📚 2024
April
The Shadow of the Tortured, by Gene Wolfe
A good fantasy novel about a Torturer who is exiled from his guild. Not sure what I expected going in but it was a fairly enjoyable story.
The Just City, by Jo Walton
An excellent thought experiment. Athena and Apollo decide to implement Plato's 'Just City' in Atlantis, and recruit a bunch of children to form the first generation that will grow up to govern or work in it. Socrates joins the experiment and is at his meddlesome best. Enjoyed the book.
March
Introducing Plato, by Dave Robinson
An excellent introduction to Plato's work. Good preparation before jumping direct to the source.
Think Again, by Adam Grant
I don't remember anything about this book now, 2-3 weeks after reading it.
The Odyssey of Homer, by Elizabeth Vandiver
A break down of Homer's Odyssey. Lots of rich context behind the language used, the culture of the times back then, and so on.
Think Again, by Adam M. Grant
Ways to rethink your assumptions, handle arguments, and so on. A bit bland and I'm not sure I took away much from this book.
How to View and Appreciate Great Movies, by Eric Williams
A look into different parts of the movie making process and what sets apart normal ones from the great ones. Fairly enjoyable, and has some interesting anecdotes. E.g. did you ever notice that No Country For Old Men had zero background music?
February
Stress and Your Body, by Robert M. Sapolsky
A phenomenal (audio) book from The Great Courses. The author takes an easy-to-understand analogy and applies it to every part of the body to show how stress affects it. I really liked Sapolsky's way of thinking and teaching.
Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths, by Bernard Evslin
A gentle and fun introduction to all the important Greek Gods and Heroes.
Who was Vincent van Gogh, by J. Hulsker
A pleasant read in a single sitting. A nice overview of van Gogh's life and works.
The Organized Mind, by Daniel J. Levitin
Sounded like a book on productivity but ended up covering a whole bunch of things about probability and so on.
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, by G.K. Chesterton
Absolutely enjoyable. I usually judge books on how they 'surprise' me and I'm happy to say that every time this book seemed to be going in a predictable direction, it veered off course into a completely different one. Highly recommended.
The Miniaturist, by Kunal Basu
About a painter in Mughal India. A pleasant evening's read.
Post Office, by Charles Bukowski
Ugh, this was just horrible. Please skip.
January
The Elements of Eloquence, by Mark Forsyth
I'm not sure that anyone could remember all the conventions and idioms covered in the book. But if you ignore all that and just treat it as a nice breakdown of several great pieces of literature by someone who loves the language, it is enjoyable.