Four Stars

Best for: Anyone who realizes that their phone has become less of a tool and more of an additional appendage.

In a nutshell: Catherine Price provides evidence for the dangers of too much phone use, and offers an EFFECTIVE (in my experience) 30-day program to be more intentional in our use of it.

Worth quoting:
“Smartphones have infiltrated our lives so quickly and so thoroughly that we have never stopped to think about what we actually want our relationships with them to look like.”
“What reward are you hoping to receive, or what discomfort are you trying to avoid?”

Why I chose it: I don’t have a job right now, and I find myself with more free time. I don’t want to spend it staring at my phone. Additionally, having moved from friends yet again I’m trying to balance how to stay engaged with them across continents and time zones while still engaging with the life I’m living here, now.

Review:
This book has the potential to be a game changer for me and, hopefully, for you, if you find the topic interesting. Part of it focuses on social media (and this is obviously an issue close to readers and staff at Pajiba http://www.pajiba.com/think_pieces/facebook-is-a-filthy-cesspit-of-fake-news-and-narcissistic-validation-im-so-glad-i-deleted-my-account.php), but in general it focuses on why we use our phones and what our use may be doing to us.

That first quote up there really gets to the heart of why this book is so effective: while at some point during the break-up you do go 24 hours without your phone (I did it Saturday morning – Sunday morning, and I’m still here), it isn’t REALLY about giving up your phone forever. It’s about being more intentional with your time; specifically how you can get your phone working for you.

Price spends the first half of the book convincing the reader of all the ways our phones fuck with our heads. From interrupting relationships (how many of us whip out our phones when meeting up with friends), to abbreviating our attention spans, to just generally wasting our time, phones aren’t doing us a whole lot of favors. But this book isn’t pushing the reader to throw our our phones; it’s about, again, paying attention to when we use our phones and way.

For me, my phone is part tool: it helps me get around my new city, it helps me figure out what the fuck it means when the weather tells me it’s going to 9 today (oh how I miss Farenheit); it lets me keep track of our budget. It’s also a way to stay in touch: Whatsapp has become a great way to stay connected to family back in the US; Slack keeps one group of friends sharing photos and links; texts let me know when the furniture is being delivered.

It’s also been (until now), a way to play around with social media. I have three Twitter accounts: a professional one with my legal name, a personal one with a user name, and one for my website. I follow a lot of news organizations on the professional one; my personal one is where I follow more opinion writers. It’s how I’ve felt connected to the world. I also had Facebook on there, and Instagram. And email.

Now? I still have Instagram and some news apps, but all the twitter apps I had are gone, as is Facebook. I still log in from my phone, but I have to actually LOG IN. I can’t just flip in open. As part of the 30-day process, Price suggests downloading a time usage tracker; I used OFFTIME, and it’s been shocking and illuminating. It has all sorts of tricks, like setting up a schedule for when your phone is in lock down and when it isn’t, and it also tracks the amount of time you’re spending on your phone.

Part of the process also involves turning off all (or nearly all) notifications. So I still have news apps, but none of the notifications are turned on. I have email, but I have to actually open the app to see if I have new messages. I still get notifications for texts / Whatsapp / slack, but I don’t feel as beholden to it.

There are other great steps, like making the bedroom a phone-free zone (she recommends buying an actual alarm clock; I have a watch that I can use that way, so that was an easy fix for me), and making dinner a phone-free zone as well. I’ve decided to make all meals phone-free as much as possible, and I’ve started turning my phone off at 9PM on weeknights.

Price recognizes that our phones are connections to the world in many ways, and she doesn’t judge the reasons people use them. She just wants us all to make sure we are using them the ways we want. If scrolling through Twitter for 20 minutes after the washing up is done in the evening is a good way for you to relax, then go for it! But set a time limit before the entire evening goes away. Replace that time with things you want to do – maybe instead of spending an hour on Facebook, you can spend an hour learning to draw, or playing a game with your partner.

I’m still a little worried, and still sorting out exactly what relationship I want with my phone. For the past 14 months since the 2016 election I’ve felt that I need to be on social media to know what’s going on so I can be a good activist. But I’ve taken that too far, and it’s not helping anyone or anything. I’m not going to delete my accounts, but I am going to take advantage of things like lists so that I can be more intentional about what I’m reading, and set aside specific times to read them.

I love my phone. It has so many features and ways that improve my life. My partner makes his livelihood off of mobile games (and has since moved to a company that has a philosophy about gaming that better matches intentional usage as opposed to time- and money-sucking addictive behavior), so I’m certainly not about to suggest that games are bad. I don’t think any component is really bad on it’s own; it’s about how we make use of it. It’s about living a more intentional life, and this book is just one tool to help get there.

Four Stars

Best for: People living in the UK looking for ideas of places to visit in Europe

In a nutshell: Snapshots of locals across Europe, including a few cities that might not be top of mind.

Worth quoting: N/A

Why I chose it: Looking for ideas for quick breaks away from London.

Review:
When I popped over to Amazon to grab the link for this review, I saw it had a very low rating (two 1-star and two 2-star reviews). I can see being disappointed, but those folks seemed to be expecting a detailed travel guide, and I can’t imagine expecting loads of details in a book that talks about 101 different cities in 30+ different countries.

It met my expectations perfectly and I’d recommend it for anyone living in the UK and looking for some ideas of where to start with planning weekends away. There are some of the usual suspects (Paris, Berlin), but also some cities that might not be first on the list, such as Talinn in Estonia. The author shares which airlines fly there from which London-area airports, so it works well for someone like me who is based in London.

Additionally, while the author doesn’t explicitly say if you need a car, the descriptions give a good enough idea of whether the main highlights are in a walkable city center or if the whole point is driving to neighboring towns.

My only complaint is that this seems to have been updated in 2015 (or at least reissued), but some of the text talks about things scheduled to be constructed / completed in 2008 / 2009. Surely they could have looked that up?

Three Stars

Best for: People new to the UK, ideally with access to a car

In a nutshell: Guidebook with ideas for 52 weekend getaways in England, Scotland, and Wales, organized by best time of year to go.

Worth quoting: N/A

Why I chose it: London is awesome, but there’s a lot more to see around here.

Review: Generally speaking I like this book. It suggests quite a few places that I’ve never heard of or would not have thought to go to. Each section is only about three pages long, and includes a few ideas of where to stay, where to eat, and what to do, as well as the directions to get there via car. Each suggested getaway has something special about it, such as an afternoon at the races, and include two or three other places you can witness that special thing.

There is a lot of variety here; there are suggestions for pub crawls, sailing, shopping, holiday festivals, biking, and hiking. The author also notes if there are any special points of history, or any activities that kids will especially enjoy.

We’ve not yet made use of the book, but I really wish it had included an extra line in each section about whether it’s easily accessible via rail. I finished the book earlier today, but just spent the last two hours seeing whether the locations can be reached if I don’t have a car. Many can (yay rail travel!) but some definitely require a car.

Four Stars

Best for: Anyone looking for an entertaining read that also might help you embrace your unconventional life choices.

In a nutshell: Author Sarah Knight (who has written two other sort-of-self-help books) offers some updates to the social contract to help people get more out of life with a little less worry.

Worth quoting:
“The friends who don’t judge you for choosing what’s best for you are the ones you’ll want to keep closer than anyone.”
“You’re not ‘unsuccessful’ if you never dialed up a particular destination in the first place, regardless of how popular it may be with others.”
“Prioritize your needs, but don’t be an asshole about it.”

Why I chose it: My partner drew it to my attention. I mostly enjoyed one of her previous books, so I figured, why not.

Review:
I enjoyed this more that the previous book of hers that I reviewed during my last Cannonball Read. It has the same snark and sass, but it felt a bit more relateable this time around for some reason. She’s got the humor down, but she also offers some solid life advice.

I appreciate the premise – you should be allowed to live your life as you see fit, provided that you aren’t as asshole about it and aren’t actively hurting others. I think that there are a lot of us who make some choices (to keep renting instead of buying, to live together but not get married, to not date at all, to not have children) but find ourselves feeling judged and possibly adjusting how we act around other because of that.

Ms. Knight is offering another way – a way to reframe our thinking and end up happier because we are making choices that are authentic to who we are. And as is key, this doesn’t mean you get to yell at people because you want, or litter, or do other things just because, as those things are asshole things. But not giving your parents grandkids? That’s not an asshole thing; that’s you making the choice that fits the life you want to live.

If you struggle with choices that don’t fit the mold, you might find this helpful. Even if you and everyone you love is cool with your full-face tattoo, you’ll still probably enjoy the humor here.

Five Stars

Best for: Anyone interested in a basic understanding of how the earth has influenced politics across the world.

In a nutshell: Author Tim Marshall breaks the world into ten regions and gives an overview of how different geographic and cultural components (rivers, deserts, mountains, harbors, tribes) have affected different political decisions.

Worth quoting:
“The better your relationship with Russia, the less you pay for energy; for example, Finland get a better deal than the Baltic States.”
“China has locked itself into the global economy. If we don’t buy, they don’t make. And if they don’t make there will be mass unemployment.”
“Amazing rivers, but most of them are rubbish for actually transporting anything, given that every few miles you go over a waterfall.”
“The notion that a man from a certain area could not travel across a region to see a relative from the same tribe unless he had a document, granted to him by a third man he didn’t know in a faraway town, made little sense.”

Why I chose it: I don’t know near enough about the world and the motivation behind some actions, and this looked like a great 101-level introduction. And it is.

Review:
This book could have gone one of two ways in my mind: impossible to slog through or difficult to put down. I find that often with non-fiction surveys: in an attempt to fit loads of information into one small book, the density can lead to dry writing and a list of dates and names that rivals the Numbers book in the Bible.

Mr. Marshall does, in my opinion, a great job of parsing some of the most critical bits and connecting them to other critical bits. Obviously the 40 pages on the Middle East won’t be able to get into the nuance of everything, but it’s a starting point.

The Ten Maps include: Russia; China; USA; Western Europe; Africa; The Middle East; India and Pakistan; Korea and Japan; Latin America; and the Arctic. Obviously that doesn’t cover all of the world; Mr. Marshall points out right up front that it leaves out Australia, for example, and much of the south pacific. But it’s a start, and was eye-opening for me.

I think starting with Russia is a smart move, especially since (from my perspective as someone from the US) Russia has been a bit, shall we say, active in the business of other nations as of late. The edition I had included information as late as summer 2017, so its quite a current book. Each chapter looks at the geography of the region and uses it as a jumping off point to get at how that might influence the decisions each nation makes. It doesn’t make moral judgment; it just explains. So, for example, if your country relies on water from a river that flows through a neighboring nation, you’re going to be VERY interested in how things are going in that nation.

As I said, this is a survey, not a deep analysis of any one nation, but still, I feel much better informed about the world than I did a week ago.

Five Stars

Best for: Anyone who is a fan of Secretary Clinton; anyone who isn’t a fan of Secretary Clinton; anyone interested in learning more about how we can prevent something like Trump from happening again.

In a nutshell: First major-party woman nominee for President of the US loses to an ignorant charlatan and seeks to figure out why.

Worth quoting:
“Throughout the 2016 campaign, my staff would come to me wide-eyed. ‘You’ll never believe what Trump said today. It was vile.’ I always believed it. Not just because of who Trump is but because of who we can be at our worst. We’ve seen it too many times to be surprised.”
“Something I wish every man across America understood is how much fear accompanies women throughout our lives.”
“I’ve always believed that it’s dangerous to make big promises if you have no idea how you’re going to keep them. When you don’t deliver, it will make people even more cynical about government.”
“Many in the press and political chattering class marveled at how Teflon-coated Trump seemed to be, ignoring their own role in making him so.”

Why I chose it: I voted for Secretary Clinton, both in the primary in my state (which didn’t count, because Washington uses the horribly inaccessible caucus system) and in the general election. I was heartbroken when she lost. I bought this book the week it came out, but could only bring myself to start reading it this year.

Review: I think this book is mostly perfect for what it is. It’s a post-mortem but it’s also a celebration. It’s a glimpse into what we are missing out on because of 40,000 votes in three states, because the fear in the hearts of some outweighed the optimism in the hearts of others.

Secretary Clinton starts with Trump’s inauguration and then jumps back to deciding to run again after losing the primary to President Obama in 2008. She takes the reader through her decision-making process, and from there jumps from topic to topic, looking at what it means to be a woman in politics, what it means to be HER in politics.

She also doesn’t hold back when talking about her perceptions of how she was treated as compared to the men she ran against – first to Sen. Sanders and then to Trump. And I will say I have to agree with how Sen. Sanders seemed to be allowed to just say whatever and was fawned over, while Secretary Clinton would offer a more realistic version and be slammed for it. It was so frustrating. I also appreciated her discussion of gun violence and the stark difference between her position and Sen. Sanders.

The part that is most frustrating to read, however, is how she was treated by and in relation to Trump. She spends an entire chapter on the emails / private server issue, and frankly I wish everyone were required to read it before offering an opinion on the topic. And she gets into very specific detail about why, in the end, she ultimately lost.

I saw other reviewers in the media suggest she doesn’t take responsibility for her loss, but that’s not right. She takes responsibility for the part she should, such as not recognizing fully how much fear and anger were the focus of some people (and rightfully so). But she then appropriately points out how voter suppression, the Russian influence on social media, and the Comey letter less than two weeks before the election really did have a measurable impact. It’s frustrating and made me want to throw things more than once.

One area that she doesn’t talk about as much in the ‘why’ section is misogyny. She definitely devotes time to it throughout, but I do think that there were plenty of people who perhaps stayed home because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman. They might not recognize that consciously, but it’s there.

The book didn’t leave me despondent, although I was angry when I finished it. It, for me, was just another reminder of how much work we all have to do to keep the current president from causing more damage than he already has.

Four Stars

Best for: Those looking for a different perspective on life in England.

In a nutshell: Twenty-one Black, Asian, and minority ethnic individuals share stories from their lives either as immigrants or as people viewed as ‘other’ in daily life.

Worth quoting:
“If a white kid raps all the lyrics to ‘Gold Digger’ and there isn’t a black person around to hear it, is it still racist?”
“Our ancestors were terrified. Do not forget that. Allow them to humanness of fear.”
“We fine-tune the ability to find the nuances funny, deflecting the crushing weight of displacement and diaspora drama that becomes part of our everyday.”
“The reality of Britain is vibrant multi-culturalism, but the myth we export is an all-white world of Lords and Ladies.”

Why I chose it: I was seeking out another book that is out in the US but apparently not in the UK (boo) so ended up browsing. This stood out to me as a way to start getting to know the country I’m now living in.

Review: Essay collections by a variety of authors can be a challenge to put together. You have all of these different voices taking on a similar topic in different ways. In this collection, which includes essays by professional writers but also playwrights, actors, comedians, screenwriters, poets, and publishers, there are a wide range of stories told. Some are more lyrical; some are pretty funny; others are quite serious.

But each one provides a hint, a glimpse, a snapshot in time of what life is like for someone who is not white and is living in England. The stories are not so much about the BNP or UKIP (although they do get dishonorable mentions), but instead focus on the ways in which people of color are treated as other in the UK. Whether its a lack of representation in media, or quiet xenophobia, or that feeling of not belonging anywhere, each author brings their own spin to the concept of the ‘good immigrant.’

I found some essays to be stronger than others, which is to be expected, but the stories being told were all worth learning, especially for someone who is entering a country without knowing a lot about its history. I mean, I’m aware that the British Empire was a thing, and that England invaded and colonized dozens of countries, but I’m not as aware of how racism plays out on a daily basis within the nation’s borders. I think this book was a good way to start in my education on this.

Three Stars

Best for: People who find meditation interesting but maybe aren’t ready to jump into reading the Dalai Lama’s works just yet.

In a nutshell: TV journalist has panic attack on air; tries to do something about it.

Worth quoting:
“Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy.”
“Acceptance is not passivity. Sometimes we are justifiably displeased. What mindfulness does is create some space in your head so you can, as the Buddhists say, ‘respond’ rather than simply ‘react.’
“Perhaps ask yourself the following question: ‘Is this useful?’”

Why I chose it: Over the holidays I was visiting my parents, and they often have morning news on. Mr. Harris was on promoting his newest book. I was about to move across the world, so decided that maybe a thick hardcover wasn’t the best purchase; then I saw this one (which is a few years old) and picked it up instead.

Review: I’ve meditated before. I’ve read books on Buddhism and mindfulness and meditation. I even have a little meditation timer. My partner meditates. I haven’t done it in awhile, so this seemed like a good idea for what has ended up being some of the most stressful weeks of my life.

Mr. Harris has worked for ABC news for years, hosting at times the weekend edition of Good Morning America, as well as reporting segments for the national evening news. He also had a panic attack on TV one time, which led him to reevaluate how he was living his life.

Turns out that part of that panic attack was related to cocaine use (hello!), but also by his constant need to be in his thoughts. So he took the opportunities alloted to him as a journalist to research more about meditation and mindfulness, interviewing folks like Eckard Tolle, Depak Chopra, and even the Dalai Lama himself. This book is the story both of how he overcame his skepticism as well as how meditation has helped him in his life.

I appreciated how Mr. Harris was upfront about his faults and flaws, and didn’t act as though meditation fixed all the things in his life immediately, or even ever. In fact, his overall premise is that it can help you be about 10% happier. That seems reasonable. I also appreciated that he did look at the religious aspect of it, but there were definitely some moments where I wondered if this was the equivalent of the 20-something white woman who decides to teach yoga without really investigating the history behind it. Is this another example of white westerners picking and choosing things from other cultures without properly respecting them? I’m not sure.

That said, I’ve meditated a bit since I moved 7000 miles from home last week. It’s been exhausting, stressful, and at times a bit scary (I mean turning my cats over to cargo at 3AM, knowing we wouldn’t see them again for at least 24 hours was horrible), but as we’ve faced unforeseen challenges (who knew that it’s extraordinarily difficult to internationally wire money from credit unions ?) I’ve mostly been able to sort of keep my shit kind of together by taking to heart some ideas from this book. Especially the “is this useful” concept. Yes, I can be worried about a lot of things, but once I’ve done what I can do, that worry is only giving me a headache and/or stomachache. It was useful in helping me to be careful in the steps I took, but now it’s just a literal pain.

So am I going to meditate every day? Maaaaaybe. Maybe not.