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Brain Love – 8 Reads on Neuroscience

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Brain Love – 8 Essential Reads on Neuroscience

We all have brains and we all want to make them strong, active, and wide open. Here are some of the best of the best books on neuroscience, our senses, neurodiveristy, health care for your brain, and how to use your mind to max out your life experience.

We’ve read and been enhanced by every book on this list and recommend them whole heatedly. But remember: we here at I Read Therefore are NOT doctors, scientists, mental health care providers, nutritionists, or sociologists.

Use this post and our work on it as one of many available stepping stones to start learning how to love, protect, and use your brain. Check with a doctor, scientist, mental health care provider, and/or nutritionist before you make any changes to your life, diet, lifestyle, or your way of approaching the world around you.

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How the Mind Works – Steven Pinker

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Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

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The Language Instinct – Steven Pinker

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Brain Maker – David Perlmutter, MD

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The World Beyond Your Head

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Deep Play – Diane Ackerman

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A Natural History of the Senses – Diane Ackerman

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A Mind Apart: Travels in a Neurodiverse World – Susanne Antonetta

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Thank you for reading along with us! Have you read any of these books? And what did you think?

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19 Vital Books by Asian and Pacific Islander Writers

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In May, the United States observes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, recognizing and celebrating the history and culture of our fellow Americans past and present “with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.”1

This article is humbly dedicated with the utmost gratitude and respect to the memory of US Navy Fireman Second Class Telesforo de la Crux Trinidad, Medal of Honor recipient from the Philippines:

“For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession at the time of the boiler explosion on board the U.S.S. San Diego, 21 January 1915. Trinidad was driven out of fireroom No. 2 by the explosion, but at once returned and picked up R.E. Daly, fireman, second class, whom he saw to be injured, and proceeded to bring him out. While coming into No. 4 fireroom, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 fireroom, but without consideration for his own safety, passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 fireroom. Trinidad was himself burned about the face by the blast from the explosion in No. 3 fireroom.”2

We are proud and pleased to highlight and recommend the following works by Asian and Pacific Islander authors:

 

The Shark Dialogues – Kiana Davenport

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Sacred Vows – U Sam Oeur

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Shame – Salman Rushdie

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The Gangster We Are All Looking For – Thi Dien Thuy Le

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Pachinko – Min Jin Lee

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The Ghost Bride – Yangsze Choo

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Half A Life – V. S. Naipaul

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Once Removed – Mako Yoshikawa

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My Urohos – Emelihter Kihleng

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Sons for the Return Home – Albert Wendt

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Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri

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A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara

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Ilustrado – Miguel Syjuco

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Muna Madan – Laxmi Prasad Devkota

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Wild Ginger – Anchee Min

 

Warlight – Michael Ondaatje

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The Land of Five Towers – Ahmad Fuadi

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The Glass Palace – Amitav Ghosh

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Jasmine Nights – S. P. Somtow

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Fun and free ways to participate in Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

1) Pick a country and see how many books your local library has from its authors. Signal boost your newfound favorite authors to your friends.

2) Stream music (new and old!) from the country or culture you’re learning about (Spotify, Pandora, etc.)

3) Search Pinterest to find bloggers and professional chefs that teach the cooking style and food traditions of their cultures and try a recipe. Even if you don’t like the final product you are 100% guaranteed to learn something fantastic.

(Note: we have zero chill about the amazing mega-soothing spice blend garam masala and the vivid crimson masterpiece of flavor that is Korean red pepper flakes that are staples in their respective nations of origin–and without the generosity of Asian American peers sharing their knowledge and experiences in person and online we’d never have had the joy of savoring either seasoning! Be sure to sincerely thank and, where applicable, give credit to any individuals or organizations that provide resources and/or time to you as you learn and explore. Bloggers, cultural centers, authors, speakers, friends, relatives, advocacy groups, historical societies, etc.)

 

Share your ideas and traditions with us via comment or email!

Thank you for reading!

1. [Princeton]↩

2. [CMOHS]↩

Collection of Reviews – Spring of 2018 – #1

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We are so proud to be posting our very first collection of reviews. We want to hear any and all of your thoughts, as always! Please comment or email us. Thank you!

 

White Houses – Amy Bloom

“If you’re a queer woman you cannot go another day without reading this book.

What Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe did for budding, unsure, closeted lesbians in the 90s, White Houses does for the bold, unapologetic, aging queer women those girls have grown to be: Bloom gives a voice. Bloom represents.

The story woven ripped my guts out one slow-burning shred at a time. Throughout the entire novel, I felt myself imagining that perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt lived her whole life mistaking a tickle in her throat—“Pollen, maybe…a need for a cup of tea?”—for what was in fact a desperate need to fall to her knees and scream. That’s what I wanted to do for both she and Hick: scream and pound the floor until all their barriers crumbled. But that’s a reader’s dramatic interference—the reality remembered, recorded and enhanced doesn’t need the fury of a modern eye. The reality of a long and winding thirty year relationship told in the resigned but love-strong, blunt and dry voice of a plain old regular women about her plain old regular true love—the 28th First Lady of the United States of America—is enough. So much more than enough.”

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Eat Dairy Free – Alisa Fleming

“If you’re climbing the mountain of sustainable, ethical, whole and simple eating, this is an excellent cookbook for you.

Elements that make Ms. Fleming’s dairy-free resource special include:

+ Full menus. It’s inspiring and fun to see full day’s worth of delicious food laid out in easy to follow groupings.

+ Idiot-proof explanations of substitutions and healthy cooking staples that are often overwhelming in the grocery store aisles. Sorghum flour? Nutritional yeast? Fear not: they are delicious and easy to incorporate.

+ Variation options included in recipes so you don’t have to experiment quite so much to customize to your tastes and needs. Gluten-free options, vegan options, high protein options etc.

+ many more unique and useful features!

Don’t miss the Carrot Cake Breakfast Shake, Cream of Portobello Soup, Mushroom Pesto Pizza, and Oatmeal Apple Pie Cookies”

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Come to the Rocks – Christin Haws

“Take a couple of hours and disappear into this sweet, cozy, queer-mermaid-vengeance-murder-true love tale.

The author’s vivid descriptions of the nature and power of the sea and shore are rivaled only by the deft exploration of the effect of psychological abuse on the mind of the victim—and the certain deterioration of the abuser’s boundaries into physical violence and worse.

If I were to offer one respectful suggestion: the book warns of sexually explicit content, but there is none (disappointing for we lovers of sexually explicit content.) Perhaps the disclaimer is unnecessary? Or could be replaced by a warning for the one burst of extreme swearing/profanity?”

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Fifteen Things They Forgot to Tell You About Autism – Debby Elley

“It shouldn’t be rare and/or profound that a book on building happy, healthy lives for the autistic children in your care be written by people ACTUALLY PARENTING autistic children, but here we are. May this shining, brilliant, hilarious book of raw hope mark the changing of the tide.

This book is hysterically funny but I also cried twice during the introduction. And several times after. And not at the poignant bits necessarily, but at the clarity of perspective, and the firm and simple definitions that would be so easily accessed and understood by even the most uninitiated (if you or your loved ones are on the spectrum you know how desperately important this is) and once even at a chapter heading: “Communication is What Happens While You’re Waiting for Speech.” Imagine a world where we all understood this, NNT or not.

I wrote several versions of “the author’s voice is both humble and bold” or “a mother’s ferocity and patience shines through” etc etc, but my honest impression is that Ms. Elley is the kind of hero-poet that would beat your ass if needed but also be moved to tender tears by a cheesy song at a karaoke bar. Anyone that reads this book and claims that don’t want to be her best friend is lying.

Not a memoir, except for the parts where it is. Not a point-by-point how-to manual, except for the parts where it is. There is not a single person on planet earth that could read this book and not come out smarter and better equipped to be kind, more compassionate, and inclusive of the autistic children and adults in the world around them. Read it, read it to or adapt it for your neurotypical or neurodivergent kids. Buy a copy for your willfully ignorant family members and any group you’re a part of that needs a foundation to understand the reality of life as or life with a person with autism.”

 

 

Wonder Women + Wonder Writers: 4 Dope Books From Female Authors

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Wonder Women + Wonder Writers: 4 Dope Books from Female Authors

 

We are all aware who run the world.

(Girls. It’s girls.)

Here are four excellent books, all best sellers for all good reasons, guaranteed to have your back, whether you need:

  • a boost up towards the next season of your life (drawn from many schools of thought and time-proven, simple, easy actionable steps. Plus some hard steps, we won’t lie.)
  • irrefutable evidence that no one is stronger and smarter than a woman with her back up against the wall (and so many brooches aw yissss)
  • a romantic, sweeping, multi-decade roller coaster ride (It’s priest. Have a little priest. Is it really good? Sir, it’s too good at least.)
  • And a gentle introduction to the many motivations that start people on the road to plant-based veganism (beautiful photo-heavy recipes, from simple and accessible to complex and pricey ones.)

Please share any thoughts on the books or the post itself in the comments or by email. You are greatly appreciated!

Hit it, Fer-gie:

 

You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

This book is exactly what it’s marketed as and we cannot recommend it highly enough. A blessedly modern, self-aware, soft-serve repackaging of the best of the best advice in save-your-own-damn-self self-help resources. You’ll likely like the author’s voice and style, but even if you don’t the power of her plan cannot be denied: one tiny sentence or even one half of one tiny sentence will strike you just right way at just the right time–you’ll act on it and you’ll see for yourself that Sincero is hooking you up to the good stuff.

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Madam Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright

Buy it. Read it. Then buy everything else she’s ever written and read it. We’re obsessed with her deadass refusal to be bound in her narrative style by anyone or anything. How high will this book make your blood pressure go if you don’t like the author? On a scale of 1-10, if the body of writing Robert McNamara left behind is a 3, this memoir is a 5.

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The Thornbirds by Colleen McCollough

Yes, there’s a priest and technically he’s tasty or whatever but he’s also a giant douche in our opinion. Romantic heroes abound, however—most of them women. McCollough captured Australia for the entire world to enjoy. (Look for her final novel ‘Bittersweet’ on an upcoming post.)

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The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone

99.999999999 percent of us don’t want to cause suffering. One of 9,999,999,999 ways to prevent it is moving towards a plant based diet. This is a sweet and visually gorgeous cookbook but also easily digested (pun intended, but also so true–your gut will love the gentle nourishing goodness of these meals) manifesto. This excerpt is a good example of the call to action:

“It’s easy to get angry at the cattle ranchers and the big business that keeps meat rolling into our stores and restaurants, but I have to remember that they are just responding to market demands. If we stop the flow of money to these industries by converting to a plant-based diet they will eventually have to convert their land and processing facilities into newer, more profitable ventures.”

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We want to hear your thoughts (always!)

  • Are you working on yourself in any particular areas right now?
  • Love or hate Madeleine Albright?
  • Did you feel a tiny bit of pity for McCullough’s Luke?
  • Was Barbara Stanwyck the best part of the Thornbirds miniseries? (No? Get off this blog.)
  • Have you given a plant-based diet a go?
  • Do you love rice milk?

Share with the group!

Notes on Privilege + White Feminism (Featuring Other Gross Societal Fails)

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We are all aware at this point who run the world.

(Girls. It’s girls.)

We’re about to publish a post called “Wonder Women + Wonder Writers: 4 Dope Books from Female Authors”

Female authors are always going to feature heavily on I Read Therefore, but it needs to be acknowledged that all the women on this first list are white CIS women. We wanted a self-help, a non-fiction, a fiction, and a cookbook. While it’s a coincidence that these authors were Caucasian we all know it is NOT a coincidence that women of color, queer women, trans-women and other marginalized communities have never received equal opportunity in any category of publishing. In the next three months we have six posts on the calendar that celebrate and signal boost women of color, the LGBTQ community, female Native American authors and female first nations/indigenous authors from countries around the world. (They’re going to be really good, get hyped.)

A fair question: “Are you intentionally seeking out works by women in these categories so your book blog is less white and straight and male?” Yes. Hell yes. That’s exactly what we’re doing.

Another fair question: “How are you going to deal with white straight dudes having been published at such astronomically higher rates historically, when a big (cool) part of the blog is reaching way, way, way back for titles?” We’re not going to stress about it. “Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.” Shine the spotlight where it’s been too dark too long (Girls. It’s girls.)

Last question for today: “VIRTUE SIGNALLING?! PROBLEMATIC FAVES?! WHAT DO?!” Obviously that is not a question–it’s the anxiety vortex swirling in our brains about how to deal with these things. Frank answer: we don’t know. We’re going to figure it out as we go. A lot of this framework is unfolding before our very eyes on the world stage; we’re listening, learning, and bringing bucket loads of humility and awareness of our own ignorance to the table. (THAT’S virtue signalling.) Please please please please please comment anything and everything you have in your mind and/or heart on anything and everything we post. We are listening. And your time and energy is so appreciated.

Related: we are drained af now. It’s okay to admit that the discomfort of meditating on and discussing inequality, injustice, your own privilege and privilege at large makes your chest hurt and your ears ring. You get to feel your overwhelm and feel your queasy, sludgy feelings as they surface: just remember they’re no one else’s problem.

(Confession: we are so bad about this. “Ooo I, a middle class white person, need a hug and a nap because racism and heternormitivity are scary and I don’t know how to handle it.” Lame. Chill.)

We’re all in this together, us + you + everyone. And we’re reading books and talking about books, and reading books and talking about books turns ignorance to ash.

Humility. Humility. Humility. Humility.

– Host