Tag: memoir
-
Artificial: A Love Story by Amy Kurzweil
There’s a lot more to this book than you might expect. I read it twice — once to get a feel for the story, another time to engage with it. I generally find that with graphic novels, the second reading is much more impactful than the first. The easy pitch is “The author and her…
-
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney
I must confess I now find it difficult to truly and fully relax around people who haven’t had some significant tragedy and pain in their lives. Just another one of the many things that make me a fun hang. This is so relatable. My wife and I have had more than our share of very…
-
Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen
I put this on my library hold list because of the rave reviews at Book Marks. Even still, after I picked it up I was reluctant to start reading it. I didn’t expect it to hit home like it did. I watched television the way I read books: studying, memorizing, looking for clues. As if every…
-
In a Flight of Starlings by Giorgio Parisi
This was not what I expected — heavy on the math and memoir, light on philosophy or life insight or metaphor or whatever I thought I was getting. I was hoping for something more in the vein of Rovelli’s There are Places in the World Where Rules are Less Important than Kindness, but this was…
-
Building: A Carpenter’s Notes on Life & the Art of Good Work by Mark Ellison
There are some great anecdotes in here and some interesting ideas, but it’s fucking insufferable: Math is a tool well suited to every manner of ends. When I encounter someone who doesn’t know its uses, even at the relatively simple level our work requires, my heart sinks. Everyone’s math should be at least good enough…
-
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh
This is incredible. Marsh pulls no punches – whether it’s the system that needlessly frustrates patients and carers, the arrogance of youth, the egos of other experienced surgeons, and most of all, his own self. Every chapter is hopeful, cynical, angry and full of affection for those around him. It’s crushing, infuriating and inspiring. Read…