Books I read in April, 2021

The books and my thoughts

Let's just issue a forward looking apology, posts here on will be late because I don't have a strong sense of time or weekends.
However belated I may be here I am keeping with my monthly tradition, here are my reviews on the books I have read in April!

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

Atul Gawande's writings are just such a delight to read. I added this book to my to read list because of my goal to read more in the space of health. I have enjoyed his other writings, so this one was a no brainer.

This book talks about how the US and other countries are lacking the infrastructure and more importantly the empathy to take care of the aging. The most poignant point that I took away from this book is that our health care systems are set up to hep the aging perform tasks most efficiently, but aren't set up to help them live happy lives.
Those from the sub continent would use this as an argument to take care of their aging parents at home. However, think about it, what are your goals when your aging parents are living with you? Is it to keep them happy or to keep them safe? It's usually to keep them safe, which actually might be in direct conflict with what would make them happy.

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

This book was on my 2021 to read list as a new release, and I am so glad that it was! This book is similar to Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.

The book has so much wrapped into one great book:

• A comical take on what it means to be Black in the tech sector in America.
• A self-help book, that is more than just a self help book.
• A parody of all the cliches that one sees in tech startups.

It's great and a book that I would definitely recommend!

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates

Another new release on my 2021 to read list! The weird coincidence is that the Gates's divorce announcement hit the news waves the day after I finished this book. However, it's not really relevant to this book so let's ignore that.

It's very obvious when you read this book that you are reading an engineer's writing. This book didn't give me much new information about the space of curbing climate change. This is because I try to keep abreast with the changes in this space anyway. What it does do is provide a framework for people (specially those investing in this space) to think about climate change.
I think this is book is more valuable for those who have limited knowledge about how to address climate change. For those who don't want to read the whole book, here is the Cliff's Notes version written by Bill Gates himself.

My 2021 reading goals?

• Continue to read more poetry!
• Read more about the space of health, be it nutrition, mental health, physical health, etc.
• Try to get into audio books. I don't think I will but it's worth a shot. I strongly believe that listening to audio books is useless as you don't capture or understand the content fully.
• Continue reading books by diverse authors.
• See my wider reading goals here.