This past week – nay, month – has been insane at work, and somewhat in my personal life as well, with all of the work that we have to do on the house and appointments cropping up. I feel like I’m being run ragged, so I deal with that by escaping from reality by reading a book or doing whatever it is that helps me zone out.
Recently I’ve read several books, but I’ll only tell you about the good ones.
eBooks
Swagbucks [referral code] has been kind to me this month and I was able to get a couple of books with Amazon gift cards.
The Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother
I’m a little behind on this one. I know this is old news and I am late to the party, but I actually really enjoyed it. I’m no parenting expert, because, well, I’m not a parent. But the author, while a little too strict, has some great points. I enjoy Amy Chau’s writing style and actually find her to be quite relateable, if you can believe it.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
This book had me in tears on more than one occasion. It’s an amazing book, and I love the author. I loved the Kite Runner, too, but A Thousand Splendid Suns is even better.
I went away from reading this thinking “WTF am I doing with my life? How can I complain about long days at work when people are suffering through these atrocities every day?”
It’s very humbling.
Escape from Camp 14
I’m just starting this book. It’s about a man who escapes from a political prisoner camp in North Korea. So far it’s good. I’ll report more on it when I get into it farther.
TED Talks
The Voices of China’s Workers – Leslie Chang
I watched this talk on the treadmill and it was a good one. There were funny parts but the overall tone is serious. If you are interested in factory work in China and the conditions under which the employees work, and especially how the workers themselves see it, I’d recommend listening in on this talk.
Documentaries
I’ve been following along with Mochimac’s documentary suggestions, and watched Way Beyond Weight, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, and Forks over Knives.
I’ve never had an interest in eating meat, but Forks Over Knives has made me really look at what other animal products (dairy, eggs) that I’ve been consuming and their effects on my overall health. I’m a huge fan of ice cream, yogurt, and cheese, so I’ve been watching my consumption since I watched Forks Over Knives.
Way Beyond Weight was really interesting and a little scary. Sugar: The Bitter Truth was great at first and then I started to glaze over with all of the scientific garble.
So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past week (or two).
How about you? Any suggestions?
I’ve actually read all three of those books and love them all! Khaled Hosseini actually just published another book a few days ago called And the Mountains Echoed. I can’t wait to check it out!
The Bitter Truth (Sugar) was really hard to follow in the second half, but I think I got the gist of it.
“Sugar is a poison, but it’s paired with an antidote in nature — fiber, and drinking straight sugar (pop, for instance) is an easy path to death.”
That’s kind of all you need to know.
I checked my Netflix account and Forks Over Knives is available on there to watch. It does look decently interesting, so I will probably give it a watch the next time I have some free time.
I’ve heard A Thousand Splendid Suns from a friend. Now I’m really interested to buy one. Thanks.
A Thousand Splendid Suns was incredible. I cried the entire last chapter. I just got his newest book, also great, but this one was my favorite!
Wow looks like some great books and talks. Will have to check these out. I’ve read a lot of folks really enjoying Jia Jiang’s talk at WDS. It’s pretty cool. Check him out and his rejection therapy video. He’s the guy who went viral when he asked for for an unusual request at Krispy Kreme.