Human Origins by New Scientist

This one is a collection of different experts of evolutionary biology and Anthropologist and Archaeologists.

It is dedicated to the evolution for humans, and tries to explain a lot of points from evolution biology perspective. The one thing it does not do is to try answer everything. In fact, it claims that everything that we know about our evolution is changing fast with all the new evidences, and technical advances that we have made in the last two decades.

This is a well balanced book, and avoid creating any hype around the subject. I remember reading Yuval Noah Harari's books which kind of left me with unease. I'm not saying that they are any less important but Yuval's books go too much into interpretation with an storytelling structure. Which is not a bad thing but the one thing it does is that it dilutes the message of science, and adds more of a fictional record.

Hence, Human Origins has done a better job with not sounding very sensational.

Evolution may be a subject for scientist to find out but it gives us a better perspective of where we come from which I believe will make us appreciate what we've now.

Definitely worth a read, and don't try to memorise all the dates because they are still evolving too :) 

Peace

The Science of Mythology by C.G. Jung, Karl Kerényi

This is a collection of four essays by Jung and Kerényi which put together their thoughts on Mythology and Psychology to establish how the two fields can be analysed from a common point of view.

I didn't buy the title for the first time because it sounds so counterintuitive because there is nothing in mythology which can be called as science. Even the dictionary definition is "a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition". Which I think is well defined because those myths represent a particular thought or narrative which is more imagined rather than found naturally.

So, the myths are treated like that beautiful story. Any further dissection to find out some hidden meanings are going to remove the essence of why it was created in the first place.

I also don't agree to the point that these myths define human psyche. Myths were a collection of thoughts of a smaller group (myth-makers?) which was adopted by a larger group later by different channels (mostly art - poetry, drama, sculpture, paintings, books etc), and became the part of society. But that doesn't mean that they started having a life of their own. Force fitting some of the psychological conditions with a myth was not the best thing. It actually complicated the things much more with some imaginary accounts and characters.

This one really needs an open mind before you start accepting a lot of things here as normal or logical.

I don't have any expertise on any of these two subjects but defining everything within the two myths of Divine Child and Maiden Goddess may be a good idea for religion but it can't go beyond that.

One thing which I missed badly was a pronunciation of a lot of Greek words here which were given as is.

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Babur: Timurid Prince and Mughal Emperor, 1483-1530 by Stephen F. Dale

This one is a short biography of Babur based on his autobiography and the accounts of some of his contemporaries. It does include a larger part from the actual translation of the autobiography.

Being short/concise this does cover most of the aspects of Babur's life in short, and doesn't try to overwhelm the reader with a lot of historical commentary which might not be very useful for a non-academic reader.

I didn't read much about Babur actively earlier, and this was my first book which was dedicated to him only. I never liked the idea of putting the soft side of such raiders like Babur who would just kill a few thousand and go back home writing some poetry or praising natural scenery or building next garden. A common argument is that those were the times of hardship, and it was a dog eats dog world but this is a lame excuse. There were poets, artists, astronomers and what not who were not responsible for mass slaughter, and their work was much superior than anyone else.

His autobiography which is the base for all the myths around him can be really read as a narcissistic account. Here he talks only about himself, and never gives credit to anybody or praises anyone who is better than him. And, yes, most of his biographers end up eating out of his hand. The skull towers get a mention in footnote or a blink-miss but the poetry gets the whole limelight.

After completing it I realised that he was just a person low on self esteem who was always looking for acceptance and approval from others. He was less of a dynastic founder but more of a raider who was interested in anything from a sheep to a gold coin. And his whole idea of being special was that he was related to Genghis Khan which in his opinion gives him the right to greatness.

Worth a read if you're into history.

Peace

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

 No question on why I picked it up. I did like the "The remains of the day" and was looking forward to read some more of his works.

The story is about lost memories, and revenge. It asks the question if the lost memories are better be lost. What if we get back all of our memories on a condition that we'll have to take all of them: good or bad. It sounds hypothetical but maybe a comparable scenario would be to check if we can move over the bad memories as an independent choice. The answer is not easy to provide and much difficult to act upon.

We were worse but we did improve to something which we're now. It can be bad or not so bad, best case good enough. But did the worse part can be written off or forgotten. Can you being better than earlier gives you any right to the things that you have now.

A lot of parts start backwards, and it takes time to find out whose perspective we're looking at which might be.a writer's style for this one but this was a bit annoying as a reader because as you progress you've already a few characters in mind based on the pronouns and finding someone else later is bah.

Worth a read even if you're not a fan!

Love

How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford

It starts with accepting the limitation of this work but claims to prepare the reader from a scientific know-how to see the trap.

I've read the ones which were more detailed, and had better arguments but this one does what it claims to do. This talks about top 4 stories and builds the narrative around it.

The one thing which is a given is that people in power talk about it for their vested interest, and everyone else is getting influenced by it in a wrong way without knowing what they mean when they start showing such behaviour. Yes, science don't have all the answers, and you can't do much when people start filling those gaps with something for their own.

A quick read, and good for the readers who are into it for the first time.

Peace

Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel

 I noticed that I've started thinking about why I picked up my recent books. There is no pattern but I think my choices were a bit dependent on what showed up in the library. And if I had a faint notion about the writer or the topic I'll just pick it up.

I try not to fall for the bestseller label while picking up the book, and this one was a conscious choice even when I was not sure what should I be expecting.

I do remembers a few things here and there, and I remember the name of this writer which showed up in my Youtube suggestions. I do watch some Ted talks but I'm no fan, and think most of them are a bit overhyped. I guess, this Ted behaviour prompt the algorithm to suggest this video from this author. I just remembered the name somehow but didn't register the topic of that Ted talk.

I saw this book, and remembered the name. Hence this one got picked, and what a stupidity to pick this one up.

First thing, if there are any problems in a relationship don't try to find out the solution in your sex life. This sells well in the market but doesn't do anything for the reader. 

Second thing, I don't mind a pex (pep + sex) talk but this one was utter rubbish. If you want to delve deeper maybe take Sex at Dawn which talks about it in more evolutionary terms, and do put some good ideas out to think about.

As an after thought don't go for something which has the Youtube views, and Fortune 500 as the credentials.

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The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

 I didn't watch the series when I came to know that this is based on a book. Usual choice :)

Finally, I got this in my hands, and will say that I got hooked to it. I generally don't stick to the books to complete but this was one of those exceptions which had such a fast running narrative that I finished it in a day.

This is an amazing book with a very tight plot. We can see Beth growing over a period of time from a non-existing child in an orphanage to the queen of chess board.

Of course it has its dull moments which actually felt like being written to add the pages or maybe for the script but that can be overlooked.

Definitely worth a read even if you've watched the series!

Love

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

 The biggest news is that this has an introduction from Carmen Maria Machado, and after reading this you can actually skip the rest of the book. You know on the very first page what is going to happen.

I'm not into thrillers where you don't want the secret to be out until you reach the last chapter. I always appreciate introductions because it gives you a perspective on what you're going to get into. You can have a same or different impression after completing the book but introduction is good to have. But not the one written like this one.

I read the introduction, and lost the urge to read the rest of the book. But I still pushed, and unfortunately I started looking at the whole narrative in the light of how it was going to end. And another thing where I think the whole introduction falls flat is to connect it with feminism but I look at it from a point of unfulfilled desires, and maybe some psychological issues which applies to a character irrespective of the gender.

So much for the introduction!

For the book, it is a dark read but worth reading for the style Kate Chopin was able to portray the mindset of a lonely woman who needed a companionship but felt rejected from everyone she had the expectations from. Edna is no Anna but she is a strong character in her own narrative.

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