Book Spine Poetry

Posted by DJL on May 28, 2012 in Humor | 0 comments

Killing two birds with one stone this Memorial Day.

1) Folks from time to time ask what I’m reading;

2) I love Maria Popova’s book spine poetry and have wanted to try.

So, here it is, what I’m reading – the second time for the more existentially confounded. 🙂

 

 

 

For those who are interested, the books are, in no particular order:

1) Tom Long’s What Shall We Say?: Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith. Those who know Tom Long won’t be surprised that a) this is really about preaching and b) that it is superb.

2) Jonah Lehrer’s fascinating tour through the science and craft of creativity (Yes, it is something you can learn!): Imagine: How Creativity Works.

3) Daniel Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness. No, it’s not a self-help book. It’s not even about what makes us happy but instead explores why we are so bad at predicting what will make us happy. (Hint: our poor memories are the main culprit!)

4) David McRaney’s collection of articles (formerly blog posts) that explore psychology and neuroscience to unmask many of our most cherished – and erroneous – held beliefs and assumptions about ourselves, endearingly titled You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself.

5) This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking, edited by John Brockman, is similar but written by a variety of scientists, psychologists, linguists and others and geared toward inviting you to think more ably.

6) Adam Hamilton’s Enough, Revised and Updated: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity is an invitation to consider our constant (and cultural driven) aspirations for “more” and work toward believing and living as if we already have enough.