Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 10.2.23
This week, I finished four books from some amazing authors. The list starts off with an amazing book about how we seek status, and then we have a book that dives into the experience of being an Asian American. We also have a phenomenal book about conspiracy theories in the spiritual community and a book on game design. Enoy!
Each of the links to the books are affiliate links, so if you use my link to purchase any of these books, some comes back to support what I do (and it also helps fund my reading habit).
Status Games: Why We Play and How to Stop by Loretta Graziano Breuning
I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while. I absolutely love books on status, and this book didn’t disappoint. Loretta has researched this topic for years and did a great job diving into the evolutionary psychology of why we seek status. She draws on the similarities between us and primates and goes through the history of why seeking status was advantageous.
The overall point of the book is to showcase how while seeking status can be beneficial, it can also cause a lot of unnecessary stress and turmoil in our lives. In the last few chapters of the book, Loretta goes into this topic a bit more and discusses a variety of ways we can push back against our instincts to seek status and the terrible feelings we get when we’re not gaining status. I also love how she goes over the hedonic treadmill of status-seeking as well.
The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang
I was unfamiliar with Jay Caspian Kang but randomly came across one of his tweets and discovered he had a book. I regularly try to read books by people of different backgrounds than myself (nationality, gender, etc.). This was a fantastic book. It started out a bit slow for my taste, and that’s not a fault of the author, either. I just get bored learning about history, but once it got to the conflicts between Asian Americans and Black Americans, I was really interested.
I’m half Black and I’m just now learning about the relations between Black and Asian Americans. Jay did an awesome job breaking it down and arguing how the social justice movements are a little screwed up and Asian Americans are often left out of the conversation. I really found the last few chapters interesting where he discusses Asians being allies to the Black community but since Asians are perceived as “white” adjacent, there’s not much activism for the anti-Asian brutality and racism in this country, and Black Americans often don’t come to their side. What’s worse, is they sometimes expect Asians to stay silent when they’re attacked by Black Americans.
There are a lot of other interesting topics in here that I’m grateful I was able to learn about. One of the chapters dives into how some Asian men fall into the manosphere/pickup artist/incel community and what’s going on over there.
This is an excellent book, and I highly recommend people check it out. Jay’s an excellent writer, too.
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker
What a phenomenal book, and I’m not just saying that because Derek had me a guest on the Conspirituality podcast a while back. Derek, Matthew and Julian run the Conspirituality podcast, and this is legit one of the most interesting topics that I don’t think enough people talk about. The new age spiritual movement is often something that leftists get into, but the conspiratory thinking and cult-like behavior from these groups is just as bad (if not worse) than the far right. When you understand this, people like Russell Brand rising in popularity aren’t nearly as surprising.
This book is a deep dive into this topic and teaches you about a ton of different spiritual cults and conspiracy theories that have been harming people around the world. Not only are there many stories of manipulation and abuse but there’s also sexual assault in these communities and the spreading of misinformation that led to quite a few deaths during the height of the COVID pandemic.
This book is phenomenal, and I couldn’t put it down.
Think Like a Game Designer: The Step-by-Step Guide to Unlocking Your Creative Potential by Justin Gary
If you’re interested in game design, this is an awesome short book. I’ve been working on getting into game design and development, and this book by Justin Gary covers a lot of little details that were super helpful. It covers everything from coming up with ideas to marketing and increasing the longevity of the game. It was super helpful, and I’m definitely going to revisit it when I’m finally ready to start working on my first game.
Special Shoutout
Letters from East of Nowhere: Daddy's Words to Live, Drink & Die By by Kennerly Clay
Kennerly Clay reached out to me and let me know about her new book, and as a recovering alcoholic and addict, it seems super interesting. I haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, but it’s about letters her father wrote. He struggled with addiction, which affected his life and relationships with others, and I’m all about these types of books, so hopefully I’ll have a full review for you all soon.
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