Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆
Title: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology, Sociology
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
Title: Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness
Author: Melissa Dahl
Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self-help
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Title: Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions
Author: Neel Burton
Genre: Non fiction, Psychology, Science
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Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Title: The Meaning of Madness
Author: Neel Burton
Genre: Science, Non-fiction, Psychology, Philosophy
Continue reading “Book review: The Meaning of Madness, by Neel Burton”Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆
Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Author: Mark Manson
Genre: Nonfiction, Self help, Psychology
Continue reading “Book review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson”
In this brilliantly sensible and funny book, a Harvard-educated shrink and his comedy-writing daughter reveal that the real f-words in life are “feelings” and “fairness.” While most self-help books are about your feelings and fulfilling your wildest dreams, F*ck Feelings will show you how to find a new kind of freedom by getting your head out of your ass and yourself onto the right path toward realistic goals and feasible results. F*ck Feelings is the last self-help book you will ever need! (Goodreads)
Rating:⭐️⭐️
Title: Psych 101:Psychology Facts, Basics, Statistics, Tests, and More!
Author: Paul Kleinman
Genre: Psychology, Nonfiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology, Sociology
This was a quick read for me, not because that this was a light read but because it was very interesting. This was definitely an eye opener, more often than not we took what we post on the internet for granted especially for most of my friends as I look through my Facebook timeline. With the ever changing world and thanks to internet, people tend to post anything without having a second thought the repercussion it might bring.
Having the privilege to read this book, I became aware of even the smallest thing that could brought upon destruction to yourself, from simple writing of an essay, academic paper or even thesis, to an even more mundane activities that one post on the internet. We amuse ourselves with what we thought was a witty tweet or a funny photo on instagram, but often than not the internet don’t really get our jokes, simply because it’s the internet. No matter how technologically advance the internet is, of course you can’t beat the amazing effect of direct communication and face to face interaction. Of course you can add the hashtag and said that you were just being sarcastic or funny, but it will never be enough on the internet. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it because I am a Communication Science graduate.
The cases that were chosen for this book were also very interesting and I have to be honest, out of all the cases mentioned in this book, I can tell you that I was only aware of Justine Sacco’s case; it was very nice that I can enrich myself with cases that I have never heard before, so maybe this could also be a food for thought. Though it might be true that online shaming is very huge and viral these days, there will always be people as ignorant as me that would not know about it, not until someone else points it out in a book. I know I might be just a minority, but it’s a nice thought, right?
On my part, the author’s analysis and also the resources that were cited in this book along with the cases were very thought provoking for me. It was sort of a nice wake-up call for me to be more careful, especially in terms of citing someone else’s work for my thesis that I am currently writing and also when I voiced my thoughts on the internet, which I oftenly do with a very sarcastic manner.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Fiction, Psychology, Philosophy
This would have been a very quick read for me if it weren’t for the thesis proposal; on second thought maybe not, because when I picked this book up it was more like a rebound thing, because I haven’t yet moved on from All the Light We Cannot See. Nevertheless, this is what I think about the book. First off, I don’t trust Hector. I would never go to him if ever there comes a time where I need a psychiatrist. Blame the writer (or the translator) for that; the way the story flows, it just doesn’t feel genuine. It’s as if the writer (or the translator, whatever) is trying his best to make the story to be effortlessly fun and light, but it’s just not working, let me tell you that.
The thing is, only a certain amount of book that can pull that kind of simplicity without sounding annoying (I’m talking about books like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and The Hundred-year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared), and when you tried your best to sound like that, but sadly you fail, you get to the point where your readers are annoyed (and when I say readers, I meant maybe only me).
Aside from that, I like the concept of the book. Happiness is indeed a fluid like concept; not one person could agree on something when it comes to happiness, it’s very subjective yet it’s very intriguing; I applaud the writer for coming up with this idea. But, MUST YOU WRITE ABOUT ALL OF THESE WOMEN THAT HECTOR MET?? Come one, are you seriously saying that Hector is a magnet chick? Really? Come one. I can imagine that Hector is the kind of people that is nice to hang around with, and I can understand why Ying Li could be attracted to him, but Marie-Louise’s cousin? Pfft, please. Who are we kidding here?
All in all, I think this would make a very good read for those who are going through a little bit of a rough patch in life. It may not entirely solve everything, but if you’re wise enough, it could put your life into perspective and might make you a little bit more grateful (or possibly happy) for your life.
no page gets left behind 