What We Are Reading Today: ‘Good Vibes, Good Life’

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Updated 16 June 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Good Vibes, Good Life’

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Author: Vex King

“Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness” by Vex King is a self-help book on cultivating a positive mindset and emotional well-being. The author shares his own personal journey of overcoming adversity and tells how he developed practical strategies to improve his outlook on life.

It has an approachable and conversational tone. King writes in a personable manner, sharing his personal experiences and lessons acquired, making it relatable and relevant for readers.

The book covers a wide range of themes, including how to manage negative thoughts, practice appreciation, set boundaries, and discover your purpose.

King presents a variety of real exercises and tactics that readers may use right away to transform their mentality and improve their mental health.

The chapter on self-love is particularly impactful. King emphasizes the importance of being compassionate and accepting toward oneself, which he argues is the foundation for developing healthy relationships and achieving personal growth.

However, I felt that “Good Vibes, Good Life” sometimes tried to simplify complex emotional and mental health issues. While I appreciate the author’s goal of providing easy-to-understand self-help advice, there were times where the messaging felt too simplistic.

Another thing that gave me pause was that the author often did not use scientific research to support ideas. As someone who likes to see evidence-based information, I would have preferred if the author had included more references to psychological studies and expert opinions to back up his recommendations.

Instead, the book mostly relies on the author’s own personal stories and experiences. While those personal anecdotes can be compelling, I don’t think that automatically makes the strategies universally applicable to everyone.

Finally, I had mixed feelings about the work’s broad scope. On the one hand, I appreciated the wide range of topics covered; but on the other, I felt that certain areas could have benefited from a more in-depth, nuanced exploration, rather than a relatively surface-level treatment.

Overall, “Good Vibes, Good Life” is an uplifting and practical guide that can help readers develop a more positive and fulfilling outlook on life. The author’s personal anecdotes and straightforward advice make it an easy and engaging read.

It is a good option for those seeking to cultivate more joy, peace, and emotional well-being in their life.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies
Updated 19 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

Surekha Davies’ “Humans” traces the long, volatile history of monster-making to chart a better path for the future. Along the way, Davies reveals how people have defined the human in relation to everything from apes to zombies, and how they invented race, gender, and nations.

This is not a history of monsters, but a history through monsters.


What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier
Updated 17 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

“El Salvador Could Be Like That” covers the bloody civil war in El Salvador from 1979-1986. The author draws from his vast trove of articles written from the frontlines, interspersing the reporting of facts with personal stories — some funny, some tragic. 

Broad in its sweep, focused on the daily lives of the war’s victims, the book is an important contribution to remembering the lessons and recording the history of this mostly forgotten conflict.

The book “puts the reader on the ground as a witness to the unfolding of a civil war, and provides the political and historical background that surfaces the underlying factors that led to the conflict.” 

It is both a memoir and a cautionary tale of the true costs of war as seen from the ground and in the lives of Salvadorans. 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings
Updated 17 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

“Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy” offers an absorbing and definitive modern history of the Vietnam War from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Secret War.

Here is testimony from Vietcong guerrillas, Southern paratroopers, Saigon bargirls, and Hanoi students alongside that of infantrymen from South Dakota, Marines from North Carolina, and Huey pilots from Arkansas.

No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings’ readers know so well, according to a review on goodreads.com.


What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake
Updated 16 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

Authors: Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee

The Covid pandemic quickly led to the greatest mobilization of emergency powers in human history. By early April 2020, half the world’s population were living under quarantine.

People were told not to leave their homes; businesses were shuttered, employees laid off, and schools closed.

The most devastating pandemic in a century and the policies adopted in response to it upended life as we knew it.

In this book, Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee examine our pandemic response and pose some provocative questions.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Mina’s Matchbox’

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Updated 15 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Mina’s Matchbox’

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  • The house becomes a character in its own right — a vast, almost labyrinthine entity that mirrors the confusion and fragility of familial bonds

Author: Yoko Ogawa

Japanese novelist Yoko Ogawa, renowned for her beautifully crafted narratives in “The Housekeeper and the Professor,” and “The Memory Police,” brings her storytelling style to her latest translation to English, “Mina’s Matchbox.”

Both of those previous works showcase her ability to weave intricate tales that explore human emotions and relationships, albeit in very different contexts. This latest offering, however, presents a more intimate and poignant exploration of family dynamics through the eyes of a child.

In “Mina’s Matchbox,” translated by Stephen Snyder, we meet Mina, a young girl who leaves Tokyo to live with her aunt in a sprawling coastal house.

The narrative unfolds from Mina’s perspective, allowing readers to experience the world through her innocent yet observant eyes. As she navigates her new environment, Ogawa deftly reveals the underlying tensions and complexities within her aunt’s family.

The house becomes a character in its own right — a vast, almost labyrinthine entity that mirrors the confusion and fragility of familial bonds.

Ogawa’s prose is often described as dreamlike; there is a magical quality in the way the author constructs her sentences, drawing readers into a world that feels both familiar and surreal. Her unpretentious style captures the subtleties of emotion with remarkable clarity.

As Mina grapples with her feelings of displacement and belonging, the narrative unfolds to reveal the cracks in the family’s facade. The story serves as an incisive analysis of how external pressures can threaten the stability of family life.

Ogawa’s portrayal of the characters is nuanced, allowing their vulnerabilities and strengths to shine through, making them relatable and deeply human.

In many ways, “Mina’s Matchbox” reflects the themes found in Ogawa’s previous works, yet it stands apart as a distinct exploration of childhood and familial collapse.

The juxtaposition of Mina’s innocence against the adult world’s complexities creates a hauntingly beautiful narrative that lingers long after the last page is turned.

Ogawa continues to enchant readers, proving once again her mastery of the written word.