2020 book reviews part 1

July 7, 2020

As I shared in my 2019 book review- 2 years ago I would have never imagined writing book summaries, because quite frankly- reading books was something I didn´t do. I believe that reading is one of those things though that the more you do it persistently, the more your appetite grows.

My appetite has definitely grown (metaphorically AND literally because of being pregnant:D), so instead of waiting until the end of the year and writing the longest blog post the world has seen, I decided to do the half-year summary.

Last year I finished my 20th book exactly on the 31st of December and set my low goal for this year at 21, the high goal at 24 (2 books a month). It is July and I´ve finished 25, so today I´ll write the overviews of the first 20.

It seems that Corona- time and quarantine pushed a lot of people to pick up books, but many of my friends have said that it hasn´t stayed a habit. It´s easy to say- “Well, now I just don´t have time for it again.” I believe reading is never something you just have time for. Nothing is. You just MAKE time for it if that is important enough for you.

You never have time for reading, you MAKE time for it

So here are some ideas that have helped me stay consistent with the habit and hopefully will help you too:

  • Time-efficiency with audiobooks

I listen to an Audiobook and read a physical book usually at the same time. Often times I combine some kind of activity with listening to audiobooks. For example, when I go on my walks, I always have headphones in my ears. When I clean on the weekends, often for multiple hours, I mostly listen to something at the same time. Trust me- washing floors becomes much more fun when a good book is playing;) When I have to drive to a further destination and am alone in the car I frequently pop an audiobook on. During those times I give myself permission to fully be in that moment so that the focus from listening doesn´t shift.

Walks? beautiful views for the eyes and great thoughts from the Audiobooks to the ears
  • A specific time for physical books

I personally read physical books before going to bed. Some days less, some days more pages, but always at least a few. Even reading one page a day will get you further than none. Some people read in the mornings and that works great for them. Whenever is a better time for you, commit to it. If it is in the ” I´ll do it at some point during the day” category, then the likelihood of it happening is very rare.

Choose a specific time in the day to form the reading habit
  • Making notes and conclusions

When I am reading a physical book and it´s not borrowed, I generally use a highlighter to emphasize ideas that I want to especially remember. When I am listening to an audiobook I type ideas into Notes app. For me making summaries has helped a ton to overall be more excited about reading. Before it was common that even if I finished any book at the end of it I didn´t remember half of what I had read. Making notes actually helps to comprehend the most important takeaways and lessons from the book.

Nick´s book launch and the “most discussed book in our household” in 2020

With these thoughts I present to you 2020 book reviews part one:

  1. “The Ride of a Lifetime” Robert Eiger

I´ve loved Disney characters since I was little. Never had I imagined though what does it mean to run a business that has created everything associated with these amazing creatures who are adored all over the world. Well, not only did I end up learning about the company responsible for a lot of my childhood favorites but also got an insight into a person´s life is the head of it. Robert Iger shares the leadership lessons of his 15 years serving as Disney´s CEO. Reading about his schedule, waking up at 4.15 EVERY morning, and scheduling his time to a minute shows his absolute commitment to building a great company.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.”
  • “Innovate or die, and there’s no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new or untested.”
  • “If you approach and engage people with respect and empathy, the seemingly impossible can become real.”
  • “Somehow that’s the trick of leadership, too, I think, to hold on to that awareness of yourself even as the world tells you how powerful and important you are. The moment you start to believe it all too much, the moment you look yourself in the mirror and see a title emblazoned on your forehead, you’ve lost your way. That may be the hardest but also the most necessary lesson to keep in mind, that wherever you are along the path, you’re the same person you’ve always been.”

2. “Dare to Lead” Brene Brown

Last year I read Brene Brown´s “The Gifts of Imperfection” and had a lot of great reminders, so I was really excited to dig into this one. As my first book was also about leadership it was interesting to continue on the topic and bring parallels with the two thought-leaders. Leadership incorporates often dealing with a set of “soft topics” that can be seen as fluffy. I appreciate how Brene Brown backs up the value and importance of those with thorough research and stories. Although most of the examples are from professional settings I believe a lot of the principles can be implemented in leading also a family.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “We fail the minute we let someone else define success for us.”
  • “There is no strength without vulnerability. To be the person who we long to be – we must take off the armor, put down the weapons, show up, and let ourselves be seen.”
  • “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.”
  • “We asked a thousand leaders to list marble-earning behaviors—what do your team members do that earns your trust? The most common answer: asking for help. When it comes to people who do not habitually ask for help, the leaders we polled explained that they would not delegate important work to them because the leaders did not trust that they would raise their hands and ask for help. Mind. Blown.”
  • “People are people. Strip away the titles”

3. “Atomic Habits” James Clear

I am a firm believer that the level of our individual habits makes up the quality of our life. I have studied habits a bunch and professionally help people develop and sustain habits that serve them long-term, still had so many moments where I paused this audiobook and let an idea soak in. This book broke the nature of habits and the steps to changing them down so, so well. Applause- worthy!

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
  • “You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”
  • “The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.”
  • “When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”
  • “You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it.”
  • “Mastery takes patience. One atomic habit a day won´t make a difference, but the accumulation will!”
  • “If your beliefs don´t change, your habits won´t too. Your identity has to be adjusted first.”

4. “The One Things” Gary Keller

This book discusses the value of simplifying workload by focusing on the one most important task in any given project. I felt the book served the same idea over and over, so it got a bit repetitive, but at the same time honed in the main thought really strongly. The author Gary Keller built himself up from a real- estate agent to being the co-founder of one of the world´s largest real-estate franchises, so clearly- he is the epitome of implementing “The One Thing” concept.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “The world doesn´t know your purpose or priority and isn´t responsible for them. You are! So it´s your job to protect your time blocks from all those who don´t know what matters most to you and from yourself when you forget.”
  • “The secret of getting ahead is getting started”
  • “Work is a rubber ball. It´ll always bounce back. Family, health, friends, integrity are glass balls. You don´t want to drop those.”
  • “Multitasking is merely an opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.”
  • “Appointments with yourself are as important as with others.”
  • “Activity is often unrelated to productivity and busyness rarely takes care of business. High achievers work with a sense of priority.”
  • “It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do, it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.”

5. “Mamba Mentality” Kobe Bryant

This January the world was shocked by hearing the news about Kobe Bryant´s tragic helicopter accident. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, a husband, a dad to 4 beautiful girls, a leader, Emmy, and Oscar winner- the world definitely lost an outstanding person. Kobe´s passing made me think so much about how people use their time on this planet to make an impact. People die every minute and we all have exactly the same amount of minutes every day, but not everyone´s lives are celebrated the way his was. Reading this book showed why. His focus, commitment, work ethic and drive to his craft, to his family and passions were absolutely astonishing.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life.”
  • “If you really want to be great at something you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it.”
  • “I never thought about my daily preparation. It wasn’t a matter of whether it was an option or not. It was if I want to play, this is what I have to do, so I’d just show up and do it.”
  • “It’s weird, actually—fundamentals aren’t really fundamental anymore. A lot of players don’t understand the game or the importance of footwork, spacing. It’s to the point where if you know the basics, you have an advantage on the majority of players.”
  • “Coaches are teachers. Some coaches—lesser coaches—try telling you things. Good coaches, however, teach you how to think and arm you with the fundamental tools necessary to execute properly. …Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.”

6. “What I Know for Sure” Oprah Winfrey

When I once asked for some book recommendations, this was one that many mentioned. Oprah´s name is probably familiar to most people, but starting this book I didn´t know too much about her story or life. Learning about her childhood, giving birth at 14 years old, losing a baby, dealing with physical abuse, self-value struggles and so much more it is so inspiring to me how she has just kept on going, holding her head up high. Today she has built a portfolio of businesses, through her famous talk-show impacted millions of lives and become one of the most influential and financially successful women in the world. In this book, she shares her main principles- joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “If the only prayer you will ever say is “thank you” it will be enough.”
  • “What I know for sure is that pleasure is energy reciprocated: What you put out comes back. Your base level of pleasure is determined by how you view your whole life.”
  • “There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life.”
  • “When you have nothing to be ashamed of when you know who you are and what you stand for, you stand in wisdom.”
  • “You are the single biggest influence in your life.”

7. “Build an Empire” Elena Cardone

Cardones have achieved a lot in their life and more than what they have accomplished I admire how they have done it. While building their empire they have set in place clear rules and roles and are not willing to sacrifice any area of their life that matters to them. Family, health, business, physical appearance, relationships- everything is taken care of with intention and precision. Elena is a gorgeous, smart, fearless, persistent, classy, hard-working power-house type of woman and she is someone I have mad respect for. Reading about her upbringing in New Orleans and wild lifestyle with drugs and alcohol, guns, it proves, even more, how determined she is. I love how she draws parallels with a kingdom setup. “Even in Chess, the Queen has more power than the King…The Queen protects its King to maintain the survival of the kingdom.” She definitely plays her role mighty well!

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “Empires are destroyed from the inside.”
  • “I vet everyone in our Royal Court. All who come in contact with me and Frant. The Queens make the hard decisions, no matter what they say, for the good of all.”
  • “If everyone on this planet lived up to their full potential and succeeded only imagine the contribution to the planet. It would be a renaissance of earth.”
  • “Normal is dangerous. “
  • “If you are not building an empire, you are destroying one.”

8. “Billion Dollar Whale” Tom Wright, Bradley Hope

Last year I read “Bad Blood” which similarly to this book shares a fraud on a large, international scale. Yet again it´s hard for me to grasp how in this day and age a crime this huge, involving swingling over 5 billion dollars globally and getting away without a legal process is even imaginable. Even crazier- during that time maintaining a lavish, luxury lifestyle and innocence. Some of these numbers and actions are just so insane. For example between October 2009 and June 2010—a period of only eight months the main character Low and his entourage spent $85 million on alcohol, gambling in Vegas, private jets, renting superyachts, and to pay Playmates and Hollywood celebrities to hang out with them. Since it is a true story with well- known names (Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton, Miranda Kerr) making an entrance, it makes it a very thrilling book to read.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “His was a scheme for the twenty-first century, a truly global endeavor that produced nothing—a shift of cash from a poorly controlled state fund in the developing world, diverting it into the opaque corners of an under-policed financial system that’s all but broken.”
  • “Mortality and aging cast a shadow across everyone’s life, but the uberwealthy have a better chance of cheating death.”
  • “This is a fucking scam—anybody who does this has stolen money,” Belfort told Anne, as the music thumped. “You wouldn’t spend money you worked for like that.”

9. “The Wizenard Series” Kobe Bryant, Wesley King

During the news of Kobe´s death, I read quite a bit about his life and games. Most know about his basketball achievements, but when he finished his career as a professional athlete and people asked- “What are you going to do now?” he said- “I am going to be a story-teller.” That not sounding like a “real” thing to do, most probably shoved it off thinking that is a privileged thing to say for someone who wouldn´t have to work a day in his life anymore. Kobe proved them wrong with creating the “Wizenard Series” which hit the New York Times bestseller. It shares a portrait of five young basketball players- their fears, challenges, limits; one enlightening coach, and the transformative power of the game.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “Everyone has a choice every moment of the day. Look, or look away.”
  • “Give your fear a face or you will see it everywhere.”
  • “If you don´t like being alone you must learn to like yourself.”
  • “If you bring too much with you, how are you going to help others with your bags?”
  • “There is only one critic that matters.”
  • “No one wins alone. Those who forget this do not win.”
  • “Anger is your mind telling you to step away and breath.”
  • “What you see in the mirror comes from the mind, not the body.”

10. “Miracle Morning” Hal Elrod

I told myself for a long time- “I am just not a morning person.” Comes out it is not necessarily a code in our genes, but rather a decision we´ve made and then the supporting case we have built around it for ourselves. Over the years I have worked hard to hone in my morning routine and come to believe I can be a morning person if I want to. Since this is a topic I´ve devoted quite a bit of effort previously, this book to me mainly gave tweaks to make it even more impactful. For someone who knows their mornings are wonky and has wanted to change that, this is an amazing book. Hal Elrod shared his magnificent healing story from a car accident and the steps of a miracle morning- silence/meditation, journaling, affirmations/prayer, visualization, reading, exercising.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “Give up being perfect for being authentic.”
  • “You are where you are because of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be.”
  • “Why is it that when a baby is born we often refer to him or her as ‘the miracle of life’ but then we go on to accept mediocrity for our own lives. When did we lose sight of the Miracle that WE are living?”
  • “Those who only do what they feel like… don’t do much. To be successful at anything you must take action even when you don’t feel like it, knowing that the action itself will produce the motivation you need to follow through.”
  • “You are always exactly where you are supposed to be, experiencing what you need to experience, to learn what you must learn, in order to become the person you need to be to create the life you truly want.  Always.”

11. “Why We Sleep” Matthew Walker

When I worked with Southwestern Advantage, selling books for 5 years door-to-door we used to always say- “Sleep makes champions.” That was a very specific part of our schedule and was supposed to be protected fiercely. I never fully bought into the idea, because it seemed to me, that the hustle and grind mentality didn´t appreciate nor leave too much time for something like sleep. This book absolutely debunks that myth and shows how we are linguistically, mentally, physically, socially, nutritionally, emotionally, behaviourally, organizationally, economically, cognitively…. basically in EVERY way dependent on the quality of our sleep.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “Inadequate sleep is the foundation for a lot of diseases. A good sleep schedule can often do what medicine can´t.”
  • “Humans are the only species who deprive themselves of sleep without any gain.”
  • “Tiredness causes more deadly car accidents than drugs of alcohol.”
  • “Sleep is the single most important thing we can do to reset our brain and body.”
  • “Coffee and energy drinks and great, but there is absolutely nothing that can sustainably substitute sleep.”

12. “10X Rule” Grant Cardone

Since I fell in love with Elena Cardone and I´ve been following them for a while it made sense to dig into one of Grant´s books too. Sometimes I like holding a physical book much more than an audio one, but this definitely worked the opposite way. Since Grant read it himself his commitment, enthusiasm, confidence, and unshakable belief in his principles pierced through every word of his and struck a stronger chord. While Elena to me serves her ideas in a bit softer, yet confident way, Grant is very much cut to the chase, raw, straight, and hard-core with his points. It may seem offensive at times, but I think is very necessary and helpful in order to catch one´s ear and actually reinforce action.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “Good things don´t happen to victims.”
  • “Success is not only about achieving your targets, but also maintaining them. “
  • “Don´t look for balance, look for abundance.”
  • “Customer acquisition focus should always surpass customer satisfaction focus.”
  • “Weak and overwhelmed individuals respond to others’ success by attacking it.”
  • “You know, you don’t need to grow old to die. I was dying at the age of 20 as a result of no direction and no purpose.”

13. “Sex. Power. Money” Sara Pascoe

I was a bit skeptical starting a book written by a female stand-up comedian, especially on those topics on the cover, but at the same time, it was a too intriguing title to let it pass by. The book is witty and comical, but also well-researched. She presents scientific studies while cautioning not to make too many generalizations of the findings. Her feminist voice shines throughout, and her arguments are sensible and convincing, especially in recognizing the contradictions on the subject. The piece addresses matters like porn, prostitution, gender equality, our evolutionary biology, raising boys and girls, and what roles sex, power and money play in society and how they intersect/influence each other.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “We see things not as they are, but as we are.”
  • Dopamine is creating our urges, needs, wants- our desire- then oxytocin is sating it. This is why being with the person you love is so satisfying while unrequited love is pure agitation. Our dopamine pathway is a powerful motivator to getting what we want, but when we can´t get it, if we are fixated on something or someone impossible, then it can leave us anguished.”
  • “Birds are monogamous because their young require the input of two parents. This isn’t a romance, it’s an evolutionary necessity.”

14. “Teekond iseenedani” Liis Velsker (Estonian´s authors´ book reviews I will write in Estonian)

Olen Liisi juba ammu sotsiaalmeedia vahendusel jälginud. Eelmine aasta kui mul avanes võimalus vinge Katrin Hinrikus-Karuga ühte Täitsa Pekkis saadet läbi viia, tuli Liisi nimi mulle interviueeritava otsinguil kohe esimesena mõtteisse. Olen alati hinnanud tema ausust ja läbipaistvust jagades oma teekonda koos kõikide selle emotsioonide ja üles-alla võngetega. Liis kirjutab enda raamatus oma teekonnas kehakaalu ja tervisega seoses lapsepõlvest tänaseni. Liis pajatab enda tunnetest diabeedi diagnoosiga trullakaks plikaks olemiseks ning edasi möllumeelseks, pidutsevaks neiuks kujunemisest. Ta jagab ideid oma nüüdsest terviseentusiasti elust, eneseväärtusest ja printsiipidest, mis teda sellest kõigest läbi minnes on aidanud.

Peamised tähelepanekud / meeldetuletused:

  • “Proovi ja sa ei kahetse- tänulikkus, mediteerimine, sport, tervislik toit, raamatud.”
  • “Lõpeta hinnagute andmine! Mul on kahju sellest kui ihti me teisi hukka mõistame. Kui palju on inimestel julgust öelda halba selle asemel, et öelda head. Või üldse- kui palju on kõigil teiste kohta midagi öelda. Kui tahad öedla halba, siis ole parem vait. Kui tahad öelda head, siis ütle see välja.”
  • “Lepi iseendaga! Olen terve elu püüdnud end muuta, aga kas tead, kui väsitav see on? Muidugi tead, sest me kõik oleme püüdnud seda teha.”
  • “Veeda aega iseendaga! Ma olen seda tuhat korda öeldnud, aga kordan veel! Enesearmastus ei tule lihtsalt. See pole selline “Põmm! Ja nüüd armastan ennast!” Õpi enda tundma, veeda aega endaga, mõtiskle ja esita küsimusi. “

15. “What Noone Tells You- a guide to your emotions through pregnancy to motherhood” Alexandra Sacks, Catherin Birndorf

Here we go with the baby books…:) I started listening to this book being about 18 weeks pregnant and that was the time I was the most emotional. It was a pretty ordinary sight- me on my morning walk, wiping tears from my eyes. It wasn´t necessarily that this very book was so moving, it was just that was pretty much the first time in the pregnancy that I fully allowed myself to believe this is really happening. Since it was the first book of its kind for me and I didn´t have any comparison on the topic yet, I really appreciate how it focused on not only the “how-to” part of pregnancy and motherhood but more of all the emotions flowing through the women´s body and mind during that time.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “On your child´s birthdays don´t just celebrate the baby, celebrate yourself too. You are doing one hell of a job!”
  • “Don´t project your own habits and issues on the baby.”
  • “Trust! The baby will step-by-step teach you how to take care of him/ her.”
  • “There is no such thing as a perfect mom. In parenthood being good enough is really good enough. It´s not the enemy of great.”
  • “Throughout all of the pregnancy and postpartum emotions talk to your partner like you would with a stranger- be polite, ask directly, and don´t assume they are a mind-reader.”

16. “Brandability” Nick Connor

Yeap- you do see correct! I share the same last name with the author of this book. In fact, he was the one who gave me that name. As crazy as it may seem- I am reviewing my husband´s book:) During the time Nick was writing this book I didn´t get too involved in the process. I heard bits and pieces and obviously saw him in the creation, but I never read the manuscript before it went to print. So I was reading it the same way I would read any other book (just with a lot of familiar names and situations:D) Anyway… I was amazed the entire time I read it. My best friend and the love of my life put this together??? Nick has always captivated me with his ability to write in an engaging, simple yet impactful way, but this truly exceeded my expectations. The fact that he self-published it adds another skillset into the mix.

Although we discuss our business ideas all the time, some of these things were even new to me. So doing the exercises along I gained some clarity on my vision and action steps. The book is divided into two bigger parts- first the mental side of building your business and second the technical one. Plus important phases of Nick´s own journey- losing his father, deepening his faith, being celibate for two years, building his own business, and more. Surely a great book for salespeople, leaders, entrepreneurs.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “How much is really enough? One person can only spend so much money, and you can only be so free. But will you ever feel that you´ve done enough when it comes to making a difference?”
  • “I´ve got good news, bad news, and great news. The good news is that you get to choose where you end up. What´s the bad news? Unfortunately, your mind is going to try to convince you that it´s impossible for you to end up in your chosen destination, but the great news is that your future has nothing to do with your past.”
  • “New level, new devil.”

17. “Elon Musk” Ashlee Vance

Reading Elon Musk´s book I was reminded again, that there is no successful person with an easy past or a simple path that they´ve walked. To me, it´s always interesting to learn about the upbringing of people like him to understand what molded them to be the person they are. Elon´s rough childhood in South-Africa, difficulties at home, bullying and beatings at school made him resilient and tough. The harder it got, the better he got. No one would probably ever wish for a childhood like that in order to become what he has become, but knowing that was his beginning, makes his journey even more admirable. Looking at what he has built, the insanely vast vision he has for what he is still going to create and the way he has impacted multiple industries is mind-blowing. Sometimes the saying- “One person can change the world” may sound too unrealistic or even fluffy, dreamy. In some cases the saying is true!

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “To the extent that the world still doubts Elon, I think it’s a reflection on the insanity of the world and not on the supposed insanity of Elon.”
  • “What’s fascinating is that Musk remains willing to lose it all.”
  • “One of the really tough things is figuring out what questions to ask. Once you figure out the question, then the answer is relatively easy. I came to the conclusion that really we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask.”
  • “If the rules are such that you can’t make progress, then you have to fight the rules.”

18. “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill

This book was published in 1937 and although it has timeless information and forever relevant wisdom, I found it a little slow. If that would have been one of the firsts of this type of literature for me, the situation would have probably been different. Many good reminders, but not so much “Oh, that´s a good one” new moments for me. Nevertheless, this piece was a pathmaker for a lot of authors and books, and I admire that. Napoleon Hill´s son´s story that he shares throughout the book is remarkable and proves again, that nothing in this world is impossible. The word itself says- “I´m possible.”

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “It´s not what you know, it´s what you use.”
  • “Nothing can take the place of persistence”
  • “Just plain knowledge is not power, it´s potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end.”
  • “Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.”
  • “Remember that your real wealth can be measured not by what you have, but by what you are.”
  • “A quitter never wins—and— a winner never quits.”
  • “The day of the “go-getter” has passed. He has been supplanted by the “go-giver.”
  • “Love is, without question, life’s greatest experience.”
  • “I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my Soul.”

19. “Gentleman in Moscow” Amor Towels

Starting this year my goal was to expand the type of literature I consume. I very rarely read or listen to novels. I´ve told myself a long time that I am not just that type of reader. If it´s made up and I can´t google more about it later if I wanted to, it´s not my cup of tea. What a silly story to tell myself! This book popped up on multiple lists and people´s recommendations that I follow and I had to see what the fuss is about. This historical fiction taking place in the Stalin era Moscow has a bit of everything- romance, politics, parenthood, espionage, and surprisingly it kept me engaged. Some descriptions were too long for my non-fictional, let´s get to the point brain, but overall I really enjoyed this one! Also, Amor Towel´s writing is so beautiful that it was a pleasure to listen to so masterful style.

Key take-aways/ reminders:

  • “If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue. “
  • “For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”
  • “Man must master his circumstances or otherwise be mastered by them.”
  • “Looking back, it seems to me that there are people who play an essential role in every turn. And I don’t just mean the Napoleons who influence the course of history; I mean men and women who routinely appear at critical junctures in the progress of art, or commerce, or the evolution of ideas—as if Life itself has summoned them once again to help fulfill its purpose.”

20. “Naiseks Olemise Kunst” Katrin Saali Saul

Ma ostsin selle raamatu kuskil 3 aastat tagasi mitmete sõbrannade soovitusel. Nii ta kannatlikult selle aja riiulis istus ja oma aega ootas. Alustasin küll tema lugemisega vähemalt kaks korda, aga jällegi leidsin, et kuidagi igav ja aeglane ja no mitte ei kõneta. Nüüd vaatas ta mulle sealt teiste raamatute vahelt uuesti ja eriti ahvatlevalt otsa ning ma olen nii tänulik, et selle lõplikult seekord ette võtsin. Raamat räägib neljast nais arheotüübist- tütarlaps, armastaja, kuninganna ning perenanine ja nende äärmuslikest versioonidest. Kirjutasin usinalt kaasa vastuseid küsimustele iga peatüki juures ning märkasin enda kohta asju, millele varem nii teadlikult polnud mõelnud. Rasedus on üldiselt kogu naiseks olemise kontseptsiooni minu jaoks muutnud ning ehk ka seepärast oli sisu nii mõjuvõimas.

Peamised tähelepanekud / meeldetuletused:

  • “Terve naine = terve perekond”
  • “Me vajame Tüdrukut endas, et elus mitte „ära kuivada“. Temas on elurõõmu, uudishimu ja imetlust. Tüdruku kõige tähtsam oskus on usaldada ning olla kohal – siin ja praegu. Ta hoiab suhtes lootust, näitab välja tundeid, on spontaanne, õnnelik, loov ja ta unistab.”
  • “Et südamel oleks põhjust edasi tuksuda, vajame me Armastajat, kes annab meile hinge- ja kehasoojust. Temas on tabamatu naiselikkus. Armastaja oskab olla salapärane, kirglik, häbitu, oskab nautida ning ahvatleda. Armastaja pakub seksuaalset naudingut, inspireerib meest tema muusana ja kiirgab rahulolu.”
  • “Perenaine loob meile kodu – koha, kuhu tulla. Tema oskustest sõltub meie sisemine puhtus, rahu ja tasakaal. Ta tunneb suhete seaduspärasusi, säilitab rahu, on teadlik oma väeallikatest, mõistab vaimseid põhitõdesid.”
  • “Et saaksime teha elus tarku valikuid, on meil vaja Kuningannat. Tema on see, kes oskab näha sihti, milleni jõuda ning kes oskab anda piisavalt hapnikku hingele ja ajule, et mitte ära minestada elukeerdkäikude ees ja sees. Ta oskab ennast väärtustada, ennast väljendada, oskab vaikida ja öelda ei. Ta teab oma missiooni elus, on kontaktis oma väega ja tunneb viisakusreegleid.”

Finishing this I want to emphasize again, that reading does not come easier to some people than others. For me, it definitely hasn´t. It´s a choice, like any other, that we make, commit, and execute. So even if you were like me in July 2018 with 0 books read during that year thus far, then you can still turn the switch.

Trying to turn Bruno into a bookworm

I´ll leave you with one thought from the master, Dr. Seuss himself- “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you´ll go.”

Love,

Liisa.

0
0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.