en-US Fri, 06 Jun 2025 19:24:09 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7633854870 Fri, 06 Jun 2025 19:24:09 -0700 /review/show/7633854870 Hsandlin gave 5 stars to Going on Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change (Paperback) by Mark Epstein
For readers that enjoyed Dan Harris’s 10% Happier but thought “let’s not beat around the bush - tell me the religious teaching along with the psychological.� It’s of my favorite reads from Mark Epstein. It’s a self reflective story of his early experience in developing his Buddhist practice while he was also studying and in the early stages of becoming a psychotherapist. It has all the hallmarks of Epstein’s work with references to D. W. Winnicott, Freud, and his Buddhist masters. With stories from his trainings by world famous teachers from Ram Dass to Joseph Goldstein, he seamlessly connects deep and profound Buddhist lessons to theories of mind and psychoanalysis that make the lessons more poignant. I appreciate the narrative structure of a loose autobiography. It never insists you care about the authors story, only what he learned, but most readers will care anyway.

As much as I enjoy Mark Epstein’s works, a lot of his books feel very similar - some borderline interchangeable. Luckily, I love that book he keeps writing and enjoy the new flavors of each release. I love hearing his stories from his Buddhists practice combined with his readings in psychoanalysis. Those are lessons I often need to hear more than once so I’m more the grateful for each new opportunity to read similar stories. Going On Being, however, stands out from the line up. Perhaps it felt more personal, the narrative structure felt compelling in a unique way, the core concept resonates with me, or maybe it just said what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. Regardless, it is one of my favorite books Mark Epstein has written. It the perfect starting point for his works and if you’ve read a couple of books by him and didn’t quite love it, this might be the one to change your mind.
]]> ReadStatus9511837146 Thu, 05 Jun 2025 08:39:46 -0700 /review/show/7629952598 Hsandlin wants to read Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
]]> ReadStatus9511621105 Thu, 05 Jun 2025 07:29:23 -0700 /review/show/7629795654 Hsandlin wants to read Epidemic Illusions: On the Coloniality of Global Public Health by Eugene T. Richardson
]]> ReadStatus9511620489 Thu, 05 Jun 2025 07:29:10 -0700 /review/show/7629795191 Hsandlin wants to read A Path Out of Poverty by Paul Farmer
]]> Review4271535798 Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:26:28 -0700 /review/show/4271535798 Hsandlin gave 5 stars to The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred (Hardcover) by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Must read for anyone going into or interested in any of the sciences. Realistically, I think everyone should read this but I say that about a lot of books so I narrowed it down some. This book revolves around the cosmos and people. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein explains aspects of the cosmos she is fascinated by in an easy to understand manner and then uses those as anchor points to explore the human side of science. Imagine if you replaced the glorified stories of famous scientists in Cosmos by Carol Sagan with the raw experiences of everyday scientists working right now. The Disordered Cosmos teaches you as much about the process of science as the science itself, which is rarely covered in these type of books.

I was surprised how much this book focused on the social and systemic issues in science but it was a very welcome surprise. In fact, I was happy to have that surprise as I don't think I would have bought the book if it's title was more explicit about what it covers. That's not to say the title is misleading - we are the cosmos and it is us that creates our understanding of it. We are the discorded cosmos. In that way, The Disordered Cosmos covers the cosmos more fully than any books I’ve ever read. Our theories and models do not exist outside of ourselves, most books leave “us� out of the picture while describing what we know. While the interpersonal and systemic issues this books discusses focus on Dr. Prescod-Weinstein's area of study, the lessons learned can be applied more generally to just about anything. I highly recommend everyone reads this book and they share their copy with their friends. ]]> Review7627265014 Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:10:09 -0700 /review/show/7627265014 Hsandlin gave 5 stars to The Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History (Hardcover) by Vidya Krishnan
I keep coming back to this book, the story of Tuberculosis is fascinating and haunting. The way Vidya Krishnan compiles and presents the narrative makes for an incredible read that sparks feelings fascination, horror, and hope. The horror, however, does not simply come from the infectious disease. As Krishnan details, tuberculosis was once a terror of nature’s design but since its cure it has become a terror of our own design. Slipping into cracks in our social order we pretend don’t exist.

The Phantom Plague is more than a history of the world deadliest infection disease. That story, driven by Vidya Krishnan’s writing and analysis, is also the history of anti-bacterial disinfectants, vampires, heartfelt individual stories, and failures in our society. Don’t read this book to learn only about Tuberculosis, read it to learn about our shared world and the complexities of it that lead to wonderful connections and deadly inequity.

I read this book a while ago and just never wrote a review here. I was worried I wouldn’t have much to say but it has really stuck with me. Since I’ve read The Phantom Plague, two high profile TB books have been released in Black Angels and Everything Is Tuberculosis (finished them now, both recommended though) and this one still stands out as the best high level discussion. It connects anecdote with large scale events, does not shy away from criticizing flaws in the heart of global inequality, and discusses the history of colonialism and capitalist experiments that create and perpetuate the problems we’ve designed. I recommend this book as highly as I can recommend anything. ]]> Review7590277295 Thu, 22 May 2025 07:19:55 -0700 /review/show/7590277295 Hsandlin gave 3 stars to Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius (Hardcover) by Ryan Holiday
Good overview of the major stoics, although I don’t know them well myself so if there were any glaring omissions I wouldn’t have noticed. It’s exactly what the back of the books says, if you want to learn about famous stoics it will get the job done. I was hoping for something that told a more cohesive story throughout. Something closer to At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell. Instead, the books reads like a series of unconnected biographies with occasional references to each other. If that’s what you want, it’ll be a great but wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.

I can see how this book would be a great companion to other stoic studies instead of a one off, as it was for me. If you’re already deep into it and want to fill in the gaps and have a references for when a name comes up you don’t quite remember, it would be well suited to that because of its disconnected nature. I didn’t love that and ended up butting the book down for a while before finishing it because of that but it could be a plus for other readers. ]]> Review7587587418 Wed, 21 May 2025 08:36:11 -0700 /review/show/7587587418 Hsandlin gave 4 stars to The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions (Hardcover) by Jason Hickel
Well written and easy read that introduces a lot of history and concepts important for understanding the unjust world we live in, how we got here, and where we’re headed. I highly recommend The Divide, I’m not sure it’s possible to have a well constructed understanding of our place in the world without understanding the topics Hickel discusses and I appreciated the recommendations and solutions towards the end of the book. The contents can be depressing and upsetting but he never slips into nihilism.

The one star missing, which I might change after I’ve spent more time with reflecting on The Divide, is largely due to how high level a lot of the discussions were, a lack of further reading suggestion to make up for the very introductory nature, and, to a lesser extent, a lack of specific calls to action for the reader to do. I’m very sympathetic to the fact that this book is sold at Barnes and Noble and needs a general audience to buy it but it is already a quick read, more details could have make stronger arguments. Note, I did read the audiobook so maybe there were footnotes that covered more ground that I missed out on. But 4 stars is still a glowing review and I hope everyone who comes across this book gives it the time it deserves.

Side Note for Audible Readers: while Jonathan Cowley’s performance was great, for some reason it was mixed to be extremely bass heavy. You have to use your phone’s built in equalizer to make it listenable and even then I’d suggest not listen to it in a car. ]]> Review7561902156 Sun, 11 May 2025 20:13:15 -0700 /review/show/7561902156 Hsandlin gave 3 stars to Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion (Hardcover) by Koshin Paley Ellison
Enjoyable read from the perspective of a zen teacher who grew up in the United States. A lot of emphasis on aspects of life as being “a place of practice� with a description and example of what that means. I do think this is very much targeted at western people who are not buddhist, such as myself, since it gives advice from the dharma but doesn’t actually bring up any religious aspect of the Buddha’s teachings. It is an easy read and pleasant, personally not too much stood out to me that I’ll keep with me. If you just like having these sort of books in rotation I would suggest it but if you only want to dip your toes in maybe there are better options. ]]> Review7561324710 Sun, 11 May 2025 16:05:09 -0700 /review/show/7561324710 Hsandlin gave 4 stars to Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka (Kindle Edition) by Karolina Watroba
Wonderfully written journey through Kafka’s life and the authors relationship with it and its history. You will learn a lot about Franz Kafka from multiple perspectives, not just the man but the idea of “Kafka.� I knew about his life, the classic story of the depressed author from Prague, but I didn’t know just how misleading that story is and how important the story of “the classic story of the depressed author from Prague� is to understanding the man.

I went in hoping to learn more about Franz Kafka’s life and came out with that knowledge and so much more critical context and history. This book also is my absolute favorite genre: non-fiction that’s as much about the author as it is the thing in the title. It is nice to try to separate yourself from your writing but it’s an impossible task so you might as well lean into it and give the reader more clarity on your perspective. Plus, you get a narrative and story to follow outside of the subject. ]]>