Brave New World Revisited : Aldous Huxley - A rare collection of thoughts about his own work published previously which was groundbreaking

 

I bought BNWR (Brave New World Revisited) (1958) and BNW (Brave New World) (1932) by Aldous Huxley as a vintage publication from Sarasavi Bookshops Online and Sarasavi Bookshops Gampaha branch. Both books have a unique cover design which is pretty awesome.

The novel BNW published in 1932 is far ahead in terms of predicting a fictionalized future rather than his collection of essays BNWR (1958) published after thirty years which have several predictions gone wrong due to political changes in the global setting compared to the 1950s to 2022.

The first chapter "Overpopulation" suggests that due to this issue of the rising population there will be an obvious bias toward communism of nations' policies and due to this there will be a negative impact on the United States of America (USA). But with the fall of the Soviet Union, many of the communist nations changed their policies to capitalism leading to the end of the cold war. It reflects that many of Huxley's arguments are political rather than being world view. Many of the issues like overpopulation are now tackled by concepts like sustainable development in economics.

Chapters like "Quantity, Quality, Morality" and "Over-organization" discusses very valuable and insightful facts. Many concepts are highly connected to the modern world today.

Aldous Huxley's knowledge and intelligence are unparalleled as it is depicted in his collection of essays related to BNWR. It emphasizes the thought process of the 1950s to 1960s and also analyses many foundations of knowledge he used in BNW.

For a bird's eye view of the novel following list of chapters will be put down for easy reference.

(01) Introduction

(02) Foreword

(03) Overpopulation

(04) Quantity, Quality, Morality

(05) Over-organization

(06) Propaganda in a democratic society

(07) Propaganda under a dictatorship

(08) The arts of selling

(09) Brainwashing

(10) Chemical persuasion

(11) Subconscious persuasion

(12) Hypnopaedia

(13) Education for freedom

(14) What can be done?

Serials of reviews / විචාර ලිපි මාලා

 (01) "නාරද" සහ "කොලට්" ද්විත්වය දකින ශ්‍රී ලංකාව 

 (02) Modern Sri Lankan Renaissance (2015 - 2020)

 (03) අතීතයට ගමනක්…. (Already listed)

 (04) නුතන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පුනරුදය (2015 - 2020)

 (05) "නලින් ද සිල්වා" කියවීම.

 (06) තුන්පත් රටා පොත් පෙළ : අංක 01 / 02 / 03 - සිංහලයේ සංස්කෘතියේ තුන් ඇදුතු පොත් පෙළේ පළමු / දෙවැනි හා තෙවැනි කොටස් 

 (07) රටක මහිම පොත් පෙළ - අංක 11 : ශ්‍රී පාදස්තනේ : ජේ. බී. දිසානායක 

 (08) සිත්තර මහිම පොත් පෙළ  

SPOTLIGHT

 (01) MJ

 (02) LP

 (03) G n R

 (04) BJ

 (05) HRJ

 (06) WDA

 (07) ACDC

 (08) CT Fer.

 (09) GD (Green Day)

 (10) B n S

 (11) IRAJ

 (12) FB

 (13) SF

 (14) Allright

 (15) Nilwala Label

 (16) Seeduwa Sakura

 (17) Nihal Nelson

 (18) Clarance Wijewardena

 (19) Anesly Malewana

 (20) Rony Leech (තට්ටයා)

 (21) Ginger 

 (22) Corriene Almeida

 (23) Marshall Mathers (EMINEM)

 (24) Hans Zimmer

 (25) John Williams

සිංහල පලනොවූ විචාර

(01) ඔබේ පවුලේ ඉතිහාසය ගැඹුරින් අවධානයට ලක් කිරීම.

(02) English translations 

(03) Revisiting a story of a shit-head vagabond 

(04) විඥානය යනු කුමක්ද ? [ බෞද්ධ පොත පත නැවත විවරණය ] 

English titles of some of the unpublished book reviews

 (01) Gihin Enna 'Carnival'

 (02) Narada and Collette's Sri Lanka

 (03) A humane prayer to the sea

 (04) A man, A woman, and two monks travel to India

Train your Brain - Terry Horne and Simon Wootton : An 360 perspective on brain training

 

'Train Your Brain' was a gift to me by one of my father's friend from Sampath Bank PLC who gave it to me in the year 2010.

I read the book in year 2022.

If it was 12 years ago and I would have benefited if this book was read earlier. But anyway due to my misfortune this abundant set of infomation which is very valuable increases my regret more but also helped to increase my knowledge atleast now.

The book deals with a lot of science of how the brain works and also manages to dissect the ways and patterns of thinking in order to gain competitive advantage over brain training. (E.g. - Critical thinking, verbal thinking, visual thinking)

Some of the good things of the book is summarised in point form.

(01) Drink a lot of water

(02) Dark Chocolate

(03) Use left hand to brush teeth and write

(04) Do constantly brain training

(05) Reduce phone, PC and television screen time

(06) Exercises

(07) Reading is good for your brain, but listening and having meaningful conversations is better.

Overall a better addition to motivational and brain training books which is on par to "Think and Grow Rich" (1937).

 

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley : The most mind-blowing futuristic prediction of a novel

 

Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley is the most mindblowing futuristic prediction of a novel.

It is classified as a dystopian novel and the story has a bleak response to the future of humanity.

It has so much information gathered and fictionalised creatively it feels like a prediction with a scientific background rather than a novel.

This is re-read material and a must read classic sci-fi.

Living in 2022 it is shocking to see many of his predictions have come true.

And as a third world dweller (Sri Lankan) some of the aspects discussed in the book opens the reader's mind into reality.

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White : Talking farm animals and a beautiful children's book

 

Charlotte's Web by Elwyn B. White is a Children's story book which is considered as a classic among the genre.

It is unrealistic and a bit overly dramatic to have a theme of having talking farm animals but it is a worth read.

The story is heartfelt with a powerful message related to animal life and farming.

The story is very sarcastic and gives the reader's the value of life in a childlike mentality.

The book and the story is very humourous and specially characters like Templeton.

A wonderful read.

The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame : The masterpiece that beautifies English countryside in the reader's mind

 

The Wind in the Willows is a book written for children with a nostalgic style and for any reader who loves and have heard about England and there countryside this is a real treat.

If you love the English breakfast at Sri Lankan hotels this book will be a great provider of an after taste.

I purchased the Puffin classic and in goodreads the page number count and the ISBN was a bit different. It triggered me to read the book in random places to check whether I'm reading an unabridged version or not in the internet.

In my humble opinion I think 'The Wind in the Willows' is the inception of Magical Realism.

I also watched the Sinhala dubbed version of the 1984 television series which was very famous in Sri Lanka but was different due to Sinhalisation.

I also read the hard cover ladybird abridged classic during my childhood which was a colourful book with beautiful pictures.

Since this is a modern classic the high standards are acceptable. But yet it is a dominating book with artistic descriptions of the english countryside and colourful characters.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho : Reviewing an international bestseller

I purchased Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist for 25.37 $, on 2014.09.17. It was suggested to me on the internet along with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One hundred years of solitude. Those days I was an undergraduate studying business management and I was not exposed to world literature that much.

After a turbulent time period from 2014 to 2022, on June 18th I saw a list of eleven books to be read to improve my English on Facebook. In that list, the fourth book was 'The Alchemist'. It triggered me to read the book at an instance.

And after a request for a review from a Goodreads friend I realized why I should not write about this book which is very quotable and may be one of the most quoted books of the 20th and 21st centuries.

What mostly attracts me to this book is its short and sweet nature with a magical touch.

I will quote the prologue in the book to capture the essence of magic in this book.

I will not explain the two-page simple prologue to the readers of this review but will make sure they grasp the beauty of it by this extraction.

" I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected."

When you read this novel it feels like a self-help book about discovering your inner voice and believing in yourself. Hence the concepts and theories of "Think and grow rich" by Napoleon Hill published in 1937 definitely come to my mind.

And also if the readers of this book wish to visualize the cultural and aesthetic aspects of this book watch Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

The poetic words and philosophy hidden in this novel remind me of Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931). I have read many Sinhala translations of his books like "The Prophet" (1923), "The Mad man" (1918), and "Broken Wings" (1912).

My 3-star rating which is surprisingly low is because I don't want to make a book that is magical and at the same time filled with coincidences to be a masterpiece. But yet I cherished reading this beautiful book.

Do the work - Steven Pressfield : The myth of motivation

 

In 2017.05.08 I read 'The War of Art' and 'Turning Pro' by the same author (Steven Pressfield) as 'Do the Work'.

First of all, I bought 'The War of Art' and 'Turning Pro' from eBay and they cost me 48.81$ (LKR 18,059.7 /=)

After reading both of the books I was motivated and even stated on social media that this book is like an energy drink.

But from 2017 to 2020 I was living a turbulent time having a very confusing lifestyle which reflects that like the books by Steven Pressfield represents 'Resistance' (Negativity of life and attitudes) won during that period.

But due to sheer luck, I was able to again find a job in a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka (Sampath Bank PLC) from June 2020.

In April 2022 I was not in a focused mentality, career-wise or in my personal life leading to many foolish decisions. (Starting an MBA)

I also purchased a load of books in Sinhala and English leading me to be empty pocket with cash in hand.

But then I saw a website called "Jumpbooks.lk", an online bookstore by a Sri Lankan which sold, the third book of Steven Pressfield's book series.

"Do the Work" by Steven Pressfield cost me Rs. 2990 which is overpriced considering its content and quality-wise. 

The book gives the readers the knowledge required to complete a project or any other work by breaking it up into several steps, planning it properly, not giving up until it's finished, and also by not fearing failure.

But besides the powerful words and his own experiences which are condensed into 98 pages, the book feels mythical and not a mutual experience hence feeling the reader is not motivated but rather misguided.

The two books that were previously published were much more focused where the review link is shared below.

https://bookerreadsdaily.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-war-to-motivation-2-books-to-change.html

Anyway, success is not just powerful words is the message to the reader of this review about "Do the Work".

 

Think and grow rich - Napoleon Hill : The thought process for success

 

"T&GR" (Think and Grow Rich) by Napoleon Hill was first published in 1937 and is a global phenomenon in self-help books.

It reflects the thought process you need to cultivate to achieve financial growth in your personal and professional life.

With world-renowned real-life examples from the United States of America (USA) and other success stories, the book reveals the power of your own thoughts.

Accordingly, if you are focused on the success you can achieve it with flying colors.

As a reader of self-help books who is thirty years old and has had a very turbulent academic and professional life feel a big regret for not reading these books early in my life. But reading them now at least gives a hope to avoid future mistakes and guide your thought process towards success and riches.

Napoleon Hill's book is evident to be more biased towards capitalism and its concepts as well as the power of the western world.

In this book, "Chapter 06 - Organized Planning" focuses on the new leadership style required by the world. It is not forced or received through hereditary but by transactional relationship or like a partnership.

Since "T&GR" was written in the times of "the great depression" in the USA (1930's) the book's perspective on leadership and mindset required to achieve success is vital for Sri Lanka under the post-covid-19 economic conditions. Sri Lanka in April 2022 is facing dire economic conditions and also is shrouded by dark in nature and corrupted politicians. So this book might give a better perspective to Sri Lankans to change their thought process to achieve success and growth as a nation and in personal life.

13 things mentally strong people don't do - Amy Morin : Waking up from the American dream ( A "Max Payne 2 : The Fall of Max Payne" reference)

 

I was very serious about reading books since 2016. So I read several self-help books to develop myself. I reviewed some of them too and shared them on social media.

(01) Rich Dad, Poor Dad - What the rich teach their kids about money - that the poor and middle class do not! By Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, C.P.A. - 2021.09.19

(02) සිංහලෙන් බිස්නස් - 8 : සිහියෙන් සිටීම - සතිමත් බව කළමනාකරණ කුසලතාවයක් ලෙස (Mindfulness as an executive capability) : දීපාල් සුරියආරච්චි - 2020.06.13

(03) සිංහලෙන් බිස්නස් - 7 : රැකියාවයි ඔබයි : වෘත්තීය දිවියේ දියුණුවන මඟ (A handy guide to succeed in a job) : දීපාල් සුරියආරච්චි - 2020.06.13

(04) The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle - 2018.09.08

(05) "The War of Art" and "Turning Pro": Steven Pressfield - 2017.05.08

(06) Unstoppable: The incredible power of faith in action By Nick Vujicic - 2017.01.28

(07) Boy meets depression by Kevin Breel - 2016.11.14

These seven books though were life-changing didn't actually help me to grow as a professional or to find some control in my personal life.

I was shifting jobs and careers constantly leading to my life being failed and unstable.

But these books gave me some sense of hope during these desperate times.

Amy Morin's book I read during the post-pandemic Sri Lanka gave me a hard punch on the face since it woke me up from the American dream I was having living in a third-world nation.

Sri Lanka's inflation is the highest in Asia. (2022 April) United States of America (USA) Dollar has depreciated the rupee value by a great margin. (2022 April) Hence life is pretty hard in Sri Lanka now. (2022 April)

The success you dream of in the USA is unachievable in Sri Lanka due to economic instability, political instability, corruption, and violence.

But in life, you can't give up and Amy Morin's "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" is a guiding light with strategies to overcome mental instability and also to succeed in personal and professional life.

In the final chapter of the book, "Conclusion - Maintaining Mental Strength" three easy steps are provided to achieve mental strength.

(i) Monitor your behavior

(ii) Regulate your emotions

(iii) Think about your thoughts

To end this review of this great self-help book I will list down the chapters of the book for the readers to identify a bird's eye view of the book's valuable content.

Contents

Introduction

What is mental strength?

Chapter 01 - They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves

Chapter 02 - They don't give away their power

Chapter 03 - They don't shy away from change

Chapter 04 - They don't focus on things they focus they can't control

Chapter 05 - They don't worry about pleasing everyone

Chapter 06 - They don't fear taking calculated risks

Chapter 07 - They don't dwell on the past

Chapter 08 - They don't make the same mistakes over and over

Chapter 09 - They don't resent other people's success

Chapter 10 - They don't give up after the first failure

Chapter 11 - They don't fear alone time

Chapter 12 - They don't feel the world owes them anything 

Chapter 13 - They don't expect immediate results

Conclusion - Maintaining mental strength 

References

Acknowledgments

Amy Morin herself is a counselor, a person who fought personal struggles and who got a breakthrough after a speech in the "Ted-Ed" forum led her to be a global phenomenon.

The title "waking up from the American dream" was derived from a video game called Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne which I played during my schooling years (1997 - 2010). I felt it was more relevant for my failed personal life as well as the turbulent times Sri Lanka is now facing.

Overall rating - 5 / 5