3 Best Purchases of 2022
Normally, I’m not very materialist but sometimes an object can improve one’s life dramatically. Here are three of my favorite objects from 2022.
Siddhartha
It is a long life Siddhartha lives in this short book. Hopefully, yours and mine will be as full and varied.
Salient themes include the search for meaning in life, the oneness of all things, grief, love, wisdom vs. knowledge, and time.
City of Thieves
City of Thieves by David Benioff City of Thieves recounts Lev Beniov’s experience of the siege of Leningrad. The 17-year-old protagonist is caught outside his residence building after curfew and is labelled a looter. For this crime, as for many others in the wartime city, the usual punishment is death. Lev is thrown into prison for the night where he meets Kolya, an arrogant, educated, and smooth-talking deserter who becomes his friend over the following days. Though the two expect to be executed, they are spared by a senior NKVD officer who takes their ration cards in exchange for a… Read More »City of Thieves
4 Great Reasons to Move to Ithaca, NY
Ithaca, NY is best known for its connection with Cornell University. Aside from that connection, it is a typical small to mid-sized upstate New York city with a large student population (relative to permanent residents.) It also has a reputation for being politically liberal – though as a former resident I wonder if that reputation is really merited.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Wilkerson argues that many of America’s problems elsewhere labelled as Racism, or Systemic Racism derive from an unacknowledged caste system. She suggests that we, as Americans have an unwritten code of conduct imprinted on us by centuries of history and that this code instructs our assumptions, behaviors, and values.
In order to better understand caste, she travelled to India and met with people from high and low castes. And she studied the Nazis’ attempts to copy American law to create their own short-lived racial hierarchy.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
This is a classic self-help book. I say classic because even though it was first published more than 30 years ago, it is still relevent today. So much so that it goes on my list of best books I’ve read in 2022.
Here I am
“Your only problem is you don’t have enough problems” interjects Tamir, Jacob’s cousin, during a rare visit from Israel. He thinks that the Bloch family, with nothing important to worry about, makes problems for themselves. But for all of the seeming tranquility, the Blochs are confronted by pivotal and even tragic events throughout the novel.
A Memory Called Empire
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is the story of a young diplomat from a ‘provincial’ region of space who makes it to the center of the Teixcalaan Empire to represent her people. Her own region is a nominal vassal state though it retains much independence. This region is important because it is a frontier area where the Empire would like to expand.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami This book is exactly what you think it is, a memoir by a popular (and good) author on what running means to him. Though it may not appeal to everyone, this book attracted me because I love books, reading, writing, and running. Also, Murakami is a new author to me so I’m still learning about him. I wish every one of my favorite authors wrote a memoir because I would love to align my habits with theirs. Here there is some evident and pre-existing overlap. Obviously, the book… Read More »What I Talk About When I Talk About Running