April 2020 Book Recap
The pandemic has, for me, turned into one long meditation on life and death. Almost three months after reading it, Seneca's *On the Shortness of Life* still haunts my mind and every action. I will definitely be revisiting it, and attempting not to "lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn.”
Words to Live By:
“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today. You are arranging what lies in fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”
— Lucius Annaeus Seneca, *On the Shortness of Life*
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*On the Shortness of Life* by Lucius Annaeus Seneca (NF) // [Philosophy; psychology: "All, save a very few, find life at an end just when they’re getting ready to live."]
*Rebecca* by Daphne du Maurier (F) // [Mystery; gothic thriller: Can't believe it took me this long to read it, but A+ all the way!] // GoodReads Review
*West with the Night* by by Beryl Markham (NF) // [Memoir; Africa: “Being alone in an aeroplane for even a short a time as a night and a day, irrevocably alone, with nothing to observe but your instruments and your own hands in semi-darkness, nothing to contemplate but the size of your small courage, nothing to wonder about but the beliefs, the faces, and the hopes rooted in your mind—such an experience can be as startling as the first awareness of a stranger walking by your side at night. You are the stranger.”] // GoodReads Review
*UR* by Stephen King (F) // [Horror; short story: Beware the evil Kindle! 😈]
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*The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz* by Erik Larson (NF) // [History; WWII: My 5th Erik Larson book, he writes nonfiction with such elan—highly recommend.]
*Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life* by Anne Lamott (NF) // [Writing; memoir: “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life."] // GoorReads Review
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*Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War* by Robert Coram (NF) // [Biography; military history: Interesting, yet simultaneously dry and hyperbolic.]
*Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries* by Safi Bahcall (NF) // [Business; leadership: Pretty random, fairly entertaining.]
*The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds* by Caroline Van Hemert (NF) // [Adventure; memoir: Eh, still not convinced I need to visit Alaska.] // GoodReads Review
*Untamed* by Glennon Doyle (NF) // [Memoir; feminism: Lots to unpack.] // GoodReads Review
*Open Book* by Jessica Simpson (NF) // [Pop culture memoir: Better than expected.]
*A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II* by Sonia Purnell (NF) // [History; biography: Excellent story, disappointing delivery.]
*Severance* by Ling Ma (F) // [Sci-Fi; dystopian: Pandemic fluff.] // GoodReads Review
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*My Dark Vanessa* by Kate Elizabeth Russell (F) // ["Trauma porn": Way overhyped and very cringe. Salacious, scandalous, and grotesque. Pass.] // GoodReads Review
