Book recommendations from January, February and March 2017

From the first quarter of 2017 I recommend Celine and Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.

Inspired by the life of his own mother, Peter Heller’s Celine is a heart-felt missing person story. Heller’s previous books, The Dog Stars and The Painter, are also worth reading.

Peter Godfrey-Smith’s Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness uses the octopus as the launching pad for a discussion on evolution and consciousness. Godfrey-Smith’s books offers a deeper understanding of various levels of intelligence in the animal world and better understanding of the human mind.

Below are all of the books I’ve read so far this year. Anything 4-stars or above is worth reading. I’d pass on all of the 3- and 2-star picks.

Books Read in March

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher ★★★

Celine by Peter Heller ★★★★★

A Concise History of the Caribbean by B.W. Higman ★★★★

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad ★★★★

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris ★★

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade ★★★★

One Year After By William R. Forstchen ★★★

Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays by David Sedaris ★★★

Nutshell by Ian McEwan ★★★

Books Read in February

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain ★★★★

Sideways 3 Chile by Rex Pickett ★★★

What You Don’t Know by JoAnn Chaney ★★★

Vertical by Rex Pickett ★★★★

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur ★★★★

Insomnia by Stephen King ★★★

Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith ★★★★★

Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte ★★★★

Bird Box by Josh Malerman ★★★★

The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita ★★★★

Books Read in January

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi ★★★

The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney ★★★

Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth Greenwood ★★

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick ★★★★

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain ★★★

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach ★★★★