Currently Reading
Nonfiction:
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
Fiction:
The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North
Deciding Better:
The Invention of Tomorrow: A Natural History of Foresight by Thomas Suddendorf, Jonathan Redshaw, Adam Bulley.
Probability Theory: The Logic of Science by E.T. Jaynes
Jewish Studies: Nefesh Hachaim by Rav Chaim of Volozhin
2023 Reads
Fiction:
The Gray Man by Mark Greaney
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (audiobook)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norris by Susanna Clarke (audiobook)
Slough House by Mick Herron
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Joe Country by Mick Herron
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy (audiobook)
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
London Rules by Mick Herron
Nonfiction:
Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell
Novelist as Vocation Haruki Murakami
Picture This: How Pictures Work by Molly Bang
The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition, and Emotion Are Woven Together by Luiz Pessoa. Note that free PDFs of the book chapters are available here.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being Rick Rubin
Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren
Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka Hämäläinen
Reading Plan
I’ve got three categories of reading running. Fiction, nonfiction general reading, and books related to the On Deciding . . . Better project. The idea is to have variety but focus on finishing a book in each category. Always having a few ready on deck of course.
In fiction now I’m branching out from pure SciFi and SciFi tinged Fantasy into more literary picks with SciFi overtones. I loved reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel last year, so I’m pushing a bit in that direction this year. But probably alternating that with finishing the Slow Horse series and maybe pickup another spy series- for the variety.
The nonfiction category is for general information, filling in gaps in my understanding of the world. I’ve enjoyed reading popular presentations of quantum physics like Carlo Rovelli’s Helgoland, history or art. Right now, after two books of political US history, I’m drawn to asthestics and am really enjoying Rubin’s book.
Next is my project specific reading for this project, On Deciding . . . Better which has been going on 25 years now. Last year, I spent time on the fundementals of statistics and Baysian reasoning. This year it’s catching up with neuroscience to ensure the current accuracy of the ODB manuscript.These books get written and then reviewed for note taking as I described here.
Finally, I spend time every morning on a work of Jewish ethics and philosophy. Having read through some recent commentaries over the last few years, I’m going back to sources like the famous Nefesh Hachaim. Now this doesn’t generally so directly enter my notes here, it is foundational to my thought and personal growth.