What I've Been Reading

 I haven't done a "What I've Been Reading" lately post in a good while, so thought, why not?

First book of the year were Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia, a well written, but sometimes loosely connected novel, touching on themes of immigration, belonging, and family separation. Also finished Big Panda and Tiny Dragon by James Norbury, a meditative book that was a simple read but a welcomed message on the importance of being present. Going into the weekend I hope to finish reading The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian.

A few of the other stories/pieces that caught my attention this past week:

1. "Resolutions Are Not the Vibe for 2022" at The Atlantic, appropriate for the new year and influenced my thinking some on my own resolutions for the coming year (post to follow).

2. Another piece at The Atlantic, "How Hobbies Infiltrated American Life." Also read this in light of new year's resolutions, but what I mostly took from the piece is that we too often turn our hobbies - which we initially pick up as a way to reduce stress - into one more thing we need to do, thereby turning it into another cause of stress. That particularly dynamic is something that oft happens to me, so the article was timed well for my reading.

3. A year out from the Insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol building, a pair of pieces - one from the New York Times and one from the New Yorker - on the prospect of continuing conflict, even the possibility of a second civil war, and generally on where things are headed. 

4. Finally, another piece from the New Yorker by Cal Newport (who I have frequently read and listened to on podcasts), entitled "It's Time to Embrace Slow Productivity." For Newport, who has written books on engaging in deep work and reducing distractions, this article is very much in line with his prior thinking and writing. For me, a reinforcement of a truth I've learned over the past few years - we only have so much cognitive load, so we can either know more things but understand them less, or know fewer things and understand them more. "Slow Productivity" embraces the importance of the latter and shuns the altar of efficiency (the false god that it is). Good stuff.

Anyway, off to the weekend ...