I recently finished reading the Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, a science-fiction novel set in the near future (well, a few hundred years in the future, so maybe not that near). It tells the story of the interstellar journey of a generation ship, and its enormous crew, as they cross the depths of space. Their […]
Extremely short review | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
2019-01-10 · by ·
Well, it’s a book. And it has a lot of assumptions. And it’s interesting. But is it true? Is it useful? I don’t know. I think Harari makes a lot of assumptions to get to his conclusions, and I’m not sure how many of them I could actually pick up on as I was reading, […]
Book Thoughts | Trust me, I’m Lying: The Confessions of a Media Manipulator
2019-01-04 · by ·
This book is Ryan Holiday’s mea culpa. He’s a media manipulator or was at one time, and after a pang of conscience over the effects of his actions, he’s coming clean. As one friend put it when I described the book to him, the techniques Holiday describes and decries in “Trust Me, I’m Lying” feel […]
Book Goals for 2019
2019-01-02 · by ·
UPDATED 6.4.2019 I don’t typically make plans or goals for reading, other than a generalized goal to read as much as I can. I usually pick a topic for the year and will, among the other books I bump into along the way, focus on it. Two years ago, Britt and I were planning a […]
2018 Reading Stats in Review
2018-12-31 · by ·
In 2018, I read a few good books. Find the full list of books at the bottom of this post. Here are a few statistics and general observations gleaned from the list: SHEER NUMBERS: Total pages read (or listened to) was 19,925. RATINGS: I rate books out of 5, with 1 being a bust (and probably […]
A few thoughts on Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
2018-11-26 · by ·
I read Bob Woodward’s book Fear: Trump in the White House. Lots of thoughts. But I’ll just put a few brief observations here to start. First, you should read it. A book does so much more justice to history than tweets, news stories, commentator hot takes, and social media rants. Do yourself a favor, and […]
5 Books for the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day
2018-11-11 · by ·
As chance would have it, I happen to have a few recommendations for this 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, or what we now call Veterans Day. 1. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Written from the perspective of a German soldier in the last year of the war, it has […]
Book Thoughts | Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
2018-10-13 · by ·
What a delightful little read. You’ll find here one to two-page summaries about how some of the great artists, scientists, writers, movie makers, composers, and more worked. Each is short and sweet, perfect for a quick bit of motivation or inspiration between other tasks. It fills the place that exists between one project and another, […]
Short Review | The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
2018-09-30 · by ·
I read this to the girls this summer. Wow. What a story. I’m not sure who was affected more: them or me. Set in the early months of World War II in London and Kent, it’s the story of Ada and her brother. Neglected and abused by their mother, they escape during the evacuation of […]
Short Review | Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — And Things Are Better Than You Think
2018-08-19 · by ·
Things were not better when we were kids. Not by a long shot. As one of my heroes once said: “There never was a greater time in the history of the world to live upon the earth than this. How grateful every one of us ought to feel for being alive in this wonderful time with all […]
