Non-Fiction Recommendations (November 2019)
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/leafbyleaf
My stab at Non-Fiction November.
Link to This American Life podcast with Eugene Thacker for his book, In the Dust of This Planet:
www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/...
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I am binge watching your channel. So many places to go. Thanks for your candor and passion.
Thanks so much! It’s a pleasure to be able to share with everyone. All best to you. Happy reading!
I have been watching a bunch of your videos lately, and this is the second one that I have seen that mentions Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.
This is a book I love dearly, and I have read it cover to cover twice and parts of it many times. There is so much to say about this eccentric and unclassifiable work. Aside from being a great pleasure to read on account of its style and vocabulary, it is like holding the sum total of human thought, behavior, and feeling in your lap. It is saturated with sophisticated humor and is a kind of exhaustive love letter to the joy of literature and reading. I hardly know a soul who could stand to read it, and yet I believe it must be one of the greatest books ever written. It presents life in all its weirdness and absurdity through a wise union of laughter and tears.
I discovered it on my own when it was very hard to find before the NYRB reprint edition was published. It has recently been published in an excellent and affordable new edition by Penguin.
Wow! I feel reading everyone of those now. Your enthusiasm is very infectious.
I won't talk about what I don't like. Happy reading!
Thank you. I have found a source about the kind books I want to read. I have rarely discovered a book from other popular review sources that has made me feel richer. So much fluff and little thought or content out there. Now I am excited about reading again.
You are most certainly welcome! Reading should indeed be an exciting thing.
Thank you! Very interesting recommendations.
Thanks very much!
Hey man
Great video once again.
It would be nice if you would consider including the list in the description. That would give a nice overview :)
Anyways awesome video and awesome channel!
Great suggestion! I will start adding the lists and update this one. Thanks for watching!
Thx for the vid! Haven't watched yet but have been trying to read more non-fiction since foreveer, this will def help :)
Enjoy!
@@LeafbyLeaf damn, a lot of those books should count as weapons lol! Very interested in ALL of them really, will start with le ton beau de marot, I'm a translation student and thatbook seems both fasinating and essential, as always thx for the great content, keep it up :)
This was great! A lot of these were new to me so thanks so much for all the recommendations! Obviously, as a fan of translations, I'm especially interested in Le Ton Beau de Marot.
Awesome! Glad you liked the list. The book on translation cannot be missed. As part of his interest, Hofstadter did a translation of Eugene Onigen, which I just ordered.
@@LeafbyLeaf Oh wow, that sounds very interesting since Pushkin's poetry is notoriously difficult to translate. I love Eugene Onegin but I haven't read it in English. Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
@@beyondtheepilogueagnes I've never read it in any language, so I'm quite looking forward to it. Did you read it in the Russian?
Leaf by Leaf I had to study it in school so I first read the Latvian translation and then, some years later, I reread it in Russian. I’ve always found it interesting how Pushkin’s work is not really widely read or appreciated in the West, while the Russians consider him as essential. I hope you enjoy it!
@@beyondtheepilogueagnes I suppose something in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky appealed to the Western canonizers!
Omg, I'm reading When Einstein Walked With Godel right now, and I'm loving it! I was actually in the process of recommending it in the comments when you mentioned it! I recommend How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg. It's my favorite nonfiction read of this year (When Einstein Walked With Godel is my second so far, but they're close, the difference is that Jordan Ellenberg provides more hand holding- he's a great explainer). It's a really informative and funny book about statistics and its applications. The author actually talks about probability and God, slime mold voting, and many, many cool things. I understand the field of statistics more instinctively now that I've read it. I think you'd like it. My favorite nonfiction book from last year is Consciousness and the Brain by Dehaene. It's such a dense book intended for a popular audience, but it's so informative. It blew my mind on every page. It basically talks about the Global Workspace Theory of the mind.
Awesome! You just effectively shattered my bank account! Thanks so much for these recommendations.
@@LeafbyLeaf I hope you don't hate them now!
Non-fiction question - Would you ever consider doing a video on your academic literature studies? I never finished college and would love to hear what it's like.
That Anatomy of Melancholy book sounds pretty similar to The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley. It’s about the possession of this group of nuns in 17th century France and the unjust persecution of an innocent priest who was blamed for it. The book goes into the ideas of hysteria, religious group think, protestant and catholic ideals, and a whole lot more. You should check it out especially if you already know some French.
Oh, that sounds delightful! Thanks!
Both great books, but no, they are not particularly similar.
well now I have to buy Mimesis. Amazon's been recommending it for a while, but I didn't really get why. The way you describe it explains completely lol.
Also gonna get Mystery of the Aleph (wild you should recommend that, I was just looking for a book about infinite sets &c)
Glad I could be of service! Let me know what you think!
All such fascinating suggestions. I can tell that all the authors of these books are extremely well read. If you had to choose, who would you say is the smartest person alive right now writing books?
William T. Vollmann.
Or, in a different vein, Douglas R. Hofstadter. Then there’s Roger Penrose for physics.
I’m reading The Soul of an Octopus, Flow, The Organized Mind, and Moonwalking with Einstein. ☺️🤓💕
Nice list! That last one is by Jonathan Safran Foer’s brother, right? I meant to read that a while ago. Let me know how it is!
Interesting, not sure I’d agree with Anatomy of Melancholy... a bit obscure for most. Mine: 1) Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun; 2) Epicurus and his Philosophy by Norman Wentworth Dewitt; 3) Zibaldone by Leopardi; 4) Jefferson and his Time by Dumas Malone; 5) All Gall is Divided by EM Cioran; 6) Memoirs From Beyond the Grace by Chateaubriand; 7) The Classical Tradition by Highet; 8) You are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier; 9) Human, All Too Human by Nietzsche; 10) Letters of Seneca
8:10 have you read or planning to read the "Summa Theologica" by Thomas Aquinas? If yes, what type / demography of readers would you recommend this book?
Thanks for the wonderful video.
Hey, thanks! I am planning to read the Summa one day. I would only recommend it for people who have a deep interest in Catholic philosophy. I don't particularly have that interest myself, but the work has such an impact of western culture, that I feel compelled to experience it.
You're the second person I've seen recommend Beyond Biocentrism, so I got it.
A lot of scientists and “scientists” scoff at Lanza’s pseudoscience, but I’m a sucker for this type of theoretical thinking. For me it’s the perfect marriage of the two sides of my brain. Enjoy!
@@LeafbyLeaf I'm definitely going to pursue it as more entertainment than education. I've read enough science philosophy to cripple my once-innocent sense of credulity, haha.
That’s funny about the TSA and Europe. My friend said the same thing happened to him with volume 2 of The Man Without Qualities.
I happen to be reading that very volume right now!
Leaf by Leaf, Ah, right, I saw your books for 2020 video. I hope you’re enjoying it. Musil is one of my favorite writers.
Austin John Baker yes, it is outstanding! Definitely one that will be a permanent part of my library and rereading throughout life.
Mimesis is an awesome work of non-fiction! The second book was unknown to me. Thanks for your advice! The anatomy of melancholy is a very good reading. The mistery of the aleph, i have to Buy it as soon as possible! Only yesterday i made up my mind in order to read the bible because as you say, it's at the core of every literary work. I adored the history of western philosophy by Russell! in these days I'm reading "gilead" by robinson! I have all her books. She's amazing! Awesome picks, as ever!
These are my top 10 non-fiction books (4 are about medicine and 2 about greek philosophy):
1. The emperor of all maladies: a biography of cancer by s. Mukherjee
2. Outliers: the story of success by malcolm gladwell
3. Manual for living by epictetus
4. On the move: a life by oliver sacks
5. Surely you are joking, Mr feynman! By richard feynman
6. Sapiens. A brief history of humankind by yuval Noah harari
7. Meditations by Marcus aurelius
8. When breath becomes air by paul kalanithi
9. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by Rebecca sloot
10. The hedgehog and the Fox by isaiah Berlin
Glad to meet someone who appreciates Auerbach's work, too! Yes, The Mystery of the Aleph is a great read. The writer handles the subject matter perfectly--a good mix of pizzazz and facts.
Your list is superb!
1. The emperor of all maladies: a biography of cancer by s. Mukherjee
I own this book but haven't read it yet.
2. Outliers: the story of success by malcolm gladwell
I've read this several times since it came out! Great book that has helped me cope with why I am not a genius (yet).
3. Manual for living by epictetus
I have a great omnibus of Epictetus, Seneca, and Epicurus.
4. On the move: a life by oliver sacks
Haven't read this one.
5. Surely you are joking, Mr feynman! By richard feynman
Great essay collection, though it's been a while since I've read it.
6. Sapiens. A brief history of humankind by yuval Noah harari
Read this last year and plan to read Homo Deus in December.
7. Meditations by Marcus aurelius
The only example of Plato's ideal philosopher-king!
8. When breath becomes air by paul kalanithi
Haven't even heard of this one!
9. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by Rebecca sloot
Haven't even heard of this one!
10. The hedgehog and the Fox by isaiah Berlin
The great Tolstoy essay! I have this in my essay collection of Berlin's, The Proper Study of Mankind.
You are very well read, indeed!
@@LeafbyLeaf , i was so glad when i received a notice of your new video! You saved my day! Thanks and see you in the next video!
When I listen to you talk about the books you read I am dumbfounded about how big your brain is, I wish my brain was gig like that, another thing I like is you don't have a British accent and you talk like a normal person......please share other theology books you have read.
I appreciate your kind words! Did you get my link to my theology shelf on Goodreads?
@@LeafbyLeaf No
www.goodreads.com/review/list/5976824-chris-via?shelf=theology