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I enjoyed reading Kin but don’t have a lot to say about it. The two girls’ diverging stories were interesting, one rising through society while the other stays stuck near the bottom. I felt sad about how both ended. Jones’s use of letters throughout the book cleverly conveyed the characters’ feelings. The writing was good, sort of just getting out of the way to let the…
Here’s what I’ve been up to / thinking about lately: Thoroughly enjoying my shed office. I love having a dedicated space to work that’s relatively quiet and sort of outside. It’s been pushing my limits in terms of heat over the past few weeks, but I’m still doing okay with just the open windows and a fan. I finished building a wall (to separate the office from the…
I knew very little about tuberculosis prior to reading this book. I enjoyed learning about how advances in medicine led to the discovery of a cure, and was of course disheartened by the fact that the disease is still a major problem in many parts of the world. Green does a good job of mixing stories of individuals in with facts about TB and showing how disease can be a mirror of social inequities.…
It’s been too long since I read something from Ann Patchett. This one is her first published novel, and it felt just as great as the rest. As usual, it’s a slow plot that dives deeply into a few interesting, endearing characters. I can never get enough of Patchett’s wonderful writing style. I’ve recently read some more mystery-style novels that get me hooked because I want…
This book has a fun storyline, and all the details about ancient Egypt are interesting. But I didn’t like it all that much. After the first few chapters, I could tell that everything would probably turn out far too well, and it did. I can tolerate one or two unlikely coincidences to make the story work, but The Stolen Queen was full of them. As I write this, I’m realizing that…
During the year between last spring and this one, I spent considerable time doing my software development work outside. I did not keep track, but I’d guess that at least half of my workdays were outdoor days. I love working outside, and I’ve been wanting to write about it for a while. Now that my outdoor work time seems to be coming to an end (more on that later – I now have a…
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think I might have liked it better if it were shorter. The themes of survival and friendship in difficult circumstances are interesting. The characters are wonderfully loveable despite their rough edges. But there’s not much of a plot, and it’s a very heavy book. I can only hang onto a story like that for so long. I’m not sure what to make…
Here’s what I’ve been up to / thinking about lately: Enjoying the lovely spring weather. We’ve had a few hot days already, but mostly it’s quite pleasant. Not much rain – odd for this time of year in Georgia. I work outside most days. Wondering how to best fit in exercise. I’ve been doing some running a few times a week, but between work and kids its hard to…
I did not enjoy this short story collection quite as much as I’ve enjoyed some of Langan’s other work. Horror is not really my genre of choice – although I am coming to appreciate more the way that the fantastical situations presented in a horror story shed an interesting light on human behavior – and I have typically appreciated Langan’s work because he uses novel…
This book’s approach is interesting. Rather than try to make a bullet-proof case as to why AI is dangerous, it lays out possible negative results of increased AI adoption (such as the proliferation of misinformation that is increasingly hard to detect) across many areas of society. Taken together, all of these risks make it clear that an AI-infused future will not be as wonderful as tech…
I ate red velvet cake a fair amount as a kid, so it was a bit nostalgic to make one of my own for the first time. I used a random online recipe and the result was good but not great. My hunch is that it cooked a bit too long. Following the recipe was easy enough. I used cake flour as recommended, and tried to be careful not to over-mix it. I skipped the optional hot coffee. I baked the cake in two…
I was fascinated by the first half of this book. Set 100 years in the future, it follows a literature/history professor as he tries to learn about a lost poem written in the early twenty-first century. He lives among both technological advancements and the consequences of climate change and nuclear war. McEwan’s world of the future feels realistic: it’s less optimistic than a sci-fi…
I mostly enjoyed this book. I’m not sure exactly what I had in mind – the subtitle is “The Story and Science of the Reading Brain” – but it felt a bit more academic than I was hoping for. I enjoyed the less technical bits but found the more neuroscience-y parts dull. One of my favorite parts of the book was the explanation of Socrates’s reasons for being wary of…
Surely it would surprise my 10 th -grade self to know that I have changed my opinion of this novel. As a high schooler, I struggled to follow the story. The lack of structure and even punctuation surely didn’t help. This time around, I agree with my English teacher and the Pulitzer Prize Board: it’s a good book. I enjoyed the contrast between the harsh, antagonistic reality of a…
The prose was fairly good. The story was somewhat interesting, and it did grow on me over time. But my friend described it best when he said that it feels like a Hallmark movie. Everything falls into place too neatly, the characters are rather shallow, and the whole underlying premise feels a bit ridiculous. Oh, and it probably doesn’t help that I am not impressed by fancy food descriptions.…
The preface to this book had me immediately thinking about my own relationship with media and technology. Rauch describes how she spent 6 months living as if it were 1989 – no cell phone, no Internet, no MP3 player, etc. – and I was impressed. Granted, she did it in 2009, and she acknowledges that it would be much harder “today” (published 2018), but still. Her experience…
I’m never quite sure what to do with books like this. Hell of a Book is heavy – funny too, but predominantly heavy – and made me wish I could right the world’s wrongs. But I can’t, so I try to take a little comfort in the fact that at least exposing myself to more diverse perspectives is pushing me in the right direction. Despite the heaviness, I very much enjoyed…
Here’s what I’ve been up to / thinking about lately: Trying to walk more. I’ve been having moderate success taking a few (ideally three, usually one or two) short breaks throughout the work day to walk around the block. I’m bad at pausing work, though. Starting to get back in the habit of working outside. I’ve been inside most of the last couple months. I’d like…
The ideas in this book really resonated with me. For a while now, my dissatisfaction with technology has been growing, and I sometimes dream of doing “real work,” something more concrete and physical like being an electrician. Crawford hit on many of the reasons why I find knowledge work unnatural at times and made a convincing case that the trades should not be a second-class career…
My wife and I recently spent two nights at the Hike Inn, a backcountry lodge in the Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia. We loved the trip. We found hiking to be a great conduit for deep conversation, and the inn felt like the perfect amount of comfort. It freed us from worrying about the weather or our meals, encouraged us to get out and move, and fostered a sense of friendly connection with…
A fun mystery novel that was hard to put down. I enjoyed the story and the unfolding of its twists and turns. I managed to piece together a few clues on my own, but there were plenty of surprises as well. Benedict’s writing style wasn’t my favorite. I’m not sure how best to describe it – maybe matter of fact. A bit abrupt? It wasn’t bad. Just not the sort of smooth,…
As a pie, apple does not rank particularly high for me. But a friend who loves apple pie was having a birthday, so I made one anyway. I was thankful that she chose a streusel topping over the standard top crust. (I love pie crust, but streusel is even better, especially on apples.) This pie turned out decently, but holes in the crust caused a bit of burning on the bottom. Mixing and rolling the…
As a fan of Dickens, I figured it was the right time to read this classic. I enjoyed it. Not as much as his novels, but it was a fun story and a good reminder to be happy, kind, and generous with others.
A fun story with some intriguing concepts to think about. I don’t think that I’ve ever read historical fiction with a mystical twist before, but I loved it. I enjoyed the metaphor of the sweetwater, the way that it soaks up people’s feelings/attitudes and reflects them back. The only way to keep trouble at bay is for someone to absorb the water’s negativity and reflect…