Category: Non-Fiction

Today is another lesson in I need to actually read the description. Actually, in this case I need to read the full title because this did not end up being what I expected.

Rest is Resistance reads like someone’s stream of consciousness thoughts connecting naps to black liberation. The writing is very repetitive and felt like it could have been edited down into an essay that was more impactful with how often it revisited the same points in the same ways.

I can fully acknowledge that this book is not for me. Though I am a woman of colour, I am not black. I also don’t have the spiritual context to understand some of the ideas and it seems to be framed in some kind of Christianity. I am very familiar with capitalism and grind culture, but I am not entirely sure what the author means by these concepts as they are repeated over and over again without discussing why they are a problem or even defining what is encompassed in these terms. Outside of the title, I’m not really sure what else I was meant to take from the book.

Overall, not my thing. I was not the audience for this, but maybe you are.

For the first time in what feels like ages, I have read a book that I actually sought out intentionally! A lot of people with Long Covid have recommended the book as something to help with the breathwork and tangentially the lowering heart rate stuff that we need to do for recovery.

The book follows a journalist as he tries to uncover the best ways to breathe and how we have evolved to not breathe as well as we have in the past. There are some interesting insights, but the conclusions he draws seem to be the easiest ones that don’t take into account how the rest of society changed, including working conditions and environmental factors.

Honestly, it’s about 10% really useful information and the rest is theories that don’t really pan out under scrutiny. Some of the ideas are good and I have been able to incorporate them, such as breathing more through the nose and some of the breathing methods, but a lot of the research feels like it was done for an article meant to get clicks based on the title.

Overall, maybe skip to the end and the bit about what you should take away from the book. The rest is interesting enough, but ultimately it isn’t that useful beyond those concrete tips that are offered at the end.

After the last book, I figured I could use a bit of an easier read, so back to something non-fiction! On top of that, back into the well trodden field of self improvement books, because no matter how many times I read one I hate, they are simply the easiest ones to get through when I need to give my brain a break while also really wanting to read something.

The hypothesis of the book is essentially that to live optimally is better than to live perfectly. Failure helps to build resilience and allows you to better appreciate accomplishments, as well as giving yourself a better chance to explore the world and your interests. A lot of the book is about how becoming more comfortable with failure will help you to become happier because failure is a natural part of how we learn and grow. Also the idea that striving perfection will not lead to happiness because once you accomplish perfection, the goal posts will move so that you can never really achieve it. Or you achieve it, and then what?

I surprisingly liked the ideas in the book, though know that if I read it a few years ago I would have absolutely hated this. It can come across as antagonistic to people who are perfectionists, but reading it where I’m at now I see it more as trying to pass along advice to a past self. While I don’t agree with everything in the book and I think there are a few areas where there’s a lack of understanding of what’s practically happening in the world, the ideas are overall good.

I think my biggest issue with the book is the order of the three sections. It starts with the examples, then moves into the theory, and finishes off with the practical applications. Theory really should have been first.

Surprisingly, I liked it. Some good points, and some things to consider in the end that I think were very interesting. There’s also a few exercises that I think could be useful to people who are starting out on that journey to break out of perfectionism.

I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. Well, I do. I keep having medical professionals recommend I read these things about positive thinking and I don’t think I’m taking away the things they want from these books.

This is a scattered and nice version of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. The ultimate take away is that you should accept things as they are and be happy about it. There’s a little extra in there about Omega 3s and a lot of stories from patients and various people in the author’s life who get on medication to help them accept their lives and whatnot.

But I am currently a person looking for help with ongoing medical issues and the book ultimately feels like a doctor saying “Have you tried not complaining and just being happy instead?” I couldn’t help but notice that the people who found happiness were also people who were in a place of safety or who were in a position to deal with the root cause of the issues. It’s easier to forgive the people who assaulted you when you are not being actively assaulted, after all.

Overall, this book was not for me. It felt jumbled despite the research and like it lacked progression or structure. Still, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone. It might work for you.

As someone who is deeply burnt out at their current job, I’ve been taking a lot of random recommendations from people around books about burnout. I’m not really sure what I’m looking to get out of them yet, but something about having the resources makes me feel a lot better.

Can’t Even is mostly an exploration around how burnout happens for the millennial generation, from being raised as a resume to get a good job and be a productive member of society to how jobs have continued to get worse as a result of companies investing less in their workforce and more in ensuring optimum productivity. I was actually a little surprised there was no reference to the Netflix book in here, because that would have been a fantastic parallel in some areas, but this author is originally from Buzzfeed which has it’s own set of issues.

There are no real answers about what to do about it, only an explanation of why it’s happening, which I found frustrating at first but as I’ve sat with it I think it’s better that it doesn’t. I’ve been very irritated by the empty solutions and instead looking at the causes gives a bit more understanding that there may not really be a solution on an individual level.

Overall, not a bad read! Not exactly optimistic and there’s a few takes that I don’t necessarily agree with throughout, but I enjoyed it as a read, especially at this point in my life.