5 Things I Consumed Last Week (the year in listicles #2)

the best of books I read in 2022

Hello Nello! I apologize for not showing up in your inbox last Friday, I was traveling and though I had plans to quickly write a post in order to not break the streak, I thought the time constraint wouldn’t do justice to the listicle. I promise I will make it up to you. I travelled across Karnataka through the rich heritage of Hampi to the coffee cherries in Chikmagalur. The break was indeed worth it and now I am all set to publish rest of the listicles for 2022. This one is dedicated to the core element of this newsletter - books, books and books.

If you are looking to update your reading list for 2023, this is for you!

---

Illustrated Books

My friends are too kind to lend and gift me all of these books. Illustrated books are a delight to read not only because the text is mesmerizing but the gorgeous illustrations make these books a page turner.

A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader by Maria Popova

One gorgeous artifact, a coffee-table book every school and library oughtta have on display. This book is a collection of one-page letters about the joy of reading, written by authors, scientists, musicians, artists, architects etc. each with an accompanying illustration on the adjacent page. I got introduced to so many new artists and writers, thanks to Popova.

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

A quiet, meaningful collection of comforting thoughts and lovely art. This book is full of wisdom - wisdom without fuss. You might find it cringe worthy or else you might use this book as your savior on a lonely Sunday evening - if you choose the latter, I promise it will comfort you.

Dream The Impossible Dream by Zen Pencils

Gavin Aung Than takes poems and inspirational quotes, some are famous, some are less so, but all are inspiring, and draws a comic around it. The cartoons are whimsical. Some are straightforward, some are fantastical - the kind of things you'd want to share with people who need inspiration.

My Inner Sky by Mari Andrew

Divided into categories like Dawn, Night and Twilight much like the seasons of life, Mari uses the metaphor of the sky to describe different stages in life and artistically displays these transitional times through watercolor illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. Part autobiographical, part words of wisdom, this book is a perfect way to end a busy day.

---

Memoir

Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir by Farah Bashir

This coming-of-age memoir of a girlhood in Kashmir during the most turbulent years of the valley, will make you question if you know Kashmir enough. Narrated through the eyes of a teenage girl, in the background of the death of her grandmother, each chapter has a tale of her life.

What becomes of homes that have their doors bolted, windows tightly shut, and curtains drawn during the daytime with the families they house inside them desolate? Should we not call them prisons? We should!

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

A memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity; Zauner tells her story of struggling with her mother's particular high expectations of her, of a painful adolescence and about a lot of Korean food.

Cooking my mother's food had come to represent an absolute role reversal, a role I was meant to fill. Food was an unspoken language between us, had come to symbolize our return to each other, our bonding, our common ground.

---

Help Self

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Peer through the walls of a therapist’s office and inner life. Written in a conversational tone, part memoir, part self-help wisdom and part psychotherapy primer and told with charm and compassion, vulnerability and humour; it’s the story of an incredible relationship between two therapists and their inner lives.

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl’s narrative of overcoming grief after losing her husband and dealing with loss is as honest and inspiring as she is. The book has expertly woven Sandberg’s personal stories with a more technical approach to grief.

---

Self-Help

Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte

I consume a lot of information (rather hoard it) but my knowledge management system is a mess hence, I picked this book. It gives a general guideline on how to deal with information better and how to be a pro at not only note taking but utilizing them as well.

Barking Up The Wrong Tree by Eric Barker

I am a stan of Eric’s style of writing and this book affirmed it even further. A mix of surprising anecdotes backed with statistics and research, this book will change your perspective towards success and its variants. Eric creates arguments and then plays devils advocate to discuss different sides of the coin. It’s wholesome, funny and entertaining.

---

Dystopian Fiction

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Unlike every other dystopian work, it unveils and goes in depth about humanization of science fiction. It raises questions about what it is to be human, what you choose to do in the face of an impending death and what happens when science is not accompanied by ethics.

More listicles next week 🙆🏻‍♀️

Hoping this list would act as a primer to update your reading list. Happy reading!

---

Wondering how you can support me? 

If you are a friend of this newsletter, show some love here.🐼

---

If you enjoy reading this, share it with more readers, more the merrier. Let’s connect on Substack Threads for a more enriching conversation and recommendations :)

You can write to me on dearhummingbird1@gmail.com. or connect with me on IG at _i__cook or use the comment section!

With gratitude,

The Hummingbird🌺

---