1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 9.3/10
This is currently my favorite book of 2020. I enjoy reading comedian's memoirs for a few reasons. First, I love comedy because it has been a coping mechanism for me through hard times. At its core, comedy is the art of transforming tragedy into joy. The second reason I love the genre is because I think that being funny requires a high degree of intelligence. To be a great comedian, one must make people laugh at observed-yet-unacknowledged truths; a difficult task that takes wit, insight, and keen social awareness. I am fascinated to learn about comedians and what has shaped their perspective and sense of humor.
As for Born a Crime, I did not find it particularly funny; Yet, I could not put this book down. This was a heroic and politically informative story of how resilience and perspective can help someone achieve their dreams.
Trevor Noah grew up during the time of Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racism that lasted from 1948-1994. This system of social stratification granted white citizens more political, economic and social privileges than other races. To make segregation as easy as possible, the government imposed a law that forbade people of different race to reproduce. With a white Swiss father and black South-African mother, Noah was, as the title insinuates, born a crime.
Growing up as a bi-racial person in a society that enforced segregation was confusing and painful for Noah. He explains that language, culture and race are the building blocks of our identity. If one does not fit into one of the societies' defined categories, they will feel alienated. Segregation also impacted Noah’s family life. The laws of Apartheid forbade Noah from being seen with his father in public because of their disparate races. It was hard for young Noah to know whether his father's absence was due to emotional neglect or senseless legislation.
Noah's mother was the brave hero of the story. She was a devoutly religious woman who refused to let the chains of oppression negatively impact her and her son’s lives. Her strong will and relentless hope gave Noah the courage to be the bold, intelligent and self-expressive man that he is today.
2. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 8/10
After reading Born a Crime, I wanted to read literature that captured the emotions of those who faced discrimination. I chose to do this through fiction because it provides greater insight into the character’s thought processes, emotions, and interpretations of experience. It is the best way to remove myself from my reality and understand the suffering, emotions, and realities of others.
James Baldwin was a famous author, playwright, poet, and political activist during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. His influence on society is still present today. Barack Obama recommended Baldwin’s non-fiction work, The Fire Next Time, as a part of his 2019 Black-History month reading list.
The narrator of this story is a 19-year-old pregnant girl named Tish, whose fiance,Fonny, is thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit. Tish and Fonny's families have no time for despair; with a baby on the way and a rapidly impending trial, the family must work quickly to free Fonny. In the face of this blatant injustice, the family only has each other to rely on. But this isn't a story of despair. It is a story of community and hope.
Baldwin's raw, emotional prose makes the helplessness of the characters palpable. I felt the anger through Baldwin's fierce and candid sentences. As a reader and lover of language, it fascinates me to see how fiction writers synthesize writing style, word choice, narrative, and emotion with larger political issues.
3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 8.3/10
This was my first novel by Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-Winning author Toni Morrison. I was in disbelief at her literary talent. Some of her sentences contained prose so rich in psychological insight and evocative descriptions that I had to put the book down and smile. I plan to read more of Morrison’s work. She was a master.
The beauty of Morrison’s prose is the only uplifting feature amidst a sorrowful plot. The story centers around a young black girl named Pecola Breedlove. She is a quiet, sincere, and innocent girl who wants to feel beautiful and loved. Unfortunately, both her family and society do not give her unconditional acceptance. Pecola thinks that she is unloved because she feels ugly and defective. She believes that having blue eyes like the white Shirley Temple will cure the pain. One of Morrison's larger points is that this unworthiness is not inherent; people of color are not born with less ability or beauty. Rather, people of color learned to feel unworthy because of discrimination. It is a powerful reminder of how societies' perceptions of beauty influence our self-worth. The novel is very moving and painful; beautiful and sad; rich in prose and societal insight.
4. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Genre: Religious Fiction
Rating: 9/10
This is the fourth book I have read by C.S. Lewis. He has remarkable psychologist insight into the human tendency toward self-deception, vanity and egotism. He sees how our anxious and prideful tendencies leave us feeling discontent and yearning. His fiction stares you in the face, chuckles like a congenial grandfather and says, "Be honest with yourself."
The premise of the book surrounds a group of people who take a field-trip via flying bus from Hell to Heaven. The previous residents of Hell meet people from their past in celestial form. Through their conversations with the angels, we see the faults, actions, and attitudes that cause people to remain in Hell.
Nobody is exempt from Lewis’s microscope of psychological and spiritual analysis. Ironically, the story points out that the residents of Hell are not necessarily those who blatantly violate the rules of Christianity. Some of the characters professed to be Christian, yet they cling to their anger, pride, vanity and doubt.
Lewis has taught me that it is possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons. One can attend church every Sunday while still self-righteously and harshly judging others. One can perform community service just so they can get likes on a social media post. Our actions are virtuous so long as they are rooted in virtuous intentions.
I’m not sure if a more secular reader would enjoy Lewis’s works, but I would feel morally wrong in advising anyone not to read Lewis. With an open mind, anyone can glean insightful moral lessons from Lewis- regardless of religious affiliation. His elegant, witty and profound prose always makes for a short and enjoyable read.
5. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 8.4/10
This is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel (which he wrote when he was 22!). This is the third novel I have read by Fitzgerald. I am constantly amazed by his mastery of the English language. His flowery prose is filled with alliteration, rhythm and beauty.
The story tells of Amory Blaine (a character who represents Fitzgerald himself) as he goes through his boyhood, high-school years, and time at Princeton. It tells of the books, conversations and romantic experiences that formed the foundation of Amory's intellectual beliefs.
Amory is an ambitious, superficial, and egotistical guy with a cynical view of society. Typical of a Fitzgerald character, Amory is unable to subdue his lust and alcoholism. Even though Amory has some blatant flaws, Fitzgerald always finds a way to make his self-destructive characters alluring.
What I enjoy most about Fitzgerald’s novels is the witty and seductive dialogue between lovers. Each female character is so charmingly disinterested in the male character that it bruises his ego. The male, with a desire to redeem his pride, must employ all the dazzling witticisms and dramatic confessions of love to command the woman’s admiration.
I can’t say that there was a moral takeaway from this book like there was for The Great Gatsby. But Fitzgerald's writing is so beautiful that the plot is irrelevant.
6. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Genre: Business
Rating: 9/10
This book is written by Silicon Valley Legend Ben Horowitz. Horowitz currently serves as a partner of Venture Capital Firm Andreessen Horowitz, where he specializes in technology investing. Before starting a venture capital firm, Horowitz was a founder and CEO of a company called Opsware, which he eventually sold for 1.6 billion dollars.
As a genre, business books can either be great or terrible; there is no middle ground. The bad ones give common-sense advice littered with ineffectual motivational platitudes. The really good ones give actionable, concrete guidance about improving an organization’s effectiveness.
This was a great one.
This book is part-memoir, part-how to manual for being a founder/CEO in Silicon Valley. The Hard Thing About Hard Things provides a candid and vulnerable account of Horowitz's experience while leading a company. He discusses the feelings of imposter syndrome, the costly mistakes and constant anxiety that come from being in charge.
My favorite part of this book was Horowitz's advice on “scaling”. Scaling refers to the ability of a business/process to handle increased customer use without becoming inefficient and expensive. As businesses become more profitable, leaders must adjust their processes to handle increased customer demand. While scaling effectively is important, entrepreneurs should only focus on scaling when it is necessary. If a business prematurely focuses on scale, they risk inefficiently using their financial resources and time.Horowitzs advises that business leaders hire people and build processes that support current customer demand. Once the business is seeing increased revenues, then they can focus on scaling. It is a business approach with Buddhist principles: focus on the present moment and deal with the future as it arrives.
As an example, say you own a business and you currently earn $100K in revenue and you're looking to bring on a new executive. Your goal for the year is to increase your revenues to $1 million. Should you hire someone who has experience growing a business from 100K to $1 million or someone who has experience growing a business from $1 million to $10 million? Horowtiz would argue that you choose the former.
The amount of revenue a company earns drastically impacts its culture and organizational design. Therefore, the person who has grown a business from $1 Million to $10 Million has a different experience and unrelated skill sets to your current business environment.
Although I am not a CEO, I still found this information interesting and valuable. As an employee at a technology company, it is interesting to hear how leaders make decisions. I plan to revisit this book when I start my own company.
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