"Book Review: Personal Stories"
- Bianca Blanch
- Mar 1, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 17, 2020
On this page I will review books telling a research story from a personal perspective. So a person talking about the research they have conducted in a scientific or non-scientific perspective. Or people talking about their experiences in pair or non-paid work.
Book suggestions are very welcome!! Email me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
Disclaimer: if you click on any of the links below and buy a product I may receive a commission.
To save yourself the scroll, the personal stories summarised on this page are:
'Why We Dream' by Alice Robb
'Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You' by Julia Baird
'The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership' by Robert Iger
'Shoe Dog: A Memoir By the Creator of Nike' by Phil Knight
'That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix by the First CEO and Co-Founder Marc Randolph ' by Marc Randolph
'Troll Hunting: Inside the World of Online Hate and Its Human Fallout' by Ginger Gorman
'So You Have Been Publicly Shamed' by Jon Ronson
'Uncanny Valley: A Memoir' by Anna Wiener
'Before I Forget: How I Survived A Diagnosis of Younger-Onset Dementia at 46' by Christine Bryden
'Why We Dream' by Alice Robb
Alice Robb is a journalist with an interest in dreams, and why humans dream. The book opens tracing the importance dreams have had throughout human culture and transitions into how dreams became the focus of scientific study.
As a researcher, I found this book fascinating. My favourite part was when Robb describes how scientists developed a new methodology to study dreams. Then they had to figure out how to objectively validate their methodology through lucid dreaming.
This book captured my scientific as well as human curiosity. I highly recommend this book!
'Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark' by Julia Baird
Julia Baird has lived her life. She followed her dreams, pursued love, lived overseas, mothers two children and takes time to experience the awe and wonder in everyday life. She has also experienced loss, she has lost people close to her and has fought cancer multiple times. Throughout her life, a common theme has been to find the light, either literally, by swimming with luminescent creatures or metaphorically, by enduring and learning from the hard times.
I loved the parts in this book when she spoke about different scientists' love for their subject matter, whether it be butterflies, octopus’s, storms or other naturally occurring phenomenon. I also loved her description of the impact of urbanisation on our psyche and why we seek to reconnect with nature.
'The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership' by Robert Iger
Robert Iger has had an amazing career. I am a huge Disney fan so when I saw Iger had written a book, and it also included lessons on leadership, I needed to read it! Warning, the prologue is quite sad and confronting as he speaks about the mass shootings tragedies in Orlando and Las Vegas and a child being attacked by an alligator at Disneyland. Iger was profoundly vulnerable at the beginning of the book which set the tone for his leadership style - authentic with integrity.
Before Iger worked at Disney, he worked at ABC, which Disney later bought. It was inspiring reading how his experiences at ABC, and work ethic, allowed him to succeed later on at Disney. Also how even a successful career has many ups and downs. If you want a career where you can live your personal values everyday, this book is your blueprint.
'Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike' by Phil Knight
In 1962, Phil Knight has a Crazy Idea - to import Japanese shoes to the US. Knight decides to embark on a world trip and visit Japan as part of that trip to see if Tiger will allow him to sell their product in the US. From these humble beginnings Nike is born.
It was fascinating reading how Nike became the company it is today. It is a billion-dollar business that started out like a start up. Many times Nike looked like it may go under but some key decisions and luck allowed it to survive.
I have no doubt this story is biased as it is very pro-Nike, but I loved reading about the innovation and the crazy characters who made Nike what it is today. It is a well written book with lots of heart.
'That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix by the First CEO and Co-Founder Marc Randolph ' by Marc Randolph
Mark Randolph is the Founder of Netflix. Originally a company that posted DVDs to its customers today’s premium content streaming service that has revolutionised how society views movies, documentaries, tv shows basically anything that is a moving picture. Mark’s contribution was in the early days figuring out how to launch an idea into a company.
I enjoyed this book. Randolph has a likeable voice and start up stories are clearly fascinating to me. To see the early days of a wildly successful company is interesting, even a company as monumental as Netflix struggled at the beginning. This is the story of the hard work and perseverance it took to get Netflix to where it is today.
'Troll Hunting: Inside the World of Online Hate and Its Human Fallout' by Ginger Gorman
Ginger Gorman was trolled after writing a story about a loving gay couple raising their child. A few years later these men were imprisoned for molesting that child and running an international paedophile ring. Gorman was further hounded for being sympathetic LGBTQI+ views and due to her mixed race marriage and Jewish roots. This incident scared her and she started investigating trolling more seriously.
This is a good companion book to ‘So You Have Been Publicly Shamed’ by Jon Ronson. It illuminates the trolls side of the story. This book was enlightening but dark, I needed to take a couple of weeks hiatus from it to get some space and then power through to finish. Worth reading, but be prepared.
'So You Have Been Publicly Shamed' by Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson sets out to analyse the phenomenon and effects of being publicly shamed on social media. His story is interesting as I’m not really a part of social media but I did see some of these stories through mainstream media. I never understand why people feel the need to get involved in something that does not affect or concern them. So in this book I was curious as to what motivates these people. However this was the one group who was not interviewed perhaps due to the anonymity the platforms provide. This book is still very interesting and a good read for a rainy day as it doesn't involve too much brain power.
'Uncanny Valley: A Memoir' by Anna Wiener
Anna Wiener works in publishing, it is her life. Yet, like her friends, she is struggling to pay her rent and keep up with the superficial publishing lifestyle. So Anna decides to take a risk and work at a literary start up. After a few months it is clear that this business is not for her. She has a job that is not a good fit for the company. Although it didn't work out at this start-up, she chooses to move to San Francisco, to try working at another start-up. This is her story.
I loved the beginning of this book. As a book lover, it was interesting to get a glimpse into the publishing world. I also heavily related to her experience of leaving her publishing roots to embark on the start-up adventure and getting used to not struggling financially. I was surprised when she moved from New York to San Francisco to try a different start up, as it didn’t seem like she was into the start up culture from her first experience.
This wasn't my favourite start-up book, and towards the end the book takes a very feminist slant, but the way she describes data was so delightful to me that I needed to include this book in my reviews.
'Before I Forget: How I Survived A Diagnosis of Younger-Onset Dementia at 46' by Christine Bryden
Christine Bryden is a remarkable woman, and this book is the proof.
As a child, Christine's mother played logic games with her for fun, and she never excelled at school because she didn't really have to try to do well. Once she started to learn to study and revise her school work, the beauty of her brain revealed itself.
As an adult, this brain became one of the most efficient brains in the world. She naturally had a remarkable memory, coupled with a voracious curiosity to learn new information. Christine also had very tough times which she chose to keep secret, including developing anorexia nervosa at university and entering into a marriage with domestic violence. Then, she was diagnosed with dementia at 46.
Christine's story is one of triumph and overcoming adversity. This story inspires hope and gives you some tricks for how to exercise all of your brain, which Christine believes may be helping her slow the impact of her dementia on her life.
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