Category: Paper Chase

Posted in Paper Chase

Steven Pressfield – The War of Art

Posted on by Michael

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the ways in which resistance keeps us from achieving our goals. Resistance comes in many forms such as procrastination, fear, and self doubt. While the book’s main focus is on writing, the same concept can be applied to self-improvement, house projects, office work, painting, etc.   Overcoming this resistance and putting in the work is the difference between an amateur and a pro.

Like his other non-fiction books, The War of Art is an easy to read book with chapters being just 1-2 pages long.  It’s easily relatable as Pressfield touches on many topics that stop the average person from doing what they set out to do and ways to overcome this.  There is a reason this book keeps getting recommended by so many people/websites – it’s an inspiring bit of quick reading to help refocus on the task at hand whether it’s writing, painting, learning, or working.

8.5/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Albert Camus – The Stranger

Posted on by Michael

The Stranger written by Albert Camus was first published in 1942 during the Nazi occupation of France.  The book is written in the first person of Meursault and is broken into two parts.  At the start of the book, Meursault attends his Mother’s funeral in the country.  He shows little emotion during the small, sparsely attended ceremony before returning to his home in Algiers. Several days later while at the beach with friends, he kills an Arab stranger for no apparent reason. 

The second half of the book then deals with the trial as everyone tries to figure out what made him do it.  Meursault wonders why everyone keeps trying to attach meaning to the events that lead up to the murder.  The book is highly celebrated as being one of the best novels ever written. It’s a simply written, straightforward story that is filled with far deeper meaning than what is written on the page. Far smarter people than me will say it’s a book on existentialism and absurdism.  I just found it utterly fascinating. 

10/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Monica Ali – Brick Lane

Posted on by Michael

Monica Ali’s first novel, Brick Lane, was published in 2003 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The story follows Nazneen as she grows up in a village in Bangladesh before moving to London in an arranged marriage to someone double her age.  Chanu is a good man but full of bluster and certainly not the one she would have chosen for herself.  While raising two children, Chanu decides that living on the lower end of British society is not for him and wants the family to move back to Bangladesh.

The rest of the family is resistant, while Nanzeen looks for a life outside of the marriage.  Part of the book deals with Nanzeen’s sister who stayed in Bangladesh and lives a very different life. That part of the story that takes up sections of the book was not as compelling and at times took away from the main story. Overall, it is an interesting look into a world that some of us would not normally see.

7/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Greg McKeown – essentialism

Posted on by Michael

Originally published 10 years ago, Greg McKeown’s book essentialism is a New York Times bestseller and regularly shows up on productivity reading lists to this day. The book focuses on three main areas of evaluate, eliminate and execute.  Look at the core things in your life/job and concentrate on those few things that will see you get further rather than trying to do it all.  Ex – say no to meetings and assignments that will distract you from your core pursuits. Or, instead of having a closet full of clothes that you never wear, get it down to the basics of what you wear regularly and donate the rest.

Block out the noise, lose the Fear of Missing Out, enjoy doing less and not having to keep up with the Joneses. With social media, this does get harder to do and a person can often feel like they are not doing enough.  It is an interesting book and surely helpful to many.  As a person who can say no in many situations, except in buying too much music, I didn’t get quite as much out of it but it gets a slight bump in ratings as it is one that I will likely refer back to from time to time. 

7.5/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Charles Bukowski – Post Office

Posted on by Michael

Charles Bukowski’s first novel, Post Office, was published in 1971. Taking on the persona of Henry Chinaski, the book is a semi-autobiographical time of Bukowski’s life where he worked as a letter carrier, quit to bet on horse racing, then returned a few years later to become a mail clerk. In between, Chinaski has several boozy relationships with various women that never work out. 

A highly readable book, Post Office is a non-judgmental look at a way of life for someone with little ambition other than to get through the day with a, roof over his head, lady on one arm and a case of beer in the other.

9/10