Revenge of the Book Diary (2025)

16.1.

I think the first third about the history of antisemitism was great and very interesting, but the latter two just fell flat and uninteresting.

16.1.

I thought this one would be good, but it just repeats itself too often.

14.1.

It's a collection of writings about the philosophy of the new era. I just didn't get that it would literally consist of writings from all kinds of thinkers since the 16th century.

Funnily enough Pekka Elo aka Peelo was an academic and a legendary internet troll back in the day. His nickname actually became a synonyme for an internet troll.

12.1.

This is not theoretical at all, but a very down to earth look at the effects of war on people's psyche.

12.1.

In case you're looking for that one fat book to boost your overall knowledge on psychology, then look no further. This is a great overview of the subject matter.

11.1.

All killer, zero filler book about hypnosis and hypnotherapy. This book was clearly written for people who desire information.

11.1.

The psychology of art sounds like a cool idea, but then again creativity is incredibly complex and difficult issue to write about scientifically. There's very little interesting here, the essays are themselves more artistic than scientific. This was actually written in the mid 80's so it's gotten very old.

11.1.

An essay on death and dying. Nothing that special or interesting.

11.1.

I don't think there's enough critical books about the infamous Corona crisis. From the beginning there was so much misinformation and fear-mongering it's difficult to comprehend if you weren't there. Many of the most common practices were actually not very effective at all, but the whole thing got so politicized it didn't matter. There was this mass hysteria and propaganda: people who followed the given rules to the teeth were labeled good and the rest were evil, it was all black and white.

Despite some scientists raising alarm about how these bullshit measures could actually cause more harm than good in the long run, it didn't matter. Social media was full of censorship anyway, so this kind of information didn't mostly get through, and people who had never studied mathematics or sciences publicly posed as real experts. This caused us some additional lockdowns after it was supposed to be over already, because the election was coming and they needed some fear boost to get the people voting for the parties running the government.

The best thing was and still is the tendency of the media, the politicians and the average people to talk about all of this as if it was just caused by the virus, and not the actual people who made the decisions and signed the papers. They got off the hook. It was just the virus that shut the schools and the businesses, caused risen mortality and mental health crisis and ruined the economy.

11.1.

Similar to what most self help books tend to do, this book supposedly has some great wisdom to change your life. I think at the end of the day it's very superficial, because the subject matter is so complex it wouldn't be able to fit one book.

10.1.

Conscious and subconscious mind. It's mostly ok because it's also about the history of psychology, but more theoretical parts have gotten old already. This book was written in the mid 80's.

6.1.

As crazy as it might sound, a hypnosis and hypnotherapy are a real thing. So is self-hypnosis. This is a nice and practical introduction to the art. Have fun exploring and tinkering with your subconscious.

6.1.

I liked it. This is a collection of essays about Nihilism. And they're well written.

5.1.

Does what it promises. This is a practical introduction to Zen. That is, Zen has very little to no theory to write about. When it comes to the few core concepts, exercises and meaning behind them, this covers it nicely. Or that's what I believe, because I'm not a hardened Zen monk but a newbie.

5.1.

I know many people will hate me for this, but I think Osho was just a scam artist. The greatest spiritual leader of our time played perfectly this stereotype of a wise old Indian guru selling salvation. He's so wise his teachings may sound and feel like complete nonsense, but that's just because you're so dumb and ignorant. That's how I felt reading this nonsense. There's literally just fancy words and no substance.

5.1.

If you feel like you need to absolutely know everything about The First World War, then this book is made for you. This is the definite history of the first year and some additional info. There was supposed be a trilogy, but it seems the work turned out to be too much for one person alone.

I have never in my life thought or read this much about wartime insurance and tax policies.

5.1.

This is essentially the same book as Influence, but with some more theory and background. However, the visual side of this book is dreadfully bad.

5.1.

This is a very interesting book from a cultural and historical standpoint, but as a story it's probably not what most audiences would expect.

5.1.

I think the content is fine, and you'll like learn a thing or two about these tricks. The translation was really bad, and I just don't like the typical self help -approach.

4.1.

A handbook for a future dictator. I love this book. It's more like a satirical take on the topic, but the content is actually very, very spot on. If you think about modern day politics and overly politicized media, it's all here. The tricks, the lies, everything. This book was originally released in 2013, when many of these things weren't so relevant.

4.1.

The title says it all: this is about media psychology. It covers all the basics well enough without any filler. I'd say, if the subject matter interests you and you need a book the get you started, then this is highly recommended.

4.1.

This is all about the exploitation of internet algorithms and social media. Drags a bit too long, but it's mostly just on point.

1.1.

This book isn't diary at all, rather a collection of Hoffmann's other writings. I think Hoffmann was at his best when he spontaneously wrote his thoughts and feelings down without any filters. He could be very precise and thoughtful, but he also had some genuine voice I really enjoyed.