"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.

2019 in review

As today is the last day of 2019, I'd like to take the opportunity to commemorate some of my favorite new¹ things this year!

Books

Favorite fiction: "Station Eleven" for its captivating portrayal of the people and relationships surviving a global pandemic.

Favorite nonfiction: "The Second Mountain" for painting a picture of a meaningful life outside of the usual meritocratic/self-improvement lens.

Runner-up: "Cat's Cradle" for teaching me about granfalloons.