30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2
Book 18/30
Yep, still catching up on my April reviews. This one has been holding me up because the book was very good and very smart and those two things by themselves nearly always stymie me in my review-writing, but together it’s just a recipe for disaster. Brain frozen, words will not come. So I am starting this review—which I need to get out of the way because I want to be caught up on reviews before I start my July reading bonanza—by not talking about the book, of course, but instead about myself. An egocentric tip for breaking up your writer’s block!
Ugh, it’s been a day since I wrote that last paragraph and I’m back to being blocked, most of you probably know why. Having read this book, though, did feel like a clarifying exercise, so if you’re feeling down right now this might actually help.
I was extremely skeptical of this book going in. I was sent it by the publisher and put off reading it, because it seemed like it was just too big of a topic to possibly cover in one book, but the author pulled it off. She writes in clear engaging prose, backs up her arguments with scientific studies, and pulls in stories from the real world to give examples. Most importantly, she offers not just analysis on what our brains are doing and why in regards to bias, but an actual solution and action plan going forward to combat it. This is mostly focused on what you can do individually, but she does acknowledge that lasting change needs to be accompanied by structural change as well as individual change, even though that is beyond the book’s scope.
Highly recommend this one.
NB: This book was sent to me by the publisher but that has not affected the content of my review.