What I read in September and October

Well, we’re halfway through November so I guess I should actually share what I read in September and October! At this point, it’s unlikely that full-on reviews are happening, but I’ll try to add a few notes in case you’re curious!

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard | Bookshop | Amazon

We read this for my bookclub, and I’ll be honest, we picked it because Beard talks about in in an episode of Ted Lasso. But overall, I really loved it. I will admit the beginning is a little slow and science-y, but the end is really lovely. There’s also some fantastic anti-capitalist undertones, which you know I love!

Optimal Illusions by Coco Krumme | Bookshop | Amazon

Speaking of anti-capitalist, this is a book by a mathematician that looks at the problems in our world created by an over reliance on optimization. The book was an enjoyable, fairly quick read, and I did find it interesting, but I couldn’t help but think it was just a not quite as good version of How to Do Nothing. I also found Krumme’s “solution” at the end of the book to be a little lacking. (Again an area I think How to Do Nothing does better.)

Fewer, Better Things by Glenn Adamson | Bookshop | Amazon

This book has been on my shelf for ages, but I only pulled it out after reading Global Objects last month. In general, I think it’s an interesting read about our relationship to stuff and craft, but I did take offense to his exploration of economics being limited to “expensive/elitist” vs. gift economies.

Look by Christian Madsbjerg | Bookshop | Amazon

This was probably my favorite book of the bunch and basically read it in a day. In a lot of ways, it was what I wanted Kinaesthetic Knowing to be – a book about how we learn from the world around us. I also loved that this book pulled from a range of sources, including a really easy to understand exploration of philosophy, but of course my favorite parts were when he talked about art and artists and the ways they implore us to pay attention.

Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant | Bookshop | Amazon

I was really excited when this book was announced and had high hopes that it might help me navigate my own frustrations with AI and big tech. And I’ll be honest, it fell short on that front. Despite the book tying the history of the Luddite revolution into our current moment, I didn’t feel like I left with any sense of clarity or solutions. But as a work of history, this book is really fascinating, if not a little long.

Kinaesthetic Knowing by Zeynep Celik Alexander | Bookshop | Amazon

Speaking of high hopes, the premise of this book was really fascinating to me. And I certainly picked up some interesting tidbits. But it was also super dense and academic (and I say that as someone who reads of fair amount of academic writing) and I often found myself wondering what the point was. While Looking didn’t quite frame it’s central premise in the same way, I found it to be a much more accessible book on this topic.