July 2022 Reading List

I listened to The Other Einstein as an audiobook and it was read beautifully by Mozhan Marnò. Her gentle voice and her pronunciation of some difficult terms made it a real pleasure.

It is a fictional novel, based on Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein’s first wife. Mileva was highly intelligent and was one of the first women to study physics at an elite university at the turn of the twentieth century. Her fellow classmate was Albert Einstein.

It is hotly debated how much Mileva helped Albert with his early work, so in this novel, Marie Benedict has fictionalised how this relationship could have developed. From studying together to then working together on theories, it’s not long before Milevea realises that she is not getting the credit that she deserves with her name being excluded from published papers.

It definitely puts a different light on how Albert Einstein might have treated those around him, and that’s not a compliment. This was the time when women were expected to raise children, but with Mileva’s high intellect that wasn’t enough for her.

Narrated by Mozhan Marnò, it runs for 8 hours and 30 minutes.

The Whispered Word is the second book in the Secret, Book and Scone Society series by Ellery Adams. It picks up the story of Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, when she finds a girl hiding in her shop. Add a few other characters, a couple of deaths, some book inspired therapy and a strong group of friends and you get a very easy and enjoyable read that I finished in just a few days. It’s the perfect read to put you in a good mood (even if there are a few murders).

My favourite quote was:

This bookstore is their magic carpet ride. The stories can take them anywhere they want to go, and every journey makes them better people. This bookstore is a circus, magic show, candy store, and amusement park rolled into one.

To keep on a roll I read the third book of the Secret, Book and Scone Society series straight after The Whispered Word.

The relentless rain hits the town of Miracle Springs, and travellers are stuck. It rains for days and days, and a body is found in the river. It was no accident, they were murdered.

As Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, and her friends of the Secret, Book and Scone Society keep their businesses afloat they meet travellers staying at the local inn that is undergoing repair work, when a diary is discovered and could solve the murder.

Another enjoyable quick and easy read.

Lori Gottlieb is a therapist, and in this book, we get to have a peak into the therapist’s room. We follow the course of therapy for a few patients (a jumble of real people’s stories) – a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young woman diagnosed with a terminal illness, an elderly woman threatening to kill herself on her next birthday if things don’t improve, and a young woman who is dating the wrong men.

It also covers Lori finding a therapist for herself to work through her own difficulties.

An enlightening read that highlights how having someone to talk to, especially a therapist who is trained and of no relation to you, can transform lives. This is wrapped up in this quote from the book:

We all have a deep yearning to understand ourselves and be understood.

Mornings with Barney tells the story of how Barney the Beagle came into TV morning presenter Dick Wolfsie’s life one day when he went out his front door. Barney was a destructive dog from the get go, and with the insistence of Dick’s wife Dick started taking Barney to work with him as he did short TV slots on morning TV.

Before long Barney became a fixture of the TV slots and people would come far and wide to meet Barney (not Dick). A very charismatic dog that seems to have won many fans.

A funny read and though there were similarities to my dog, Spot, I’m so glad that my dog doesn’t go wandering the streets looking for new adventures.

Stolen Focus is a new release I found in the book section of Big W. The subtitle “Why you Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again” really struck me. I’ve been feeling this way for quite a while now and I thought this book might have some ideas. I thought I was alone in finding it hard to pay attention (or me and my 11 year old), but that’s not the case.

Johann Hari consulted many experts and collated their findings in this book. It covers many areas – social media, financial stress, distraction, diet, exercise, pollutants, etc. Johann does admit that some scientific findings are contradictory, making it especially hard to make suggestions on a better life. But the underlining fact is that as individuals we can’t make much of an impact. Ordinary individuals need to come together to form a movement and demand change.

It’s all summed up by with this quote from the end of the book:

To grow and flourish to its full potential, your focus needs certain things to be present: play for children and flow states for adults, to read books, to discover meaningful activities that you want to focus on, to have space to let your mind wander so you can make sense of your life, to exercise, to sleep properly, to eat nutritious food that makes it possible for you to develop a healthy brain, and to have a sense of safety. And there are certain things you need to protect your attention from, because they will sicken or stunt it: too much speed, too much switching, too much stimuli, intrusive technology designed to hack and hook you, stress, exhaustion, processed food pumped with dyes that amp you up, polluted air.