[March 2024] Introduction to books I've read recently
I would like to introduce a few books I have read recently.
This time, I have picked out three books. All of them are very educational, but "The Structure of World History" in particular proposes a new way of looking at the world from historical and geographical perspectives. I plan to cover this book in more detail individually, so please look forward to it😁
📖 Kojin Karatani, "The Structure of World History", Iwanami Gendai Bunko
The first book introduction for 2024 is one of Kojin Karatani's major works, "The Structure of World History". Last year, I read Karatani's "Yudo-ron: Kunio Yanagita and the Yamabito" and was exposed to his profound insights. After reading this book, I feel I understand a little better why he was awarded the Berggruen Prize, which is known as the "Nobel Prize for Philosophy".
The persuasiveness with which he explains world history through "modes of exchange" is simply overwhelming. It changes the way you see the world so much that I think all world history textbooks should be rewritten based on this idea. (Although I think that would be difficult because textbooks are influenced by the convenience of the state...) Even when you study history, you often fall into the feeling that you are studying a different world, but this allows you to grasp the present as the cutting edge of historical connections. And it also made me feel more convinced about why Japan has reached its current situation.
In the book, there was an expression, "a return to repressed nomadism". As something happening now, there is a movement away from careers constrained by uniform values, with people quitting their jobs to seek a free life, and because of that, there is a tendency to re-evaluate art, spirit, and religion. The attention being paid to art, yoga, and meditation may also be a demand of the times.
Now, after reading this book, new questions have arisen: what should we do to regain nomadism, and what is necessary to maintain it?
📖 Taizo Son, "The Book of Adventure: Unlearning in the Age of AI", Nikkei BP
This book emerged as a candidate for our book club. I had seen it stacked flat in bookstores and recognized it as a book written by a famous business person, so I wasn't very interested, but I decided to buy it and read it anyway. First, when I looked at the table of contents and the bibliography, I saw many books and great figures that I had read and learned from before, such as Ivan Illich, Zhuangzi, gift, and Umwelt, so my expectations rose all at once and I was looking forward to reading it.
As soon as I started reading, I realized that the title "The Book of Adventure" strongly implies that it is a "book summarizing the author Taizo Son's intellectual adventures". Since the process of that inquiry is turned into a book, I was honestly stimulated by how many people and books one needs to refer to and how much knowledge one needs to accumulate for an inquiry with a question.
The theme of the inquiry in this book is "education". As the subtitle suggests, it passionately argues for the necessity of "unlearning". I also personally like the bold assertion that "we should just get rid of elementary and junior high schools". I felt that the balance between the passion to change society and the faithful return to the classics was exquisitely interesting.
Personally, my impression is that if someone who loves learning reads this, they will honestly feel, "Learning is indeed interesting, isn't it?" Also, the list of recommended books contains many high-quality titles, and I was happy to see many that I had already read, and I was so stimulated that I bought several of them.
📖 Andy Puddicombe, "The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day", Tatsumi Publishing
I picked up this book thinking it might be useful while planning a retreat in nature that I am organizing. I never thought I could understand meditation this well through a book! Thanks to this book, meditation has become much more accessible.
I had always had the question in my head, "What does it take to be able to say you are meditating?", but that doubt has been cleared up, and I have become able to imagine meditation more concretely. It is no wonder that this author quit being a monk to spread meditation to the world.
Since reading this book, I have been consistently continuing my daily meditation. For those who feel, "What is good about meditation?" or "How should I do it?", I recommend it.
I will continue to introduce the books I read like this, regardless of genre📚
I introduce the books I read on Instagram in a timely manner, so if you are interested, please follow me😁
<instagram>
https://www.instagram.com/masaki.tomaru/
#BookDiving #BookClub #RecruitingBookClubParticipants #Books #BookLover #WantToConnectWithBookLovers #WantToConnectWithBookLovers #Philosophy #WantToConnectWithPhilosophyLovers #ReadingRecord #Reading #ReadingLover #ReadingMemo #ReadingNote #BookReview #KojinKaratani #TheStructureOfWorldHistory #TaizoSon #TheBookOfAdventure #AndyPuddicombe #TheHeadspaceGuideToMeditationAndMindfulness