100 Books Like A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing

I first read Lolita when I was 14 and have read it every few decades since, learning something new each time.

I love the first-person immediacy of it and the way it is a crime novel in reverse: the narrator is already imprisoned but not for the crime he describes. It is a love story turned on its head: what the narrator says is love is in fact abuse.

It is a road trip across the vastness of the US, like one I took when I was a student.

A nonfiction book that tells the story of three unrelated women and their unique but universal struggles; I loved it because of the author’s incredible talent for articulating the everyday lived experience of being female, the subtle and overt judgments, and the fact that women are held to different standards, even by other women.

"‘Even when women fight back, they must do it correctly. They must cry the right amount and look pretty but not hot." Many times while reading, I recognised myself, my sister, my mother, and my friends.

All three stories are highly engaging, but the truly compelling story is Maggie’s, a troubled girl from a difficult family who is preyed upon by her teacher, a married man with a family. The subsequent effect on her life is just devastating (remember, folks: this is nonfiction.)

What struck me most is that Russell flips the usual script: instead of everyone telling the victim "this didn't happen to you," everyone is telling Vanessa "this did happen to you."

But she can't admit it. Not even by the end. She clings to the belief that she had power in the relationship with her instructor to avoid the horror of how powerless she actually was. Even though it derailed her life and career.

I couldn't grasp what happened to me either. And in a lot of ways, no matter how much data I've gathered or what literature I've studied, I still don't. It's just that traumatic.

It’s a very clever, very funny novella about a talented literary editor, Quin, told alternately in his own voice and by a long-term friend of his, Margot.

Margot defends and normalises his behaviour towards women until she is forced to reassess his actions in the light of numerous accusations, all of which fall short of actual assault or rape, sex, or even touching. Is he an abuser? Or is he just a playful, overgrown manchild who thrives on emotionally intense and intimate friendships with women?

I loved the book because it refuses to answer the question definitively.

This book is a funny and heartbreaking road trip story about the strength of family.

Though a cross-country trip in an RV is a nightmare for the main character, Charlie, who thrives on consistency, I didn’t want my journey with this cast of characters to end. Charlie is a loveable kid with a strong voice, and the portrayal of his OCD came through as authentic. Charlie clings to his list of bird sightings as a sign of hope that everything will turn out okay, and the anticipation of seeing him check off his sightings kept me turning the pages!

The cover made me buy it, and the writing made me love it. An unexpected amateur sleuth, a mere teenager trying to find his missing sister, is the crux of this story filled with captivating characters and constant go-go-go. The entire plot blew my mind with its twists and tensions and completely unexpected angles. I highly recommend this revered mystery/thriller/suspense novel set during the Age of Aquarius—1968 in Laguna Beach, California. 

The opening paragraph of this book is pure poetry in motion, putting me in a trance and craving to read the entire book. 

You wouldn’t know this is a book about neuroscience when reading the opening lines in Chapter 1. Connectome is a thought-provoking exploration of the brain's neural connections and their potential to transform our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. 

Given that artificial intelligence is inspired by neuroscience it’s a great book to understand how the brain works.

“One of the most common mistakes that people make in relation to managing their emotional and mental health is waiting until there is a crisis before they act,” says Watson, a nutrition-trained chartered psychologist, in the introduction of her book and she’s absolutely right. Being observant and informed about what can impact our mental health can help us avoid a crisis like burnout. This really comprehensive and accessible book is also excellent at explaining how the brain works and what it needs, from nutrition to exercise and sleep, and how we can make the improvements necessary to take better care of ourselves and avoid or manage a crisis like burnout that, in turn, can contribute to other problems.

This book hits a kind of non-narrative sweet spot: It doesn’t tell a specific story, but every page-spread is a feast of beauty and interest and there are just enough words sprinkled here and there to encourage parents to supply their own commentary. This particular book happened to be a huge favorite in my family, but any collection that introduces great paintings and different styles of art will do the trick. I love making art part of a baby’s world from the get-go: It awakens the aesthetic senses and gives a child a sense of cultural ownership. Later, seeing a Vermeer or a Picasso, we can hope that child will feel a sparkle of recognition.

I loved this book because it offers a refreshing view of what neuroscience can and should be. Unlike different, highly credentialed neuroscientists who routinely offer vastly incompatible views of consciousness and who we ultimately are, this book instead focuses on the extraordinary theme of how the brain organizes the engineering of consciousness rather than on the more elusive and controversial deeper questions. 

As an illustration of the many mind-broadening themes broached in this superb book, instinct is often used as the be-all and end-all explanation of certain animal and human behaviors. Of the two hundred or so books I have read on the subject of consciousness and the brain, I have never before come across a more cogent explanation of how instinct arises and sets over many generations.