Welcome to this week’s 5BF: my favorite books of the year so
far, the definition of wisdom, the arriving normalcy of doing drugs, stoicism on mourning,
and more…
1 – what I read
Mrs. Engels by Gavin McCrae – beautifully enlivened and written,
McCrae’s novel creates a fictional life of Lizzie Burns, the lover, and later,
misses of Fredrick Engels, the co-author of ‘Communist Manifesto' along with Karl
Marx. Set in 1870s, this novel vividly depicts the its times and shows the
struggles and sacrifices of one woman as she rises from a working-lady, through misfortune,
courage, and love, to become the misses of the man who would threaten the
whole capitalism itself.
The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant – written with
his wife Ariel, Will Durant extracts, from his life-long work, the lessons that
mankind can learn from its history. Eloquently written, as you’d expect from Durant,
this book is both harsh and beautiful, while being illuminous throughout.
2 – this week’s podcast
Krista Tippet @metaphysicalmilkshake – Tippet in this
podcast defines wisdom as, “the imprint one leaves on the world around them”, meaning
that wisdom is not something abstract but very real and powerful. She also talks
about the importance of doing the work both outwards and inwards, as well as how
virtue or hope is kind of a muscle that we can develop through effort, and not innately
fixed for everyone.
Reza Aslan @onbeing – the fundamentalist violence that we’ve
seen surge from the extremists who call themselves Muslims, is not a call for reformation,
it is the effect of one already taking place within Islam. Along with this
fresh perspective, Reza Aslan talks about the diversity within Islam as well
as the increasing individuality around deciding and being a Muslim.
3 – this week’s articles
Against mourning @aeon – the core of stoicism is about the
wisdom of knowing what lies within our power and what not, thereby what to
change and what to accept; this article shows how mourning for our deceased beloveds,
sometimes to the extent of self-sabotaging, is wrong. We need to accept the
unacceptable reality with ‘muted reaction’.
How to do drugs now @nytimes – the Biden government seems to
have passed bills that already have or will in near future, legalize various
drugs, i.e. cannabis, psychedelic drugs, and even heroin in small amounts. The
war against drugs might be over soon, and we need to prepare for how to
positively use drugs which will soon be legal. Something both threatening yet
hopeful for the breakthrough in mental health treatments.
The warped self @aeon – like pornography, using social media
distorts the reality for us and thereby our expectations towards life and
others. As the distance between being and appearing shorten throughs the use of
these apps, it becomes harder for us to live in an aware and healthy way.
‘One genre, each month’ was my reading resolution for
this year, and so far, I’ve stuck to it. However, in a few months, the
resolution hasn’t paid off greatly, like in May, I could only read one book of
Urdu literature. Nevertheless, my ten favorite books so far come from a variety
of genres, thanks to the resolution. I might not be able to make a top ten books
list of 2021, as on completing 200 books (currently at 187), I will be
rereading my favorites from the past. So maybe this is the only book list for
this year.
5 – this week’s quote
‘History is, above all, the creation and recording of accumulated
heritage, while progress is its increasing abundance, preservation, transmission,
and use.’
Will Durant