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The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
BATB score: 9/10 โฃ๏ธ Written in 1989, developed into a film in 1993 (7.8 IMDb) #dayum Kazuo Ishiguro aka The Nobel Prize in Literature 2017 Best to: beautiful composition with eloquently sophisticated narration; a good juxtaposition of an affable main character's reminiscence of self 'dignity' and 'loyalty' to one's master - worthy of being a required reading for a literature class Best for: Lords and ladies of Darlington Hall, Oxfordshire; I feel very posh and of great statur


Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It by Oliver Burkeman
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ Best to: a twist to you only live once #yolo, live today like it's your last, the art of not giving a f*ck, and other time is finite mantras Best for: over-achievers, move fast rushers, high productivity zombies to take a chill pill ๐ Best as: we only have four thousand weeks; i am on my 1616/4000 week; with that said, am I living my current week the way I utmost want to? Best quote: โeven the winners in our achievement-obsessed culture - the ones who mak


Sapiens: A Graphic History The Birth of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
BATB score: 9/10 ๐คฉ Best to: legit snack-able, relatable, practical storytelling version to the worlds of Yunal Noah Harari's mission to uncover who we were, who we are, and who will we be Best for: anyone who struggled to finish Yunal Noah Harari's books; this cartoon version of his famous Sapiens book is made for you and me; thank god for this "for dummies" version #hallelujah Best as: did you know that there were 6 species of hominins aka humans? Homo sapiens is not only o


The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
BATB score: 9/10 ๐งโโ๏ธ Alex Michaelides is exceptionally talented in character creation and flow of uncovering storyline details. The book's plot twists, climax, and the closure falling act made clear that he is a full-time screenwriter. #Bravo Best to: not bad at all for a psychological thriller novel #dayum Best for: you know how you watch a movie and you go "I bet he's the killer"? well, through the pages, I had no clue. Best as: Netflix movie material


Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ก Kazuo Ishiguro, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, writes books as an art form. Best to: intellectually stimulating about figuring out the world and our purpose in life Best for: a literature class required read, a literature book club, an English Literature scholar read; Ishiguro's writings are exceptional. it's more about the narration of the story, the hidden humanity behind, and the social dilemmas of 'told but not told' Best as: "Never Let Me Go


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
BATB score: 9.5/10 ๐ a novel about a fiction Hollywood super star and her glamorous and scandalous life; super entertaining to read, easily read in 1-2 sittings ๐ Best to: you will fall in love with Evelyn Hugo's character and you will understand the rationale behind using lust to twist publicity and faking love to gain fame โญ I am with her 100% - she is one smart b*tch Best for: nomadic minds in need of a casual weekend read; you know how BATB hates fiction especially ewy-


Educated by Tara Westover
BATB score: 9.2/10 ๐ฉโ๐๐๐ฏ Bill Gates' and Barack Obama's 2018 recommended read ๐ฏ spot on - I am so sorry that I took so long to get to it (4 years to be exact) #betterlatethannever This book is almost a 10/10. Just a very very small point. At times, the narration was a bit slow and the ending chapters were less strong compared to the other chapters. Best to: a brilliant heartfelt memoir - it's about family values and ties, mormonism, beliefs, faith, education, self-discov


The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel H. Pink
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ *disclaimer* I love Daniel H. Pink. He writes about such interesting behavioural psychological topics: drive, when, regrets - his research fascinates me about how everything can be so constructively explained and optimize for the better ๐ #dayum #socool #loveyou Best to: it's a thorough research on the role of, the types of, the ways to handle, and the ways to optimize regrets; #legit learnt a lot! Fun fact: did you know that 3rd place winners ['at least'


The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jordenson
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ค Naval Ravikant is an American entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder, chairman and former CEO of AngelList. His net worth is $69 million. He shares his practical visions on Twitter. Best to: a collection of Naval Ravikant's pragmatic vision in more comprehensive and actionable manner; damn someday I wish someone adore me enough to write an almanac of my scattered thoughts Best for: questioners of what is the 'meaning of life' in terms of wealth an


Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
BATB score: 9/10 ๐คฉ BATB read level: 1 easy peesy Best to: a very moving novel about bullies, being special, and friendship ๐ฅบ very captivating, entertaining, and easy to read Best for: so you know the famous K-Pop band BTS? and you know RM the leader of BTS? he reads this book - hmm, actually SUGA and J-Hope were seen reading this book too; not that it matters, but it kinda matters Best as: a weekend getaway, a feel-good read ๐ BATB nerd moment: Alexithymia is the inability


The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ this book is beautifully written ๐ฏ๐ฅบ๐ Best to: Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and award winner of the Presidential medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2012 - with all that said, won't you read her masterpiece work? Best for: literature art at its best, avid novel readers, book appreciation Best as: word choices, word flow, harmonious composition, sentence structure, character build up, and so


Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ค 12 disciplines of leadership from U.S. Navy Seals - surprisingly very applicable to business leaderships - this is the type of management your team members would strongly appreciate ๐ฏ Best to: when it's life or death, leadership is key; and even though in business, there's is no life or death per se, leadership is still key ๐ BATB lingering thought: this book is extremely well-written, starting each chapter with anecdotal story tell from war in Iraq, con


The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
BATB score: 9/10 ๐โค๏ธ๐โค๏ธ Thank you Alain de Botton for writing about the philosophy behind marriages. A very honest and important book about how there can only be a 'good enough' marriage that you have to seriously work for every day; reality is so not 'they lived happily ever after'. Best to: "that love is a skill, not just an enthusiasm" BATB lingering thought: the appropriate wedding vows is rather "that I will talk through my feelings when I feel hurt, that I will want t


We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ฒ Simu Liu, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, $19M net worth, has always been and still is a disgrace and an embarrassment to his Asian parents. 100% relatable as Asian parents' expectations, disciples, and upbringings are so unique Asian Best to: you sacrifice everything, work your ass off, be who they expect you to be, excel to the point of breakdown just to make your Asian parents proud of - which they would never be - I feel so emotional with th


The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ซ written in 1951, J. D. Salinger's book "the catcher in the rye" has been banned 9 times for being a 'bad influence' to young adult readers - excessive vulgar language (meh), sexual scenes (meh), and debatable moral issues on addictions (meh) likeas our world isn't full of these examples on a day to day the book has been linked to many real life high-profile murder cases - John Lennon's murder and President Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination - the murd


Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr Julie Smith
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ psychologist Dr Julie Smith believes that everybody need to manage their mental well-being ๐ yet not everybody can afford a session with a psychologist; this book shares the techniques and supportive tool for you to self-DIY fix your mental health ๐ฏ #thankyou Best to: when feeling overwhelmed, acknowledge that it is okay to feel overwhelmed, take a step back and ask "why is this so important to me?", maybe it is actually not that important and if it is i


The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves by Dan Ariely
BATB score: 9/10 โญ๏ธ Reader disclaimer: BATB loves Dan Ariely #fangirl love his writing style, his quirky experiments, and his natural curiosity to the oddest things; so would a picture of flowers ๐ธ or of eyeballs ๐ make you more honest? Like what? Best to: so how do we cheat without feeling too bad about cheating when not cheating at all is just stupid Best as: so the extent of cheating increases when you believe you are Robin Hood โwe cheat because we are good people who c


The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ Best as: itโs a holocaust survivorโs memoir plus a self-help guide to happiness - a 2-in-1 combo! so this book does not end once he has escaped Auschwitz but continues on with how he doesnโt hate Hitler and how his biggest revenge is โto be the happiest man on earthโ Best to: check out Eddie Jakuโs 11-minutes TedX Talk โA Holocaust survivorโs blueprint for happinessโ it is pretty much what the whole book is about BATB lingering thought: so Eddie Jaku wrote


High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins
BATB score: 9/10 ๐๐โค๏ธโ๐ฉน Best to: wow wow wow what a story! I have never heard anything like this before and never would have been able to predict what would happen next; definitely a page turner! Best as: boy, I think about it every night and day. Iโm addicted wanna drown inside your love. I wouldnโt wanna have it any other way, Iโm addicted and I just canโt get enough Best for: you know how you still have a moral compass but yet things just spiraled for the worst? BATB li


Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ Best for: almost a 10/10! Itโs just that he wrote this book truly for himself to remember the past and to grateful for the future. โCan we live in a way where we look forward to looking back?โ Nothing wrong with that. Itโs just like I am that sneaky nosey neighbor reading this personal book of his. Best to: a very fun and casual read about the life of Matthew McConaughey Best as: for sure, Matthew McConaughey is extremely talented in acting and writing ๐ฏ
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