Sekar Writes
A Collection of (Mostly Nonfiction) Books Review and Personal Notes
Welcome!
Take a look around my blog, where I bring you book reviews filled with knowledges and favorite quotes. Alongside my literary explorations, I share personal stories and some side projects.
Latest Nonfiction Book Reviews
Check out my nonfiction book reviews, featuring thoughts, summaries, and favorite quotes.
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Review and Summary: The Science of Why We Exist
The Science of Why We Exist offers a solid understanding of why we’re here and what had to happen to make life possible.
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Review and Summary: The Gift of Anxiety
Learn to embrace anxiety with The Gift of Anxiety by Diante Fuchs, offering easy exercises and tips for better emotional well-being.
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Review and Summary: All It Takes Is a Goal
Whether you’re seeking your potential or just need a nudge in the right direction, find clarity and confidence in this book.
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Review: Abdi’s World
A book about life, running, and living that subtly fills you with inspiration, leaving you surprised at how quickly you’ve finished it.
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Review and Summary: Un-Glued
Un-glued explains sugar’s hidden dangers and the potential of stem cell therapy—a must-read on the diet-health connection.
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Review and Summary: The Status Game
The Status Game reveals why human seek status and change the way you see yourself and others, backed by thorough research.
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Review and Summary: Practical Optimism
Learn how to stay optimistic with Practical Optimism, a guide that offers practical advice through eight pillars of practical optimism.
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Review and Summary: Good Energy
Achieve better health with Good Energy’s tips on metabolism, simplified science explanations, fun quizzes, and energy-boosting recipes.
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Review: But What Will People Say?
A book that explores immigration challenges and multicultural identity, offering personal insights and healing reflections.
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Review and Summary: Everyday Rituals
Everyday Rituals is a great book for anyone who wants to understand why we follow routines and how they help us.
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Review and Summary: Less is More
Learn how simple living and fair wealth distribution can create a sustainable and happy life in Less is More by Jason Hickel.
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Review and Summary: Why Is This a Question?
A beginner-friendly book that explores the origins of language, blending history and linguistics for an engaging read.
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Review: The Canary Code
Create inclusive workplaces with The Canary Code. Get practical advice and key insights for fostering neurodiversity and belonging.
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Review and Summary: Being Mortal
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande highlights the importance of caring for the elderly and ensuring a good quality of life as they age.
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Review and Summary: Psychedelics
A comprehensive guide to psychedelics, perfect for beginners—engaging, informative, and easy to understand.
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Review: The Education Wars
A book that discusses the complex relationship between education and politics, the important role of schools, and the challenges they face.
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Review and Summary: On the Origin of Being
A book on how ancestral wisdom enhances modern life through better sleep, nutrition, work-life balance, and living in harmony with nature.
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Review and Summary: The Tyranny of Merit
Explore the ideas behind merit in The Tyranny of Merit, revealing its darker side and impact on success, fairness, and societal values.
Browse Nonfiction Books by Specific Genre
Have a specific book topic in mind?
You’ll likely find it in these categories!
- Biographies and Memoirs (32)
- Biology and Life Sciences (12)
- Child Development and Parenting (13)
- Climate Change (2)
- Cooking and Culinary (3)
- Critical Thinking and Research Skills (15)
- Data and Statistics (8)
- Economics (6)
- Education and Learning (10)
- Essays (26)
- Evolutionary Biology (6)
- Fitness and Human Performance (23)
- Health and Medicine (30)
- Leadership and Career (8)
- Life Transitions (11)
- Linguistics (4)
- Literature (2)
- Luck and Chance (3)
- Mathematics (2)
- Mindfulness (3)
- Nature (21)
- Neuroscience (13)
- Poetry (15)
- Politics and Society (41)
- Productivity (25)
- Psychology and Behavioral Science (49)
- Science (44)
- Self-Development (78)
- Technology and AI (10)
- UI/UX (2)
- Women's Studies (6)
- Writing (9)
From Facts to Fiction
Nonfiction teaches me about the world, but fiction helps me feel it.
Every review comes with the quotes I saved — maybe you’ll want to save them too.
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Review: Playground
Four strangers, a remote island, and an ocean full of secrets. Playground is a stunning story of nature, friendship, and life’s big questions.
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Review: The Trees
Brutal murders shake the town where Emmett Till died, and the truth cuts deeper than anyone feared. The Trees is haunting and funny.
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Review: The Deal of a Lifetime and Other Stories
A regretful father and a dying little girl meet in one hospital room. One choice could change everything, what is a single life really worth?
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Review: Arborescence
Imagines a world where humans turn into trees as the planet grows greener and emptier. A story of nature, tech, and the cost of letting go.
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Review: Heart the Lover
Heart the Lover explores how the choices we make in youth ripple through our entire lives, for better and worse.
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Review: The Details
Through malaria and fever, a woman remembers the four people who made her. The Details shows how we’re built from the ones we love.
Life in the Margins
Here’s what else you’ll find on this blog.
Reading Life
- Snapshots of my reading life: the habits, the tracking, and everything around the books.
Journaling
- Writing is how I make sense of things. A look at my journaling practice: how I do it, why I do it, and what it’s given me.
Fresh Flower Care
- There’s something grounding about tending to fresh flowers. My personal notes on keeping them beautiful and alive for longer.
Home Gardening
- Growing things at home with a lot of curiosity. A record of my small gardening experiments, wins and failures included.
Life in Helsinki, Finland
- Living in Helsinki has shaped how I read, think, and move through the world. A little window into daily life in the north.
Hi, I am Sekar!
My passion for reading (at least) one book a week fuels my love for books and drives me to share the insights with others.
Medical science by training, curious about everything else. Here I share my hobbies and the things life teaches me.
Feel free to reach out and join me in celebrating books and all the small joys that make life fuller.
Books let us know we’re not the center of the universe; the universe has many centers.
Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie