Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard Dawkins, 2020
With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder.
Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle, 2024
Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes readers on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
I wrote a book and now I have to wrap it up. In that effort, I have many! facts to check. I think I can plow through the bulk of it at ~60 facts per/day for ~30 days (spread across ~10 sources). My new hobby, I guess?
This type of tedious, detailed work is not my favorite thing. I have the source material, but I need to go back and scrutinize what I wrote in detail to make sure it's correct.
On one hand, it may have been easier if past Nicole did a better job at documenting details along the way. On the other hand, it was really unclear what would make it through the final filter and documenting every little thing would have been even more tedious (and would have disrupted the process of connecting it all together).
Any tips for how to make this new hobby of mine easier or more pleasant?
In her book #AttentionSpan, Gloria Mark, PhD dedicates a chapter to the discussion of free will.
Though it seems to me a tangent, I appreciate the implication that "taking control of our attention" isn't entirely a matter of choice. Whatever TF choice is.
I mean, choice is supposedly the thing that controls attention, but… elaboration fades to infinity #nonfiction#psychology#allostasis
This is a very good comic, and it describes every author (or #artist) who is unsure of themself. Don't let this be you!
Complete stories (your vision) regardless of the merit you see in them.
Start a next one. Full stop. Then another.
Complete and send out more stories even if some editor (or commenter) doesn't buy or like them.
It's all practice, every single failure or not-good-enough. Practice makes you better, whatever they think, or you think. Keep practicing.
Take from criticism only whatever helps you identify or fix problems; reject being put in your place or ridiculed. It's practice. Your art is unique to you. Be truthful with yourself, though.
Keep starting and completing stories. Statistically, some will be good—and you will start to recognize the wheat in the chaff.
Their first stories weren't fabulous. Neither may be yours. The difference? They kept on starting, completing, sending (or posting), until they found success. Let that be you.
Please remember: #boostingIsSharing and boost to give others a moral boost.
#JustFinished Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant
This has been an absolutely fascinating book to read and is perhaps the most important book I'll read all year. Merchant is spot on with his commentary about the parallels between the first Industrial Revolution and now. We have not learned a thing about protecting our populations and economies from mass unemployment during technological upheaval.
(Academic press) book pre-publication reviews are back. Really positive. YES!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉.
So now I'm moving onto final revisions. It feels good to slip back into that headspace again.
My big question for anyone who has sent a book off to the world: What was your strategy for those last steps? There's addressing the feedback, of course. But after that? It will never been perfect. But it has to be great. How do you know when to let it go?
Charming and poetic biography about Else Bostelmann, an artist who painted underwater wonders in the 1930s. Pioneering woman artist, she combined art and science, helping in expeditions for the NY Zoological Society’s Department of Tropical Research.
Celts: The History and Legacy of One of the Oldest Cultures in Europe by Martin J. Dougherty, 2024
Before the Vikings, before the Anglo-Saxons, before the Roman Empire, the Celts dominated central and western Europe. Today we might think of the Celts only inhabiting parts of the far west of Europe – Ireland, Great Britain, France and Spain – but these were the extremities in which their culture lasted longest.
The End of Everything by Victor Davis Hanson, 2024
“In The End of Everything, Hanson tells compelling and harrowing stories of how civilizations perished. He helps us consider contemporary affairs in light of that history, think about the unthinkable, and recognize the urgency of trying to prevent our own demise.” — H. R. McMaster, author of Battlegrounds
The Art of Cyber Warfare: Strategic and Tactical Approaches for Attack and Defense in the Digital Age by Peter Kestner, 2024
Explores the strategic and tactical approaches for offense and defense in the digital age. Drawing on historical conflicts from Sun Tzu to Carl von Clausewitz, the author illustrates that, despite changed conditions such as time, location, means, and resources it is possible to learn from past actions and reactions.
The winners of the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced. The New York Times took three: One for its coverage of the war in Gaza and others in the Features and Investigative categories. The Washington Post tied with wins in Commentary, Editorial Writing and National Reporting. The Fiction Pulitzer went to West Virginia writer Jayne Anne Phillips for her novel, "Night Watch," while the Nonfiction prize went to "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy," by Nathan Thrall, which tells the story of a Palestinian father living under Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Here's the full list from NPR. This Poynter.org story has links to all the winning pieces of journalism.
How Much is Enough? Money and the Good Life by Robert Skidelsky, 2012
What constitutes the good life? What is the true value of money? Why do we work such long hours merely to acquire greater wealth? These are some of the questions that many asked themselves when the financial system crashed in 2008. This book tackles such questions head-on.
Just finished The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson and am tempted to start a new category for my records: Nonfiction.Memoir.Bitching. If you'd love 400 pages of an old man yelling at clouds, to say nothing of being casually racist, homophobic and transphobic, this is the book for you. Not sure I'll ever be able to enjoy his work again. 😞
I finished The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It documents the crimes of one prolific art-loving thief who robbed out-of-the-way castle museums and other convenient locations within a seven-country radius from his home base in Alsace.
I find art heist stories compelling even as they are disconcerting. Probably because I like reading about the art and art crime units as well as the people whose work it is to care for art. In this genre is also art restitution stories, which are also compelling.
Unfortunately (no spoilers), as interesting as it was reading about the stolen art and even the way it was stolen (the audacity -- and no romanticization of the thief here), the book's ending is a letdown.
However, it's a quick little read that's entertaining and also a study in one person's psychology.
I've partnered with Tertulia to offer a discount on The #ConsciousStyleGuide. For 20% off, use code STYLE through May 28, 2024. Or get 50% off with a 30-day, no-commitment trial membership—no code needed. (U.S. only)
#books#nonfiction The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis, by Maria Smilios, My rating:5 out of 5 stars, Read from: 04/15/2024 - 04/17/2024
Bookd description: New York City, 1929. A sanatorium, a deadly disease, and a dire nurse shortage. So begins the remarkable true story of the Black nurses who helped cure one of the world’s deadliest plagues: tuberculosis. During those dark pre-antibiotic days, when tuberculosis killed one in seven people, white nurses at Sea View, New York’s largest municipal hospital, began quitting. Desperate to avert a public health crisis, city officials summoned Black southern nurses, luring them with promises of good pay, a career, and an escape from the strictures of Jim Crow. But after arriving, they found themselves on an isolated hilltop in the remote borough of Staten Island, yet again confronting racism and consigned to a woefully understaffed facility, dubbed “the pest house” where “no one left alive.” Spanning the Great Depression and moving through World War II and beyond, this story follows the intrepid young women, the “Black Angels,” who, for twenty years, risked their lives working under dreadful conditions while caring for the city’s poorest—1,800 souls languishing in wards, waiting to die or become “guinea pigs” for experimental (often deadly) drugs. Yet despite their major role in desegregating the NYC hospital system—and regardless of their vital work in helping to find the cure for tuberculosis at Sea View—these nurses were completely erased from history. The Black Angels recovers the voices of these extraordinary women and puts them at the center of this riveting story celebrating their legacy and spirit of survival.
The Cyber Predators Dark Personality and Online Misconduct and Crime by Aaron Cohen, 2024
'The Cyber Predators' takes you on a revealing journey into the enigmatic world of dark triad/tetrad personalities: psychopaths, Machiavellians, and narcissists, sadists, tackling the urgent issue of online crime as a global crisis.
Unrestricted Warfare by Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui, 2017
More relevant than ever, this interesting handbook on modern all-enveloping warfare was first published in China in 1999. Re-digitized from the 2004 Filament Books edition, this new edition contains specific methods for American troops, government, academia, and business circles for dealing with unrestricted warfare.
Human Trafficking: A Reference Handbook by Alexis A. Aronowitz, 2017
Offering an up-to-date and comprehensive resource for students and general readers investigating human trafficking, this book examines the phenomenon in its many forms, the factors contributing to its existence, the victims it affects, and those who perpetrate this horrific crime.