Wherein you can find my reading habits on display.

Currently reading

Read

2021

In Praise of Wasting Time, by Alan Lightman In one sense, Lightman is stating the obvious: our societal and personal addiction to business and constant stimulation is harming us on multiple levels. His beautiful writing is hooks you in this short book, less than 100 pages, including some beautiful full page illustrations. Lightman has a talent for exhorting without lecturing, inspiring without preaching. He has strong humanist core that provides a firm yet gentle push to being a better person and a better people. If nothing else, read this to learn that talent. (This is another book that my sister gave me. Thanks, Mica!)

Lagoon, by Nnedi Okorafor Okorafor’s fantastical love letter to Lagos, warts and all. I’m not quite as enthused about this story as I was the Binti series, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, by David Eagleman Wow. I haven’t read a book this good, that surprised and delighted me so much, in a very long time. The closest I can compare it to, in impact and quality, is Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams. There is sure to be a vignette from this book that stays with you, a plot device that will come back to you five years from now when your brain is ruminating on a phase of life and will give you a different perspective on your life. (This is one of the books my sister gave me. Thanks, Mica!)

Mr. G: A Novel About The Creation, by Alan Lightman I expected a creation story, but what I got was more a fabulism akin to Italo Calvino. The best parts are where Lightman describes the physical properties and processes of the universe. His prose there brings on a sense of awe and admiration of interconnectedness so perfect, it looks designed.

The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to The Hidden World of Everyday Design, by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt. This makes you look more closely at the world around you. Best consumed in small doses, rather than read straight through. Roman and Kurt have a geeky enthusiasm that enlivens every tidbit. It also has an intro page I wish I could cut out, enlarge, and hang on the inside of my front door: “You’re about to see stories everywhere, you beautiful nerd.”

2020

Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay. I’m still digesting this book a few months after I’ve finished. Her honest and humane perspective, about others and herself, is something I’d like to emulate.

You can find a lot more of my reading on my GoodReads list. I’d like to get off that site, as I’ve grown uncomfortable with Amazon of late, but that is what we in the industry call a “future requirement” rather than a “core requirement.”