Saturday, June 8, 2013

Brain Food

I gave up television in December last year in the hopes that it would increase my reading capacity. Allow me to apologise in advance for not giving detailed reviews but in the interests of time suffice it to say I highly recommend the following books with which I've provided myself brain fodder over the last few months. 
The titles here have made me laugh, think, seethe with rage, cry and wonder and it would be unfair of me to withhold them from you just because I haven't the time to write brief blurbs on them as I normally like to do. So, know that these come highly recommended and trust me they're worth turning your back on the TV.
In no order of preference my reading list from Dec 2012 to June 2013 is as follows:






The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
Sigh. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I was left heaving great sobs of grief and joy. 














Brainwashed- Tom Burrell
You should read this if you are black. You should read this if you are not black. Made me think...













The Social Animal - David Brooks
Unputdownable! I gobbled it up in one weekend. This interesting read is yet another thread in the tapestry of ideas about what it is and what it means to be human.













The Timekeeper - Mitch Albom
A satisfying and heartwarming work of fiction. It's good to have one's heart warmed every once in a while and this book gave me a good dose of the warm and fuzzy feelings I needed to stock up on to regain my faith in and love for humanity.














Illusions - Richard Bach
Exactly how it's described on the cover is exactly how it is. I wish I had it as an audio book then I would play it all day so my head would always be in the right space.
















Kill the Messenger
- Maria Armoudian
Please read this. I beg you. Read this book.












How to be Black - Baratunde Thurston

Quiet - Susan Cain

Rumi's Little Book of Life - translated by Maryam Mafi and Arina Melith Kolin


Behind the Beautiful Forevers - Katherine Boo

The God Argument - AC Grayling

Interventions - Kofi Annan


Watch - Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya

The Queen of Katwe- Tim Crothers

The Blue Sweater - Jacqueline Novogratz

Hallucinations - Oliver Sacks

Bad Pharma - Ben Goldacre

China's Silent Army - Uan Pablo Cardenal & Herbeto Araiyo

Stuffed and Starved - Raj Patel

Development and Freedom - Amartya Sen

Archetypes - Caroline Myss

Ghana Must Go - Taiye Selasi

The Story of a Nobody - Anton Chekov

A Good African Story - Andrew Rugasira
Haiku for Lovers - Manu Bazzano

GOD - Deepak Chopra

Open City - Teju Cole

The Universe vs Alex Woods - Gavin Extence

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Rumi: A Photographic Gallery of Inspirational Quotes - Faroosh Brock

The Strenuous Life,  Essays and Addresses - Theodore Roosevelt

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick

The Zahir - Paulo Coehlo

Tribes - Seth Godin

Bossy Pants - Tina Fey

Messiah's Handbook -Richard Bach

The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell

I will do brief write ups about some of these as they are definitely worth a second mention and have had far-reaching impacts on my life. In the meantime though, what are you waiting for?  Get reading!

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