"Hidden Figures"

 

 

Not the film adaptation cover, which
ironically obscures the actual people!

"Hidden Figures" is a historical account of the important and often unrecognized role African American women have played in U.S. aeronautical and space research. It focuses on the contributions of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson from the 1930s through the 1960s as computers (all that rocket science math used to be done by hand!), researchers, and engineers at NACA, and its successor organization NASA.

"All The Light We Cannot See"

Redundant Subtitle: A Novel

I added Anthony Doerr's "All The Light We Cannot See" to my reading list after hearing about it on the radio. I remember that someone said it's a different take on a French World War II story. Besides that, I was going in blind.

"From Values to Action"

Could have just as easily been subtitled
"Four principles of values-based living"

Last winter, I heard Northwestern faculty member Harry Kraemer give a talk about the importance of discovering one's values through intentional self-reflection. Otherwise, it's too easy to lose sight of the life we actually want to lead. He was giving away copies of his book "From Values to Action" afterward and I picked one up, interested to see what a business-oriented book had to say about values.

"Republic"

 

The one-name author
Gives us a one-word title
(This is a haiku)

What can I say about "Republic"? Before reading a single page, I already knew that it's considered one of the great works of the Western canon, setting in motion centuries of philosophical debate about the nature of justice and purpose of government. What I didn't realize is that it's also something of a page-turner.

"Factfulness"

"Ten Reasons We're Wrong About
The World—and Why Things Are
Better Than You Think"

 

I read "Factfulness" with a book club this spring. Hans Rosling makes a convincing case that most people have an unreasonably pessimistic view of the world based on old beliefs that have never been examined or checked against current evidence.

For example, we hear a lot about global overpopulation. Here's a question from Rosling's factfulness quiz:

There are 2 billion children in the world today, aged 0 to 15 years old. How many children will there be in the year 2100, according to the United Nations?

A. 4 billion
B. 3 billion
C. 2 billion

Fewer than 10% of Americans get this question right.¹

"The Short Reign of Pippin IV"

Astride the royal steed

Did you know that John Steinbeck wrote a satirical novel about dysfunctional French politics? I didn't, but I saw a copy of "The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication" at a nearby used bookstore and decided to pick it up.

"Cat's Cradle"

"A free-wheeling vehicle...an
unforgettable ride." –NYT

Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" is hard to classify. Is it an absurdist Cold War parable? A treatise on human foolishness? Theology?! It's probably some of each, and definitely a wild ride.

Minor plot details below.

"The Second Mountain"

The second mountain from
the left...no, that one.

David Brooks¹ came to town last May to promote "The Second Mountain," his most recent book. I'd actually been to a book talk of his several years ago when "The Road to Character" came out and thought about picking up a signed copy, but the line was sufficiently long and the hour sufficiently late that I decided not to. This time it was a morning talk, so no such concerns!

Brooks can be quite funny. One of my favorite moments was when he told the story of being taken to Central Park when he was a child for a be-in (i.e. a time and place the hippies would go to "be"). Someone set a garbage can on fire and the crowd was throwing their wallets into it to demonstrate how little they cared about material things. The five-year-old Brooks saw a five dollar bill beginning to smolder so he broke through the crowd, reached in, grabbed it, and ran away –  "and that was my first step toward conservatism."

How about the book?

"Circe"

Can be pronounced with a C or K,
but definitely not just one syllable

Madeline Miller's "Circe" is a reworking of Greek mythology from a new point of view. Circe, daughter of Helios, is mainly known for her role in "The Odyssey" – first turning Odysseus's crew into swine, then turning them back, and finally telling Odysseus what to expect on his journey home. Miller weaves together familiar myths into a story of the goddess's entire life, giving her an epic of her own.

"Uneasy Street"

A.k.a. an author analyses assorted
anxieties of an affluent elite

"Uneasy Street" was my first book group read in several years. Rachel Sherman, a sociologist, conducted a series of interviews with affluent New Yorkers to understand how they think about their wealth and relate to the rest of society.

The book advances several interesting theories, but I do have some issues with the methodology and ultimately found it to be more more psychology than sociology, as it looks at how (very!) specific individuals respond to their circumstances rather than the circumstances themselves.

More below, but fair warning: I have a lot to say about this one!

Hobbies: an endangered species?

Their hobby might be practicing poses for a Le Penseur group photo.
#GreatRodinMoments

I read a couple interesting articles¹ today and learned that hobbies are apparently on their last legs! One begins:

Too many kids let screen time and homework crowd out real pursuits. If you ask most young people today if they have any hobbies, you will receive one of four answers:

1. "No."

2. "What do you mean?"

3. "Yeah. I play video games/watch TV/watch movies."

4. "Yeah..." and then they may actually cite a hobby.

The fourth is the least common.

But where exactly is the line between an activity and a hobby?

"The Martian"

Andy Weir is actually the author,
not the eponymous Martian.

"The Martian" is a feel-good book about human perseverance, ingenuity, and coming together to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. It's also a Matt Damon movie I haven't seen, but I liked the book enough that I may just give it a shot!

A few minor details below.