A few days ago, I wrote about reading more diverse authors. James Baldwin was on that list. Admittedly, I’ve never read him. I know! Quell your scathing remarks. I’m working on it. Today, during my lunch break, I went hunting for his work. Actually, I had a doctor’s appointment and there was a Barnes andContinue reading The Beautiful Books of James Baldwin
Last night’s Presidential Debate was a perfect case study in critical thinking. Despite who you think won or how the candidates performed in general, one thing is clear: emotional talk influences people. Statements can be made without any supporting evidence and we will believe them, simply because they were said with emotion and struck aContinue reading Debates, Arguments, and Critical Thinking in 2024
I love books – the way they look on the shelves, how they feel in my hands, and the smell of the paper as I rifle through the pages. They’re perfectly compact treasures we carry to work, on the commuter train, and our kid’s karate practices. They’re one of the few things in this worldContinue reading Is it bad to Write in Books?
I’ll tell you why. Many people say that the rest of the world falls away when reading. They forget their problems, and more than that, get to train their attention fully on something of interest. In the book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi tells us, “Reading requires concentration of attention and has a goal, and to doContinue reading Why is Reading so Darn enjoyable?
Lately, I’ve been thinking on the importance of reading diverse literary voices. While I love the Western canon, I recognize its limits in perspective. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing like spending hours with Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau, Plato, or Nietzsche. But if I’m going to be a great reader, I need to make space forContinue reading An Argument for Diverse Literature
I like to create a plan for my weekend reading or else it doesn’t get done. Reading, for me, is much easier during the week when I’m on a structured schedule with work and kids. The weekend, however, is the wild west in my home. I don’t get too detailed or set unreasonable expectations, butContinue reading My Weekend Reading Plan
I’m not a virtuoso reader, but I hope to be one day. I was reading Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi this morning, and on page 25, he explains how virtuosos are made. He says: “Like all virtuosi, he must spend many years learning, and he must keep constantly in training. Being a specialist, he cannot affordContinue reading Become a Virtuoso Reader
We’ve been looking forward to this one in book club for a while! We’ve just started reading Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It’s the go-to book on achieving a state of flow—the mindset where you’re at your best, and everything just clicks. You can reach this state no matter what you’re doing. Whether you’re launching aContinue reading We’re Reading “Flow” the Book
When I was a child, my grandmother had a hidden laundry chute in her home. If you went into the bathroom on the main floor and poked your head into an old brown cabinet, you’d find a large black hole at the bottom. The chute allowed her to toss laundry into the hole, sending itContinue reading Books & Hidden Laundry Chutes
I was preparing my notes for Plato’s Republic, and I came across this beautiful little gem on p.269 (536e for those using Stephanus numbers): “A free man ought not to learn anything under duress…compulsory learning never sticks in the mind.” Now, we can open up an entire can of worms here, and start talking aboutContinue reading Being Forced to Read Books