When Breath Becomes Air
The Book in 3 Sentences:
If you’ve never considered your own mortality, this book will change that.
The tragedy of this story compels the reader to think deeply about their life.
The book is written in an end-of-life context, when the author knows his death is soon.
Top 3 Quotes:
“Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete.”
“I began to realize that coming in such close contact with my own mortality had changed both nothing and everything. Before my cancer was diagnosed, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn’t know when. After the diagnosis, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn’t know when. But now I knew it acutely. The problem wasn’t really a scientific one. The fact of death is unsettling. Yet there is no other way to live.”
“…even if I’m dying, until I actually die, I am still living.”
Who Should Read It?
This book is ideally suited for anyone genuinely interested in a fantastic non-fiction book. The story is deeply captivating, as it only took me three days to finish the book, cover to cover. I’ve heard great things about Paul Kalanithi, but I most certainly underestimated the quality of his work. Even though the book is unfinished, the ending given by his wife ties it all together. Her perspective of her spouse deepens the reader’s connection to the author.
How the Book Changed Me:
Never have I ever considered my life as deeply as I have now. The plot of the book is tragic, but that is what makes it encouraging in the greatest sense. Paul Kalanithi, an accomplished neurosurgeon, knew the gravity of his illness the day he was diagnosed. As a professional, he knew his days were numbered. Despite this, he chose to live life vividly, working in the OR consistently, fighting the pain, and doing it all again the next day. Even as death drew near, he understood the importance of family. In the midst of his disease, he still chose to have a child, knowing she would never remember him.
I’m certainly not an emotional reader, but this book could absolutely bring someone to tears. It’s not difficult to understand why this book is as immensely popular as it is.
This book changed my perception of my own life, and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you.
Your Money or Your Life
The Book in 3 Sentences
Vicki Robin expresses the fundamentals of financial stability in an ever-growing consumer economy.
This book illustrate the importance of defining "enough" instead of "more", and redefining the things that matter the most in our lives.
Changing our perspective about debt and our desire for more goods can open doors to living a sustainable lifestyle, within our means, while persuing ultimate fulfillment outside of work.
Top 3 Quotes
"A 2015 US Federal Reserve Board report found that 47 percent of Americans would have to borrow money or sell something to cover a $400 emergency expense."
"The only real asset you have is your time. The hours of your life."
"If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough."
Who Should Read it?
Your Money or Your Life contains a message for anyone entering adulthood: Money is something which we trade our time and energy for: "He who knows he has enough is rich." Taking on debt and spending money frivolously leads down a path of financial instability. Learning to recognize our limitations, living withing our means, and planning for the future are some of the best lessons a young adult should learn. Making the right decisions while you're young will lead to the best outcomes later in life.
How the Book Changed Me:
Many of my spending habits are likely considered irregular to most 18 year olds: looking at my reciepts regularly, planning for unexpected expenses, and saving money in four seperate accounts are just a few of my strange tendencies. Call me a nerd, but how diverse is your investment portfolio?
Personally, I already have been living and working on the principles in this book. My exposure to Dave Ramsey at a young age, compounded with a variety of odd occurances, has led me to painstakingly evaluate my fincancial situation regularly, typically looking six to twelve months into the future.
Passive income has become idiolized in recent years, but in reality, very few types of income are truly "passive". Trading time for money has been a struggle for me since the day I worked my first job. When I was 15 I realized I could make more money for myself than for someone else. But it wasn't until I was 17 that I really started to pay attention to where that money was going. Now, as I prepare for college and life beyond, the pressure to make the right financial decisions has never been more important.
I think there are likely millions of adults in their thirties and fourties wishing they would have prepared better for the future. Let's not make those same mistakes. Let's become proactive about our money, instead of reacting to poor decisions. And perhaps one day we will realize we have enough.
Keep Going
The Book in 3 Sentences:
Keep Going is a book writen by a successful artist for other aspiring artists.
The 10 tips are designing to motivate, encourage, and empower those who are looking to increase their productivity capacity, in art and beyond.
The playful style of this book, combined with short chapters, makes it an easy read, just like his other books.
Top 3 Quotes:
"We have so little control over our lives. The only thing we can really control is what we spend our days on."
"I don't know for sure what kinds of flowers I'm planting with my days on this planet, but I intend to find out, and so should you."
"You can't wait around for someone to call you an artist before you make art. You'll never make it."
Who Should Read it?
If you're a creative person, no matter the art form, you should check out this book. Even if you hate reading, the pictures scattered through the book make it playful and easy to understand. The moment I finished this book, I begin reading another one of his works, Steal Like an Artist.
How the Book Changed Me:
Living a productive life has always been important to me, but lately I've noticed a change in my perspective. Instead of focusing on how much work I accomplish in a day, I've starting to measuring my levels of creativity. From this a unique finding has emerged: the less productive I am, the more creative I become. Austin Kleon acknowledges this by saying, "When you ignore quantitative measurements for a bit, you can get back to qualitative measurements."
Measuring dollars per hour is insightful when we want to measure profitability. But it's a useless measurement of our creativity. Artistic expression originates from, "loneliness, uncertainty, and boredom," not the number of hours we work.
That being said, I believe there is a balance to be found in each of us. For some, painting all day is enjoyable. For others, it's torture. The necessity for work exists in each of us, but we also contain the ability to express ourselves creatively. Instead of viewing productivity as something to be attained, we should view it as a tool to promote our creative self. Work your twelve hour shift, but take time to journal, sketch, or play your favorite instrument. "Worry less about getting things done. Worry more about things worth doing."
1984
The Book in 3 Sentences:
1. 1984 is a dystopian novel that describes what life could have looked like after World War Two.
2. It describes a society where objective reality is irradiated, replaced by the ever-changing subjective truths dictated by Big Brother.
3. This book challenges our understanding of objective reality by drawing subjectivism and moral relativism to its logical extremes.
Top 3 Quotes:
1. “‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’”
2. “Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”
3. “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”
Who Should Read it?
1984 is for anyone 16 or older. There is a decent amount of profanity, as it relates to the context of the environment in which the book takes place. The love story between two of the main characters is described in detail, including their personal sex lives. Violence is tied directly into the plot, through torture, war, and death.
That being said, the book was an excellent short read. Some may complain about the limited development of the main characters. To me, the pace was fast, which is a good thing. To others, they may see it as too fast.
If you’re looking for a short read similar to the likes of the Hunger Games or Divergent, then this is a great novel to consider.
How the Book Changed Me:
Before I read this book, I had no idea what to expect, as I have never read any of George Orwell’s books prior to this. From the beginning to the end, I was captivated by how personal the main character felt. I was able to relate with his feeling of loneliness in a world that thinks entirely different than himself. As an American living in the 21st century, objective reality seems to be slowly slipping away through cultural and activist movements to accept that women can be men and men can be women. Objective moral standards are being diminished in our educational institutions. Even at my high school graduation, a student said during their speech, “Tell your truth.” What about the actual truth? Does that not matter more than someones subjective truth?
Nevertheless, it wasn’t until Whinston endured political torture that he understood what 2+2=5 meant. It means that if the party says something is true, they are willing to torture you to the point where your consciousness looses the ability to distinguish 4 from 5, or 8, or 10. As his spine was being ripped in half, his vision faded. Once he was unable to see the objective truth, subjectivism took hold.
This book changed my perception of the importance of objective truth. Without it, there is no definition by which we can hold our society accountable. I fear for the future, when we will inevitably lose our ability to distinguish fact from fiction, and truth from lies.