I love to read, so as for my first blog post it made sense to share with you the books I have been reading. 2023 was a year filled with so many good books, but there’s two that really stand out for different reasons.
How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa
In this book, Maria Ressa, a filipino-american journalist, recounts her journey fighting the corruption under Rodrigo Duterte’s regime in the Philippines. To achieve that, Ressa co-founded Rappler, a digital media company, aiming to fight the disinformation spread by the government in her home country. This is yet another example of how fake news and social media allow the most powerful ones to manipulate the facts and take control of the public opinion, using it to their advantage.
After reading this book, I felt truly inspired by Maria Ressa: she works tirelessly hoping for a better world, every single day, without even thinking about the consequences.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
I’ve had this book since 2022, when it was released, but for some reason, even though I’m a fan of Matthew Perry, I didn’t feel like reading it. When I found out about his death, I stopped reading “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser to start this one. Let’s just say that it hit differently, since it enabled me to grieve the loss of a friend.
Perry, in his book, gives us an insight of what it was like to be in his shoes. He told his raw truth the way he felt it – despite sometimes acknowledging he was in the wrong -, which allowed me to understand him even better. I’m really thankful that he wasn’t trying to be someone else just to look good as I got to “see” him for what he was. Because of that, he inspired me to embrace my imperfections and to learn from them.
Now let’s see what great books 2024 will bring!
