Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 5.29.23
This week, I finished three fantastic books by some amazing authors. For no specific reason, there are two books on the list that atheists should enjoy. One is by Christopher Hitchens as he reflects on mortality, and the other is trying to understand why people believe and pray. Then, we have a surprisingly great book on linguistics. Enjoy!
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).
Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland
Just about every book on linguistics bores the absolute hell out of me, and I have no clue why I picked this book up. With that being said, I’m extremely glad that I did. Valerie Fridland managed to make this normally boring topic and make it interesting and engaging. Not only that, but I usually hate books about history, but she actually made me interested in the origins of words and the linguistic researchers that try to track down the history.
This book was extremely interesting, and like the title says, she argues for “bad” English. I put “bad” in quotes because, as Fridland argues throughout the book, there are good reasons for this type of English, and it’s pretty silly that we judge it so harshly. I’m a writer, and I have always thought this, but this book even had me reflect on how I judge the way others speak and now has me rethinking it.
I really loved how she explained how the judging of how others speak and words they use is pretty classist, but she also explains how complex certain ways we talk actually are. The main value I gained from this book is being way less self-conscious about how I write and speak. I read and write a lot about “intellectual” topics, but I try to relate to the average person, and this book helped me feel more secure with how I do that.
If you’re even semi-interested in this topic, I can’t recommend this book enough.
Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
I’ve been on a mission to read more Hitchens because everything I hear about him makes me think he was my kind of guy. I never read his stuff while he was alive, so I’m a bit late to the party, but I’m glad I finally took the plunge and started checking out his work.
Christopher died in 2011 from esophageal cancer, and this is a very short book where he writes about the experience and his reflections on mortality.
This book was pretty philosophical, but it also had wit and humor, so I loved it. Unlike one of his other books I read, this was much more digestible and didn’t go over the top with intellectual language. Aside from his interesting reflections on his battle with cancer and his experience trying to survive, I really enjoyed his chapters discussing religious people as he maintains his atheism to his last breaths.
Not to spoil it, but he discusses the poor logic and interesting irony surrounding the Christians who took his final months as the opportunity to say that God was clearly punishing him.
This is a fantastic book, and although I don’t have cancer and am not a survivor, I believe people with cancer would appreciate this book. Should I ever get diagnosed with this terrible disease, I’m definitely going to read this book regularly.
How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others by T.M. Luhrmann
This was a super interesting book, and I’m glad I came across it. I believe I heard about the author from Michael Shermer’s podcast, and I wasn’t sure if I’d like the book or not, but I loved it. If you’re at all interested in psychology or anthropology, you’ll really enjoy this book. In this book, Luhrmann is trying to figure out why people believe in God, and she also wants to better understand the rituals of people from various religions.
She has a lot of interviews with various people from different faiths and tries to figure out why they do what they do and how they came to believe. For example, one question that comes up throughout the book is, “How do you know it’s God talking to you and not your own inner dialogue?”, and the answers are super interesting.
Unlike some other books, this one doesn’t poke fun at the religious or explain why they’re wrong for believing. If nothing else, it’s filled with non-judgmental curiosity, and that’s what made me love it so much.
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