Looking for Something to Read?
I thought we could take a little break from the usual long-form meditation this week and try something new.? I’ve been on a massive reading spree this year and I thought I’d share some quick recommendations, reactions, and thought-provoking quotations. Hope you all enjoy!
Lincoln in the Bardo (2017) George Saunders
While I started and stopped this one on several occasions because of its unusual style, I’m so glad I picked it back up and finished it, for this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Saunders has written a wildly imaginative, deeply moving, and philosophical examination of death, grief, regret, and the meaning of life.
As a little preview, here’s how he imagines the inner thoughts of President Lincoln as he is coming to terms with the death of his own young son amidst all the death of the Civil War, as overhead by a ghost who can read his mind somehow:
“I will go on, I will. With God’s help. Though it seems killing must go hard against the will of God. Where might God stand on this. He has shown us. He could stop it. But has not. We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something from us, and we must give it, and all we may control is the spirit in which we give it and the ultimate end which the giving serves. What end does IT wish served? I do not know. What IT wants, it seems, for now, is blood, more blood, and to alter things from what they are, to what IT wills they should be.”
It Can’t Happen Here (1935) Sinclair Lewis
I finally got around to reading this classic dystopian political novel that imagines a takeover of America by a democratically elected populist politician named Buzz Windrip. While not a great book, it’s worth reading just for its warning. Lewis presents a convincing case for how a takeover might happen and covers everything from what a winning political platform might look like to the types of people that might be attracted to such a popular movement to the Congressional and judicial tactics for actually pulling it all off.
At the very least, every American should study carefully the 15-point platform of Buzz Windrip so we can avoid falling under the sway of such nonsense.
Here’s the best line of the whole book (from the story’s main character):
“More and more, as I think about history,” he pondered, “I am convinced that everything that is worth while in the world has been accomplished by the free, inquiring, critical spirit, and that the preservation of this spirit is more important than any social system whatsoever. But the men of ritual and the men of barbarism are capable of shutting up the men of science and of silencing them forever.”
Smart Money, Smart Machines
Dubbed "the rocket fuel of AI" by Wired, this innovation is causing a stir on Wall Street. With projections hitting $80 trillion – that's 41 Amazons – the potential is huge. But here's the deal: sharp investors who are ahead of the game have the opportunity to invest in a technology poised for domination. Thanks to The Motley Fool, you can access the full story in this exclusive report.
The Plague (1947) Albert Camus
Reading this fascinating work of philosophical fiction was a surreal experience. Not only does Camus perfectly nail the psychology of a pandemic and lockdown but also, he predicts exactly the types of personalities, viewpoints, and popular movements that might emerge in one. On almost every page, I found myself shaking my head and thinking “Jeez, I’ve seen that before.” Consider the way he describes the feeling at the end:
“In truth, it was difficult to decide if victory was the right word. People were forced to simply admit that the disease seemed to be leaving the same way it had come. The strategy they had used to fight it hadn’t changed—ineffective yesterday, and then suddenly successful.”
In reflecting on my own pandemic experience and Camus’ portrayal, it’s clear that the ultimate problem of a pandemic is that it’s a double tragedy. Beyond the suffering of the moment, it’s a tragedy for what it does to a community. By attacking and challenging our instinctual desire to trust one another, it introduces a kind of existential doubt in the fabric of society. We’re seeing already what that can mean.
The Magic Mountain (1924) Thomas Mann
While I really struggled through this one and contemplated quitting on several occasions, I’m glad I stayed with it. The ending comes as a shock and makes sense of all the pages and pages of seemingly useless dialogue and debate between the story’s main characters.
Even without the shocking ending and its profound moral revelation, this is a story worth reading. Mann provides the best examination of the psychology of time I’ve ever read. Here's a flavor:
“What people call boredom is actually an abnormal compression of time caused by monotony—uninterrupted uniformity can shrink large spaces of time until the heart falters, terrified to death. When one day is like every other, then all days are like one, and perfect homogeneity would make the longest life seem very short, as if it had flown by in a twinkling. Habit arises when our sense of time falls asleep, or at least, grows dull; and if the years of youth are experienced slowly, while the later years of life hurtle past at an ever-increasing speed, it must be habit that causes it. We know full well that the insertion of new habits or the changing of old ones is the only way to preserve life, to renew our sense of time, to rejuvenate, intensify, and retard our experience of time—and thereby renew our sense of life itself. That is the reason for every change of scenery and air, for a trip to the shore: the experience of a variety of refreshing episodes.”
The Bear (2020) Andrew Krivak
This is a parable about the last human and her relationship with a bear and all I’ll say is this: I read the entire story in one sitting!
“You’re hungry, I know, said the dreambear, but you need to be hungry for more than food. More than sleep. We all go to sleep and will be asleep for a long time. Be hungry for what you have yet to do while you’re awake.”
Must Read Short Story Collections
In an effort to try to become a better writer and storyteller, I’ve been reading a ton of short stories lately and have come to love the art. The lack of space forces authors to create memorable, coherent characters and advance narratives in such interesting ways. This list, largely curated by Conor Teevan, one of my best friends in the world, will leave you thinking deeply about a great many subjects.
1. Tenth of December by George Saunders
2. Anything by Tolstoy but Master and Man for sure
3. Nine Stories by JD Salinger
4. Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace
5. What We Talk About When We Talk about Love by Raymond Carver
6. Anything by Hemingway
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YIMBY Action Report (2025)
For the last 5-10 years the optimistic story in the housing policy world has been the slew of pro-development bills passed by the California state legislature. This report examines the actual impact of these bills and it’s not pretty. The NIMBYs and their local political machines are still firmly in control. If we actually care about making housing more affordable, something more radical needs to be done!
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Thank you!