Once again, my fiction reading time has been spent on Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series. In December I finished Books 7, 8, and 9 of that series, and I’m partway through book 10. These are re-reads, but because I’ve forgotten so much of them, they combine comfort and novelty in quite a satisfying way.
A few nonfiction books:
The Intelligence Explosion by James Barrat — this is an AI doomer book, and I skimmed it and then left it unfinished. It didn’t feel like a balanced take, which I guess is okay, but it also wasn’t written by someone whose technology credentials were strong. I concluded I could better spend my time reading the original thinkers who influenced the author; his framing didn’t add much and in fact made me exasperated and impatient.
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss — a negotiation how-to book credited to FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, and skillfully ghostwritten by Tahl Raz. It’s got some worthwhile nuggets for approaching challenging conversations, and is peppered with entertaining anecdotes that are less annoying than in many of this genre. I appreciated the end-notes and references.
How To Age by Anne Karpf — I appreciate the output from The School of Life, and this book stood up to my expectations. I’ve started noticing similar series at bookstores and libraries (e.g. the Very Short Introduction series published by Oxford University Press). Intelligently written, with enough references to guide a reader toward a deeper dive if they choose, but an emphasis on concision and readability. I’m now in my 50s, and many conversations with friends move toward our own aging, and that of our parents and our children.
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell — I avoided this “get offline” manifesto when it came out about 5 years ago, maybe because I thought I knew what it said. And it does say that. Life is better when it includes a whole lot of analog activities. No argument from me. What surprised me when I read this is how good the writing is, and how much richer and generative her framing is than what I’d imagined. The presentation, imagery, and unfolding of the argument, and the author’s rigorous examination of the ways historical figures have tried to resist social norms while also remaining connected to society are what make this book worth reading. I recomment this.
Leaving the Casino by Jessica Lackey — These past couple of years as an itty-business owner have been a chance to grow and learn a lot of concepts that I never thought much about as an employee. I’ve hunted down advice from lots of sources, and have been disappointed by many of them. Jessica Lackey sits alongside one or two others as consistently useful and credible. If you’re considering running or growing a small business, I recommend her, as a coach and as an author. I will be returning to this book again and again as I make decisions about how to run and grow this business in the right way for me.
