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Random

Dec 31 2019

100 for 2019

Over the past year, I’ve read 100 books. I made a deliberate effort to reach 100 because I realized I was 15 years away from the age that both my mother and my grandmother were when they died, and I had 1500 books on my to-read list. I’ve blown that up, because I still have 1500 books to go. I added as many books as I read, so I need to hang on for 15 years—at least.

The oldest story I read was a translation of Gilgamesh (~4000 years old). The earliest publication I read was The Recognitions by William Gaddis, one of the foundational novels of postmodern literature (which I’ve been reading through over several years). Gaddis’ was also the longest book I read this year at just under 1000 pages.

I balanced fiction (52) and non-fiction (48). Within fiction I balanced serious and pulp; within non-fiction I balanced business and the mind. I deliberately kept moving between topics to keep myself paying attention.

I loved many of these books. I loved them and admired the execution. Twenty earned 5 stars from me; only 13 got 1-2 stars from me. I’m getting more and more careful about my choices. Despite being a tough reviewer, I gave on average 3.7 stars. I really hated two books. Hated them. Hated one so much that I wrote a review explaining why a reader should skip the book but not the author’s productivity method, which is explained on his website (Agile Results). I use his method every day. I wanted to love his book. It doesn’t deserve anyone’s love.

Now that I’m looking over the list, I wish I had read more. I don’t think I could do right by the ideas if I read more than 100 books a year, but I feel itchy and anxious to get to the rest of my list. I have already started. I have 20 books on my “Currently Reading” list. If you are on Goodreads, let’s connect.

Here are some of my favorites from the year.

Anathem, Neal Stephenson, 2008

A novel of sacred math and science. I will read anything Neal Stephenson touches.

The Correspondents, Tim Murphy, 2019

A novel that weaves the stories of families into the stories of the experiences of two war correspondents in Iraq.

The Great Passage, Shion Miura, 2011

A novel about a beautiful passion for and dedication to language and books.

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, Michael Pollan, 2018

Non-fiction. I really enjoyed diving deeper into a topic I thought I already knew. Surprise: I didn’t.

The Humans, Matt Haig, 2013

A novel that takes a compassionate look at humans through the mind of an alien visitor.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado-Perez, 2019

Non-fiction. I’ve given this as a gift for several people this year. I’m going to read it again on paper and mark it up. Won Financial Times & McKinsey Best Business Books of the Year. EVERYONE should read Invisible Women.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, 2008

Non-fiction. Behavioral economics is fascinating, so I started with one of the best-known books, published before Thaler won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017.

The Overstory, Richard Powers, 2018

A novel that starts at the pace of the life of a tree then grows forward to bring together trees and those who care for them into a contemporary story. Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

She Would Be King, Wayétu Moore, 2018

A novel of magical realism and the formation Liberia.

Written by Admin · Categorized: Random · Tagged: fiction, nonfiction, reading

Dec 30 2018

How to Grow Old

Make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river — small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.

Bertrand Russell, “How to Grow Old,” Portraits from Memory and Other Essays, 1956.

/via Brain Pickings

Written by Admin · Categorized: Random · Tagged: quotation

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