“Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”
Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE
Great quick read, especially if you l“Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”
Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE
Great quick read, especially if you like these kinds of books. Reminded me of James Clear's Atomic Habits, but snappier, and less focused on process—more on the why.
Very quotable, can see myself revisiting this one.
“If you want to have more, you have to become more. Success is not something you pursue. What you pursue will elude you; it can be like trying to chase butterflies. Success is something you attract by the person you become.”
“There is a point in every race when a rider encounters his real opponent and understands that it's himself. In my most painful moments on the bike, I am at my most curious, and I wonder each and every time how I will respond. Will I discover my innermost weakness, or will I seek out my innermost strength?" — Lance Armstrong...more
"If happiness always depends on something expected in the future, we are chasing a will-o'-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until the future, and "If happiness always depends on something expected in the future, we are chasing a will-o'-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until the future, and ourselves, vanish into the abyss of death."
Watts was amazingly prescient when he wrote this 70 years ago, it is just as relatable today. And quite the trip! Basically, being human is to be caught in a constant mental feedback loops from which there is (essentially) no escape.
“This, then, is the human problem: there is a price to be paid for every increase in consciousness. We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. By remembering the past we can plan for the future. But the ability to plan for the future is offset by the 'ability' to dread pain and to fear of the unknown. Furthermore, the growth of an acute sense of the past and future gives us a corresponding dim sense of the present. In other words, we seem to reach a point where the advantages of being conscious are outweighed by its disadvantages, where extreme sensitivity makes us unadaptable.”
This book is incredible on so many levels, and so very timely, especially for minds caught in quarantine:
“Indeed, one of the highest pleasures is to be more or less unconscious of one’s own existence, to be absorbed in interesting sights, sounds, places, and people. Conversely, one of the greatest pains is to be self-conscious, to feel unabsorbed and cut off from the community and the surrounding world.”
“What we have to discover is that there is no safety, that seeking is painful, and that when we imagine that we have found it, we don’t like it.”
Free from clutching at themselves the hands can handle; free from looking after themselves the eyes can see; free from trying to understand itself thought can think. In such feeling, seeing, and thinking life requires no future to complete itself nor explanation to justify itself. In this moment it is finished....more
Sarcastic sentient murder machine programmed for destruction strikes again!
The longest in the series, some budding relationships are fleshed out a biSarcastic sentient murder machine programmed for destruction strikes again!
The longest in the series, some budding relationships are fleshed out a bit more including that between the memorable ART and Murderbot.
A very fun space romp, per usual Wells.
“'Just remember you’re not alone here.'” I never know what to say to that. I am actually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.”
“I wasn’t sure exactly what 'okay' would involve, but I was willing to settle for 'unmurdered.'”
“(Normal = neutral expression concealing existential despair and brain-crushing boredom.)”...more
One of the most engrossing autobiographies I've read.
“I had experienced absolute freedom—I had felt that my body was without bouAbsolutely incredible.
One of the most engrossing autobiographies I've read.
“I had experienced absolute freedom—I had felt that my body was without boundaries, limitless; that pain didn’t matter, that nothing mattered at all—and it intoxicated me.”
“I came to believe in the idea of parallel realities. I think that the reality we see now is a certain frequency, and that we're all on the same frequency, so we're visible to each other, but that it's possible to change frequencies. To enter a different reality. And I think that there are hundreds of these realities.”...more
If you enjoy a good nonfiction spy thriller, check these two out for sure.
Even though I only gave Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies 3 stars, it was still extremely intriguing. I think I was just spied out at the time, as it was my third Macintyre book in less than two months.
“Eccentricity is one of those English traits that look like frailty but mask a concealed strength; individuality disguised as oddity.”
“Secrets are the currency of intelligence work, and among professional spies a little calculated indiscretion raises the exchange rate.”...more
After letting this one marinate a bit, and with the pandemic still raging, this book has become even more timely and important. Trying to take every wAfter letting this one marinate a bit, and with the pandemic still raging, this book has become even more timely and important. Trying to take every word to heart.
*All, save a very few, find life at an end just when they’re getting ready to live.*
“They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn.”
“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today. You are arranging what lies in fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”...more
**UPDATE: Knocking it down a star after giving it some breathing room. Way over hyped and very cringe. Felt salacious/scandalous for the sake of atten**UPDATE: Knocking it down a star after giving it some breathing room. Way over hyped and very cringe. Felt salacious/scandalous for the sake of attention / "social commentary." Pass.**
A dark, modern version of Lolita. In fact, Nabakov is referenced frequently throughout, and the titular name even comes from him (see below).
If you had the brass to make it through the entirety of Lisa Taddeo's Three Women, you'll find many similar points in Russell's book paralleling a true version of a teacher/student "love" story.
Grotesque at times, towards the end I just wanted it to be over. Still, I completed it in one weekend.
Come and be worshipped, come and be caressed. My Dark Vanessa, crimson-barred, my blest My Admirable butterfly! Explain How could you, in the gloam of Lilac Lane, Have let uncouth, hysterical John Shade Blubber your face, and ear, and shoulder blade?
Not bad, not amazing either — although I think it's pretty awesome that her ex husband and wife (Abby Wombach) play on the same co-ed soccer team. CoiNot bad, not amazing either — although I think it's pretty awesome that her ex husband and wife (Abby Wombach) play on the same co-ed soccer team. Coincidentally, I read Wolfpack (Wombach's book) last summer and had no idea they were married until picking this one up.
A real life modern family.
I also agreed with a lot of her points on how religion tries to fit god into a box, or glass, the same with sexuality.
"When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves so completely from the world's expectations that they are full of nothing but themselves. What we need are women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done. She lets the rest burn."...more
What did I miss? I feel like I read a different book than those with glowing reviews.
Another case of an important piece of history battered into a hypWhat did I miss? I feel like I read a different book than those with glowing reviews.
Another case of an important piece of history battered into a hyperbolic, dry and exhausting narrative.
Great man, great story, I won't dispute that. The author just comes across a little too much like an amped frat-bro hyping the bro-lord he idolizes. Much like A Woman of No Importance, this book had elements of a great story, with disappointing delivery. It felt repetitive, and probably could have been *at least* 100 pages shorter.
All that aside, it was very interesting and a solid 3 star read. To be fair, I just don't think much in the way of military biographies can come close to the excellence that was Chernow's Grant, or even Manchester's American Caesar....more
We've come a long way ... and yet ... have we really?
“How could so many intelligent people be so grievously wrong for such an extended period of time?We've come a long way ... and yet ... have we really?
“How could so many intelligent people be so grievously wrong for such an extended period of time? How could they ignore so much overwhelming evidence that contradicted their most basic theories? These questions, too, deserve their own discipline: the sociology of error.”...more
“I was learning the craft of poetry, which really was an intensive version of what my mother had taught me all those years ago—the craft of writing as“I was learning the craft of poetry, which really was an intensive version of what my mother had taught me all those years ago—the craft of writing as the art of thinking. Poetry aims for an economy of truth—loose and useless words must be discarded, and I found that these loose and useless words were not separate from loose and useless thoughts.”
Lots to chew on.
“You are growing into consciousness, and my wish for you is that you feel no need to constrict yourself to make other people comfortable.”
“I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.”...more
The seemingly unlimited resources of the police department didn't quite add up, but ifEngaging and atmospheric.
Also way too long—needed a good edit.
The seemingly unlimited resources of the police department didn't quite add up, but if you squint, it doesn't really matter.
“Some people are little Chernobyls, shimmering with silent, spreading poison: get anywhere near them and every breath you take will wreck you from the inside out.”
“Regardless of the advertising campaigns may tell us, we can't have it all. Sacrifice is not an option, or an anachronism; it's a fact of life. We all cut off our own limbs to burn on some altar. The crucial thing is to choose an altar that's worth it and a limb you can accept losing. To go consenting to the sacrifice.”...more
At times, this was completely amazing and a five-star read. Gorgeous poetry, lyrical verse, ephemeral and light. At other points, it was just totally At times, this was completely amazing and a five-star read. Gorgeous poetry, lyrical verse, ephemeral and light. At other points, it was just totally beyond strange. I guess that makes it good in some ways, but it also averaged it out to a three-star read for me, although I did really enjoy parts of it.
Best to be read in little bits.
“But, in the end, joy cannot fend off evil. Joy can only remind you why you fight.”
sudden convulsion of faith, of belief / behe- moth had never truly been alone / not with so many allies in earth, sky, and water / that was not emptiness / that was not the stars bounded by nothing / and below / across a dark plain / a building that burned and never turned to ash / a heart that beat and never died
throb on a cusp of reed, clutch water-lily stalks / cling hidden against / the drift warp / of swirling thick water / infinitesimal on the edge / of the infinite...more
“How could you hide from a murderer who lives under your skin?”
“The past had a perfection that the futureFun campy, GORY romp.
Perfect summer reading.
“How could you hide from a murderer who lives under your skin?”
“The past had a perfection that the future could never hold.”
“Do you want to know the best, most effective transmitter of contagion known to man?
Edgerton asks me with a pinprick of mad light dancing in each iris.
It's love. Love is the absolute killer. Care. The milk of human kindness. People try so hard to save the people they love that they end up catching the contagion themselves. They give comfort, deliver aid, and in doing so they acquire the infection. Then those people are cared for by others and they get infected. On and on it goes. He shrugs. But that's people. People care too much. They love at all costs. And so they pay the ultimate price.” ...more
This book has a slight edge over The Hot Zone IMO, although they're both exceptional nonfiction reads.
Not sure it Exhausting — yet essential reading.
This book has a slight edge over The Hot Zone IMO, although they're both exceptional nonfiction reads.
Not sure it was particularly wise to read these two back-to-back this month, but they really did put things into perspective.
Thankfully we are not currently facing an Ebola outbreak that averages a BLOODY death toll of between 25-90%.
So on one hand, I'm relieved that the average death rate of the current pandemic is MUCH lower, and way less gory than that of Ebola. On the other hand, the discussion on the infectiousness of viruses and how they are the ultimate killer was pretty stressful.
I'm ready to take a break from Ebola books, that's for sure, although Preston masterfully covers this topic with amazing panache.
*Quotes*
“Ebola virus moves from one person to the next by following the deepest and most personal ties of love, care, and duty that join people to one another and most clearly define us as human. The virus exploits the best parts of human nature as a means of travel from one person to the next. In this sense the virus is a true monster.”
“It is to say that history turns on unnoticed things. Small, hidden events can have ripple effects, and the ripples can grow. A child touches a bat … a woman riding on a bus bumps against someone who isn’t feeling well … an email gets buried … a patient isn’t found … and suddenly the future arrives.”
“One way to understand viruses is to think about them as biological machines. A virus is a wet nanomachine, a tiny, complicated, slightly fuzzy mechanism, which is rubbery, flexible, wobbly, and often a little bit imprecise in its operation—a microscopic nugget of squishy parts. Viruses are subtle, logical, tricky, reactive, devious, opportunistic. They are constantly evolving, their forms steadily changing as time passes. Like all kinds of life, viruses possess a relentless drive to reproduce themselves so that they can persist through time.”...more
Just realized this was my 5th Gladwell book, and I've rated them all 4 stars.
They are all equally interesting and provide a sweeping look at a wide raJust realized this was my 5th Gladwell book, and I've rated them all 4 stars.
They are all equally interesting and provide a sweeping look at a wide range of topics.
*However* my only criticism is the same for this book as for all his others — they are extremely random and the "conclusions" are not always very solid. Bit of a stretch in many parts, but still very entertaining.
After all, who doesn't love a good underdog story!?
“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.”
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
“As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once put it: 'The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.'"...more
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