Many articles emerged at the beginning of the year in January about what were the best books I read last year, what books to read for the new year, how to challenge yourself to read a certain number of books, and the likes. These are all great resource for avid readers and book lovers and great tips. As many book lovers know, we don’t just read random books that come our way; even from the lists of book recommendations, there are some that appear to grip our attention more than others. Many times there are more intimate reasons and personal context that draw us to certain genre of books or to certain themes. So if we pay attention to the books we are drawn to and read and best yet, keep a journal on what we read, to reflect and hopefully derive the wisdom we need, over time we are essentially documenting our journey in different stages of life.
The last couple books I read in 2020 in December are fiction novel and short stories. As we were close to the end of a dramatic unprecedented year I felt I needed a break from non-fictions that always try in one way or another to offer a factual account/discourse/solution to some situations/developments/problems, and I needed my mind to be “free” from these serious happenings and to be doused with some creative energy from the imaginations of fiction writers.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
It’s a story set in the backdrop of wild Alaska, about a mother and daughter’s constant struggle to survive, mostly over the husband and father’s tormenting temperament and the domestic violence in the name of love, which are more dangerous than the unforgiving wilderness of Alaska’s winter, and how the unbreakable bond and love of the mother/daughter pair salvaged them. The story structures more or less expectedly, from how the mother made mistake after mistake since her youth from running away from home, getting pregnant and becoming a mom as teenage girl, with an unreliable man whom she loved dearly eventually married, and moving from place to place at the husband’s whim, to escape life. Because the husband had PTSD, and because she loved him, she tolerated his tremendous tempers and physical and emotional violence and dragged her daughter into this messiness and almost nearly ruined her daughter’s life and her own. Redemption came only through tragic means but love triumphs over life’s cruelties.
A sad story with an uplifting ending was what I needed; I could allow some emotions to flow and some tears to drop while going through the novel. It’s cathartic, just what I wanted in the final month of a sad year, to recount, to remember what had came and gone, and then to be able to move on.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Blown away by the author’s imaginations and his wide range of knowledge in philosophy, region, art, science and mathematics. Ted Chiang is truly a polymath. It’s genuinely entertaining and profound at the same time. Each short story is as good as the best of any science fiction could deliver — it’s all about human conditions and humanity. I won’t go into details of the stories, but it’s a truly amazing collection of stories, especially if you are into stories that shed light on man’s often-than-not pointless pursuits, inevitable struggles in life and the arrival of merciful redemption.
I however want to mention a piece in a story of the book. The part in the heart-breaking story Stories of Your Life where the protagonist, a linguist who communicated with aliens (and with this particular linguistic ability she was able to somehow “see” the future and her daughter’s death at age 25), wrote that one could never behave truly freely when they know of the future and the end, as they would somehow always act according to/taking into account of what will happen. This stuck with me for a long time. This is quite the opposite of what I normally thought of knowing our future, and it’s incredibly liberating! I can’t help but wonder that now we are in the middle of several unprecedented and history-changing events, from time to time, we might be dying to know what is going to happen to us, to our nation, and to the world. We feel we are straight-jacketed by the many restrictions placed to curb the pandemic, but maybe, we could be also at our freest if we just focus on being present in the present.
In January, to start the year off, I, like most others, were more motivated to start on the right note by seeking growths in various areas that I care about: picking up/nurturing new habits and hobbies, kids, family and overall welll-being physically and emotionally. The books I read in January therefore deal with philosophy, education, friendship/relationships, and personal growth.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The author may intend to tell story of a neighborhood, a city and a nation through the lives of the two protagonists, Lena and Lila, but I read the book totally grossed in its rich story-telling: though sometimes petty and vain emotions emerge, the preciously intricate and generously sympathetic friendship exists between women, especially when they grew up together, is inspiring. This reminds me of the many great and long friendships I enjoy, and many of which have begun since my childhood/teenage years. There are laughter and tears we share, but also mild jealousy and quibbles from time to time; but nonetheless, we never stop loving, admiring and appreciating our friends for who they are.
Dangling Man by Saul Bellow
In the book, Joseph was kept waiting and waiting for too long. The time between his quitting his job to his finally being summoned by the authority into serving in the military had created an loathsome freedom and vacuum in his life. He was sick of being “irrelevant”, grew so agitated that he started picking up quarrels and fights with everyone around him.
“We are so afraid to govern ourselves. We soon want to give up freedom, it’s not even real freedom because it’s not accompanied by comprehension. It’s only a preliminary condition of freedom.”
I was quite intrigued by the contrasting perspective on freedom, as compared to the one in Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang. Here, Joseph didn’t want the freedom without comprehension of what’s to come, didn’t want to be held accountable for his own life; whereas in Stories the linguist argued that because she knew of the end, of what’s to come, she felt she would always act somewhat according to the “script” that she had a glimpse of, therefore couldn’t really be free to act on her own free judgement and accords.
Maybe there is really no true freedom for man?
The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth
I bought the book Meditation by Marcus Aurelius but haven’t gotten around to read beyond the introduction. But I was pulled into the idea of Stoicism that many have said Marcus Aurelius and his writing best embodied. My simple takeaway to apply Stoicism in our life is: control what you can (our internal), care no more what you can’t(our external). Stoicism is also a big proponent of focus on being present, not worry too much about what had happened or what’s to come uselessly. There’s also an emphasis on virtue and commitment to public service.
I guess I am attracted to this philosophy at the moment because we are in the middle of a chaotic world and we have seen many upheavals in many things that the usual order has become unfamiliar. Stoic principles kind of offer a sense of control we can have — we can focus on doing what we can and try to keep an inner calm.
Prepared by Diane Tavenner
Written by the cofounder and CEO of the Summit Public Schools, Diane Tavenner, this book shares the underlying learning philosophies and unconventional wisdom that lead to all children being prepared for school and life. Through working on real-world projects, providing project-based learning and teaching students self-direction, the schools are all about making students see the point of learning and become their own best advocate for becoming the person they want to be.
Along with personal stories, a lot of practical tips and information are provided in the book for parents wish to know more about helping their kids getting prepared. Our world is changing so fast, we are already seeing tsunami of changes taking place as we speak, the way we teach our kids cannot stay unchanged. Especially with the coming-together of a much more technology-driven world and AI, it’s really not just wishy-washy to ponder what education and school really mean to our youth now and future generations. The pandemic-induced online learning that has lasted almost a year and still counting also provides another opportunity to reflect upon the purpose of schools and the role/the method of teaching when one can access all kinds of information and knowledge virtually.
For students and parents, we can also think about what’s prepared for us, and how to go about getting prepared for our fast-changing world where old model of what’s working might not be that relevant anymore.
It’s February. I am now taking more mental note of what books that draw my attention and why I am reading them. I look forward to continue documenting my life through books as it unfolds.
