Bibliosphere

 So, as of September 29, I have read 71 books in 2024. Twenty nine were in print, 42 audio. Five were in Spanish, the rest English. This year I've been learning that it's ok to put down a book you aren't enjoying, even if you never come back to it. I've put down a number of books this year, because I want to enjoy reading, and books that challenge me in a negative way are not a way to spend my down time.  The top books from August & September were (out of 16 finished during this time): The Teachers by Alexandra Robbins - This took me about 6 weeks to read due to... life stuff. But, it was well worth it and when things calmed down I finished it pretty quickly. Con el corazón abierto by Dalai Lama XIV - This one is important to me because it's the first book in Spanish that is for adults that I finished. Didn't understand all of it, but I did finish it. Owning Bipolar: How Patients and Families Can Take Control of Bipolar Disorder by Michael G. Pipich - I h...

 When I was younger, I read constantly. I was the kid who got caught with a book hiding under their desk, reading while the teacher talked. Slowly, as I got older, I read less and less. I'm not going to blame this entirely on technology, but the biggest drop off was when I got a smartphone, and instead of reading while I waited for lectures to begin, I browsed Instagram or played games. I also struggled more the that I had to read those intense scientific articles, almost burning out my desire to read for pleasure. I know I've talked about this before, but it was a sad point in my life when I struggled to read a 150 page book in the three 3 week check out and renewal periods at the library, when I grew up devouring 500 page books in just a few days. But anyway, I am back into the swing of things! I usually have 1-2 audiobooks and 1-2 print books going at once, so I'm never getting bored of the same topics. I've also started doing audiobooks in Spanish, and I'm tryin...

 I've been busily working my way through audiobooks in June (and some print books too). Here's what I've been reading: At Blackwater Pond by Mary Oliver (audiobook) - this one was special in two ways. One, it was my first audiobook of poetry and two, it was read by the author. Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way by Dan Buettner (audiobook) 9 Things Successful People Do by Heidi Grant Halvorson - I read this in one sitting at the library The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel  - I read this on a recommendation, and it was really interesting. I know little about Judaism, but I thought it was a good book. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (audiobook) - this one I waited for a while, because it was the most popular book at the library system last year, and it had a loooooooong hold list. Superlife: The 5 Forces That Will Make You Healthy, Fit, an...

 I love to do a little book report on what I've been reading. May and June were good months for audiobooks. I have taken a liking to listening to them not only while I walk, but also while I work, or in place of Netflix (which I do mostly just listen to). But here are my recent reads: The Lost Family by Libby Copeland - really interesting, had some points I hadn't considered An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World by Patrisse Cullors (audiobook) Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by A.J. Jacobs (audiobook) - this one was short, a little goofy, but a fun one 50 Ways to Rewire Your Anxious Brain: Simple Skills to Soothe Anxiety and Create New Neural Pathways to Calm by Maha Zayed Hoffman, Catherine M. Pittman (audiobook) I Am Malala by Christina Lamb, Malala Yousafzai (audiobook) - I actually did not know much about Malala's story, or about the situation in Pakistan, so it was interesting Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut's Guide to Achiev...

 I recently listed to a book of poetry as an audiobook, read by the author. It was one of my favorite authors, and one of my favorite poems was included.  Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean— the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down— who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Ma...

 Ok, so March was a blockbuster month for books for me. I finished 7 books for a total of over 2000 pages (which does include some conversion of audiobooks). Here's what I read: The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner (audiobook) - stoking the fuel of my interest in the Blue Zones. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach - this took longer than I expected to get through for whatever reason. Awestruck: How Embracing Wonder Can Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Connected by Jonah Paquette (audiobook) Everyday Something Has Tried to Kill Me, and Has Failed: Notes from Periracial America by Kim McLarin The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (audiobook) - I'm hoping to use some of this in my tidying next week. What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety by Cole Kazdin - this was a favorite, one of the top books of the year. So well written and engaging. Rest Is Resistance:...

 Ok, so my reading goal for 2024 is 52 books (1 per week). I have read 12 books as of March 1, which is ahead of the pace I need to be. I generally have an audiobook and a print book going at once. So here's what I've read in January and February 2024: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson The Thing Explainer by Randall Monroe (author of one of my fave comics, XKCD) The Deepest Well by Dr Nadine Burke Harris (highly recommended for anyone working in a social service position) A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver All Cats are on the Autism Spectrum by Kathy Hoopman Mala's Cat (audiobook) by Mala Kacenberg (this was extremely hard to get through because it was pretty graphic in describing the Holocaust) Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall Cost of Living: Essays by Emily Maloney (I think this is actually my least favorite book I've read this year) Success Under Stress (audiobook) by Sharon Melnick You Are Here by Thích Nhất Hạnh Pageboy (audiobook) by Elliot Page Iki...

 I recently listened to an audiobook called "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life." It was a short little book, but very interesting, and honestly covered a lot in its 3.5 hours. It was also very cross-culturally translated, because it's a book from Spain, translated to English, about Japanese culture. But I enjoyed listening to it. I feel like this fits with my very strong interest in the Blue Zones. I'm actually reading The Book about Blue Zones (the original one), or listening to it I guess. I'm glad that my library is so full of good resources to learn about these topics. Top takeaways? Eat well, socialize with those you care about, and find your purpose in life (your Ikigai). Good little read.

 To track my reading, I use an app called StoryGraph. I highly recommend it as an alternative to Good Reads. It has lots of neat features and has great data visualization, perfect for your inner nerd. This year, I read more than I have probably since high school (if we're only counting reading for fun). While I've always appreciated nonfiction, it's become my one and only reading genre. Within nonfiction though, there's tons of options. I developed a taste for memoirs this year, reading 11 of them. I also read some poetry for the first time in quite a while, and got back into audiobooks (arguably the best format for memoirs, as often the author reads them). For 2024, I set my goal at 52 books for the year. I'm already on track, with two books finished in the first week of the year. Wish me lots of cozy books, lots of learning, and lots of enjoyment out of books.

This year I read many books, including many memoirs. I read three memoirs that were about self help - one general and two about specific kinds of self help. The books were Help Me by Marianne Power, 10% Happier by Dan Harris, and The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan. Each was written by a journalist, each about the same length (I will admit that 10% Happier was an audiobook, but equivalent length).  I like reading self-help books. There's no end to what we can learn about ourselves, and looking at it through others' eyes is always worthwhile, even if we eventually disregard their advice. I read other self-help books this year, but these were the three that were styled as memoirs, with more personal connection. Overall, The Gratitude Diaries was my favorite, easily. I've been practicing gratitude for a while, but it was really good for me to see the true impact of the practice. Help Me was arguably the one I looked forward to the most, and it was even one that I asked the ...

 I've been busy reading this fall! I've read over 50 books in 2023, between audio and print, and I have to say that this is the most I've read since... middle school? High school? I've spent so many hours curled up with a good book and it's been lovely. So here are my books since the last post: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Drs. Amelia Nagoski, Emily Nagoski  The Things We Make by Bill Hammock (audiobook) The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan (got its very own post) Swallowed Light by Michael Wasson  Art for Self-Care: Create Powerful, Healing Art by Listening to Your Inner Voice by Jessica Swift  Stressilient: How to Beat Stress and Build Resilience by Sam Akbar  10% Happier by Dan Harris (audiobook) Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew  How to succeed with your Home Owners Association : the complete HOA guide for owners, boards, and managers by Linda Perret (read in two sittings) Oak Flat by Lauren...

 I finished this book in early November and I found it quite inspiring. I read a lot of self help books, and some are better than others. This one is definitely in the better category. I thought it was a really great look at gratitude and practicing it. There were quite a few things I really liked. For one, it wasn't just memoir style and it wasn't just research style, there were a mix of interviews with experts and personal experiences. I also liked that it talked about putting gratitude actually into practice and how it effected those around her. It did inspire me to set an additional time for reflection in my gratitude app, as well as to try my best to find positives, and to mention them to others. It is a challenge to balance positive vibes with toxic positivity, but I'm sure I'll find the balance as time goes on. It has definitely gotten easier to pick out things during the day of, oh, I'm grateful for this, that feeling, however subtle, is gratitude. I'm e...

 My last book post was in July, and I've read quite a lot since then. I track my books in StoryGraph, a website that's an alternative to Good Reads (honestly I think it's better). Here's what I read between late July and now: #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, by Lisa Charleyboy, Mary Beth Leatherdale  Anxiety at Work: 8 Strategies to Help Teams Build Resilience, Handle Uncertainty, and Get Stuff Done by Chester Elton, Adrian Gostick (audiobook) Office Zen: 101 Ways to Make Your Work Space Calm, Happy, and Productive by Emma Silverman Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice by Brené Brown (audiobook) How to Deal with Angry People by Dr Ryan Martin How to be an Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy (audiobook) Simple Giving by Jennifer Iacovelli Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (audiobook) White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism...

 I have read so many books recently that, rather than make separate reviews, I thought I'd do one big post. Here's what I read since mid-June: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfeild Jamison Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by J. Mark G. Williams The Emotionary by Eden Sher Intuitive Eating for Life by Jenna Hollenstein Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome by Ty Tashiro Use Your Difference to Make a Difference: How to Connect and Communicate in a Cross-Cultural World by Tayo Rockson Exhale: 40 Breathwork Exercises to Help You Find Your Calm, Supercharge Your Health, and Perform at Your Best by Richie Bostock Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After by Chloé Hayden Whew, that's nine books! Plus a couple cookbooks on the side, not going to count those. Two were audiobooks, but the rest we...

 So one of my recent reads was "Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity," by Paola Ramos. The closest word I have to describe it is a term from grad school, ethnography, which is basically the in depth and immersive study of a culture. The book is a series of interviews with Latinx people, asking them a bunch of different questions on identity, experiences, and background.  The writing was very well done, with diverse interviews mixed in with facts, demographics, history, and current events. It was a really good overview of the Latinx community and I'd recommend it to anyone looking to explore Latinx people in the US more.

 I am a hardcore lover of paper books. No preference between hard and soft cover (other than soft cover travels better), but a physical book is my favorite way to read. Recently I took a trip and I "read" two audiobooks. Now, I'm a firm believer that audiobooks count as reading. I totally respect that this is the best way for some people to read, including those who drive a lot, those with low vision or blindness, or those who just like it better. But for me, there's a little disconnect. Since I prefer reading physical books so much, audiobooks feel weird to me, like it's not real. Don't get me wrong, it's fabulous for my Storygraph stats, but somehow it feels off. Like it's not a real book. Reconciling this is something on my mind, as I've considered adding more audiobooks to my repertoire. It does come with the same questions as podcasts of, what do I do with my hands? Since I don't drive long distances regularly, I don't have the ability...

 Recently I read a book that was less self help and more about the concept of self help - Help Me: My Perfectly Disastrous Journey through the World of Self-Help, by Marianne Power. Overall I found the book interesting, but there were definitely points where I went, do I need to keep reading this? The summary is that Marianne goes through a self help book a month (sort of) and write about it, creating this book. In practice it got messy and she went through a lot of trials with it. I sometimes cringed at what she was doing, because while I would consider myself a pretty regular reader of self help, these books she was using were out there. Obviously they have a following, so some people ascribe to them, but Marianne really did. It was written really well, even if I didn't like all of the content. It was conversational and engaging, and fairly fast-paced. Overall a decent book. 3.5/5.

 Recently I read a book because I knew that it would challenge me. While the language was a little bit more thesaurus-like than I usually read, it was more the content that I challenged myself with. This book was The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions by Andrew Hacker, a professor of mathematics. First, let me say, I am a strong proponent of math (and STEM in general) education, and it's a huge part of my job. I also love math, and it was a really big reason that I picked engineering over pure science (not to say there isn't math in biology, it's just different). So I expected this book to challenge my views on how people should be taught mathematics. I actually found myself agreeing with most of the book. My biggest stumbling block was the section where it talked about there being too many STEM graduates, over what I've always heard of there not being enough. They presented a set of compelling statistics, from seemingly trustworthy sources. The book is a few years old...

 I recently finished a new book, called A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future , by Perri Klass. I'd recommend the book to anyone with an interest in public health or history, especially history of medicine. It wasn't super technical, but did include enough details to be interesting about the specific advances in medicine that decreased child and infant mortality. The first couple of chapters were a little morose, describing the history of childhood mortality, but the book became more hopeful as it continued. Overall a good read.

 I posted a few weeks ago about reading some new books on mindfulness and meditation: Start Here Now by Susan Piver and Start Here, Start Now by Buhante Gunaratana. Both were short and small, making them fast reads. Indeed, I finished the first one two days after picking it up, probably a new record for my adult life.  Overall, I found them both interesting, but not entirely relevant. I don't intend to get into Buddhism meditation in a strict way, so the first one was a nice intro to one specific kind of meditation, it wasn't really what I was looking for. The second was a littler more generalized and I found it more useful. It wasn't as strict, but still incorporated a lot of aspects of Buddhist meditation. I enjoyed some of the helpful hints to improve meditation. Overall, I'd like to continue to develop my meditation. Both of these books talked about longer periods of meditation than I usually do (I'm at about 5 minutes a day), and one even had the outline of a w...