Think Again

Think Again
~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

How do we come to believe the things we consider to be true? And after we’ve formed an opinion, does that opinion remain true for the rest of our lives? In Think Again, Adam Grant explores the process of rethinking, or evaluating one’s beliefs. The subtitle of this book is “the power of knowing what you don’t know”. It’s about really considering the opinions you hold, and why you hold those opinions… and it’s also about finding joy in being wrong and changing your opinion. If you’re someone who enjoys examining cognitive processes, or someone who likes debating and actually listening to what the other person is saying, or someone who wants to actively evaluate what people tell you instead of indiscriminately accepting it, this is the book for you.

What I loved most:

I’m in my late twenties. One of my favorite parts of this decade of life has been the process of coming to my own beliefs and opinions. Throughout our lives, we’re constantly inundated with people trying to convince us that their opinions are right – effectively, trying to get us to rethink what we believe. I love that as human beings, we all have our own unique thoughts. We can either believe what other people tell us truth is, or we can intentionally choose to evaluate our beliefs and make our own decisions. How wonderful it is to examine one’s thoughts, and choose to be in control of them.

Read this book if you like:

Humility, psychology, being a lifelong learner

Book details:

  • Author: Adam Grant
  • Publisher: Viking Books
  • Date of Publication: February 2, 2021
  • Interest Level: Adult

Ms. Adventure

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Can you even imagine if someone asked you what your job was, and you legitimately replied that you were a Volcanologist? Because that’s actually a job that some people can have. It blows my mind. Jess Phoenix is a Volcanologist. In Ms. Adventure, she shares stories of working on the side of a volcano with hot lava flows, studying the ocean depths, being the only woman on most job crews, and chasing down cartel members when they stole her favorite rock hammer. This book is part science, part memoir, and part adventure.

What I loved most:

I used to say that I wasn’t a science person. Chemistry and physics were my least favorite classes in high school. My brain leans more toward books and writing than it does toward atoms and matter (and yes, I definitely just googled “physics basic concepts” to have an example of a physics thing that I’m not drawn to. #crushing it). But THIS BOOK Y’ALL. Phoenix makes science SO interesting, and SO accessible to absolutely anyone who wants to learn. You are so wrapped up in reading about lava flows and the ocean depths that you forget you’re actually learning scientific concepts. Come for the volcanoes, stay for the incredible scientist teaching you geology.

Read this book if you like:

Memoirs, science (but even if you don’t like science, read this anyway), adventures, smashing the patriarchy by dominating in your field

Book details:

  • Author: Jess Phoenix
  • Publisher: Timber Press
  • Date of Publication: March 2, 2021
  • Interest Level: Adult

A Spy in the Struggle

A Spy in the Struggle cover
~ rachelbenzine ~ 1 Comment

Plot:

Yolanda Vance wasn’t planning on becoming an FBI agent. She’s a lawyer by training, and ended up at the FBI after her huge corporate employer got busted for being shady. When the Bureau assigns her to infiltrate an extremist group near the college she attended, saying no isn’t an option. Yet when she meets the group of teenagers that have been labeled extremists by the Bureau, and starts to fall in love with one of their adult mentors, she quickly realizes that not everything the Bureau had told her was true. But y’all, we all know that the Bureau wants their employees to stick to the party line… and when Yolanda starts questioning what she’s been told, she isn’t going to be safe for long.

What I loved most:

Sometimes, you just need to read a book with spies and double crossing and dirty government agencies. I generally don’t read many mysteries or thrillers anymore, because I 50000% get nightmares when I read things that are too dark. This was an engaging, well-written novel that satisfied my desire to read suspense without going way too far off the deep end.

Read this book if you like:

Suspense, spies, trying to figure out how you would handle a tough situation, social justice, activism

Things to be aware of:

There is explicit sexual content in this book. And while it’s not at a nightmare level, there’s definitely violence.

Book details:

  • Author: Aya de Leon
  • Publisher: Kensington Books
  • Date of Publication: December 29, 2020
  • Interest Level: Adult