Stephen Fry’s Troy is the third and final book I read in preparation for Ada Palmer’s upcoming finale to her magnificent Terra Ignota series. This last stop in my self-education about the Trojan War is by far the most comprehensive source I’ve consulted, but also the least enjoyable. Fry’s obvious wit and passion for Greek Mythology notwithstanding, Troy felt more like […]
Homer’s The Iliad plays a critical role in Ada Palmer‘s amazing Terra Ignota series, so while I wait for the last book to come out I thought it might be fun to familiarize myself with some of her source material. Knowing only the bare basics of Greek history and mythology, I found this a strange but engaging journey […]
Greetings, dear friends of the present and curious citizens of the future. When I got vaccinated back in the spring, I thought I was done with the COVID-19 pandemic, at least personally. Well, as it turns out, the pandemic wasn’t done with me! The vaccines, we were told, were our ticket out of the months […]
Anyone who turns their attention to the world of modern psychotherapy will quickly start finding references to Gabor Maté all over the place. He has made a special contribution to how mental health professionals approach trauma, addiction, and––as his book Scattered Minds demonstrates––attention deficit disorder (ADD). Like many others before me, I was excited to explore Maté’s […]
Lots of writers use science fiction as an imaginary playground for suggesting ways that artificial intelligence might reshape human experience and civilization. Few, however, are ambitious enough to devote an entire novel to exploring the internal, conscious perspective of an AI living in a human-dominated world. For this alone, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun deserves our […]
I belong to the tiny fraction of science fiction enthusiasts who didn’t read Andy Weir’s phenomenally-successful breakout novel, The Martian. For whatever reason, it just didn’t appeal to me, although I enjoyed the film adaptation. But when my wife, friends, and favorite podcasters started gushing about Project Hail Mary, I decided it was time to send myself rocketing into Weir’s geeky […]
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is a whimsical yet heavy journey into the ultra-trendy land of multiverse narratives. The protagonist is Nora Seed, a bedraggled Brit who decides to take her own life after her personal shitcake of bad luck gets iced by a particularly lousy day. Instead of fading to black, Nora finds herself in a […]
I first met Lucas Spiegel about 15 years ago while playing club ultimate frisbee at the University of Oregon. He was a beloved captain of the B-team for several years––a quiet, kind, and always-respectful leader whose simple love for the game inspired younger players like me who were just starting out. I don’t remember Lucas […]
Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score was pitched to me by several people as the best book for a crash course in trauma research and modern treatments. It did not disappoint. This impressive summary of discoveries and lessons from van der Kolk’s long career is an essential text for anyone looking to enter the […]
As the son of two parents with postgraduate degrees, the purpose and value of education were central to my upbringing. My folks never pushed me, but they always encouraged my intellectual growth and facilitated my desire to attend college with eager ease. I always knew I was lucky (they wouldn’t let me forget it), but […]