August 2026— Matt Haig, Jonathan Foer, Rainer Maria Rilke

 1. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

One of my favourite books; I had read this before. This time I listened to the audiobook. 

"Dear friend, embrace your solitude and love it."

2. We Are The Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer

Saving the planet begins at breakfast. No, really! If we don't demonstrate solidarity through small collective sacrifices, we can not save the planet. The four highest-impact things one can do to tackle climate change are 

• eat a plant-based diet ✅, 
• avoid air travel ✅(max I travel like once a year; won't even do that in coming years), 
• live car-free✅(I use public transport or electric vehicles, except when I go out with family which is rare), and 
• have fewer children✅(don't have and will never have). 

How I wish everyone would realise how serious climate change is and start acting in solidarity. Immediately!! Especially the wealthy Western countries that contribute substantially to climate deterioration and suffer the least for it. Their factory farming; the animals suffering at such massive scale; makes me want to cry every single day. Poor animals!. The world is hell for them. And how sad for us. What it's doing to the planet.

3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The state of the world, animal suffering, climate change, people's indifference to all these, their apathy, greed, craze for money, money money. Ugh! Can be so draining. I needed a little pick-me-up. So I turned to Matt Haig. Perfect book to lift up my mood.🤍

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined."

4. The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

Of course, I read the sequel right after finishing The Midnight Library.

"A great gift. The gift of being able to live life from the perspective of the dead."

5. How Not to Die by Michael Greger

This book talks about the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. How not to die from heart, lung, brain, kidney diseases and many others? The answer is a plant-based diet. 

This has become my favourite book to read while going out and about, in transit, waiting for autos, taxis, etc. Interesting to know what food is good for preventing, reversing which disease. I can then act like a little expert and share to others and help them be healthier. May be.

Focus on the important things in life. Your health should be on top of the list. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others and contribute to making the world a better place. You should try. No! do it.

That's all I read in August. I also picked up The Library at Mount Char. I came across this in some Reddit discussion. Started reading, but didn't feel like continuing. Horror is not my genre.