The Courage to be Disliked

Authors: Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

I am writing this intro whilst attempting to finish the book which is currently at 80-ish percent done according my Kindle. Yes, I haven’t finished the book yet. No, I’m not pausing because I dislike it.

Okay wait, I’m warning myself and anyone even bothering with this to know that I can get rambly in chats and I think this is one of those things that will also show in these book reviews. Note that I have not done any essay type school work for around 2 years and the last actual book review I did was I don’t know when. Yes, this is my poor excuse for the stupidly long and unnecessary wrath coming your way (if you bother with the next paragraphs that is). Right now I can only describe my writing style as: you don’t need to read this but thank you.

One more thing about me: I not your ‘cultured’ book nerd who reads the essentials or what not. I was an angsty teen who appreciates Catcher in the Rye (actually i love it so maybe get out of here while you still can? you can stay if you don’t mind). Quick defense: I read it at the right time and it made me actually start reading books. So shout out to J.D. Salinger for that. I have not read Shakespeare because my stand right now is: anything before 1700s feels like a different language I am not yet ready to learn and hurt my head with that.

An absolutely iconic quote for me that made me think about books or any type of writing differently: “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” An incredible personal fact and kind of made me approach books less like they’re just flipped pages to more like someone wrote this and is trying to get something out here.. leaving crumbs all over the page like a call from a silent friend. My introverted brain cells just love that.

BACK TO THE BOOK. Okay so semi-final thoughts are: to me this is one of those books where it’s just right on time. Like going out of the office, crossing the street, and the right bus arriving just as I’m also getting to the bus stop.

A lot things I consume are mostly based off what’s available at the moment, what I feel like watching and reading, and what my friends are recommending to me. My reactions are usually: okay this is bearable, yeah that’s good, or this is perfect right now for me. The Courage to be Disliked falls under the last one. Take note my reactions for any content vary from time to time. For example the film You’ve Got Mail, I freaking love this film because I almost always watch it when it’s the right time — Christmas, feeling chill and unbothered, wanting some good old love. If I watch it now where I’m not really any of those state of mind or mood, it’s definitely gonna fall under ‘okay this is bearable’ and just play in the background of whatever I’m doing. Sometimes it’s even unbearable, you just never know you know? Point is — not sure there is one here but what I’m trying to say is that if I had read this book earlier or later in my life I probably would have not liked it as much as I like it now.

The way I fall in love with anything is when I’m trying to be objective about this thing but somewhere along the pages I just get softer and softer for elements of the book or of a person. Right now I feel like falling in love but still cautious you know. I’m pausing right here and will be reviewing my highlights after reading all of the book.

Important PSA: I won’t be discussing in depth the content of the book. Just how it affected me and maybe some simple learnings. I’m quite aware how this is a jam-packed-of-life-lessons type of book and so please don’t expect me to reflect what I’ve learned and what to apply in life overnight. Like that Youth in the book, I gotta settle things within me after each lesson. So I would appreciate your understanding.

I just realized how self degrading (? might not be the right word) some of my own words in earlier paragraphs have been. I should have been confident in what I like and what I want to say. So yeah, Catcher in the Rye is actually good and it’s not my task to make anyone like it. If anyone’s bothered by it, then be so since I have no matter and control in your preferences regarding this. Feels quite passive aggressive. Ha-ha.

The discussions in the book were extremely normal life lesson discussions. On the outside it seems so deep and complex, and on the high level it really is. But what it does is it breaks down our mangled thoughts about life through rearrangement and with concrete examples as often requested by the youth. It’s almost like a Life For Dummies book. Ha-ha. No, I haven’t read any of those books but I imagine it’s not as you expect it to be. Sorry for the judgement here please correct me if those are actually helpful to you.

There were a lot of ‘Yes I absolutely agree with that’ and ‘Damn that’s good’ moments. This you can observe if you look at my highlights, which has the most highlights out of the books I’ve recently read. Although I guess it’s a given when the book is one about life, if you like what it says you’ll definitely want to remember some things.

I’d like to give my list of highlights but maybe that’s too much so let’s stick to some quotes in the final pages to maybe just let you get a feel of what’s here.

The reason why I like this book is not because I went in and read this as though I was completely agreeing with everything the philosopher said like I had already thought of it and is now applying it in my life. It’s because I feel as though I am being slapped with the reality of how I perceive my life every other 5 seconds. I relate and hate the youth. I misunderstand then understand the philosopher.

It’s a journey this dialogue. I would watch it in a theater where there are only these two characters sitting down. I would be bored to death but I would be there the whole day with my book comparing notes.

I like this not because it’s changed my life. My life won’t change over a week of just reading this. I like it because it made me untangle a few cords in the messed up drawer of my brain. No, it unfortunately did not clean it up in one go but it made me get the beginning strands and slowly solve the frustrating mystery of my drawer full of tangled cords.

I’d say the content of this does go “against the flow” simply because we think in ways similar to what has been thought to us and are treating these as immovable ways of thinking. The way the book has been written also reflects this. Never thought I’d enjoy this type of writing honestly. I’ve been sticking to fiction since I figured that’s where I won’t get bored. Look at where we’re at now, quite happy with this progression. Ha-ha.

Now that my heart feels heavy and I’m doing that staring-onto-the-distance-after-reading-a-book thing, I’m off to read a romcom to laugh and smile a bit.

Thanks for sticking, I appreciate you. A good day to you my irreplaceable friend.

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