation than this book allowed for. I likely won't read the second book in this series, or at least not right away. It may also be that I am not quite as into the revolutionary war as I thought I would be? I'm a big Hamilton fan, but maybe the war and the battles themselves don't quite scratch the itch. I'm trying to deviate from my steady stream of WWII content, so far unsuccessfully.
10. The Art of the Deal (A), by Donald Trump
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1032.Trump
Not quite sure why I read this, especially since it was largely ghostwritten. It's basically a collection of stories of real estate and other deals done by Donald in the 80's. Nothing too enlightening, but not sure what I expected. It's honestly an interesting reminder that the guy is an real estate guy through and through, who always sought the spotlight and embraced controversy.
