Has anyone read Human Scale by Kirkpatrick Sale? I had a nice copy of that book that I acquired from Caveat Emptor in Bloomington many years ago—but at some point I sold it or gave it away. What a poor decision! And, obviously, I never read it.

Finished reading Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. Beautiful and heart-breaking. I think I’ll keep working my way through his fiction.

I’ve been an admirer of Wendell Berry for over twenty years now—but, weirdly, I’ve only ever read his essays and poetry. I finally picked up one of his novels, Jayber Crow, and it’s being narrated in my head in Uncle Wendell’s mournful baritone. It’s a lovely experience.

The number of books I’ve read has dropped over the last couple of years because I no longer have a commute during which I can listen to audiobooks. And given the choice of working from home and reading fewer books or working in the office and listening to more audiobooks–that choice is trivially easy for me.

One consequence of this, however, is that I’ve read nearly zero fiction since COVID. Audiobooks were always the way I read fiction; I found that the format was perfect for fiction, less so for nonfiction. So I’ve been feeling the itch to get back to some fiction this winter. I’ve been accumulating a list of possibilities and I’m open to any suggestions:

• Apuleius, The Golden Ass
• Adam Roberts, The Death of Sir Martin Malprelate (mentioned by Alan Jacobs yesterday)
• Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (weirdly, I follow his writing online but have never read his books)
• Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo (this and the one below were recommended by the Weird Studies guys)
• William Burroughs, Naked Lunch
• Daniel Mason, North Woods
• Ursula LeGuin, Always Coming Home

Finished reading When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection by Gabor Maté. Fewer case studies and biological details would have made this a perfect book for me—but I realize that’s a weird thing to ask of such a book. Nevertheless, extremely important ideas here.

Finished reading Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert A. Johnson. Great, short introduction to the subject by a Jungian analyst. It’s an important idea, despite its popularity among young people who have not lived long enough to have developed much of a shadow. 😉

Currently reading Gabor Maté’s book When the Body Says No: Exploring The Stress-Disease Connection. Wonderful book. I’m going to have to make some changes, based on this.

Interesting haul at half price books today

So Blood in the Machine starts with an epigraph from Run the Jewels? Dude, I’ve already bought the book—you don’t have to keep winning me over.

Cory Doctorow reviews Blood in the Machine, a forthcoming history of the Luddites. I’ve had it on pre-order since the day I heard about it. 📚