The Case for Books
In this book Robert Darnton tries to explore the impact of Google’s Project Gutenberg on the book industry. While we may have a different perspective on the impact of that project from our perspective years after it happened, Darnton does a good job of laying out the possible impacts if Google was successful with it.…
Style: Non-fiction
The Lost Art of Reading
This is a book examining the cultural significance of reading. We’ll pull out a few highlights. David Ulin talks about the purveyors of fake news working hard to normalize that which should never be normalized. We see it both in the content the anti-Semitic content that Elon Musk shares on his social media site, and…
Style: Non-fiction
Nurtureshock
The title of this book refers to the author’s idea that sometimes parents don’t “just know” how to raise a child and thus they are lost trying to figure it out. The goal of the book is to show us what science says about how children should be raised. One thing recommended here that we’ve…
Genre: ParentingStyle: Non-fiction
Knife of Dreams
The highlight of this book for me is Perrin chasing down the captor’s of Faile (his wife) and the alliances he makes with those he’d rather not join. In the end, respect is earned from both sides that comes back in later books to aid in the battle with the Dark One. Purchase Knife of…
Genre: FantasyStyle: Fiction
The Gathering Storm
My favourite part of this book is watching Egwene come into her power, not through bluff and bluster, but quiet strength. She dominates the white tower and those who would oppose her just by quietly being the one who will not bend no matter what punishment they put upon her. Purchase The Gathering Storm on…
Genre: FantasyStyle: Fiction
Towers of Midnight
I think my favourite confrontation in this book is Matt doing what he knows he should to try and rescue Moiraine from the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn. Matt is an interesting character as he complains all the time and generally tries to avoid responsibility, all the while he’s there when you need him and he…
Genre: FantasyStyle: Fiction
Starlight Tour
I feel struck by the tragedy of the death of Neil Stonechild and the callousness that the Saskatoon Police had in dealing with the death of a first nations person. Really how they dealt with all the first nations people spoken with in the book. The police often talk about a single bad officer, but…
Style: Non-fiction
On Work
This is a collection of essays from the author all about the culture of work. Thompson covers our move from religious accomplishment as a defining factor of our lives in previous generations, to how we’ve supplanted that need for accomplishment with workism, the worship of work. The biggest benefit to reading this short book was…
Style: Non-fiction
How to Do Nothing
Jenny Odell spends the first half of this book looking at how to disengage from the attention economy and the second half trying to give us the tools to engage with something worthwhile in our live. I particularly like the idea she presents that social media promotes connectivity, mere likes and shares, while what we…
Style: Non-fiction
How to Make Notes and Write
The goal of Dan’s book is to teach you to take good notes and turn them into good writing in the academic/school world. Dan says that if you have an assignment you should always be able to find something interesting in it and turn that interesting bit into something you can write well about. I’d…
Style: Non-fiction