Do you ever finish a book, close the cover and think: “seriously, I could have spent that time doing literally anything else”? This year I had that feeling more often than usual. Even though I checked reviews and recommendations, I still ended up with quite a few very average titles.
Luckily, among all those so-so books there were a few that really moved something in me, stayed in my head for longer, or even changed the way I see the world.
1. Don’t sleep, there are snakes – Daniel Everett
Anthropology, linguistics, travel
The author – a linguist and a devoted Christian – in his mid-twenties goes with his wife and small children to the Amazon jungle to study the language of a small Pirahã tribe. On the side, he is also supposed to convert them (small spoiler – that doesn’t go too well). This was the late 70s, if I remember right. Sounds insane? To me, yes. What came out of it is a fascinating and very dangerous adventure.
The book is kind of split into two parts: the first is travel memoir, the second is more focused on linguistics (but that part was also very interesting to me).
The Pirahã language is one of a kind. Their culture too. For example, they don’t have any religion, myths, or stories about the beginning of the world. They believe in certain spirits, but that’s pretty much it.
From the perspective of someone who asks themselves questions about things like happiness or raising children, this book gave me a really fresh way of looking at these topics. I’ve never seen a similar approach anywhere else.
It’s also amazing how language shapes how we think, how we act… basically everything. I don’t remember if this was written exactly in this book, but for example: the lack of a word for certain feelings can make it much harder to notice them and consciously “catch” them (sometimes it’s almost like they don’t exist at all; like, have you ever felt yūgen? Or are you on the same level as an Eskimo when it comes to telling apart different kinds of snow and ice?). This book – together with Alan Watts’s book (more on that later) – showed me how language can really limit our awareness.
I don’t usually reach for books about travel or linguistics. If you’re the same and you’re wondering if this is for you, the answer is: give it a try! I liked it a lot, it really stuck in my memory. It changed how I see a few important things. I’d happily write more, but the point is not to give away the entire book.
Rating 3.97/5 on Goodreads
2. Entangled life – Merlin Sheldrake
Science, biology
If mushrooms seem boring to you, that just means you don’t know anything about them yet! Ah, this book was such a joy to read. I love books like this: scientific, but written in a way that makes it impossible to put them down.
Fungi are everywhere, literally. It turns out they were essential for life to develop on land. They’re huge, even though we only see small mushrooms here and there above ground. They can communicate incredibly well, and even control the minds of animals.
And then we have lichens.
Yes, lichens.
Now those are fascinating.
This book also changed how I look at the world. And in a way I never would have expected before – you could even say in a spiritual way. What am I even talking about? More or less about what James Lovelock talked about; and what the band Łąki Łan sang about: “we’re all one organism.” Really – it’s impossible to point to one single, totally independent organism.
If you liked “The hidden life of trees” by Peter Wohlleben, you’ll like this one even more.
When I finished this book, I seriously started thinking about going back to school and becoming a mycologist (the guy who studies fungi).
Rating 4.33/5 on Goodreads
3. Learned optimism – Martin Seligman
Psychology, personal growth, science
Don’t judge a book by its… title. This is not a self-help book where the author shows you one genius trick that will change your life. There are no daily positive affirmations either. It’s a very solid and at the same time very engaging book written by a scientist.
This book has two parts. The first is Martin Seligman’s story: how he started out as a psychologist, what he discovered, how he later improved his theory. A very interesting story that you’ve probably come across before – yes, he’s the guy who came up with the idea of learned helplessness while shocking dogs. As it turns out, there’s much more to it than the short mentions you can find online. And he really did care about animals, so it’s not like he was some sadist (if that puts you off, read it first before you put him in that box).
In this book he came across to me as a scientist with a very open mind, solid, honest, really looking for the truth. I respect that attitude a lot.
The second part is about optimism and pessimism. Here too you can be really surprised, because pessimism is not as obvious and easy to catch as we usually think. Honestly, even after reading the book and knowing where to look, it’s still sometimes hard to notice it. There’s also a test for optimism/pessimism (by the way, one of the best I’ve ever seen – I couldn’t guess which answers would “improve” my score right up to the end), but I can’t say more, because I’d ruin it for you.
So you’ll figure out where you are on the optimism scale and you’ll learn what you can do to change it. Along the way you’ll probably also learn new things about depression and behaviorism. At the end there are also chapters about how this applies in business – if you’re interested in this as a leader.
Rating 3.96/5 on Goodreads
4. Thief of time – Terry Pratchett
Fantasy, humor
Yes, there’s room for fiction here too ;) It was such a pleasure to stumble on this book and return to the Death sub-series after so many years. I read that series about 10 years ago and this year I saw it on sale – and was pleasantly surprised to find out there was one more book in the series that I hadn’t read yet! In my opinion, together with “Hogfather”, it’s the best book by this author that I’ve read.
What can I say – you have to like that kind of British humor. But as always with Pratchett, it’s not just about the jokes. You’ll also find very smart observations about the world. He’s basically a philosopher writing fantasy, with a very English sense of humor.
Rating 4.28/5 on Goodreads
5. The Book – Alan Watts
Philosophy, spirituality
What can I even write about this short book that is basically about everything? Maybe this: if you’re interested in Eastern psychology, but don’t feel like digging through ancient Hindu scriptures, “The Book” will ease you into the topic gently, in a very Western-friendly way.
For me it fit beautifully together with Everett’s “Don’t sleep, there are snakes” and Sheldrake’s “Entangled life.” It shows how indirect you have to be when you talk about things that can’t really be put into words. How everything is one in places where we tend to see division.
I also think that if you’re an atheist, this book can show you that you can have a spiritual life without believing in any religion in the world (and at the same time, in a way, accept them all; understand them anew). It’s also surprising how well all this seems to fit with… quantum physics.
Rating 4.21/5 on Goodreads