Today is one of those perfect days for reading. Windy and snowy with accumulations between 3-5 inches expected. I plan on trying to get through as much of The Rising Sun as I can. Meanwhile, here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

The numbers in parentheses following each book represent: (a) the nth book I’ve finished reading this year, and (b) the mth book I’ve finished reading since January 1, 1996.

Finished

• Analogia: The Emergence of Technology Beyond Programmable Control by George Dyson (15/1143).

In progress

• The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland.

Articles/posts

• Oscar Winner Tom Fleischman Resigns From Motion Picture Academy Over Controversial Telecast Plans (Exclusive) by Carolyn Giardina (Hollywood Reporter, undated)
• Open Window Season by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/6/22). Open windows are great. So are early morning walks in spring.
• Disney’s $5,000 Star Wars hotel and line-cutting fees: Some fans say the ‘magic’s gon by Hannah Sampson (Washington Post, 3/7/2022). We were at Disney World in January and while it was more expensive than 2 years ago, just before the pandemic, we still had a lot of fun.
• How to Avoid Nuclear War With Russia by Ross Douthat (NY Times, 3/5/22). I’m having flashbacks to those nervous days in the early 1980s when I used to worry about things like nuclear war. #current-events
• Putin’s Economic Miscalculation With Ukraine by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 3/4/22) #current-events
• A Plot Twist in the Milky Way by Marina Kohen (Atlantic, 3/6/22). #astronomy
• How the Putin Shock Might Affect the World Economy by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 3/8/22) #economics
• Harry Truman Helped Make Our World Order, for Better and for Worse by Beverly Gage (New Yorker, 3/7/22). David McCullough’s biography, Truman, is one of the best presidential biographies I’ve ever read. This one seems like a worthy candidate to pair with that one. I’m looking forward to reading this new bio.
• Why China Can’t Bail Out Putin’s Economy – The New York Times by Paul Krugman (NYT, 3/8/22)
• Major League Baseball pushes back Opening by Chelsea Janes (Washington Post, 3/9/22) #sports/baseball
• Russia’s ‘imminent’ default would be catastrophic. Here’s why. by Jacob Bulgage and Adela Suluman (WaPo, 3/9/22)
• An Acquisition Anonymous Amoeba by Mike Dariano (The Waiter’s Pad, 3/9/22’s Pad, 3/9/22)
• Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s Ship, Lost in 1915, Is Found in Antarctica – The New York Times by Henry Fountain (NYT, 3/9/22). I really enjoyed reading Alfred Lansing’s Endurance on a December drive down to Florida four or five years ago. So I was delighted by the news that Endurance had been found 10,000 feet underwater.
• The Maltese Falcon (1941):  “The stuff that dreams are made of” by Melanie Novak (blog, 3/9/22). The usual great film commentary, now with more Bogart #film
• John McPhee’s Slow Productivity – Study Hacks – Cal Newport by Cal Newport (blog, 3/9/22). McPhee is a favorite of mine, and Cal Newport’s take on McPhee’s productivity (slow productivity) resonated with me. It reminds me of how I think of my own progress, small, incremental increases over long periods of time. #productivity
• You Have Got to Be Kidding Me – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/10/22) #sports/baseball
• Hallelujah! – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/11/22) #sports/baseball
• Obsidian Roundup: Pin Preview Popups & an Intro to Dataview Guide by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup, 3/12/22). I’m very interested in experimenting with the Apply Patterns plug-in this weekend.

Written on March 11-12, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

Finished Read

The numbers in parentheses following each book represent: (a) the nth book I’ve finished reading this year, and (b) the mth book I’ve finished reading since January 1, 1996.

• The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy (13/1141). I think this one finally sated my desire for thrillers. When I finished it, I felt completely worn out (in a good way) and ready to move on to other things.
• The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann by Ananyo Bhattacharya (14/1142). Last spring, I read about dozen books on the history of computing and von Neumann kept appearing again and again. So when I saw this new biography on von Neumann, I jumped on it. It is an interesting bio in that it is less about the man than the ideas and concepts he fostered: mathematics, quantum mechanics, his involvement in the atomic bomb program, computers and computing, artificial life. I have a fascination with smart people, and he has to be one of the smartest people ever to live in the 20th century.

In Progress

• Analogia: The Emergence of Technology Beyond Programmable Control by George Dyson. This is an example of what I call a “bridging book”–a book that will take a day or two to read, that takes on some of the concepts from The Man from the Future and gives me some additional insights before I start the next book, which is a big one on an entirely different subject. (Actually, I may squeeze in one more book after this and before the big one.)

Gave Up

• Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy. Like I said, The Sum of All Fears sated me on the thriller for now. I started Debt of Honor but I could tell that I was read to move on to other things.
• A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 by John Gibney. I’m just giving up temporarily, until I am close to our trip, when I will be in a better mental place to focus on the history of Ireland.

Articles/posts

• “It’s time to start…” – Melanie Novak by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/27/22). A typically funny post from Melanie on parental advice.
• The West’s Plan to Isolate Putin: Undermine the Ruble by Patricia Cohen and Jeanna Smialek (NY Times, 2/28/22)
• Very Quick Thoughts on Brandon Sanderson’s Mega Kickstarter by John Scalzi (Whatever, 3/1/22). I watched this happen. I randomly came across the live stream on Twitter. All I can say is, good for Brandon. As of this morning, with 26 days to go, the Kickstarted is up to more than $23 million. Brandon is one of those hard-working writers who really impresses me. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his Stormlight Archive. Moreover, he is a machine when it comes to writing, and for him to squeeze in four “secret” books over the last two years among everything else he writes is simply astounding.
• A Bad Day, and a Bad Look – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/2/22). #sports/baseball.
• The Game I Love Is Losing Me by Ken Burkhalter (Blog, 3/3/22). My pal Ken has a lot to say about baseball today. I empathize with his frustration. I expressed my own frustration recently as well. #sports/baseball
• Billy Watson, Child Actor in ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ and ‘In Old Chicago,’ Dies at 98 by Mike Barnes (Hollywood Reporter). What a remarkable life! I love obits like this. #obituary
• Show Us Your Work by Seth Godwin (Seth’s Blog, 3/5/22). “Show your work” was something I learned well from my 7th grade science teacher, and I think Seth captures another reason why there is value in this.
• Write Plain Text Filesby Derek Sivers (blog, 3/2/22). A good overview of the value of plain text files. #theme/theory-of-notes
• Calm Under Pressure: Here’s Another Example by James Fallows (Breaking the News, 3/4/22). Another great piece on staying calm and level-headed under pressure–using avaition as an example.
• Caps and Taxes by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 3/4/22) #sports/baseball
• Obsidian Roundup: Dashboards, Dataview Tips, by Eleanor Kongo (Obsidian Riundup, 3/5/22)

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on March 5, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

Earlier this week, I wrote about the reasons I sometimes reread books. It was on my mind because I have been rereading Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan books. A better description might be binge rereading. As you see, I completed 3 of the books this week. That’s about 1,750 pages of reading in 7 days — or 77 hours of audiobook listening time (45 hours at my usual listening speed of 1.7x). That’s a lot, even for me. Indeed, I have been so focused on reading these books this week that even my writing for the blog is way down from normal. Fortunately, by attempting to write 2 posts a day, I’d built up a healthy backlog, but still, I ate into that backlog quite a bit this week.

You’ll note a pair of numbers after each title I’ve finished below in the following format: (10/1138). The first number is the book’s place in the number of books I’ve finished this year so far. Patriot Games, for instance, was the 10th book I finished reading in 2022. The second number is where the book falls in the list of books I’ve read since 1996. This re-read of Patriot Games was the 1,138th book I’ve finished reading since January 1, 1996.

Finished Reading

• Patriot Games by Tom Clancy (10/1138). Like The Hunt for Red October, this book was far better than I remembered it originally. It was also much more clear to me how the movie deviated from the book (for worse, as usual, but not terribly bad).
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy (11/1139). This book had a greater scope than the first two Jack Ryan books, and in that expanded scope, something was lost in the overall storytelling. It was still a fun read, but I didn’t think this book was as good as the first two.
• Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy (12/1140). Clancy tightened up the scope once again and this book had more of the feel of Patriot Games than Cardinal. Perhaps what was most interesting to me about this book was the development of John Clark. I’ve never read Clancy’s novels about Clark, but I am now looking forward to reading Without Remorse after I finish up The Sum of All Fears. Another surprise was how far the movie deviates from the book–more than The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games. Whole plot segments are eliminated and others dramatically changes from what happens in the book.

In Progress

• The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy.
• A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 by John Gibney. I haven’t made much progress on this one because I’ve been all-in on the Clancy books. But I’m not giving up.

Articles/posts

Because of all of that binge reading, I spent a lot less time reading articles and posts this week. Just another example of how time is a limited pool, and we have to pick and choose what is important to us each moment.

• My Favorite Speech in Shakespeare (What Mark’s Reading, 2/18/22). For me, it is the St. Crispin’s day speech in Henry V.
• Solving Problems I Don’t Have by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/20/22). I’ve lost how many times I’ve been there, done that.
• Journalism Needs to Engage With Its Critics by James Fallows (Breaking the News, 2/19/22). Fallows has really been hammering on journalism–in a good way. We need better reporting and journalism. We should be constantly trying to improve the craft and avoid complacancy. #reporting
• Ignoring a Text Message or Email Isn’t Always Rude. Sometimes It’s Necessary by Erica Dhawan (NY Times, 2/21/22). I’m a big believer that email and messags, like phone calls, or for my conveience and don’t need to be answered or checked instantly. I’ve been trying (with limited success) to drill this idea into my kids. #productivity
• The Lockout and My Deepest Fear by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 2/22/22). I’m becoming really frustrated with with the owners and players in this lockout. I just want baseball, and as I mentioned in a post earlier this week, I can always get it because baseball is a game played in history. #sports/baseball
• My Notebook System – ratfactor by Dave Gauer (Rat Factor, 2/2/22). This was one of the best posts I’ve ever read on notebooks and notebook systems. I’ve written many post on the subject, but I wish I’d written this one. Dave’s post is comprehensive, clear, and just so good. If you are interested in notebooks and note systems, I urge you to take the time to read this one in its entirity. #theme/theory-of-notes
• They Fled for Greener Pastures, and There Were Weeds by Julie Lasky (NY Times, 2/25/22). This one hit home because I’ve lived in relatively urban or suburban areas close to urban centers for most of my life, and it’s been a growing daydream of mine to move out to a rural area, which I frequently think of as greener pastures. Kelly, who grew up in a rural area has seen the other side of those green pastures and this piece captured a lot of that. #theme/lifestyle
• QR IQ by Mike Dariano (The Waiters Pad, 2/24/22). Once again, Mike has a novel way to apply to technology to small business–this time restaurants and restaurant menus–riding on the heels of how restaurants have had to switch to QR-code menus during the pandemic.
• Brandon Sanderson’s Advice for Doing Hard Things – Study Hacks – Cal Newport by Cal Newport (Study Hacks, 2/25/22). I really enjoy Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. I am also an admirer of Sanderson’s work ethic. I have a fascinating with hard-workers and this piece by Cal Newport, summarizes some of Sanderson’s tips in a more generalized way so that they can be applied to more than just writers. #theme/theory-of-work #productivity
• Walker: Player Ranger – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 2/25/22). Despite my frustration with both players and owners, I think Joe makes a good argument that baseball player salaries are front-and-center because that is what the owners want; that is how they frame their arguments and what they want fans to see. #sports/baseball
• 🌠 Documentation efforts, Mobile Live Preview, & Improved Startup Time by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup, 2/26/2022). I’m interested in checking out the new and improved Better Word Count plug-in, as well as the Hotkey Chords Plug-in.
• It’s Hard to Care About Baseball Right Now by Molly Knight (The Long Game, 2/25/22). In W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe, J.D. Salinger gives a speech toward the end of the book (the speech’s essence is captured by James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams, which is based on the book). He describes how the baseball diamond in the cornfield will attract people. “‘Of course, we don’t mind if you look around,’ you’ll say. ‘It’s only twenty dollars person.’ And they’ll pass over the money without even looking at it — for it is money they have, and peace they lack.” With all that’s going on in baseball and the world right now, I thought of this speech as I read Molly Knight’s post. She seemed to read my mind when she wrote, “if you love baseball but you’re finding it really hard to care about it right now, that’s ok.” “It’s money they have and peace they lack.” Maybe it’s money that they (the players and owners) have and peace that we (the fans) lack. For me, baseball helps to provide that peace and I realize there is a cost to that. The question becomes simple in that light: is the cost worth the peace? #sports/baseball

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on February 26, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

Gave up

• Never by Ken Follett. These days, when I read fiction, I am looking to be entertained. I was in the mood for a spy-thriller, and I liked the sound of this book, but it started a little too slowly for me. Maybe I’ll go back to it someday.

Finished Reading

• The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy (re-read). Not long ago, I introduced the boy to the film version of The Hunt for Red October and with that in mind, and still wanting to read a spy-thriller, I decided to re-read the book. I forgot how good the book was. It was Clancy’s first, and possibly his best. I say possibly because my memory of his other books (which I first read in the 1990s) is a little fuzzy.

In Progress

• Patriot Games by Tom Clancy (re-read). Since I enjoyed re-reading the first Jack Ryan book so much, I figured why stop?
• A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 by John Gibney. We have a family trip to Ireland planned for later in the year. I figure I need to bone-up on my Irish history beforehand.

Articles/posts

• Why Small Towns Are Attracting More Newcomers by Eduardo Porter and Stacy Kranitz (NY times, 2/12/22) #economy
• The Ottawa Trucker Protests Are a Test of Democracy by The Editorial Board (NY Times, 2/10/22)
• The Inceedible Vanishing Trump Presidency by David A. Graham (Atlantic, 2/9/22) #politics
• How McConnell Hopes to Thwart Trump in the Midterms by Jonathan Martin (NY Times, 2/13/22) #politics
• The two sides of Youngkin: Virginia’s new governor calls for unity but keeps stoking volatile issu by Gregory Schneider and Laura Vozzella (Washington Post, 2/13/22) #politics
• A Designated Hitter for All by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 2/11/22). As always, Joe has sensible things to say about the DH. As a baseball purist, I lean toward no DH, but Joe has some convincing arguments for its value today. #baseball
• Happy Movies by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/27/22). This was a wonderful post where Joe listed out his 10 favorite “happy” movies of all time. When I finished reading the post, I immediately went and re-watched That Thing You Do, which I hadn’t seen since it was first released in theaters. #film
• Ignorance Is Bliss – Melanie Novak (blog, 2/13/22). We were at the Presque Isle Lighthouse on our roadtrip this summer, so it was nice to see what the place looked like in the depth of winter. #travel
• Use Obsidian’s Plugin Responsibly · Davide Aversa #notes
• Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements by Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum (NY Times, 2/14/22)
• Travel in the Pandemic Can Be Liberating by Andrew McCarthy (NY Times, 2/14/22). I enjoy travel writing, and of course, remember McCarthy from his brat-pack days. I had no idea he was a travel writer today. #travel
• 50 Before 50 by Kate Jones (Writer In Residence, 1/24/2022). I will turn 50 this year, so this post caught my eye. #reading
• Flat Earth Beliefs by Mike Dariano (The Waiter’s Pad, 2/14/22). Mike always has interesting posts and this is one of them.
• Come and Get It (1936): Bad Adaptation, Great Film – Melanie Novak by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/16/22) #film
• Bram Stoker, Dracula, and Progress Studies by Tyler Cowen (Marginal Revolution, 2/14/22). I recently re-read Dracula and so it was still fresh in my mind when I read this piece. #literature
• Hey, Larry David, Your Super Bowl Commercial Was Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Bad by Timothy Noah ( New Republic, 2/15/22) #personal-finance
• Journaling with txt files (raffy1’s Blog, 2/16/22). Some interesting thoughts on journaling with text files and the pros and cons and tools involved. #journal
• 🌲 The Value of Consistent Naming Conventions by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup, 2/17/22) #theme/theory-of-notes
• Our Country is Filled with Problems; Reading Too Many Books Isn’t One of Them by Ryan Holiday (blog, 2/17/22). A must-read on book-banning in the U.S. #theme/value-of-reading
• Pitchers and Catchers by Joe Posnanski (JoeBlogs, 2/17/22) #sports/baseball
• That broken tech/content culture cycle by Anil Dash (blog, 2/9/22)

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on February 19, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

Finished Reading

• The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro. This was, by far, the best and most interesting book of the 5-volume series so far. I have some more thoughts about the book coming on Thursday’s post.
• How To Take Smart Notes by Ahrens Sönke. This was an interesting read that focused on the Zettelkasten method of notetaking. I was hoping for more concrete examples of how notes like these work and look, but it was a good broad introduction to the method.
• The Founders’ Fortunes: How Money Shaped the Birth of America by Willard Sterne Randall. A unique history of the American Revolution, looking at the founders, their wealth, how they obtained it, and how that wealth impacted and shaped the revolution and the birth of the United States.

In Progress

• Never by Ken Follett. Years ago, I tried reading The Pillars of the Earth, but didn’t finish it. More recently, I read Follett’s short work on Notre Dame. This past week, Stephen King tweeted about this new book, and after that, I just had to read it.

Articles/posts

• Joe Rogan Apologizes for ‘Shameful’ Past Use of Racial Slur by Ben Sisario (NY Times, 2/5/22)
• Both Sides Now by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/6/22) #libraries #museums
• Decoding Dickens’s Secret Notes to Himself, One Symbol at a Time by Jenny Gross (NY Times, 2/8/22). A fascinating mixture of literature and computer science working together to solve a long-standing mystery. #literature #cryptography
• Peloton says its C.E.O. will step down and announces 2,800 layoffs by Lauren Hirsch (NY Times, 2/8/22) #business
• 100 Years Ago, a Quantum Experiment Explained Why We Don’t Fall through Our Chairs by Davide Castelvecchi (Scientific American, 2/8/22) #physics
• Where Language Policing Leads in Education by Conor Friedersdorf (The Atlantic, 2/7/22). #censorship
• McConnell, GOP senators criticize RNC for censuring Cheney, Kinzinger by Melissa Quinn (CBS News, 2/8/22) #politics
• Obsidian: Understanding its Core Design Principles by TfTHacker (Medium, 2/6/22). A look inside the thinking behind the design of Obsidian.md. #apps #software
• More Thoughts on America’s Feel-Bad Boom by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 2/3/22) #economics
• ‘Framing the News’: An Update by James Fallows (Substack, 2/10/22). A follow-up the piece that Fallow’s wrote last week on “framing” in the news, with additional examples. #media #reporting
• Vacancies in Top Health and Science Jobs May Threaten Biden’s Agenda by Sheryl Gay Stolberg (NY Times, 2/10/22)
• What Is Spacetime Really Made Of? – Scientific American by Adam Becker (Scientific American, Feb. 2022). This piece pushed the limit of my comprehension, but it was fascinating nonetheless to consider what might lie beneath space and time. #cosmology #astrophyics
• Is The Division Bell the Best Album of All Time? (What’s Mark Reading, 2/11/22). I don’t think it is their best album, but it holds a special place in my heart. #music
• Saratoga Trunk (1945): “Two Impecunious Rascals” – Melanie Novak by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/9/22) #film
• Back to Normal? by James W Harris (Auxiliary Memory, 2/7/22)
• How Obsidian.md Replaced Video Games & Helped Me Publish by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup, 11/16/21). A lot of what Eleanor writes in this piece resonated with me as someone who wrote and sold short fiction, but didn’t want to write novels, and turned to nonfiction and blogging. And Obsidian. #writing

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on February 12, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

In Progress

• The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro. This is turning out to be the best of the series so far. Perhaps, in part, it is because the first half of the book is all about Johnson taking his lumps as Vice President after his years in the senate. I was hoping to finish this up today, but I’ll like finish it tomorrow instead.

Articles/posts

• Why Neil Young’s Spotify Protest Matters – The Atlantic by Spencer Kornhaber (The Atlantic, 1/29/2022) #covid #music
• Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House? – The Atlantic by Joe Pinsker (The Atlantic, undated). We just refinanced our house (getting in just before the rates went up) and I feel incredibly fortunate every time I read an article about how difficult it is to break into the housing market these day–especially in a place like Arlington, Virginia, home of the new Amazon headquarters, where the market seems crazy these last few years. #economics
• Astronomers Might Have Detected the Background Gravitational Waves of the Universe – Universe Today by Matt Williams (Universe Today, 1/23/22) #astrophyics
• Aha! Moments Pop Up from below the Level of Conscious Awareness by Emily Laber-Warren (Scientific American, 1/26/22). This happens to me all the time, and it was intersting to read how this is different from ordinary recall. #pyschology
• What We Can Learn From How the 1918 Pandemic Ended – The New York Times by John M. Barry (NY Times, 1/31/22). I read Barry’s book in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, The Great Influenza in the fall of 2020 and found it fascinating. Here are some lessons-learned for our current pandemic. #covid
• Is the United States in Another Housing Bubble? – The New York Times by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 1/28/22) #economics
• Why Book Ban Efforts Are Spreading Across the U.S. – The New York Times by Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris (NY Times, 1/30/22). I’ll have more to say about book banning on Monday. #books #censorship
• America’s Favorite Pickup Truck Goes Electric by John Seabrook (New Yorker, 1/24/22). I appreciated the paradoy of “Rhinestone Cowboy” in the piece. #transportation #longform
• Fermat’s Theorem: The Texas Oil Heir Who Took on Math’s Impossible Dare – The New York Times by William J. Broad (NY Times, 1/31/22). I’m not a mathematician. I can hold my own thorugh derivitive calculus, but kind of hit a wall with integrals. Still, I’m always fascinated by mathematical subjects. #mathematics
• Tabula Rasa: Volume Three, by John McPhee | The New Yorker by John McPhee (New Yorker, 1/31/2022). I’ll read anything by McPhee. Over the last year or two he has been doing these “tabula rasa” pieces, writing about pieces that he never ended up writing, and they are always interesting. #writing #longform
• So Big (1932): “Epic of American Womanhood” – Melanie Novak by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/2/22) #film
• The Washington Football Team Has Rebranded as the Commanders – The New York Times by Ken Belson (NY Times, 2/2/22). #sports
• Why Are Oil Prices So High and Will They Stay That Way? – The New York Times by Clifford Krauss (NY Times, 2/2/22) #economics
• A Word the Press Should Remember – by James Fallows (Substack, 2/3/22). A great piece on how news media “frames” stories and what to watch out for in the framing. #reporting
• Did the Browns Lose on Purpose? – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 2/3/22). This was a fascinating look into why teams try to tank and how American sports differ from English sports in this regard. #sports #football
• Wealth Inequality Is the Highest Since World War II – The New York Times by Peter Coy (NY Times, 2/2/22) #economics
• January 2022 Jobs Report: Strong Gains Show Resilient Economy – The New York Times by Ben Casselman and Talmon Joseph Smith (NY Times, 4/4/22) #economics
• MLBPA declines mediation offer in MLB lockout talks – The Washington Post by Chelsea Janes (Washington Post, 4/4/22). I’m not optomistic about the season starting on time. And while I have been a long-time supporter of the players against the owners, it now look ridiculous to the average fan, who may only be able to afford to attend a game or two each season, if they are lucky, and who has to cope with local blackouts on TV. #baseball
• This Jack Reacher Is Going to Be Big – The New York Times by Elisabeth Vincentelli (NY Times, 2/3/22). I binge-watched the first season (having previously read the 26 books in the series). I’ll have more to say about the series around mid-February, but for now: it was amazing! #television
• Travel writer’s viral tweet about salary sparks pay transparency conversation – The Washington Post by Janay Kingsberry and Anne Branigin (Washington Post, 2/4/22) #writing
• Brady Shouldn’t Stand Pat – by Molly Knight – The Long Game (Substack / The Long Game, 2/1/22) #football

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on February 5, 2022.

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

Finished

• We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin
• The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman

Started

• The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro. I’ve been working my way through Caro’s magnum opus since 2019, when I read the first two volumes, The Path to Power and Means of Ascent. In 2020 I tackled Master of the Senate. These books are tough reads, not because of their length or content, but because of Johnson himself. Sometimes, he just infuriates me. I had the same reaction when I read Caro’s biography of Robert Moses, The Power Broker, in 2018. So I try to spread them out a bit.

Articles/posts

• The Hidden Resignation: Employees are checking out on the job by Krister Ungerböck (Business Insider, 1/17/22) #economics
• Why You Can’t Resist Wordle by Kyle Chayka (New Yorker, 1/20/2022). I’ve seen those Wordle grids popping up everywhere and wondered what it was all about. Article to the contrary, I have been able to resist–except for once, for rearch for a post coming out next week. #games
• Wordle Is a Love Story – The New York Times) by Daniel Victor (NY Times, 1/3/22) #games
• What Unites Buddhism and Psychotherapy? One Therapist Has the Answer by Oliver Burkeman (NY Time, 1/11/2022). I was curious about the review because I was impressed by Oliver Burkeman’s book 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals #review
• Going Bananas for WW by Mike Dariano (The Waiter’s Pad, 1/24/2022)
• My New Winter Coat by Melanie Novak (blog, 1/24/2022). Where Melanie accidentally buys lots of books. #books
• How to Take Better Notes for Information Retention by Munda Zetlin (Inc, 9/5/19). This article is from a few years ago, but still interesting. #notes
• My Hall of Fame Ballot, Part I – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/24/22). Joe has a common-sense approach to his voting for the Hall of Fame. This series is his thoughtful look at the 30 players eligible this year. #baseball
• My Hall of Fame Ballot, Part II – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/25/22) #baseball
• My Hall of Fame Ballot, Part III – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/25/22) #baseball
• Opinion | We’re Probably in a Simulation. How Much Should That Worry Us? – The New York Times by Farhad Manjoo (NY Times, 1/26/22). I have a hard time seeing how Descartes cogito ergo sum doesn’t apply here. #philosophy
• Let’s Make a Deal – by Molly Knight – The Long Game by Molly Night (Substack, 1/26/22). Molly Knight on making the best of what we have in baseball today. #baseball
• David Ortiz! And Nobody Else! – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/25/22). I’ll have more to say about Ortiz and the Hall of Fame in a post next week. #baseball
• A Final Hall Thought – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/26/22) #baseball
• On life tenure, and its drawbacks – by James Fallows (Breaking the News, 1/26/22). A really interesting look at lifelong terms and jobs and the positive and negative effects of such terms. With suggestions for the Supreme Court. #politics
• Why Martha McPhee Carries a Notebook Everywhere | Wirecutter] by Martha McPhee] (NY Times, 4/3/2020). An older article, but new to me. You all know why I was attracted to this piece, right? #notebooks
• Can Medieval Sleeping Habits Fix America’s Insomnia? – The Atlantic by Derek Thompson (Atlantic, 1/27/22). I loved the historical aspects of this piece. #sleep
• Beach Sunrises and Thoughts on Publishing by Ailish Sinclair (blog, 1/28/22)
• The Very Long Novel That Saved a Man’s Sanity – Now I Know by Dan Lewis (Now I Know, 1/27/22). This is an all-too-real example of the question: “What book would you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?” — where the desert island in this case is a prison. Hat tip to reader and correspondent Bill for pointing this one out to me. #books
• David Ortiz Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame – The New York Times by Tyler Kepler (NY Times, 1/25/22) #baseball
• American History Should Teach Reality by Editors of Scientific America (Scientific American, Feb. 2022) #truth-decay
• Stage Door (1937): #MeToo in the 1930s by Melanie Novak (blog, 1/26/2022) #movies #criticism
• ‘Say Souls Aboard’: How Professionals Sound Under Pressure by James Fallows (Breaking the News, 1/29/2022). Back when I was a pilot, I remember hearing one or two emergencies over the radio and recognize the calm professionalism that Fallows writes about. #aviation

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on January 29, 2022.

Here is the weekly summary of what I read this week. I think this week shows I try for a pretty wide range of subjects. The butterfly effect of reading always guides me.

Books

Finished

• Scientist: E. O. Wilson, A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes. This was a short, but interesting biography of the naturalist, E. O. Wilson, who passed away recently. I’ve enjoyed Wilson’s writing over the years, but I really love Richard Rhodes writing. His book The Making of the Atomic Bomb is phenomenal, and not just as science history, but as a practical lesson in large-scale project management. His biography of Wilson was enjoyable, but there wasn’t much new to learn in this biography that Wilson hadn’t already written about in his memoir, Naturalist.
• On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson. Clearly an example of the butterfly effect of reading. This is one of two Pulitzer prize-winning books by Wilson and one of his books that I hadn’t already read. Because it plays such a big part in his scientific life, I figured I should read it and now I have. I prefer his books that are more specific, like his books on ants and insects. This one was more like his book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which was a difficult conceptual read for me, and more abstract than his books on observations in nature.

Started

• We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin. This week, I started to really use reddit this week for the first time in years (Here is one example). I like to know what I am doing, so I thought a history of the service would be a good place to start.

Gave up on

• Cloud Cockoo Land by Anthony Doerr. This came highly recommended by a friend, and while I’ll likely go back and give it another try in the future, it just wasn’t what I was looking for at the moment. I made it maybe a quarter of the way into the book before giving up. I’ve learned that I can’t spend time on a book that isn’t work for me. There’s too much else out there to read. Maybe another time.

Articles/posts

• “Read Better with Craft and Readwise” by Robert Breen (blog) #productivity
• “What Is Joe Biden Thinking?)” by Ross Douthat (NY Times, 1/15/22) #politics
• The Sublime Beauty of My Friend Bob Saget’s Filthy Comedy” by Penn Jillette (NY Times, 1/15/22) #opinion
• Glenn Youngkin’s Hidden Advantage: Virginia Democrats” by James Hohmann (Washington Post, 1/15/22) #politics
• The Library the Internet Can’t Get Enough Of” by Kate Dwyer (NY Times, 1/15/22) #libraries. Hat tip to reader, Bill, for calling this one to my attention.
• “What Happens We We Die?” by Maria Papova (Marginalian)
• “Routine Maintenance” by Meghan O’Gieblyn (Harper’s, December 2021) #habits. This is a long, thoughtful piece on the role of habits in our life.
• “The Old Man and the Tree” by Jonny Diamond (Smithsonian, Jan/Feb 22) #trees #ecology
• “Why We’re Freaking Out About Substack” by Ben Smith (NY Times, Apr 2021) #blogs. As a paid subscriber to several Substack newsletters, I’m fascinated by their model. I’ll have more to say about this in a post later this week.
• “The Veterinarian Brings His Healing Presence to Pets of the Unhoused” by Carol Mithers (Smithsonian, Jan/Feb 2022) #pets #homeless
• “Glenn Youngkin Triggers a Mask Meltdown in Virginia” by Jim Geraghty (National Review, Jan 17, 2022) #covid
• “What If We Just Stopped Being So Available” by Jon Pinsker (The Atlantic, Jan 14, 2022) #productivity
• “Staying Put For 60 Years” by Wendy Goodman (New York Magazine) #design #lifestyle
• “Biden Can Still Rescue His Presidency” by Bret Stephens (NT Times, Jan 18, 2022) #politics #opinion
• “What I Talk About When I Talk About Favourites” on What’s That Mark’s Reading (1/19/2022) #books
• “Communicate as if ‘one one foot’” by Mike Dariano (The Waiter’s Pad, 1/19/22) #communication
• “Cimarron (1931): Taming No-Man’s Land” by Melanie Novak (melanienovak.com). #film #criticism This is part of Melanie’s fantastic Golden Age of Hollywood series where she dives deep into films from the Golden Age.
• “Something Has to Give in the Housing Market. Or Does It?” by Emily Badger (NY Times, Jan 20, 2022) #economics
• “Why AI Writing Assistants are a Good Thing for Content Creation” by Yakup Özkardes-Cheung (Entrepreneur, 1/16/22) #AI #writing
• “Unanimous” by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 1/20/22) #baseball An interesting look at those players who got unanimous or nearly unanimous votes for MVP.
• “Amanda Gorman: Why I Almost Didn’t Read My Poem at the Inauguration” by Amanda Gorman (NY Times, 1/20/22)
• “The 5G Controversy: What’s It All About” by James Fallows (Substack, 1/20/22) #aviation In addition to being an excellent journalist, Fallows is a pilot and as a former pilot, I still enjoy reading about aviation now and then (although it often makes me wish I still flew). This is a great summary of the issues being debated about 5G signals near airports.
• “After Omicron, we could use a break. We may just get it” by Helen Branswell (Stat, 1/18/22)
• “Have We Forgotten How to Read Critically?” by Kate Harding (Dame Magazine) #reading #longform
• “The Silent, Vaccinated, Impatient Majority” by Yasmeen Serhan (The Atlantic, 1/17/22) #covid #politics
• “Zettelkasten — How One German Scholar Was So Freakishly Productive” by David B. Clear (Medium, 12/31/2019) #notes #longform
• “Obsidian Roundup for 1/22/22” by Eleanor Konik (Obsidian Roundup) #tech

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on January 21-22, 2022.

This year I started using a new format to my Daily Notes file in Obsidian: a single file in which I try to capture all of the relevant “factual” part of my day. (For those who follow along with my Practically Paperless series, there will be more on this new format in Episode 16 coming on February 1). On of the things that I track is what I read each day–articles, posts, etc.

I thought I would post a list of what I read each week with some brief commentary for those who might be interested. Some of these articles may require a subscription or be behind a paywall. I’ve tried to include a tag with each item to give a sense of the topic. Here is what I read this week:

Books

• Finished reading United States: Essays, 1952-1992 by Gore Vidal. I wrote briefly about this when I started reading it. At 1,295 pages, it took me a little while to finish. I’ll probably have more to say about it once I’ve given it more thought.

Articles/posts

• “What Happened to American Conservatism” by David Brooks, Atlantic (Jan/Feb 2022) #politics
• “America Is Falling Apart at the Seams” by David Brooks (NY Times, Jan 13, 2022) – this caught my eye because I’ve recently been thinking that there are small things I’ve seen that appear to be signs of decay — unreliable mail delivery for one thing. #politics
• “File System Infobase Manager” by Douglas Barone – hat tip to frequent commenter Jaap for calling this to my attention a while back. #productivity
• “Four Facts About the Filibuster” by James Fallows (Substack) – a succinct argument against the filibuster. #politics
• “The Fall of Omar” by Joe Posnanski (Substack) – I like how Joe thinks about Hall of Fame candiates. #baseball
• “Schilling and Shilling” by Joe Posnanski (Substack) #baseball
• “Ortiz and Sheffield” by Joe Posnanski (Substack) #baseball
• “One Team One Hall” by Joe Posnanski (Substack) – with a hat tip to Bill James new article “Vagabonds and Homebodies” which I haven’t read yet, but have queued up for this coming week. #baseball

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments.