Lockdown Reading

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been utilising the time at home during lockdown to do some reading. To be honest, my reading started a couple of weeks before, when I had a few weeks of annual leave to use up, so I got quite a few books read.  I tend to just read for an hour in a morning whilst still in bed, or occasionally last thing at night, if I go to bed early.

Here's a photo of some of the books I've recently finished:

All of these non-fiction books were very interesting, but I particularly liked The Energy Glut, as it discussed the fact that we have too much energy in developed countries and that using less of it would benefit us in many ways, i.e. less traffic on the roads, less destruction of the environment, less obesity and generally less stuff cluttering up our lives. I had a lot of sympathy with the views of the writer and it was a relatively quick and easy read, but had a refreshing point of view.

Enough, similarly discussed the issue of at what point do we consider we have/do enough of various things in life, i.e. food, possessions, work, travel, etc.

Eating animals I've mentioned before in another post. It was a difficult read in that some of the situations it described, of animals being very cruelly treated, made it very hard to stomach, but it has reinforced my determination not to eat meat.

Finally, Effective Altruism discussed the idea of only donating to projects that are the most effective at what they do, and also considered the issue of choosing a career which brings about the most good in the world. Interestingly, it argued that in lots of situations it was more effective to work at any well paid job that facilitated the ability to give financially to effective charitable organisations, than to work at an altruistic job i.e. doctor, etc.

It argued that some of the most effective organisations that are making the most difference in the world are often relatively small and unknown and focus on small specific areas and problems, such as deworming, providing malaria nets or even directly giving cash to people and that these charities provide better life expectancy and health and educational outcomes in affected countries than many better known charitable endeavours. It was an interesting read, especially as someone who works in the charity sector.

Below is another pile of books that I am still working my way through.

I have already read The Obstacle is the Way.  This was a very quick and enjoyable read and talks about how we can turn obstacles we face in life into positives and how they can propel us to a better future. It focused a lot on the works of the Stoic philosophers such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, as well as including lots of interesting stories about very famous people such as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart and other very famous names that have done amazing things throughout history, despite having to overcome very large obstacles placed in their way. Definitely worth a read and it has definitely whetted my appetite for more reading of the Stoics' philosophies.

The Challenge of Affluence is more of a research based book about the challenges that we face in affluent developed societies.  It is quite a difficult read with lots of tables, graphs, research data. I've started it, but then set it aside for some lighter reads.

At the moment I'm reading The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker (not pictured here)in the hope it might inspire me to get to grips with decluttering the sewing room. I'll let you know about the other books in the pile once I've read them.

What are you reading during lockdown?