Books of 2021
Books of 2021
This year I’ve been practicing the rule of 10 pages when picking up a new book. If the book makes the cut, I then determine what reading level I want to engage with the book at. This is something I pulled from Ness Labs and has been a useful tool for understanding my comment level to a given text. The three categories are Entertainment, Information, and Understanding. These categories basically define the level of synthesis given to a specific text. I generally pull more lessons from books in the Understanding category but every book has something meaning to share.
A lesson from each book of 2021.
Entertainment
These books are fun and help me keep a consistent reading habit.
The Motion of the Body through Space by Lionel Shivers
- Speak your believes even if it’s about high Kelvin light bulbs.
Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
- Everything you believe can change just by crossing a border.
Wild Seed by Octavai E. Butler
- Our view of the world is wholly dependent on the amount of time we have spent in it.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
- Life was so much harder a hundred years ago.
The Gunslinger by Stephan King
- Not everything you write is amazing.
Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincon Childs
- Every character needs to have a motive.
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud
- Negative emotions lead to trouble.
Information
These are texts that I take seriously but are generally extension from the main ideas that I am interested in.
The sibling Society by Robert Bly
- If you want to critic something take the time to clearly state your definition so that the reader understand what exact you are talking about.
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
- Stories are the best mechanism for discussing the intangible measure of values, morals, and ethics.
The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins
- The value of wealth comes from the power to be able to say no because you don’t need the money.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
- People care about things that they can build their sense of identity or community around.
Understanding
I treat these books as work. I won’t pick on up unless I know I can commit some time and attention to it. There is considerable book notes and review that come from these. I only ready one book for understanding at a time
Shop Class for Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford
- Seek experience in which the outcomes can be objective evaluated by some universal measure of quality as these allow you to understand own competence.
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
- Studying history allows one to see how the cultural of today came to be and understand just how easily thing could have been very different.
The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine
- It is up to the individual to determine how much anguish an event outside of their control can cause them.
The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
- Cognitive behavior therapy defines underlying mental distortions that lead to negative outlooks and eventually negative outcomes.
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
- In a world where censorship comes from the flood rather then the absence of information choosing when and how we make choices is essential to our well being.