What I've been reading ...
Let's take a moment for me to orient you to what's here
On the pages linked to this one there are dozens of book reviews.
To make finding what will interest you easier, I've given you two browsing pages (the Book Shelves) -- one for fiction, the other for non-fiction. If you hover your cursor over the title, my rating of the book appears. Then there are two pages of reviews (right .... one for fiction, one for non-fiction). I've arranged all the books in each category in alphabetical order by author.
I approach my book reviews from the perspective of my subjective experience of reading the book. There is a bit of a synopsis of the book there too, but you will figure out how I feel about it.
Here are the links:
Fiction Bookshelf
Non-Fiction Bookshelf
Fiction Reviews
Non-Fiction Reviews
But that's not all that's here on these pages. Immediately below is a review of my most recent reads. Below that is the title of the book I am currently reading.
And then we get to my faves. There is a memoir I really recommend (and a couple of other memoirs too). Then there are my top picks for each of the fiction and non-fiction categories. Finally, there's an interesting grouping of four books that have helped me come to terms with a perplexing social/ political issue.
To make finding what will interest you easier, I've given you two browsing pages (the Book Shelves) -- one for fiction, the other for non-fiction. If you hover your cursor over the title, my rating of the book appears. Then there are two pages of reviews (right .... one for fiction, one for non-fiction). I've arranged all the books in each category in alphabetical order by author.
I approach my book reviews from the perspective of my subjective experience of reading the book. There is a bit of a synopsis of the book there too, but you will figure out how I feel about it.
Here are the links:
Fiction Bookshelf
Non-Fiction Bookshelf
Fiction Reviews
Non-Fiction Reviews
But that's not all that's here on these pages. Immediately below is a review of my most recent reads. Below that is the title of the book I am currently reading.
And then we get to my faves. There is a memoir I really recommend (and a couple of other memoirs too). Then there are my top picks for each of the fiction and non-fiction categories. Finally, there's an interesting grouping of four books that have helped me come to terms with a perplexing social/ political issue.
My most recent non-fiction review
GRAY, John
Isaiah Berlin: An Interpretation of His Thought
★★★★☆
There are a lot of words in this book. For some reason I noticed that. Somehow it seemed much more than necessary.
There are also profound ideas in this book too, ideas which have changed my perspective on things.
As a contemporary British philosopher John Gray writes his interpretation of the contribution of mid-20th Century British philosopher, Isaiah Berlin. Berlin is noted for his analysis on the concept of liberty (or freedom). That analysis has to do with values, the pluralistic nature of them. Berlin identifies that the good that comes from one value cannot be measured against the good from a different value. There is no rational, common scale to do that measurement. Likewise we cannot sum the total amount of good from one set of values to compare to the total of another set of values … again, there’s just no scale to do so. Unfortunately, while good can come from exercising a particular value some harm can ensue from that act as well. Different values an individual holds can also come in conflict with each other. When they do there’s no rational way to make the decision which to act on. But we have to act. That act comes from our own will; such is the foundation of personal freedom as our actions cannot be rationally determined but are made as a personal choice. Furthermore, our sense of self (who we are as a person) is created out of those choices.
Did you get through that? (It was only 200 words).
What would ever motivate me to read a 200 page book expounding on that core idea?
So, here goes. John Gray was a professor of philosophy at Oxford University at the same time that our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, got his Master of Philosophy degree there. Isaiah Berlin was a prominently influential academic at Oxford a generation before. Carney is shepherding Canada in a vastly different approach to our place in the world. While pragmatic, it is also based on values. This approach must have come from a particular philosophical position, one he would have been immersed in at Oxford when he took that Master’s degree.
Gray writes in the style of academic rigour, situating Berlin in the context of the history of ideas within the philosophical literature. Much of the book is about the nuances and differences in Berlin’s approach with other philosophers. There is value in that, unfortunately just one that conflicts with ease of reading for those not privy to that very particular intellectual world. Gray does include many lengthy quotes from Berlin’s essays. Berlin’s writing style is more direct making his ideas more accessible than are Gray’s interpretation of them.
In other words. This book is a rather tough slog.
There are also profound ideas in this book too, ideas which have changed my perspective on things.
As a contemporary British philosopher John Gray writes his interpretation of the contribution of mid-20th Century British philosopher, Isaiah Berlin. Berlin is noted for his analysis on the concept of liberty (or freedom). That analysis has to do with values, the pluralistic nature of them. Berlin identifies that the good that comes from one value cannot be measured against the good from a different value. There is no rational, common scale to do that measurement. Likewise we cannot sum the total amount of good from one set of values to compare to the total of another set of values … again, there’s just no scale to do so. Unfortunately, while good can come from exercising a particular value some harm can ensue from that act as well. Different values an individual holds can also come in conflict with each other. When they do there’s no rational way to make the decision which to act on. But we have to act. That act comes from our own will; such is the foundation of personal freedom as our actions cannot be rationally determined but are made as a personal choice. Furthermore, our sense of self (who we are as a person) is created out of those choices.
Did you get through that? (It was only 200 words).
What would ever motivate me to read a 200 page book expounding on that core idea?
So, here goes. John Gray was a professor of philosophy at Oxford University at the same time that our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, got his Master of Philosophy degree there. Isaiah Berlin was a prominently influential academic at Oxford a generation before. Carney is shepherding Canada in a vastly different approach to our place in the world. While pragmatic, it is also based on values. This approach must have come from a particular philosophical position, one he would have been immersed in at Oxford when he took that Master’s degree.
Gray writes in the style of academic rigour, situating Berlin in the context of the history of ideas within the philosophical literature. Much of the book is about the nuances and differences in Berlin’s approach with other philosophers. There is value in that, unfortunately just one that conflicts with ease of reading for those not privy to that very particular intellectual world. Gray does include many lengthy quotes from Berlin’s essays. Berlin’s writing style is more direct making his ideas more accessible than are Gray’s interpretation of them.
In other words. This book is a rather tough slog.
My most recent fiction review
RICHLER, Mordecai
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
★★★★☆
What does it take for a man to be a man, to be admired for what he has accomplished?
When we first meet Duddy Kravitz, seemingly the worst of a gang of high school boys, he doesn’t know. A few chapters into the book Duddy’s grandfather gives him the answer and Duddy latches onto his advice. Relentlessly so, despite adversity. Duddy is determined to be that man whom others will admire and his grandpa told him what he needed to do to achieve that. In this story of his apprenticeship he’s not even legally an adult yet, but he is determined he will get there, and do so as quickly as possible.
You gotta respect that eh?
The story of Duddy’s apprenticeship takes us deep into old Montreal in the mid 20th Century. We walk the streets of the iconic neighbourhood of Mile End with him. Duddy’s story immerses us in the Jewish culture of Montreal, not the isolated Hassidic culture but those living and trying to succeed in the world of the goy. His journey also takes him up into the recreation lands of the Laurentian’s to the north. I loved this aspect of the novel because two years ago, I also walked the same Montreal streets and did that journey into those mountains and lakes.
As readers we want to cheer for the protagonist on a hero’s journey, the facing of adversity, the trying of this and that to succeed against all odds. However, we’re left with deep ambivalence about Duddy. By the end of his apprenticeship we fear and loathe his success rather than celebrate it. Even his grandfather doesn’t seem very pleased. I'm even glad Richler never wrote a sequel to the novel to tell us where Duddy went from there.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Donald Trump as I read Duddy Kravitz (although thinking about Trump is the hazard of watching the Canadian news these days). Apparently, Donald Trump has amassed enormous additional wealth through the manner in which he has handled his presidency. Like Duddy he ceaselessly pursues the goal of personal enrichment and to be admired.
Both Duddy and Donald reveal the treachery of what it is to have a goal, to relentlessly work to achieve it without regard for anything else, the shallowness and loneliness of it all.
When we first meet Duddy Kravitz, seemingly the worst of a gang of high school boys, he doesn’t know. A few chapters into the book Duddy’s grandfather gives him the answer and Duddy latches onto his advice. Relentlessly so, despite adversity. Duddy is determined to be that man whom others will admire and his grandpa told him what he needed to do to achieve that. In this story of his apprenticeship he’s not even legally an adult yet, but he is determined he will get there, and do so as quickly as possible.
You gotta respect that eh?
The story of Duddy’s apprenticeship takes us deep into old Montreal in the mid 20th Century. We walk the streets of the iconic neighbourhood of Mile End with him. Duddy’s story immerses us in the Jewish culture of Montreal, not the isolated Hassidic culture but those living and trying to succeed in the world of the goy. His journey also takes him up into the recreation lands of the Laurentian’s to the north. I loved this aspect of the novel because two years ago, I also walked the same Montreal streets and did that journey into those mountains and lakes.
As readers we want to cheer for the protagonist on a hero’s journey, the facing of adversity, the trying of this and that to succeed against all odds. However, we’re left with deep ambivalence about Duddy. By the end of his apprenticeship we fear and loathe his success rather than celebrate it. Even his grandfather doesn’t seem very pleased. I'm even glad Richler never wrote a sequel to the novel to tell us where Duddy went from there.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Donald Trump as I read Duddy Kravitz (although thinking about Trump is the hazard of watching the Canadian news these days). Apparently, Donald Trump has amassed enormous additional wealth through the manner in which he has handled his presidency. Like Duddy he ceaselessly pursues the goal of personal enrichment and to be admired.
Both Duddy and Donald reveal the treachery of what it is to have a goal, to relentlessly work to achieve it without regard for anything else, the shallowness and loneliness of it all.
What I'm currently reading
A highly recommended memoir.
The Dark Threads (★★★★★) is a memoir of an unnecessary and traumatic journey of a young woman through the mental health treatment system. I have the privilege of getting to know this author (we met on Twitter no less!). We are beta-readers for each other and email pals with daily correspondence. Her memoir depicts psychiatric diagnosis and treatment at it's worse. It is horrifying to read. But she has survived.
I have also pictured below a couple of other memoirs which I really enjoyed.
I have also pictured below a couple of other memoirs which I really enjoyed.
And some other fascinating memoirs...
My Fiction Faves
You can find the reviews for these books with the other fiction reviews through this link
My Non-Fiction Faves
You can find the reviews for these books with the other non- fiction reviews through this link.
A final thought ...
While I worked as a psychologist I didn't have the time or mental energy to read. The books reviewed on the following pages have come into my life over the last seven years. I've found myself expanded by them in understanding the human condition and the context in which we explore our subjective experience of living the life we have. I hope you will find here the books that will do that for you too.