Erik's Book Club: September Selections

I was bogged down in August, but I've roared back in September, reading five books during the month.  Even better is the fact that all five books were fantastic and worth reading.

First one I read is a book a dear friend recommended quite some time ago and I found an old copy that I brought with me to Indonesia.  Finally, I read it: Blink, by the prolific Malcolm Gladwell. Though it's one of his older works, it still resonates today. In a nutshell, Gladwell utilizes lessons from psychology and neuroscience to teach us how to make better decisions using our ability to focus extremely quickly on a few essential details. Highly recommended, though it was sad to read the chapter on the Amadou Diallo case.  15 years ago Gladwell provided a blueprint on how police could be better trained so they could avoid cases of accidental police killings of minorities, such as in the Diallo case, by training police to recognize bias and modify their policing. Of course, in the thoroughly unprogressive America, where war is waged against social progress, Gladwell's solutions have been seldom implemented and this horrible epidemic of police killing minorities has worsened. Read this book and you will definitely learn a great deal about yourself and decision making and how humans themselves are the greatest obstacle to a better society.

Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations and Political Operatives by Philip N. Howard was my second book.  Don't need to write a detailed review as the entire book is summed up in the title.  What I will say is that if you care about the democratic process in your country, this book is urgent and essential reading. If we don't follow Howard's suggestions for action, I fear democracy might be lost from the planet. It's a frightening and eye-opening book, but it is a piece of meticulous social scientific/historical research that I simply cannot recommend highly enough. I BEG YOU TO READ IT!

What would a month of my book club be without a work of modern Japanese literature?  September's offering is a collection of short stories by Haruki Murakami:  First Person Singular.  Each of the stories is in the first person and it is interesting to experience the first person narrative in each story as sometimes it is extremely difficult to tell whether it is a fictional narrator, Murakami himself, or a combination of the two who is speaking. I enjoyed all but one of the stories very much.  Unbelievably, my favorite story was the one featuring a talking monkey.  I usually dislike stories with talking animals, but Murakami has created a poignant story where the monkey is actually a well-developed and sympathetic character with a sad story to tell. The collection was wonderfully entertaining, in my opinion.

I also picked up a novella by Antoine de St. Exupery, who is most well-known for writing The Little Prince.  In September, I read Night Flight an adventure about air mail pilots in South America and the hazardous journeys they faced.  This novel is based on St. Exupery's experiences as a pilot in the treacherous days before commercial aviation even existed.  It's an exciting book laced with philosophical observations about life and death. The style of writing is a bit melodramatic, but it is a quick and thought-provoking read.  While I recommend Night Flight, I much prefer Wind, Sand, and Stars, St. Exupery's later memoir where he describes his exploits as a pioneering aviator.  Wind, Sand, and Stars is, in my opinion, a perfect combination of adventure and existential philosophy and one can see it in the origins of The Little Prince.  It remains one of my Ten Favorite Books of All Time and is a small treasure.  

Finally, the last book I completed in September was How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci. Stoicism has become a popular topic in the past decade or so.  Very simply put, the ancient Greek Stoic Philosophers examined four basic virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.  They tried to define them in order to outline how one should put them into practice to live a good life. This book examines Stoic philosophy in detail and provides tips and exercises and how these virtues can be practically applied and made relevant to our everyday lives. I highly recommend this book as a starting point into the extraordinary insight that the Stoics had about being human. If you want a great answer to the question "How should I live my life?" then pick up this book and delve into the Stoics. I am eager to learn more about Stoic philosophy after reading this book. 

Even if none of these books suits your fancy, please read something during the upcoming month.  One trait I have noticed in the people I know who are MAGA followers or are mired in misinformation, is that when I ask them what was the last book they have read, most have no answer at all.  So, please find a book from your bookstore or library to broaden your mind.  End of sermon, until next month.