5 Books Read & liked In 2021

I read a lot of books. Many of them are not read completely. But when I feel zapped I complete them cover to cover. There are a few recommendations, I have read in 2021 that was engrossing and that left me thinking. Most books have not been published in 2021. Only five books that I would like to focus on. One is a revisit and the rest of them are some things which I have heard About or got a reference in another book. So felt like reading and loved them.?

1) The Ghost Map: A Street, an Epidemic and the Hidden Power of Urban Networks. - Steven Johnson

The number one book I would rate is The Ghost Map. The author is Steven Johnson. An amazing story about John Snow. No, not the one from the Game of Thrones. Rather he is the guy who started epidemiology. Data science and how to look at something that cant be seen. The cholera epidemic. I heard of this book at the start of 2020. Was on my reading list but was only on my list. when I got the reference of the same like the 3rd time I was like I need to push this up on the list. There it was.

The complete landscape of London. The backdrop of cholera epidemics. The evolution of the drainage system to city planning. It all starts here. With a Pulling out a hand pump. A must-read if you like to think. A must-read if you are into design, data, psychology.?

My favourite lines from the book?

“Crowd a thousand people into three city blocks and you create an environment where the epidemic disease will flourish, but is flourishing, the disease reveals the telltale characteristics of its true nature. Its efflorescence points the way to its ultimate defeat. The Broad Street pump was a kind of urban antenna, sending out a signal through the surrounding neighbourhood, a signal with a detectible pattern that allowed humans to “see” V. cholerae without the aid of microscopes.”

Excerpt From

The Ghost Map: A Street, an Epidemic and the Hidden Power of Urban Networks.Steven Johnson

?2) Altered Traits - Daniel Goleman

Another book was not released in 2021 but is interesting. I read about mindfulness and the implications of meditation from a long standpoint. Though I may not agree with a lot of points that Daniel Goleman might have about emotional intelligence. But then I am a big fan of meditation and mindfulness. You can call this a bias already. This has been working for me for the last decade or so and I have been a fan of mindfulness. But Daniel Goldman gives a very different perspective of meditation. The number of hours that have been put into it matters. Though I have been a person who would resonate with J. Krishnamurthy. That counting of meditation does not matter but it turns out it does. So there are a few facts that were interesting in this book. I love the way the book has captured the implication of meditation over a long period. Not one or two years but rather from the start of research on mediation.

My favourite lines from the book?

The sudden revelations of drug-induced altered states led to assumptions like, as one acidhead put it, “With LSD we experienced what it took Tibetan monks 20 years to obtain, yet we got there in 20 minutes.”20

Dead wrong. The trouble with drug-induced states is that after the chemical clears your body, you remain the same person as always.

Excerpt From : Altered Traits -Daniel Goleman

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3) You Have More Influence Than You Think - Vanessa Bohns

I was sitting hours with this book. I was convinced that people had to hack into your computer to know more about you. Turns out it's not the case. you easily give your information. Just when asked. That is it. Just when asked. We are vulnerable and we are so naive to giving our information is just beyond me. We cannot believe that we are so influential as well influenced with ease. So much that we throw our private information for free, a threat or conformity. This book should read all the security people who are working in cyberspace security. Most probably someone who hacked your computer is not a guy who is going to sit somewhere in the hood in dark. Rather give you a call tell you that you know and get your password. Our default mode is to trust people. And that can be exploited to an extent we cant imagine.?

My favourite lines from the book?

“Instead of writing sophisticated code-breaking software to figure out your password, they call you up and give you a compelling reason to give them your password”

Excerpt From :

You Have More Influence Than You Think

Vanessa Bohns

4) Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life -Dani Shapiro

This is a Masterpiece If you write. Or if you are a human being. Dani looks at all the roadblocks that she delt. Completely aware that everyone deals with it differently. wonderful piece of writing and attention on human vulnerability. With a powerful message that no one is going to come for you unless you show up. I would suggest the audiobook which also has mindfulness exercises for the creatives. Pull yourself gather and do what you are doing like everyone else does a job. This is a way of being creative is what is needed for the new world of creatives.?

My favourite lines from the book

“Don’t wait for anybody to tell you it’s okay. Take that shimmer and show us our humanity. That’s your job”

Excerpt From:

Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life

Dani Shapiro

5) The Gifts of Imperfection - Brene Brown

And finally, the book which I have repeated this year. I wanted to read this book again. I had read this book 10 years ago. I had never visited the book but I kept using some of the things. The book is my gateway to self-compassion. When it comes to managing shame, or building self-compassion this is the best. Basics of Being compassionate & kind to yourself. The research is embedded with her own experience like a colour pallet.?

My favourite Takeaway from the book

From this foundation of spirituality, three other significant patterns emerged as being essential to resilience:

Cultivating hope, Practising critical awareness and Letting go of numbing and taking the edge off vulnerability, discomfort, and pain."

Excerpt From

The Gifts of Imperfection

Brene Brown

Do comment below favourite books you read in 2021. ?

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The other books that have I have felt worth suggesting that I read in 2021 are.?

The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul

?Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

?High Conflict by Amanda Ripley

?The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

?How to change By Katy Milkman?

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