10 Books
See allAn interesting read, and certainly widely recommended! I was suprised to find that most of the ideas in this book were not super revolutionary - though a friend pointed out that this book was published some time ago, and the ideas were very new back then.
It's certianly a very motivating read. Even if certain points are repeated many times, and it can feel a tiny condescending at times, it makes convincing points, and importantly, actually gives a sense of optimism that things can actually be changed if you make the right changes. No book is without its imperfections, but I think if we could push the narritive of this book, rather than the shaming and blaming we are used in media, the world would be a much better place.
Picked this up as a recommendation from 80,000 hours. Interesting read philosphilcally and theoretically, and for sure quite enlightening. It does get a bit soppy at points, but maybe people need big reasons to save the world y'know lol. (Personally, I don't share some of the sentiments, but it's always nice to read about someone so enthusiastic about something!)
Mostly interesting but a bit of a slog at some points. Valuable read for those into effective alturism though!
Contains spoilers
Having suffered just through the moon and sixpence, imagine my disappointment when starting this book, finding it oddly familiar, and then reading the words "many years ago i wrote a book called the moon and sixpence"
So yeah, my expectations weren't high.
But? I'm happy to report that this was a much more engaging reading experience - we seem to have figured out how humans work (:'D) while some elements of the characters remain unrealistic, it happily blends into the rest of common fiction where the unrralostic traits of these characters seems to drive its story. The book doesn't set itself out to be a grand story, but much more like a casual observation through casual life, and there's something oddly engaging about that. I imagine it would not have been much at the the time of publication, but fifty+ years on, it's an intricate window into how it may have been. The author remarks that while the story does not have a conclusion, every character has their success in some ways. Each character also never truly gets what it wants, and while depressing, I guess it's a realistic message about life.
Though again, no razors nor edges in this book.
Man runs away from partner to go to paris to do something different with their life that their partner cannot understand AND is stubborn and cannot be convinced by anyone else that they should not do that... AGAIN? Can we not write about something else lol
Cringe behaviour of characters in this book has helped me get over haunting memories of things I did myself in school. Cheaper than therapy.
An interesting message! And for anyone who is not familiar with the concept, it's worth considering. It's probably not to be taken literally for most people, but it's certainly got its value.
The problem with this book is that it tries to tell you the same message 30 times. Sounded worryingly like my own Asian dad lecturing me about the same thing and going around in circles LOL geez dad ok i get it