Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 3.11.24
We have four books this week, and three of them are pretty great. We have a book about know-it-alls, a book about how people fall from the upper middle class, and an incredible new book on the science of mental health. But the first book on this list is one I had high hopes for, and it didn’t live up to expectations. Enjoy!
Also, don’t forget to become a paid subscriber for the low low price of $5/month if you want to get my monthly curated lists of my favorite books. I’ll also be adding more curated lists throughout the year!
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).
On Quality: An Inquiry into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings by Robert Pirsig
I used to feel bad that I’d never read Pirsig’s famous book Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance because I love Buddhist philosophy. After reading On Quality, I feel far less bad about it. Quality is an interesting topic, and I was interested in a book with a philosophical look at it, but this book just wasn’t for me. I’m sure many will love it, but not me.
I’m a fan of books that are written for everyday people, and this book is just way too much for the average reader. It’s a short read, but it’s one of those books where it talks in the most confusing way possible to be more intellectual. I’m not dumb, so I grasped what Pirsig is discussing in the book, but I don’t read books for it to feel like I’m in a college course.
In my personal opinion, I feel like people say they love books like these to feel smart when there are other books that speak in everyday language and say a whole lot more. Maybe someday I’ll read his other book, but if the whole thing is like this, I’ll probably stop before finishing it.
The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health by Camilla Nord
What a fantastic book. If you’re interested in the topic of mental health (which we all should be), this is a great book that breaks down the actual science of mental health without being too “sciency”. Camilla Nord dives into so many topics around how our bodies and affect different aspects of our mental health. This is one of my favorite topics, so I’ve read a ton of books on the topic, but this book had so much research I hadn’t heard of yet.
Nord discusses how food affects our mental health as well as exercise and many other aspects of our lives. She discusses a lot of the latest research into how electro therapy and magnetic stimulation therapy is being used to treat depression. She writes a ton about different drugs, how they’re tested, what does and doesn’t work so you can have the right expectations if you start taking mental health meds.
This book just has everything you would really want to learn about the science of mental health. She doesn’t dive too far into the aspect of talk therapy, but that’s not the primary focus of the book, and she touches on it a few times. Overall, it’s a great book that you should definitely read.
Privilege Lost: Who Leaves the Upper Middle Class and How They Fall by Jessi Streib
This was a book that really surprised me with how good and interesting it was. While I’m often very envious of those who grew up in the upper middle class, I never really thought about those who fall from it when they get older. Jessi Streib is a sociologist who interviewed upper middle class kids over the years from high school to after their college years, and she found patterns that show who succeeds to continue in the upper middle class and who falls out of it.
I’ll leave my commentary there because I don’t want to spoil it. I really hope people read this book, and I’m glad I randomly came across it.
Know-It-All Society: Truth and Arrogance in Political Culture by Michael P. Lynch
I’ve read this book about once per year since I first picked it up a few years ago. Whenever I get to a point of getting extremely frustrated by people who practice 0 intellectual humility, I read this book and it helps chill me out. Michael P. Lynch explains why we think we know more than we do, how our tribalism gives us a massive blindspot, and much more. Fantastic book.
Subscribe to the reading list! It’s free! Although I’ve been publishing this weekly reading list for free for multiple years, consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 to help me pay for new books and keep this list free for everyone. And we have brand new curated reading lists for paid subscribers.
If you enjoyed this post, it’d mean a lot to me if you shared it. Forward it in an email, share it on social media, or whatever suits your fancy.