This week, I read two awesome books. I haven’t been reading as many books per week this year, but I’m really happy when I read a couple of really solid books. On this list is the brand new Bernie Sanders book as well as one of my favorite psychology/philosophy books that’s a must-read.
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).
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders
When people ask me about my politics or I just want to sum it up, I just say, “I’m a Bernie-loving progressive.” I was introduced to Bernie Sanders by a friend prior to the 2016 elections. He was saying things that I didn’t even know were possible, and his passion really got me interested in politics, and now I’m an extremely political person after spending a life being extremely indifferent about politics and voting.
I never read Bernie’s other book(s), so when I saw this, I snatched it up and binged it within a couple of days. It’s a great book that covers Bernie’s 2020 run as well as what happened after. Then, he really dives into our screwed-up capitalist system and how there’s a ton of needless suffering in the United States because money rules politics.
My only gripe with this book is Bernie goes extremely soft on Biden and makes a ton of excuses for him. Bernie criticizes Biden, but it’s minimal. And I get it, but I’m not a fan of that because I’m sure Bernie was holding back because he has to work with Biden and others. But he does have plenty of criticisms about the Democratic party alongside his breakdown of how messed up capitalism in the United States is.
The final question is, “Who is this book for?”. If you like Bernie, you’ll love the book. If you think you know about Bernie via what the media and other politicians say, you should definitely read the book to get the worst straight from his mouth. He’s not saying anything insane and truly cares about this country and making it a better place for everyone.
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
I read this book three years ago when I was going through a rough time, and I really enjoyed it, so I wanted to revisit it. A lot of the book went over my head the first time around as I was just getting into philosophy, but this time, it was much better. The book is about Adlerian psychology, which is a blend of psychology and philosophy. But the way the book is written is extremely interesting because it’s written as a conversation between a youth and a philosopher, and the youth challenges the ideas along the way.
The philosophy/psychology of Adler primarily focuses on self-reliance and believes that the root of all of our problems are interpersonal. I like the ideas because it’s one of the main ways I got sober because I started taking responsibility for my own life and setting boundaries. While there’s still plenty I disagree with in this book, it’s solid. If you’re into Stoicism and similar ideas, you’ll really dig this book.
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I've been SUPER curious about the Bernie book. Might pick it up!