Mere Mortals Book Reviews

How can we use our resources to help others the most? William MacAskill, one of the cofounders of the Effective Altruism movement tries to answer this question in his book 'Doing Good Better'. Effective altruism essentially tries to provide guidelines for what an individual can do to have the maximum impact of 'good' in their lifetime. The book is roughly split into two sections; the theory and th...

How many people do you know that you would describe as a 'psychopath'?. If you answered none than you might be surprised at some of the info contained within 'The Psychopath Test' by Jon Ronson. The book is written in Ronson's signature style, jumping between different branches of the topic and interviewing bizarre people connected with the world of prisons, insane asylums and high powered CEO's....

'Two Who Survived' is the story of Rose & Max Schindler in the Nazi concentration camps, written by M. Lee Connolly. It follows their separate journeys as kids in an increasingly hostile Europe leading up to WWII, their survival through the Holocaust and subsequent life post-war. The book touches upon the need for hope/optimism in the darkest of times when staring in the maws of death. For tho...

How well do you really know your own mind? 'Thinking, Fast And Slow' is a hugely influential book published by the Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. In it he summarises 40 years of psychological research that helped to create the field of behavioural economics. The book is littered with gems of insight into the human brain and why humans behave the way we do. This includes heuristi...

What is the most shame you have felt and was it something public or private? 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed' is a deep dive into the topic of shame by the gonzo journalist Jon Ronson. In the book he interviews some notable people who have been shamed on a worldwide level (thanks to social media) as well as investigating the psychology of the people instigating the shaming. In his research he touc...

Disgrace: the loss reputation/respect as the result of a dishonourable action. J. M. Coetzee is a Nobel Prize winner and also was awarded the Booker Prize for 'Disgrace', a fictional story of a disgraced professor in post-apartheid South Africa. The books touches upon many themes such as: sexual misconduct, growing old, race relations, creating art, rape and animal rights. However the two principa...

In this bonus episode Juan goes through some of his favourite quotes and learnings from Steven Pressfield's 'The War of Art'. This is supplementary to his main book review, which can be found in the link below. Although it is a relatively short book, there is a bounty of quotes and beautiful language contained within. Juan found that many of these were great for keeping him motivated and on track...

Do you find yourself procrastinating and unable to overcome the negative self-talk of why you can't do something great? 'The War Of Art' is a fabulous kick in the pants by Steven Pressfield. In this book he explains his concept of 'Resistance', which is essentially the force that stops one from achieving the internal desire of creating and accomplishing something. It is similar to procrastination...

How much can one man endure while fulfilling his personal obligations to family/society? 'The Age of Innocence' was published in 1920 and one year later Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. Her book is set in the 1870's and follows the personal dramas of high society New York, centring around the love triangle between Newland Archer, his fiancée May Welland and her capti...

“The Fourth Age not only discusses what the rise of A.I. will mean for us, it also forces readers to challenge their preconceptions. And it manages to do all this in a way that is both entertaining and engaging.” —The New York Times Juan tackles the book The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity by Byron Reese. This book proved to be a great read if you want to...

In today's bonus episode we have some additional notes taken by Kyrin while reading Plato's 'Republic'. These expand upon some of the deeper themes encountered in the book and there were not covered in the previously released episode of the actual book review. These include: Kyrin's personal opinions on 'justice' and the treatment it received in the dialogues, game theory and how modern knowledge...

What is the experience of reading English literature in Spanish? 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' is the classic fictional account of carefree youth in the American antebellum south. We follow Tom and his faithful companions through adventures of piracy, playing hooky and finding buried treasure. The book evokes the childlike naivety/innocence that we all once experienced as well as the superstition...

How does one become a 'Philosopher King'? Plato's 'Republic' is one of the seminal works of philosophy and one that has had a tremendous impact on critical thought and culture. It follows Socrates as he converses with friends and interlocutors on the purpose of defining the nature of 'justice'. As part of his argument, Socrates develops the concept of a perfect 'Republic' led by his Philosopher Ki...

If you enjoy long, boring, tedious, conversation filled books, then look no further. 'Sons And Lovers' is the fictional story of a lower class English family living in the 19th century. It revolves largely around Gertrude Morel's two sons (William & Paul) and their unsatisfying relationships due to their overbearing mother. Her prolonged estrangement from her husband and vicarious living throu...

Is there a price for everlasting life? 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker is the origin story of the most famous vampire in literary and movie culture. We follow Dr Van Helsing and other intrepid heroes on their mission to destroy the undead creature after his relocation from Transylvania to London in the pursuit of fresh victims. The story evokes our fear of the unknown and the everyday qualities of normal...

How would your perspective change in the world of the giants or amongst the little people? 'Gulliver's Travels' is the classic 18th century travel adventure by Jonathan Swift. The book follows Lemuel Gulliver across his four adventures in strange lands amongst strange people. It deals with contrasting perspectives changed by viewpoint, the different types of government and the practicality of misa...

Were the ghosts real or was the Governess crazy? 'The Turn Of The Screw' & 'The Aspern Papers' are two novellas written by the uber-prolific Henry James (seriously, the dude wrote a lot). Both stories deal with a central character losing themselves in their situation, whether it be an uncertain horror transported into everyday reality or a man single-mindedly pursuing what he wants. Kyrin had...

The most enjoyable book that I have read all year! 'Life On The Mississippi' is a non-conventional book, alternating between memoirs, story telling, historical facts, reminisces of the past and cultural observations. Mark Twain gets the chance to recount his old adventures as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river in his youth and explore some of the changes that he has seen from before and af...

"He smote his breast, and thus reproached his heart. Endure, my heart; far worst has thou endured." If you are looking for an uplifting tale of a man's struggle through life, then look no further. 'The Odyssey' is the second of the epic poems by the Greek author Homer. Kyrin from the Mere Mortals crew has already reviewed the well renowned 'The Iliad' and herein contains his opinions of the journe...

Are great men born or made? Fyodor Dostoyevsky explores this question amongst many others in his extraordinary novel 'Crime And Punishment'. Published in 1866 this Russian masterpiece is still considered one of the greatest books ever written. It tells the story of Rodion Raskolnikov and his psychological undoing after committing a horrific crime in an insane intellectual pursuit. Raskolnikov's su...

Following on from the review of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Juan from the Mere Mortals digs into the learnings that he found through the book. As always, we hope you enjoy! Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/ Support the show

You really get to know what Mr Murakami talks about when he talks about running. A really wonderful piece of literature which comprises a few short pieces throughout his time in 2005/06 , it goes through the trials and tribulations of preparing for a marathon as he has aged, not doing as well as he would have expected, running distances longer than a marathon, the feelings around that and many mor...

Is there a moral boundary that cannot be crossed, even by those who act unthinkingly? 'Thérèse Raquin' is a simple story with only four main characters. Set in 19th century Paris, it tells of passion, betrayal, murder, deception and ultimately, accountability. Émile Zola wrote the book in a literary style known as 'Naturalistic'. In the preface he expressly states that he was interested in the tem...

Are you willing to put it all on the line and to die for your beliefs? In 'The Trial And Death Of Socrates' we indeed find someone who is willing to do this. This short book is composed from three of the four Socratic Dialogues (Apology/Crito/Phaedo) by the Athenian philosopher, Plato. It mostly takes the form of monologues by Socrates with some short back and forth with his friends. It tells of h...

“Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter.” This is a wholly Mere Mortal endorsed quote from 'The Iliad'. Written sometime long ago (thought to be 8th century B.C.) by the poet Homer, it is an epic poem of part of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans outside the walled city of Ilium. The main focus of...