There are plenty of reasons why I should hate (or at least vehemently dislike) Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, but I was surprised by this novel’s ability to ingratiate itself to me despite propounding a set of perspectives and values that seem anathema to mine. I am neither a military enthusiast nor a scholar of […]
“The mind’s a weird piece of business,” Alice Munro observes toward the end of this magnificent collection of stories (308). Munro is certainly right about that; her perspicacious and adroit writing shows that she understands human quirks and foibles better than most writers, even the exceptional ones. My initial reaction to many of the stories […]
This collection of stories is a small but significant contribution to Iain M. Banks’s inimitable Culture Series. I didn’t have much of a reaction one way or another to the smattering of Culture-based short stories, so this review will focus entirely on the book’s eponymous novella. “The State of the Art” is a brief but […]
I already wish I could get back at least a portion of the many hours I spent wading through this novel, so I’m not going to waste much time reviewing it. Despite containing some moments of keen intellectual insight and a handful of endearing events and characters, John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is […]
As an amateur neuroscience enthusiast, I’m obligated not only to seek out the best and most recent neuroscientific findings, but also to be wary of how these findings might be abused. Any scientific discipline that can be easily monetized and/or misinterpreted by the popular media will spawn its share of hacks, prophets, and snake oil […]
I’ve flirted with the idea of taking up meditation for a few years now, and thought this book would be a good introduction given my interest in neuroscience. James H. Austin’s Meditating Selflessly: Practical Neural Zen is a sincere but mediocre explication of Zen meditative practice as interpreted by modern brain science. Austin’s treatment is highly […]
This was my favorite novel throughout my adolescence, and is also probably the only book I’ve ever read three times. After a recent and extremely rewarding rereading of The Grapes of Wrath, I decided it was time to take up East of Eden once again. The book holds many memories, like that handful of albums […]
I came to this book by way of science fiction author Peter Watts, whose excellent novel Blindsight was influenced by Thomas Metzinger’s philosophy. The Ego Tunnel is the best book I’ve read about consciousness since Antonio Damasio’s Self Comes to Mind. Damasio and Metzinger have much in common, but I ultimately prefer Metzinger’s approach; as a neuroscientist, […]
This fiendish novel dug its claws into me and didn’t let go until the very last page. Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is rich in imagery and metaphor, teeming with keen observations about the dark sides of American culture, and saturated in seduction. It’s a book that would have overflowed with its own verve if Nutting hadn’t […]
This fourth volume in Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s Moral Psychology series is my favorite thus far. The issues of free will and moral responsibility have received so much attention lately––both from the academic community and the popular press––that it can be difficult to find sources that approach these topics with the rigor and nuance they require. Readers […]