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: Your Brain on Art
Art changes your brain in ways you never imagined. Your Brain on Art uncovers the science behind creativity and well-being.
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Review and Summary: Rewire
Most self-help books tell you to believe your brain can change. Rewire shows you how it actually works and the tools to make it happen.
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Review and Summary: The Sirens’ Call
Is your attention truly yours? The Sirens’ Call reveals how it’s being bought, sold, and manipulated in the modern world.
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Review and Summary: Unreliable
Ever wondered what it’s really like in biomedical science? Unreliable reveals the truths and real-life challenges behind the lab doors.
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Review and Summary: The Paradox of Democracy
Democracy relies on communication. But could it also be its undoing? The Paradox of Democracy explores the hidden risks shaping our future.
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Review and Summary: The Chaos Machine
The Chaos Machine exposes how social media’s hidden algorithms fuel fear, division, and misinformation to keep us hooked.
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Review and Summary: Erasing History
How do authoritarian regimes rewrite history to stay in power? Erasing History reveals its impact on democracy and education.
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Review and Summary: All Through the Night
We’ve misunderstood darkness for too long. All Through the Night shows how light pollution steals our connection to nature and the night sky.
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Review and Summary: The Success Myth
The Success Myth challenges the flashy idea of success and offers a refreshing reminder to focus on what truly matters.
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Review and Summary: Getting Back to the Table
Struggling with negotiation? Getting Back to the Table reveals why we fail and how to bounce back stronger.
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Review and Summary: Superbloom
How has technology changed the way we connect? Superbloom explores the impact of communication on our thinking, relationships, and society.
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Review and Summary: How Economics Explains the World
How does economics shape people and history? How Economics Explains the World reveals the hidden forces behind our choices and society.
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Review and Summary: On Freedom
What does freedom truly mean? Timothy Snyder’s On Freedom challenges us to rethink this overused yet misunderstood concept.
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Review and Summary: Beyond Anxiety
Is anxiety a symptom of deeper societal issues? Beyond Anxiety unpacks its roots and guides you toward rediscovering creativity and balance.
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Review and Summary: The Trouble with Ancient DNA
A bold take on the hype, warning against trusting DNA to define history. A must-read for anyone questioning the mainstream DNA narrative.
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Review and Summary: In All Weathers
Ever felt the weather etch itself into your memories? In All Weathers reveals the beauty in every element around us.
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Review and Summary: What My Bones Know
Does our past shape our present? Stephanie Foo’s What My Bones Know offers a raw look at trauma and the courage it takes to heal.
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Review and Summary: The Unthinkable
The Unthinkable explores why we’re unprepared for disasters and offers suggestions to improve your chances of survival in emergencies.
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: The Forty Rules of Love
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak tells a layered story of love, faith, and transformation across centuries.
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Review: There Are Rivers in the Sky
There Are Rivers in the Sky unfolds three characters living in different times and places, reveals how deeply they are connected by rivers.
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Review: On the Calculation of Volume I
On the Calculation of Volume I is a haunting time-loop novella where November 18 repeats for one woman. Time itself feels broken.
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Review: I Who Have Never Known Men
Set in an unsettling world, this dystopian novel centres on humanity and survival. The story reveals a world that feels alien yet familiar.
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Review: Água Viva
Água Viva is a short book in a flowing, stream-of-thought, and poetry style. It reflects on the life that moves through everything.
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Review: Kairos
Kairos by Erpenbeck looks at alternating perspectives, emotional distance, and the link between personal relationships and political history.
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