No.198: My Latest Reads // November

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BORN A CRIME: STORIES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDHOOD by Trevor Noah
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

My mom would always say, “My job is to feed your body, feed your spirit, and feed your mind.” That’s exactly what she did, and the way she found money for food and books was to spend absolutely nothing on anything else. (20%)

We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. (27%)

The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money. (62%)

This memoir was a mix of humor and deep thoughts.  I love seeing life through someone else’s eyes and this one didn’t disappoint.  The last chapter about his mother and the domestic abuse she suffered was so powerful.  Solid three stars.

BEING MORTAL: MEDICINE AND WHAT MATTERS IN THE END by Atul Gawande

My Rating: ★★★★★

Death, of course, is not a failure. Death is normal. Death may be the enemy, but it is also the natural order of things. (3%)

This is the consequence of a society that faces the final phase of the human life cycle by trying not to think about it. We end up with institutions that address any number of societal goals—from freeing up hospital beds to taking burdens off families’ hands to coping with poverty among the elderly—but never the goal that matters to the people who reside in them: how to make life worth living when we’re weak and frail and can’t fend for ourselves anymore. (25%)

As our time winds down, we all seek comfort in simple pleasures—companionship, everyday routines, the taste of good food, the warmth of sunlight on our faces. We become less interested in the rewards of achieving and accumulating, and more interested in the rewards of simply being. (42%)

Technological society has forgotten what scholars call the “dying role” and its importance to people as life approaches its end. People want to share memories, pass on wisdoms and keepsakes, settle relationships, establish their legacies, make peace with God, and ensure that those who are left behind will be okay. They want to end their stories on their own terms. This role is, observers argue, among life’s most important, for both the dying and those left behind. (84%)

It’s been a while since a book has deeply impacted me like this one.  Such an important topic!  As I read, I started thinking about plans for myself someday as well as conversations I’d like to start with family members.  I also now know the questions to ask when we have to make difficult decisions on treatment options.  Highly recommend.

THE STORY OF BEAUTIFUL GIRL by Rachel Simon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

There were two kinds of hope: the kind you couldn’t do anything about and the kind you could. And even if the kind you could do something about wasn’t what you’d originally wanted, it was still worth doing. A rainy day is better than no day. A small happiness can make a big sadness less sad. (86%)

I read this book right after Being Mortal and kept making comparisons between the two.  This fictional account about individuals with disabilities had many of the same themes: dignity, respect and as much independence as possible.  It was heartbreaking and sad, but finished on a positive note.  It also inspired me to learn some American Sign Language.

SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

They had only ever discussed books but what, in this life, is more personal than books? (7%)

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a sweet story for anyone who loves books.  A quick read with some quirky characters, it wasn’t what I expected but I liked it anyway.  Three and a half stars.

GLOW KIDS: HOW SCREEN ADDICTION IS HIJACKING OUR KIDS – AND HOW TO BREAK THE TRANCE by Nicholas Kardaras, Ph.D.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Yet as screens glaze children the world over, parents either ignore the problem or just throw up their hands and sigh, “It’s just the way kids are today.”  But kids haven’t always been this way; it’s only been six years since the invention of the iPad – and in that blink of time, an entire generation of kids has been psychologically impacted and neurologically rewired. (pg.5)


Have you ever read a book that you needed right at that moment?  With Christmas on the horizon and gift decisions to be made, Glow Kids was that book for me.  Kardaras presents scientific study after scientific study and it really rocked me.  My gut feeling was proven in a little over 300 pages!  Needless to say, my Christmas shopping list is a little different after this book.  I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for months (years?) to come.