I couldn’t put this book down. The writing is gorgeous: lyrical, immersive, richly textured and slyly skeptical of the historical record. Did you know Cleopatra spoke nine languages and was a master of finance and political strategy? At the height of her power, she controlled the entire eastern Mediterranean coast, while keeping those enslaving, conquest-obsessed, sexist Romans at bay.

The opening “Half Lesson” is titled: Your Brain Is Not for Thinking. It’s not? No. Your brain’s most important job is predicting your body’s energy needs before they arise so you can efficiently make worthwhile movements and survive to pass your genes to the next generation.

This short, accessible, frequently amusing and deeply subversive book exploded pretty much everything I’ve understood about the brain and how it works. That’s quite a statement given I’m a psychiatrist—my medical specialty is the brain.

For example, memories are not filed like paperwork—that’s a metaphor. They are actually recreated on demand. What! Yes.

Finished! What a slog. 42 boxes! At about 45 books a box that’s a staggering 1,890 books liberated from my library’s bookshelves. As I filled box after box with increasing weariness, what kept me going