Books I read in 2015
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
19th December 2015
The Soddit by A. R. R. R. Roberts
16th December 2015
How to Think About Exercise by Damon Young
16th December 2015
Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams by Paul Martin
19th November 2015
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
29th October 2015
How Not to be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life by Jordan Ellenberg
19th August 2015
Illuminatus! Part 3: Leviathan by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
15th August 2015
Illuminatus! Part 2: The Golden Apple by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
3rd August 2015
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
28th July 2015
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
16th July 2015
The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds by John Higgs
9th July 2015
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane
5th July 2015
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
8th June 2015
Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth by Marcia Bjornerud
30th May 2015
The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and Lola Rogers (translator)
6th April 2015
Crash by J.G. Ballard
8th March 2015
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle
23rd February 2015
Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland
16th February 2015
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
22nd January 2015
Get Some Headspace by Andy Puddicombe
15th January 2015
Andy Puddicombe's book is a populist take on mindfulness practice for the modern world, and draws on his own experiences both as a Buddhist monk and as someone who has learned the hard way how to apply mindfulness to the business of day to day living.
Although this wasn't my first encounter with mindfulness I found a lot in here to help with my own practices, especially as I started reading it at a time when I felt I was looking for ways to re-engage with them. Puddicombe is great at communicating the core ideas and finding ways to illustrate them using his own experiences.
One gripe however is that since the original publication of this book in 2011, Puddicombe seems determined to turn 'Headspace' into a commercial venture. One effect of this is that the web addresses linking to the guided meditations no longer work - instead you must sign up to the Headspace website to access the 'free' content, and pay a subscription to 'unlock' additional content. I don't doubt that for some people this is a very effective way to start (and stick with) regular meditation practice; but the delivery via a social media platform that's accessed through a computer or mobile feels (to me) to be a bit at odds with living more mindfully.
That said, the book stands up on its own. I don't know if more experienced practitioners will find much new in it, and someone looking for deeper insights into mindfulness would be better to look at something like John Kabat-Zinn's Wherever You Go, There You are. But personally I found plenty of good practical stuff in it, and I'm sure that it would make a great introduction to the practice of mindfulness.