The Month(s) in Books - Jan & Feb 2019

Being unemployed has meant a lot of things but the most satisfying one for me so far is just how much more reading I’ve been able to get done. Though unemployment has only been one factor.

Enter Audiobooks

Late last year I took the audible trial and soon got pulled into the world of audiobooks. I did not end up continuing with the subscription (cost-cutting!), that has not kept me from audiobooks in general. Not all books can be listened to though; some formats are better for audio narration than others. In this short period I’ve come across a few books with incredibly good narrators and others that were just not so nice to listen to. Some books, in my opinion, can be made better by the narrator. I haven’t heard enough to have a favourite narrator - perhaps once I have I will write a post on what qualities appeal to me in a narrator. And may be one more post on best audiobooks heard.

Jan & Feb 2019 in Books

There are only so many books worth reading and even fewer books worth writing about. So while I read a total of 13 books (+1 book that I abandoned) in the two months, I won’t talk about all of them here. You can see the entire list, and follow me if you care enough, on Goodreads.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This book is a splendid example of how a well-written character, just a single one, can transform a rather simple plot. Mark Whatney finds himself abandoned on Mars after a mission gone wrong. Presumed dead, his wits is all he’s got. Whatney’s perspective, his journal entries, are narrated in first person. I loved Whatney from the get-go. He’s a man of science, self-aware, displays incredible mental strength but isn’t immune to bouts of depression. His brazen sense of humour is a nice little touch. Weir does an incredible job of balancing popular sci-fi with hard science, which explains the popularity of the book across audiences. I’m glad I didn’t watch the movie before reading the book, not that the movie is bad, it’s actually pretty good; it’s just that the main character is much more developed in the book.

Lost & Founder: The Mostly Awful, Sometimes Awesome Truth about Building a Tech Startup by Rand Fishkin

I first came across Rand Fishkin & Moz at my first job, researching SEO which was a key customer acquisition channel for the company. I would pour over the articles, watch the whiteboard Friday videos, sweared by the Beginner’s Guide to SEO and marvelled at the quantity of literature available. So when a couple of months ago this book showed up somewhere in my feed, highly recommended, I knew I should pick it up. And I’m glad I did. Lost & Founder is hands down one of the best startup books I have read. Fishkin is incredibly candid about the mistakes he made and the challenges he faced, no holds barred. He talks about the advantages and perils of venture capital, hiring snafus, managing people and a bunch of other things with the wisdom of experience. His advice is highly practical and I will probably be referring to my notes very often.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend whose previous recommendations have all been brilliant. And this time was no different. I was a bit unsure at first, I had heard good things about Gawande, mostly related to The Checklist Manifesto (which I shamefully admit, I am yet to read), but hadn’t read enough to have an opinion on his work. So I started with no expectations to speak of. Gawande is a talented writer; his style lies on the intersection of science, personal anecdotes and deliberate thought. Gawande argues for a more open-minded approach to geriatric care. What do old people value in their last days? How do they want to live? Are the desperate decisions we sometimes take to prolong someone’s life justified? Is it living if it feels like shit? These are only some of the questions Gawande brings up. Also this isn’t merely research to Gawande, it’s something deeply personal. May be that’s what made this book so impactful for me, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother and how she lived her last days. I thought about the future of own parents. And then my own.

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

I am not a fan of Trevor Noah’s comedy. Nothing against it but I prefer other comedians over him. This book had been popping up on my Goodreads feed lately and when a friend wrote a glowing 5 star review of the book, I decided to give it a shot. Overall, the book is pretty confounding. Even when we don’t really think about what a celebrity’s childhood might have been like, we definitely rule out some possibilities. The ultimate success of a person can blind us to all that went into building it. So to me, a non-fan who hadn’t even bothered to read his wikipedia page, Noah’s story is just extraordinary. While being a deeply moving personal account, it’s also a subtle commentary on race, prejudice and domestic abuse. It was also my first introduction to Apartheid. Quite frankly, until I read this book, Apartheid to me was just something Nelson Mandela ended. That’s it. I was oblivious to what it entailed, the scope of it and the after-effects that apparently can still be seen in South African society today. I’m probably going to read a lot more about it this year. I still don’t like Noah’s comedy, but I feel a deep sense of admiration for him.

Starting this month, I intend to do one post every month with the highlights. Here’s hoping that average is greater than 2 books a month!