I admit that I am easily drawn to the words of Malcolm Gladwell, having already absorbed his The Tipping Point (2002), Blink (2007), and Outliers (2011). I was not disappointed!. This is yet another intriguing and challenging mental exercise about the way in which our brains tend to mislead us, Consider meeting someone new and engaging in conversation: afterwards, we … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘Talking to Strangers’ by Malcolm Gladwell
Reading Uncertainly: ‘Voyaging with Marionette’ by Ron Breault of Old Lyme
A quarter century ago, an elderly sailor glimpses an attractive middle-aged lady relaxing on the shore of the Connecticut River. She’s a bit disheveled; her skirt is torn, revealing a bit of what’s underneath, but she’s lovely! He’s immediately smitten, and, like Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, the sailor decides he must have an affair. The sailor is Ron Breault, an Old Lyme … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘Voyaging with Marionette’ by Ron Breault of Old Lyme
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Code Red’ by E.J. Dionne
Would you be eager to read a book that is sub-titled “How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country? If you lean to the right, probably no; to the left, sure. But as I am a determined independent, I paused. Dionne is a well-known commentator on evening news programs, a columnist for the Washington Post, and on the faculty of both Georgetown and Harvard … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Code Red’ by E.J. Dionne
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The File’ by Timothy Garton Ash -“A Chilling Portrait of Treachery and Compromise” (LeCarré)
Another sleeper! A neighbor and compulsive reader -- as I am too -- gave me this paperback with her encouragement. As I started to read, I was somewhat dubious. After all, what is there to interest me in reading about a young Oxford grad student going to Berlin in 1978, and then on to Humboldt University in East Berlin in 1980 to continue his work. But ... it seems this … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The File’ by Timothy Garton Ash -“A Chilling Portrait of Treachery and Compromise” (LeCarré)
Reading Uncertainly? ‘How Democracies Die’ by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Two learned Harvard professors open this provocative challenge to many of our conventional beliefs with a brief sentence: "We feel dread ..." Their worry – that “democracy” as we have known it may be seriously threatened: “Democracies may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders ... who subvert the very process that brought them to power.” They cite Hitler, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘How Democracies Die’ by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Reading Uncertainly? “The Cockroach” by Ian McEwan
Cockroaches have successfully inhabited this earth for more than 300 million years and are like to continue to do so for millions more, so long as it exists. But what about their working relationship with Homo sapiens, we relative newcomers? Ian McEwan, one of my favorite authors, suggests in this political satire that they may well take matters into their own hands (six each) … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? “The Cockroach” by Ian McEwan
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Varina’ by Charles Frazier
Slip back some 120 years and reconsider our Civil War through the eyes and mind of the wife of Jefferson Davis, Varina. This is Charles Frazier’s latest gripping and, often hilarious, novel. Married to the much older man at 18, she gives us a stimulation of memories of her life with the Confederate President first in Richmond, then an escape attempt to Cuba by way of Florida … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Varina’ by Charles Frazier
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Life Undercover’ by Amaryllis Fox
A lyrical memoir of an unusual woman’s life, in Washington, London, Moscow, London and finally Washington again, minus her father. Then on to the CIA, described in amazing detail, and her life afterwards as an agent around the world. Fox’s language is engaging, plus her almost-total recall of conversations. A compelling read, but it raises two questions: (1) How was she able … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Life Undercover’ by Amaryllis Fox
Reading Uncertainly? ‘How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy’ by Jenny Odell
Are you overwhelmed by today’s information and attention economy? Then listen to Jenny Odell, a writer, artist, lecturer at Stanford University, resident of Oakland, Calif., and a true daughter of the current information revolution. She suggests it is time to step back from today’s tidal wave of “information”: the resources of social media and constant “breaking news” that … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy’ by Jenny Odell
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Goodness Paradox’ by Richard Wrangham
My goodness ... we are indeed a strange species! Dr. Wrangham, a Harvard anthropologist, tackles his subtitle, “The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution,” by going on to suggest, “We can be the nastiest of species and also the nicest.” But, he offers, “The key fact about humans is that within our social communities we have a low propensity to … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Goodness Paradox’ by Richard Wrangham
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming’ by David Wallace-Wells
Is global warming a sensible hypothesis? Is it happening? What may be its consequences? What can and should we, as human beings, do about it? These are some of the most important questions facing us today. David Wallace-Wells begins with startling pessimism, moving on to despair, but he finally concludes with a modest sense of optimism. Thank goodness ... at least for this … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming’ by David Wallace-Wells
Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Library Book’ by Susan Orlean
Editor's Note (i): If you're still searching for a last-minute gift, then consider this book -- it's the perfect present for book- and library-lovers everywhere! Many thanks to our wonderful and ever faithful book-reviewer Felix Kloman of Lyme for sharing his thoughts on this best-seller, which is described by The New York Times as “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Library Book’ by Susan Orlean
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Genesis’ by Edward O. Wilson
“What are we, what created us, and what do we wish ultimately to become?” Dr. Edward O. Wilson, the prolific emeritus professor at Harvard, biologist, and naturalist, is also a continual questioner. His last book, The Meaning of Human Existence (2014) also began with a question,“Who are we?” He begins with a restatement of what we have learned from our studies of human … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Genesis’ by Edward O. Wilson
Reading Uncertainly? Halloween Special! ‘Connecticut: Spooky Trails and Tall Tales’ by Local Author Gencarella
Here is an engaging, enthralling, timely, and often frightening set of stories from our Nutmeg State, subtitled “Hiking the State’s Legends, Hauntings and History”. These are stories we love to hear, tell – and retell – regardless of origin and authenticity, especially if they involve ghosts, mysteries, illnesses and deaths. And we storytellers do modify them to fit our local … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? Halloween Special! ‘Connecticut: Spooky Trails and Tall Tales’ by Local Author Gencarella
Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Meaning of Human Existence’ by Edward O. Wilson
Who are we? Edward O. Wilson, the eminent Harvard biologist and noted student of ants, describes our strange species in a remarkable and memorable book. In 15 brief, succinct and challenging chapters, each less than 10 pages, he suggests that, at once, we are far more and far less than we imagine. His is a daunting title but the contents live up to expectations. First, far … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: ‘The Meaning of Human Existence’ by Edward O. Wilson