Introduction
I read a lot of books. Also, I have a bad memory. One of the things that I do at work is that I make a list of the books that I’ve read over the course of the month and give a 2-3 sentence blurb (sometimes) on how I feel about it. I thought the other day how sad I’d be if I lost that, so I figured I’d put it here.
In future, these will certainly be separate posts on the blog. Maybe one day I’ll even organize these, assuming anybody reads this stuff.
For now, without further ado:
March 2019
((Editor’s note: I hadn’t done this at all yet, so I didn’t say anything about these books. For what it’s worth, I remember liking them))
April 2019
How Propoganda Works This book is great, but it’s very heavy. The book goes into the fundamentals of linguistics, some psychology, and very rational arguments. It reminds me of computer science theory courses in University! I like it a lot but it’s been taking some time to get through. Lost and Found in Johannesburg I picked this up on a whim, since I may be going to Johannesburg soon (if you have recommendations, reach out!). The author talks about the history of the city itself, but only as an aside: The author’s own life seems to be the subject of the book. Still, given the intersection of History, City Planning, and relevance, this is right up my alley!
May 2019
I just finished Lost and Found in Johannesburg from last time. It was a nice read, but it made me a little nervous to go to the city! The author talks about the history of the city and how it was built and planned, but in the middle of the book he described a home invasion!!
Also did a quick read of Word Nerd. This won’t change your life, but there are quite a few fun stories in here. I feel like you could read through this in a day or two between some heavier novels as a refresher.
Now I’m reading America’s Bank. It’s very good so far! I love the political intrigue, this isn’t something I had given a lot of thought before this book. Despite dealing with complicated economic ideas, it presents them in a very digestible way. I recommend picking this up if you’re a history or econ buff.
June 2019
Well folks, it’s the 5th and you know what that means…
I finished reading Emotional First Aid. Awesome book! Having some strategies to deal with negative emotions is not something we talk about enough, and this book, while not perfect, is a great start. Every chapter reminds the reader that there are some wounds that need professional help, just as in physical wounds. This was a book I personally needed this month.
On the lighter side, I also read How to Invent Everything. This one was fun and had a good sense of humor, but to be honest the gag wore thin after a few hundred pages. While it was a fun read, towards the end I couldn’t help but wait for it to be finished.
I had my hands on a copy of Frederick Douglass(!!!) but I wasn’t able to do much more than start it before the due date at the library came. I’ll read about you someday Fred.
July 2019
((I missed this month, so someone else made the post…)) As for what I’m reading, I’m working on a couple books.
As part of my trip, I happened to sit next to and meet Bill Garten at a bar in SLC. He signed and gave me a copy of Asphalt Heart, which I think he’s currently touring for. I’ve never really read poetry, but having met the actual poet and discussing some of his poems really fleshes out the story, I’ve really enjoyed it it’s been a great experience.
I’m also reading Evicted, which is honestly hard to read. I think homelessness is an issue that Seattle doesn’t deal with the best necessarily, and Evicted gets a bit up close and personal with it… I’ve definitely been slowing down a bit on this read.
August 2019
((This was the first post titled “5th of the Month”. Once it was clear this was a habit, I started calling them “Nth of the Month”, whatever day I got around to posting the stuff.)) YOU KNOW HOW WE GET DOWN
Anyways I’ve gotten back on the horse! It’s awesome, I missed reading so much. I don’t remember what it was that I just finished, it was something I’m sure. But now I’m working on Getting Things Done, which was recommended by my manager. It’s really good, the reorientation is a little radical but I’m stealing some bits from the system and I gotta say it’s great if you’re like me and you have a million things going on at once.
I’m also rereading The Way of Kings. Let me just say, I love this series, this is far and away the best fantasy series I’ve ever read. Dalinar Kholin is a role model, and this whole book has such an immersive world. Sanderson is a masterclass at world building, and it’s nice to immerse myself!
What are you reading??
September 2019
It’s already here!
I’ve been reading through Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, finally. It’s phenomenally written, and it offers a perspective on history that I’ve not often gotten. Right now I’m reading about “the colonization plan” which was a government-sponsored plan to just ask freed slaves to leave the country and blaming them for the war. The book is very well written, doesn’t pull any punches about Douglass, but also shows what a strong and driven man he was. Great book, highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of slavery in the states, as Douglass is irrevocably tied to this.
I also started reading The Diary of a Young Girl, which is also really sad. I’ve been taking this in sips, and I haven’t really gotten past the introduction. Been a heavy couple books to read over.
On the lighter side, I read Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me after someone (Priya?) recommended it here! It was nice to read something recommended by some of you folks, and it was very different from anything I had read before. I haven’t really read manga or graphic novels or anything like that, and this is a great book that I could have done well to have read a little earlier. The message is strong and the art is very well done, I ended up reading this over a weekend!!
I also read The Way of Kings, and it stood the test of time. This is one of my favorite novels full stop. The worldbuilding employed is fantastic, and Dalinar Kholin is my personal idol. I look forward to rereading the rest of what’s published so far, and I’ve come to really enjoy rereading books I know I like.
I may have read some other stuff last month but I forget. It was a busy month! What have you read this month??
October 2019
((Natasha made the post this month.)) Thanks Natasha!! I dropped the ball a bit here, but I’m glad you backed me up.
I just finished Diary of a Young Girl, and it’s devastating. I’m gonna spoil it in talking about it, if you don’t know all the details feel free to skip this paragraph. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her and her family to survive like that for so long under such a terrible government. Worse still was how close the family made it to freedom, and how terrible it must have been for Otto, being the only surviving Frank. I had never realized that they lived so badly for so long. It’s an important read and I’m glad I read it, but it would be wrong to say I enjoyed it.
I didn’t end up reading all of Frederick Douglass. It was a difficult read for me, although I have to say that I learned a ton about history from a perspective I wasn’t exposed to growing up. I got to about a decade after the end of the Civil War, when the South started to really push back against reconstruction and Southern political offices started to get filled with apologists and the like. Even after the Civil War, equality was not an uncontroversial issue. It was good to learn about the man and I did a lot of that, but the library due date finally caught up with me.
I’m reading Seeing Like a State as well, which is a new book but fun so far. It really makes you appreciate a standard measure for a lot of things. It was recommended to me by this YouTube channel, check it out, it’s very well presented geopolitical analysis.
Uhhh I read Persepolis, which was phenomenal and funny and heartbreaking and awesome, thanks again to Natasha for the recommendation, I had never heard of the book but it’s easily become a favorite of mine, the flat art style as well as the way the characters plainly say what they’re thinking reminded me a lot of a Wes Anderson film!!
I also am rereading (yep there’s more, this is why I couldn’t finish reading about Fred) Words of Radiance. This is my favorite series of all time, and I’m reading it again and I’m sure I’ll read it more in the years to come. I already know I’m going to love it, I’m so excited! If you haven’t read Stormlight Archives yet and you like fantasy, drop what you’re doing now and read it, I’d stake my entire reputation on this which is basically priceless so I don’t know why you’re still bothering to read this sentence.
I think that’s it. I might be forgetting stuff. It was a busy month!
November 2019
Hey folks, you know what time it is.
I finished Words of Radiance from last time. Phenomenal book, I really can’t recommend it enough! Now I’m on Oathbringer, and it’s also so good. It’s almost taken up everything I’ve been reading this month!
But not quite. I also read The Line Becomes A River, this one non-fiction. It’s a great look about how the abyss stares into the main character as their academic interest in the border is colored by a brush with reality. Humanizes the southern border of the United States, I highly recommend it. Thanks Natasha for the recommendation!
I also read Dragons Love Tacos and Stack the Cats. I was a little too old for these books, I’ll be honest. I think if I had read these 20 years ago, I would have appreciated more of the nuance in these novels. If you’ve got kids, apparently these are the books they want. Holidays are coming up folks.
If you’re in tech and you don’t know about Bad Blood, I’m surprised. With two documentaries, a myriad of articles, and a really common book name, Bad Blood is a fascinating read. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say this is a competitor for Best Book.
A few more books are on my mind, but between OneWeek, my moving, Thanksgiving and my birthday coming up, and some other travel, I’ve just been too busy!!
What about you folks? Read anything good lately? Did anybody get to their book exchange books yet?
December 2019
I finished Oathbringer, Dalinar Kholin is still my personal role model. So good!! I could rave about these books all day, don’t get me started.
Now I’m reading Edgedancer which is set in the Stormlight Archives as well, and it’s good so far!! It’s very short, I’ll probably have it done in the next couple days, but I’m starting to get very into Sanderson. The Cosmere calls me.
I finally finished Getting Things Done, it’s been like 4 months since I started but now I know how to get things done so that’ll never happen again. It’s an insane system, I actually plan to reread it as I try to set this up in my life. It’s all about inboxes and thinking about things, not of things: Your brain is a CPU, not an SSD.
I read What If? by Randall Munroe of xkcd fame. I got that at the book exchange, and it was a blast! I read it in 2 days. It’s a lot of fun little scientific calculations. The book was a bit like potato chips, it was very fun to snack on and before I knew it I was scraping the bottom of the bag.
That was it! Shorter month, but that happens on the infamous 12th/5th overlap. What have you been reading CSE?
January 2020
I didn’t make a post this month at all! I was in Chile and Argentina, this was the last time I left the country before COVID hit.
February 2020
Been a while since I did once of these… the 5th kinda got away from me this month 😅 Hopefully I didn’t throw off everyone’s schedules, I know everyone’s entire month revolves around this post.
I read a TON of books, so I’ll just do some highlights. Lots came from my Kindle First Reads thing, I was in Patagonia for a while and finally had a chance to catch up on some of that reading! Zoo Nebraska was a great novel about a small town and all the weirdness that comes with that. As if that weren’t bad enough, a local kid has a passion for zoology and ends up owning some chimps. The wildest part of this is that it’s true!!
Smoke and Summons was a fantasy novel, the first one I’ve read since Stormlight, and it was great! Very gruesome, it’s a heavy read about summoning demons and such. It’s a little unbelievable at times, but I was a huge fan of the character development. I may read more of the trilogy!
I read The Broken Circle as well, which was just a devastating novel. A little girl escapes war and violence with her family. I really felt immersed in this memoir, I don’t think I could have done half of it!
What did you read this month CSE?
March 2020
It’s a day late but better late than never!
I personally have really slowed down this month, but that’s ok!
I did manage to read Killers of the Flower Moon, which is a little terrifying. If you haven’t read it and don’t know about the history of the Osage, it’s a great read. I found myself getting into the murder mystery aspect of it a bit, only to stop enjoying it when I would turn the page and see the pictures of the real people this happened to. I won’t spoil anything here, but it’s a good read.
I’m also working on The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. It’s nonfiction, it’s about the power imbalance between the people who generate data and the companies that gather that data. It’s a bit dry, but I’m interested to see whether the author has recommendations or just complains for 500 pages. Either way, should be a fun read!
How about you, CSE? What have you been reading?
April 2020
Hey all! It’s about the 5th of the month again, how has isolation affected your reading? I’ve been reading less, ironically - my main time to read was on my commute, and without that that habit is broken. As such, I’ve got a shorter list today…
I read DMT: The Spirit Molecule and it was interesting. The summary is about what you’d expect - it’s an account of Dr. Richard Strassman and his studies with the drug. It was a lot more intense than I was expecting, but it definitely had an angle. While How to Change Your Mind was more of an exploration of psilocybin than DMT, the author’s approach was more student than teacher. I’m much more appreciative of and willing to hear out the skeptic in this case. Spirit Molecule wasn’t a bad book, but I didn’t love the author.
I’m also reading The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, which is a big thick book with big thick words. So far it’s talking about how Google worked with the government to expand information collection after 9/11. I’m hoping that this isn’t just one of those books that whines about a problem for 400 pages and does nothing in the way of advice trying to give a solution, but we’ll find out.
What about you Books 📚? What did you read with your month of quarantine?
June 2020
What a month! I’m starting to get back on my reading habits, which is nice.
I read My Sister’s Keeper but oh my goodness is it sad. It’s been out for like, a decade by now, so I’m gonna spoil it. It’s the olympics of sadness! Every character has some heartbreaking flaw, even characters that exist for like 40 pages are devastating. At the midpoint of the book I was so invested that I was laid low, but by the end I just couldn’t take it anymore, I came to rue the characters and their troubles, it was just too sad to accept. Honestly, it made the ending a little comical, because I was just waiting for one more sad thing to happen.
I’m reading a book in Spanish called El Libro Salvaje. No idea what it’s about yet, it’s a very slow read - mi espanol es terrible, entonces tengo que usar un diccionario con mi libro y solo decimos que tome mucho tiempo.
I’m still reading The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, it’s still dry but important. It’s making me very cynical about tech in general, and reinforcing some of my Luddite tendencies.
Finally, I’m reading Talking to Strangers, and I needed a book like this so bad this month! It’s been such a slog between sadness, translation and pure density, but kudos to Gladwell for always putting something out that just glides. I’m already hooked, I’m sure I’ll finish this within the week 😁
Hope you’re all getting some reading in during quarantine! Stay safe and healthy folks.
July 2020
Hey all. Apologies that it’s about a week behind, but things have been pretty crazy here. I still wanna know what you’re reading!
I finished The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, finally, which was really a difficult read. It didn’t really inspire much confidence in the future of the field, to be honest. Plus, it was dry through and through. I think the author has some fantastic points, they’re just hidden in big words and bad prose. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did.
I also read Little Fires Everywhere, which was much more of a page turner. I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it yet. Characters’ interactions spiral off deep into the future, and the cavalier way that perspective, inner thoughts, and timelines shift feel like you’re reading a dance. It’s not hard to see why this was picked up for a miniseries, although I haven’t seen it.
I’m about to start How to Be an Antiracist, and I look forward to talking about it in the book club at the end of the month with so many of you.
What are you reading CSE?
August 2020
Hey folks! It’s a rainy day here in Seattle, and the break is a perfect time for another Book Club.
In the past month or so, I read How to be an Anti Racist. I didn’t get my copy until after the CSE discussion on it, unfortunately, but I thought it was good. In the wake of the worldwide protests last month (and that have carried on to today) this was a surprising read. It was interesting to see the author struggle through his own perception of others and of self being altered by society surrounding him. Ultimately it was a call to action for me, and I plan on rereading it once I get the chance.
I’m also reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which is stunning in its own right. While I wasn’t familiar with them, HeLa cells are human cancer cells which continuously self-replicate. They’re used in studies to test the reaction of human cells to various stimuli - normal human cells don’t live for nearly as long, so the fact that these cells can be stored so well is a huge draw. But the story is mostly about the family of Henrietta, about the woman herself, and how racism has left the family completely out of the spotlight and away from the profits of their late family member. I’m not done with the book yet, but hearing about the lack of consent in the American health care system just a few years after WWII and the infamous Nuremburg Trials is horrifying.
On the lighter side, I’m reading The Game Makers. It’s not very deep, honestly it’s more of a fluff piece for Parker Brothers than anything else. The book gushes about the intrepid inventors of Monopoly, but I’m interested to see if it’ll actually touch on anything substantial. Everything has sort of a gloss about it. The author used to work for Parker Brothers, and it honestly seems like a PR piece to me.
What have you been reading CSE?
September 2020
Hey all! Happy 8th of the month, hope those of you in the states enjoyed the long weekend.
I’ve mentioned that my reading has slowed down, I finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which was riveting. Reading about the experiences of that family and how they were treated by and how they viewed John Hopkins and doctors in general is astounding. It sparked a lot of debate among my friends, especially about the rights patients have pertaining to the things they leave at the hospital, and I highly recommend the read.
I also read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and this book affected me deeply. I certainly won’t be purchasing meat sourced from CAFOs when I can help it - this has been in the periphery of my understanding for a while, but confronting it head on is a different beast entirely. The book explores the recent history of what we’ve been eating and why, and it will definitely affect what I choose to shop for in future.
I also read this blog post. It’s not a book, more an article, but it was too interesting to not share.
What did you read last month CSE??
October 2020
Two books this month, but I have a feeling that it’s going to start picking up. Super glad we have this veritable library of recommendations collected from the past months (and year?s?)!
I read Whipping Girl by Julia Serano, a nonfiction book about trans theory, transfeminism, misogyny, and femininity, that I actually borrowed from the CSE library. It’s a topic I’m choosing to educate myself about, and I have to say that this book was rightly well-recommended. There’s a lot of stigma and stereotypes to break through, and I appreciated Serano’s meticulous approach to subjects I was frankly ignorant of. This book was incredible, and if you are, like I was, not familiar with the concepts presented, this is some fantastic content.
I also read How to Hold a Grudge by Sophie Hannah. This was a great book, definitely on the lighter side. I’d classify it as semi-snarky-semi-serious-self-help, and I’m personally taking it with a grain of salt. I think it suffers from a similar structural issue that I have with other self-help books, which is that while you’re reading it it’s fun, but if you ever wanted to use it as a reference you’d have a tough time - the chapters and concepts aren’t laid out for you to actually employ this system. That said, Hannah talks about using grudges as a tool to build up your own self-respect, and I respect that.
What did you read this month CSE??