EnchiridionEpictetusNon-fiction, paperback “Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.” If Seneca’s writings (see below) are…
Tag: Book club
What I read: July 2023
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and MurderDavid GrannNon-fiction, hardback, book club “We all impose some coherence—some meaning—on the chaotic events of our existence. We rummage through the raw images of our memories, selecting, burnishing, erasing. We emerge as the heroes of our stories, allowing us to live with what we have done—or haven’t…
What I read: May 2023
A Gentleman in MoscowAmor TowlesFiction, paperback, book club “And when the Count’s parents succumbed to cholera within hours of each other in 1900, it was the Grand Duke who took the young Count aside and explained that he must be strong for his sister’s sake; that adversity presents itself in many forms; and that if…
What I read: March 2023
The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America’s Youngest Serial KillerRoseanne MontilloNon-fiction, paperback “Cleckley described psychopaths as ‘hot headed, manipulative, irresponsible, self-centered, shallow, lacking in empathy or anxiety…also more violent, more likely to recidivate, and less likely to respond to treatment.’ His description became the most influential and most…
What I read: January 2023
A History of the Wife Marilyn YalomNon-fiction, paperback A look at what it meant to be a wife from ancient times to modern day. I had an inkling of how this was going to go because I started it just as I finished The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World….