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.
Me, More or Less
These lists are pretty much describe me in a nutshell.
Latest Nonfiction Book Reviews
Check out my nonfiction book reviews, featuring thoughts, summaries, and favorite quotes.
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Review: Fundamental of Data Visualization, A Primer on Making Informative and Compelling Figures
Fundamental of Data Visualization is a book to understand the key principles, methods, and concepts to present data in the most unbiased and inclusive way.
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Review: Calling Bullshit
This book give the readers sets of tips on how to detect the misinformation without a deep knowledge of statistics or the related field.
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Review and Summary: Life Is in the Transitions
This book is based on Feiler research called The Life Story Project where he gathered 225 life stories belong to people from different background across fifty states in the United States.
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Review and Summary: How Will You Measure Your Life?
Clayton Christensen shares ways to measure and ensure on how to live a balance and successful professional and personal life that is valued by happiness and integrity rather than materials-oriented.
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Review: Weapons of Math Destruction, How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
Understanding big data’s flaws through Cathy O’Neil’s insightful analysis by realizing the impact of unfair algorithms on people’s lives.
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Review and Summary: Option B
Option B is about how to build resilience not only after we lost our loved ones, but also for all kinds of setbacks that will happen to us.
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Review and Summary: Indistractable
A book guide to maximize technology benefits and maintain healthy relationships without succumbing to attention-grabbing tactics.
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Review and Summary: Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Dr. Julie Smith shares science-based mental health tips to help you navigate tough times, understand your emotions, and grow stronger.
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Review and Summary: Building a Second Brain
Struggling to keep up with endless information? Building a Second Brain shares smart ways to organize ideas and boost productivity.
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Review and Summary: Hyperfocus
Struggling to stay productive in a fast-paced world? Learn how your brain works and use simple tricks to get more done in less time.
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Review and Summary: Essentialism
Embrace a life philosophy of ‘less but better’ for more impactful and effective living. Explore the core principles of Essentialism.
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Highlights and Review: Lean In
Sheryl Sandberg shares her journey, tackling gender equality and the challenges women face in stepping into leadership roles.
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Highlights and Review: Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits isn’t just another self-help guide. It shows how small daily habits can lead to big, lasting change in life.
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Review and Summary: The Art of Statistics
A book to understand why statistics matter, mistakes, and the fatal impact if we belittling the method that we pick for data analysis.
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Review and Summary: Digital Minimalism
A book offering therapy for digital addiction, redirecting focus from social media to real-life experiences.
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Highlight and Review: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
If you follow Naval Ravikant in Twitter, then you will come across some of his tweets in this book. However, this book is the deeper insights from Naval that show us his perspectives in life, which is thought-provoking and kind of refreshing.
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Highlight and Review: Surrounded by Setbacks
Tired of setbacks despite your best efforts? This book helps you navigate life’s challenges and turn them into success without the clichés.
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Review and Summary: Quiet
In Quiet, Susan Cain explains how introvert or extrovert act socially different and how both personalities can work together in harmony.
From Facts to Fiction
Nonfiction teaches me about the world, but fiction helps me feel it.
Every review comes with the quotes I saved.
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Review: The Bright Years
The Bright Years looks like a sweet love story at first, but it hides addiction, secrets, and a family falling apart underneath.
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Review: On Earth as it is Beneath
On Earth As It Is Beneath is set in a Brazilian prison built on hidden bones, where inmates are hunted each month in a brutal survival ritual.
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Review: Demon Copperhead
Demon Copperhead, forced to grow up too fast amid poverty, addiction, and a broken foster system. A rich retelling of a Dickens classic.
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Review: And Every Morning the way Home Gets Longer
A grandfather is forgetting his memory. His son and grandson are left holding onto what’s slipping away in this short, aching book by Backman.
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Review: The Answer Is No
Meet Lucas, a man happy in his own world, until a frying pan changes everything in The Answer is No, Fredrik Backman’s witty short book.
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Review: The Trouble with Happiness and Other Stories
Some people always want more from life than life will hand them. The Trouble with Happiness is about that ache, and the homes it wrecks.
Browse Nonfiction Books by Specific Genre
Have a specific book topic in mind?
You’ll likely find it in these categories!
- Biographies and Memoirs (33)
- 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 (27)
- 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 (80)
- Technology and AI (10)
- UI/UX (2)
- Women's Studies (6)
- Writing (9)
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 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
- Looking after fresh flowers asks me to slow down and be present. Here are my personal notes on keeping them beautiful and alive for longer.
Home Gardening
- There’s something grounding about growing things at home. Follow along with my notes as I watch things grow, season by season.
Life in Helsinki, Finland
- Living in Helsinki has shaped how I read, think, and move through the world. A little window into my 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