Self-help books are a dime a dozen—sometimes literally—but this one is special. James Clear has written a book that, true to his last name, is remarkably clear, in the senses of well written and insightful. If you’ve been wanting to make a change, and you’re wondering how to get what you want, this book is for you. There are so...
Many of us were raised to believe that virtue is the pinnacle of goodness. If you can climb high enough, morally speaking, you can reach the apex that is virtue. But is that what virtue really is? What is virtue? What Is Virtue, Aristotle? In his lengthy and comprehensive work The History of Philosophy, A. C. Grayling explicates Aristotle’s ideas...
Photo by Dan Gold. New York City. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry...
One thing that stood out to me while reading The History of Philosophy, by A. C. Grayling, is the modern feel of so much ancient thought. The metaphor Grayling uses to define the field of philosophy alludes to both ancient thought (Plato’s allegory of the cave) and modern thought (alternate universes). Similarly, other aspects of ancient thought can be readily...
When I was an undergraduate, I did not know what philosophy was. My ignorant assumption was that the role of a philosopher is to prove the existence of the Judeo-Christian God through specious reasoning. I steered clear of those courses; but now I wish I hadn’t. Because that’s not what philosophy is at all. Having missed a college education in...
Photo by Jordan Cormack. Bristol, England. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry collection...
This one is very important and very beautiful. Here is an interesting paragraph, plopped seemingly on a random page, in the book Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott: “My friends are the low note that hold me. Love is the whisper of wire drum-brushes. And while everyone has to make a living and show up for family, listening is optional:...
Large and small tragedies abound. Some are unimaginably horrific, putting the tiny ones in perspective. Anne Lamott, in her beautiful book Dusk, Night, Dawn, writes about a horrific tragedy that occurred in the life of a woman named Ali. Ali might have been a person who drank too much alcohol. Ali was definitely a person who did a very terrible...
Photo by Sebastian Staines. Cape Town, South Africa. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my...
After almost two years of suffering, I finally have a diagnosis and a treatment protocol! My neurologist did an extensive review of my medical history. He determined that I have a rare medical condition that doesn’t have a name (other than the catchall term of post-concussion syndrome) and is poorly understood. Here is my attempt at describing his diagnosis of...
This one is for me and everyone out there going through major life struggles right now. I have featured Anne Lamott on this blog before, and I’m doing it again. I’ll probably do it again and again. In a blog about seeking wisdom from books, how could I do otherwise? She is the queen of wisdom writing. Unsurpassed, unsurpassable. Anne...
“It’s guys like you, Mickey!” Just another compliment for “fine” and “pretty” Mickey from the hit 1981 song “Mickey” by Toni Basil, . . . right? Mickey certainly gets a slew of compliments in the song. He’s pretty and fine, and he blows the narrator’s mind. She pleads with him not to break her heart. She wants him to take...
Photo by Frank McKenna. San Diego. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry collection...
This is something of a convoluted story. The famous 1968 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick has an unusual title. It’s quite long for a book title, and it ends with a question mark. What’s more, there are few clues within the book itself as to why it’s titled as it is. And so, the question of the hour...
Photo by Michael Chorost. Washington, DC. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry collection...
You may have experienced depression. But have you ever experienced the wish to experience depression? What a strange wish! In his endlessly creative novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick imagines a futuristic world (oddly enough, set in 2021) in which a character chooses voluntarily to be depressed. She chooses voluntarily to be depressed! What could cause...
Photo by Mike Petrucci. Delaware. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry collection and...
Things are frustrating on the concussion front. It’s been almost two years since the original injury, but my progress has been like the stock market . . . when it’s plunging. I have made gains in my ability to understand myself and what my triggers are. That’s helpful at least. But it’s complicated stuff, monitoring everything I do, trying to...
Every once in a while, The New Yorker publishes a series of little vignettes, often by famous authors. Each vignette tells a story about the writer’s life. These are true stories on a theme, . . . and these little pieces often pack a large punch. My favorite vignette from a recent issue is called Lone Star, by David Wright...
Photo by Boris Smokrovic. Taiwan. Portfolio. Welcome to Photography Friday! This is a chance to relax and enjoy a beautiful and artistic photo at the end of the week. For me, it is a chance to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, including finding a publisher for my poetry collection and...
I have read the masterpiece Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, twice in my life. The two experiences were quite different. This was in large part due to the fact that I read two very different translations of the book. Don Quixote Reading #1: Bargain-Bin Translation The first time, I was in my early 30s. I had picked up the...
I recently met a guy who disclosed to me that his personal motto is “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Despite this expression having been popular for a number of years—it’s all over the Internet—I did not remember hearing it before. But I instantly took to it. What lovely imagery. And what lovely meaning: so metaphorical, yet so obvious. At...
Mind the gap! This I will do. Yes, sir; yes, ma’am! It would be a shame to drop a personal item between the platform and the train—or, God forbid, a body part. I am finding that the gaps here in London are more irregular than in Washington, D.C., and truly do require some minding. Sometimes the train is flush with...
Everything in moderation, including moderation. Heard that before? Now you have, in any case. Feel free to attribute that quote to me. After all, I wrote it. (Look above, if you don’t believe me.) Take it and run with it, Internet! Origin of the Quote Oh, so you require more persuasion before quoting me on that? You wish to know...
Humor me for a moment, and mentally discard all those books that are, in your opinion, page-turners. Any reads that you find to be quick, easy, fun, fascinating, lovely, exciting, or otherwise engrossing are irrelevant to this discussion. Next, add to that discard pile all those books that lack redeeming qualities, as far as you can tell. You’ve read a...
I got into a minor Facebook spat with a friend. I had posted an image of Kamala Harris wearing the Converse sneakers she has become famous for wearing. And I wrote that I was excited about this clothing choice by a woman at the top levels of government. My friend objected. She said, why are people commenting on a female...
The following is a true story about if vs whether grammar pitfalls that can happen in business communications. The First Email A few weeks ago, one of the leaders of the company I work for sent all employees an email announcing an upcoming company event and listing possible dates on which it might be held. The leader also wrote this:...
One A tall, paunchy man stood next to the wall. No one could see him, except for me. I was afraid of him. I tried to stuff him into a large trunk and close the lid. The lid would not completely close. I was afraid, knowing he would emerge again. Later, I was in a bedroom packed with people. The...
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Books previewed
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
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