Mere Mortals Book Reviews

A book that's chockas full of useful info, but that probably only needs to be deeply learnt once. 'The Social Leap' by William von Hippel is a basic overview of our evolutionary past to explain how/why we behave and interact with others. In this case 'we' can be families, communities, companies, nations, couples, etc. It's split into 3 parts (past, present and future) with a mix of case studies, h...

All in all this wasn't my favourite month of reading, but yet the reading will go on! In April 2022 we covered 5 books on this channel. My favourite of the bunch was 'The Social Leap' which gave me a decent revision of some evolutionary basics. I was also surprised by how underwhelming 'Beowulf' was. I had heard about it a lot over my life up to this point and assumed it was an epic tale that woul...

We're onto the epics again and it's about time some Germanic was thrown in the mix. 'Beowulf' by an unknown poet is a short poem written in Old English and set in Scandinavia (particularly modern day Denmark & Sweden). It tells of 2 battles against monsters (Grendel and Grendel's mother) by the hero Beowulf as he seeks fame and glory. Many years later he has one final fight against a dragon to...

The subtleties of translation of prose are enigmatic, so I'm glad it's not my job. 'Borges On Writing' by Jorge Luis Borges is an edited transcript of a 1971 seminar in which Borges chats with colleagues and students about all things writing. It includes a deconstruction of his own work, his personal writing process and thoughts on translating from Spanish to English. I summarised the book as foll...

The lady in this story takes the idiom of 'cutting off one's nose to spite one's face' to a whole nother level. 'Medea And Other Plays' by Euripides are a collection of 4 complete and translated plays from the Athenian playwright. They are written in the style they were to be performed, so include prompts for the actors and descriptions of what would be happening on the stage. They are relatively...

The Mere Mortals review 'Rogue State' by William Blum. Testing america by the same standards that get used to judge other countries. The facts are layed out in this book, but perhaps not in the most consumable and unbiased way. I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro (1:30) - Synopsis (6:00) - Takeaways Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: h...

A book about crazy people (who are actually pretty sane) saved this month from being a mediocre washout. In March we covered 4 books on this channel. It was a mix of social commentary, fictional realism, complex narrative and a biography. The standout for me was 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey, a book about a mental hospital with a tyrannical nurse. I loved the concept of the 'Combi...

For a bunch of people in a mental hospital there is a whole lot of decent sense making going on. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey is an exploration of social stigma, overbearing control and fighting for the defenceless. The overbearing power of The Combine matched with the machinery of the institution forms a force that seeks to bring order by squashing all before it. Taking place in...

There is a reason most writers stick to the standard narrative & chronological format .... and that's because it can be confusing as fuck without it! 'The Green House' by Mario Vargas Llosa is an experimental novel set in the Piura region of northern Peru. It follows 12 characters of roughly equal importance as they deal with interweaving relationships, the rubber trade, Christianity amongst t...

'Steve Jobs' by Walter Isaacson is a thick but well informed book into who Steve was, how many of the big brands we know today began and glimpses into stories from many perspectives. I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro (1:25) - Synopsis (4:45) - Themes (12:10) - Takeaways Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcas...

If you want to change your stereotypical impression of the Irish & Dublin .... then don't read this book. 'Dubliners' by James Joyce is a collection of 15 short stories published as his first book. They are mostly a description of middle class Irish life with every story being set somewhere in Dublin. It covers a variety of character ages, lives, settings and situations. One theme that isn't c...

I found a book I rated highly and also had some quotes that spoke to me, which is why this recap is so long! In February we covered 4 books on this channel. It was a mix of philosophy, dystopian sci-fi and emotional love stories. The standout for me was Finite & Infinite Games by James Carse. This is the type of philosophy that I can actually enjoy. It was written in the last couple of decades...

'Love Stories' by Trent Dalton focus on the myriad experience of love, all told through stories he gained while sitting on the corner of a Brisbane City street. Definitely a book that makes you think about love and helps you reconsider the way you personally have experienced and others individual stories. I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out! Timeline: (0:00) - I...

Have you thought about what kind of games you've been playing, if not then maybe you should? 'Finite And Infinite Games' by James P. Carse is somewhat of a philosophy that divides human actions and interactions into two types of games. The finite game is bounded, has fixed rules, is serious and theatrical. The infinite game on the other hand has no end, with constantly changing rules/players and h...

A book that had a huge impact at its inception is still gaining cultural relevance 2 decades later. 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson depicts a dystopian USA where technology is way more advanced but life is significantly more dangerous. Hiro Protagonist and YT have to save the world from a biological-cum-digital virus that is enslaving people. Notable for it's futuristic ideas that are appearing in...

Is Sisyphus trapped in an eternal torment, or is he perhaps the most fulfilled man in history? 'The Myth Of Sisyphus' by Albert Camus are multiple essays diving into the philosophy of the absurd. There are 4 main parts that examine whether suicide is a good idea, the thoughts/actions of an absurd man, artists who have created absurd fictional characters and why Sisyphus is the embodiment of the ab...

Well you can't accuse me of sticking to only one type of book, I was all over shop this month. For January 2022 I tackled Leviathan and man that was booooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnnggggg. I much more enjoyed Lolita (which was less controversial than I thought it would be) and Nathaniel's Nutmeg (detailing the crazy adventurers and merchants in the 1500's). A big thanks to Petar & Oscar Merry for he...

A seminal work that many people like to quote (including me), but probably haven't read (not me now). 'Leviathan' by Thomas Hobbes is a treatise on human nature/government/religion and how they all mingle. His basic argument is that human emotions & our individual rights lead to war. Therefore we need a government to contain this violence. The book is very detailed and contains lots of definit...

The real spice wars don't turn out so well for the little guy, but there is just as much death/mayhem. 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg' by Giles Milton is a narrative history of the spice trade in the early 1500's to mid 1600's. It reveals the shipping rivalry that occurred between England & The Dutch over the highly valuable spices of nutmeg, pepper and cloves. It's told through individual adventurers wi...

Delusion, obsession and dubious ethical choices swirl around in the head of this unreliable narrator. 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov details the disturbed account of Humbert Humbert's (the narrator) fantasy with the young Dolores Haze (Lolita). Humbert lusts after 'nymphets' and begins a semi-consensual sexual relationship with the underage Lolita. However the relationship is perhaps not all it seem...

'Twelve and a Half' by Gary Vaynerchuck (aka Gary Vee) focuses on the 12 emotional traits that are the crucial ingredients to successful interactions, on and off the business landscape.  The half includes an emotion which Gary himself is building up, kind candor, and the book is split up into three parts: Decription of each emotion, examples and excercises to build up your skills in each emotion....

'The Art of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin might be better detailed as the Art of Mastering.  I summarised the book as follows. "Broken up into the fundamentals and the progress from chess master to push hands champion, Josh does a phenomenal job of sharing his life lessons with us" I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro (1:30) - Synopsis (6:1...

Unfortunately there were no real standout books for this month. For December 2021 I have been reading some slightly thinner works and took a break from the philosophy to find some fun ones that wouldn't test my brain too much. And whilst I did enjoy all of these, none of them stood out as something I would remember strongly and be likely to bring up in everyday conversation.  I hope you have a fan...

Woooooeeeewooooeeee. Misleading title alert!!! 'Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs' by Paul Carter is a memoir of Paul's 35 years of life from 1969-2004. It's told in a chronological order and is centred around his work life in the oil drilling industry. This profession took him all over the world (Nigeria, Brunei, Colombia, Russia, Singapore, etc.,) and resulted in zany stories involving bar fight...

Mon Ami, Hercule Poirot is on the scene! 'Peril At End House' by Agatha Christie is a whodunnit crime story that will leave you guessing until the very end. Nick Buckley has 3 close calls with death before her cousin Maggie is killed in her place. Fortunately Poirot and Hastings are available to investigate the crime and untangle the weave of seemingly incomprehensible events. I summarised the boo...