Rated The Subtle Knife 10/10
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Rated Een verhaal met een angel 8/10
Edited 37d ago
Rated De verering van Quirina T. 2/10
Edited 37d ago
Finished reading Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
Rated Empire of the Sun 6/10
'Empire of the Sun' is a curious book. In the book, you experience World War II in Japan through the eyes of a 11-year old boy of British origin. The boy experiences the war in a different way than the grown-ups. He knows a war has fallen upon his region, but he doesn't draw a line between good and bad. For example: he keeps saying that he wants to join the Japanese army, even though he is imprisoned in a Japanese camp. At first it might look like he doesn't what's happening around him, but when the war is abating, you start to understand that this British boy is actually the only one who understands the war. He understands that war isn't just a battle between various armies. He knows that war is nothing more than a period of vile events.
Rated Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty 8/10
<blockquote><br>"When future centuries say that the twentieth was the age of supreme evil, they will be referring not only to death camps and world wars, but also to the selfish, reckless consumption of energy and the destructive pollution of the air and water."<br></blockquote><br><br>I picked up this book after reading the [b:The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom|96884|The Happiness Hypothesis Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom|Jonathan Haidt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348779688l/96884._SX50_.jpg|3587], since the author recommends it when he refers to the 'Myth of Pure Evil'. This 'myth' is quickly dispelled by the author of [b:Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty|573611|Evil Inside Human Violence and Cruelty|Roy F. Baumeister|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311990046l/573611._SY75_.jpg|932870].<br><br>What I find most compelling about the book is that Evil is viewed from the perspective of the perpetrator, instead of the victim. This creates a matter of fact depiction of evil, which some might find disturbing (e.g. "One could even suggest that it is wasteful (from a practical point of view) to kill a pretty woman without raping her first.")<br><br>The book seems to be primarily aimed at Americans, as an often-recurring theme in the book is racial segregation and violence. In that sense, it would have been more interesting if the author tried to include a wider range of evils.
Rated Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time 8/10
Sure, you have to read through the highly questionable 'scientific' statements of the author that doing this and that will improve your productivity by 500%, double your income in three months or get you laid at least 3 times per week (that one I made up, sorry), but all in all the book does provide a lot of useful tips for becoming more efficient with your time. The 21 tips, or 'ways', do not seem to be provided in any particular order - the author is just spewing out all his life lessons in a single printed monologue (like many self-help books). Still, I would recommend the book to basically anyone who is just looking for some tips to get more (meaningful) work done.
Rated As Intermitências da Morte 6/10
Ontem conclui o livro ‘As Intermitências da Morte’, escrito pelo José Saramgo. Esta obra foi bem desafiante para mim, porque o autor usa frases longas, vocabulário avançado e não se importa muito sobre a pontuação. Todavia, consegui seguir a história em boa parte.<br><br>O argumento do livro é simples: A morte para de trabalhar e, assim, ninguém mais morre no país. No início, as pessoas ficam alegres com o sucedido, mas em menos de nada as consequências negativas tornam-se visíveis. Uma vez que as pessoas não param de envelhecer ou adoecer, são preciso muitas pessoas para cuidar dos desditosos. A Igreja também está afectada, porque sem a morte não há mótivo para rezar por misericórdia. O instituto perde os seus seguidores. No entanto, após um período de tempo, a morte volta a trabalhar. Desta vez, ela anuncia a morte de uma pessoa atráves cartas cor-de-rosas.<br><br>Na segunda parte do livro, o leitor segue a morte que, vestido como uma mulher bonita, se acabou de paixonar por um ser humano. Este humano também devia ter recibedo a carta cor-de-rosa, mas a morte não conseguiu entregar a carta. O livro termina com a morte que, mais uma vez, deixe o seu cargo.<br><br>Embora gosto do conceito do livro, não sou um grande adepto da forma de escrever do Saramago. Para mim, a relação entre a primeira e segunda parte do livro é vago. Não percebi a mensagem do livro, caso existesse. Também não consegui entender os pormenores literários. É provável que o livro tem mais camadas para deslindar, mas tenho de reler para as apreciar.
The role of our gut health, and how fibre consumption affects it, is an exciting topic! However, although the author starts with citing some scientific articles in the beginning, as the book progresses the content becomes more and more anecdotal. The author seems to abuse his authority to make certain dubious health claims, which - although they might be true - have not been conclusively scientifically proven. I only skimmed through the final part of the book, containing all the recipes, but from what I've seen his approach to dieting isn't as simple and easy to follow as Mr. Bulsiewicz claims it to be. If you want to learn more about gut health, you are probably better of reading a academic course book, or searching on PubMed.
Finished reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Rated 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos 6/10
I would describe "12 Rules for Life" as a self-help book plus: The 'rules' Peterson shares with the reader are encapsulated in rich essays and (autobiographic) stories. Additionally, the book is a critique of nihilism ('Any idiot can choose a frame of time within which nothing matters'), an appeal to humility and - drawing to the end - a political disquisition. Then again, it is also a self-help book in the sense that there are a lot of useful lessons to be learned from the book, which can be implemented in your day-to-day life. <br><br>My favourite rule is no. 2 (Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping), which I find best caught with the following quote: "Furthermore, there is little difference between standing up and speaking for yourself, when you are being bullied or otherwise tormented and enslaved, and standing up and speaking for someone else." Which I have simply interpreted as: You are just as much obliged to help yourself, as you are to help others.<br><br>In the beginning of reading this book, having arrived at the 2nd chapter or so, I would have given this book a 5-star rating. A 2-star deduction is, however, inevitable, since the book does contain a lot of flaws.<br><br>First of all, Peterson argues against ideology - and compellingly so - but glances over his own hypocrisy. According to Peterson, there is a universal truth, and it is this: "Consider then that the alleviation of unnecessary pain and suffering is a good." However, as far as I know, by this, Peterson only refers to <i>human</i> suffering. No mention of the greatest suffering of our time, animal suffering, at all.<br><br>Later in the book, Peterson writes the following: "No one in the modern world may without objection express the opinion that existence would be bettered by the absence of Jews, blacks, Muslims, or Englishmen. Why, then, is it virtuous to propose that the planet might be better off, if there were fewer people on it?" Well, here I simply have to disagree, because these are completely different things! To say that a certain group should not be around, because they are regarded as inferior, is not the same as saying that the carrying capacity of the world has its limits, and that it might be best to voluntarily try to avoid reaching these limits. Here, Peterson seems to hint towards a somewhat negative attitude towards environmentalism, which doesn't seem to be grounded in much argumentation. <br><br>Furthermore, there are certain parts of the book that don't sit well with me. For example, the idea that the most viable family composition is one of a father and mother ("Parents should come in pairs so the father of a newborn can watch the new mother"), which hints against the concept of same-sex marriage and child-raising. Later in the book, Peterson mentions a few statistics on children raised in father-absent homes: "Children in father-absent homes are four times as likely to be poor. That means their mothers are poor too. Fatherless children are at much greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse. Children living with married biological parents are less anxious, depressed and delinquent ..." and he continues a bit. I haven't checked the sources myself, but I'm afraid this is a proper example of confusing <i>causation</i> with <i>correlation</i>, which is even more culpable for a university professor. <br><br>Finally, Peterson clearly has a theist perspective on life, which not only becomes clear from the tedious amount of Bible quotes thrown in here and there, but also from his idea that man is different from animal: "Sometimes, animals act as if they are working, but they are really only following the dictates of their nature. Beavers build dams. They do so because they are beavers, and beavers build dams." (Well, yeah. And humans do human stuff because they are humans?) Without this theist perspective, I would say it is more difficult to consolidate with the definition Peterson gives to a meaningful life. That is not to say, however, that the reader without this perspective cannot take anything away from the book in this regard. <br><br>Overall, it's a worthwhile read for sure, engaging and wittingly written.<br><br>"You are, on the one hand, the most complex thing in the entire universe, and on the other, someone who can’t even set the clock on your microwave. Don’t over-estimate your self-knowledge."