Pastoral Song is an easy book to read. It is sometimes poetic, often peppered with relatable observations, even quaint. Because it paints a large picture of the forces at work in Western agriculture over the last 70 years it gives voice to the dawning realization many of us have that farming, coupled with profit motives, results in sub-optimal outcomes when considering the animals, planet, farmers, and consumer health.
Prynne’s shame is represented by the scarlet letter that she must wear as punishment for adultery.
Prynne becomes pregnant and is thus discovered. Since her husband was still in Europe, it would have been impossible for him to be the father. But Prynne refuses to tell who the real father is. She keeps his identity secret so that his life will be spared.
Rather than being strictly Luddite, Newport allows for the measured usage of social media. He suggests that readers take a digital diet for a few months to eliminate the addiction. He encourages the reader to reflect during this time and see if anything is missing. Social media can be re-introduced later
Quicksilver is the first of three books of the Baroque Cycle trilogy, and it’s also three independent books in one. It follows the lives of three fictional characters interwoven with real figures from the 17th century such as Louis XIV, Isaac Newton, and Leibniz.
Drunk describes the effects alcohol has had on human civilisation. It covers the physiological, mental, psychologic/creative, and communal effects of alcohol, as well as its negative aspects. Slingerland keeps one foot in the scientific fields but his text is more for the general public.
It is a long life Siddhartha lives in this short book. Hopefully, yours and mine will be as full and varied.
Salient themes include the search for meaning in life, the oneness of all things, grief, love, wisdom vs. knowledge, and time.
City of Thieves by David Benioff City of Thieves recounts Lev Beniov’s experience of the siege of Leningrad. The 17-year-old protagonist is caught outside his residence building after curfew and is labelled a looter. For this crime, as for many others in the wartime city, the usual punishment is death. Lev is thrown into prison for the night where he meets Kolya, an arrogant, educated, and smooth-talking deserter who becomes his friend over the following days. Though the two expect to be executed, they are spared by a senior NKVD officer who takes their ration cards in exchange for a… Read More »City of Thieves
Wilkerson argues that many of America’s problems elsewhere labelled as Racism, or Systemic Racism derive from an unacknowledged caste system. She suggests that we, as Americans have an unwritten code of conduct imprinted on us by centuries of history and that this code instructs our assumptions, behaviors, and values.
In order to better understand caste, she travelled to India and met with people from high and low castes. And she studied the Nazis’ attempts to copy American law to create their own short-lived racial hierarchy.
This is a classic self-help book. I say classic because even though it was first published more than 30 years ago, it is still relevent today. So much so that it goes on my list of best books I’ve read in 2022.