Since my son was born ~two months ago, my reading has shifted away from physical books into audiobooks and ebooks. I’m spending 90% of my time with one or both hands occupied, which is a bad strategy for reading physical books. It is much easier to hold and turn pages on the Kindle than a physical book. I’m also reading less. The time I have to do so is generally late at night, when I’m holding him to get him to sleep, and I’m generally too tired to read. Despite that, here is what I’m reading lately:

Books

• Wool by Hugh Howey (ebook)
• Mexico by James A. Michener (physical)
• Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi. I’m 5/6 books in!
• (audio)
• Cribsheet by Emily Oster (physical)
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (audio)
• Smalltime by Russell Shorto (audio)

NFT & Generative Art stuff

• Artnome’s blog
• Tyler Hobbs’s essays
• The Nature of Code by Dan Shiffman
• The ArtBlocks projects API. The scripts that generate the ArtBlocks projects are available to view!
• On Generative Algorithms by Inconvergent / Anders Hoff
• Generative Design
• Listening to the PROOF podcast

Up next in the queue

• The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum (recommended on Twitter by
• The Actual Star by Monica Byrne (recommended on Twitter by John Scalzi)
• The spy who came in from the cold
• Midwest Futures by Phil Christman
• Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P. G. Wodehouse
• Pigeon Feathers and other stories by John Updike

• Looking for a Ship by John McPhee – Reading this with my friend Jon Richer, with whom I build boats.
• Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson – Just for fun. (By the way, Stephenson has a new book coming out this fall.)
• Cræft by Alexander Langlands – I focused a lot in the last year on improving my craftsmanship and I’m enjoying this survey of traditional crafts. As a sidenote, Amanda and I are loving Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm, two shows that Alexander Langlands takes part in.

I’m reading these three with my friend TK Coleman to up our thinking, reasoning, and decision-making abilities. A question that has been on my mind a lot in the past six months is, “How can I make sure I’m not fooling myself?”/”how do I become less wrong in my thinking?”. I’ve read other things on this topic recently, and these are a continuation:

• Data Detective by Tim Harford
• You are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself by David McRaney
• This Will Make You Smarter (New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking) by John Brockman

For delicious fun:

• Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi

If you have any recommendations, drop me a line!

• Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
• Oranges by John McPhee
• Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
• Analogia by George Dyson

Up next:

• The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson
• Looking for a Ship by John McPhee
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
• Paris in the Present Tense by Mark Helprin

Turing’s Cathedral by George Dyson – I’m struggling to get through this one, but I really want to finish it. I started reading the physical book but ended up turning to audio, which I think is a better format for this. The sheer number of names, dates, and technical details make it tough to read, but easy to tune out in audio and focus on the narrative arc of how the digital universe got created, which is what I want out of this book.

Analogia by George Dyson – Much more interesting to me than Turing’s Cathedral. Breaks down the major eras in technology and makes the case that we are on the cusp of a new technological era driven by machines that are outside the scope of programmable control. Reading the hardcover version of this one.

The History of the Hudson River Valley: From Wilderness to the Civil War by Vernon Benjamin – This was a “welcome to the neighborhood” gift from our neighbors after we discussed the subject around a campfire. Enjoying it so far. Started it recently while hiking the Shawangunks, which is a great place to read a book like this. Hardcover.

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor – Recommended by my friend Cameron Sorsby. Tl;dr breathe out of your nose, not your mouth. Audiobook.

How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens – Picked this up intending to join the Roam Book Club v2, but haven’t done much participating in the actual sessions. Starting to use the Zettelkasten method while going through some non-fiction like Powerful and Demand-Side Sales. Reading the softcover version of this book.

Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty McCord – I recently stepped into a squad lead position at work and this book came highly recommended, so I’m slowly working my way through it when I have some downtime during the work day. Hardcover.

Apex by Ramez Naam – Third book in the Nexus trilogy. Running computers in our brains and what personal and social consequences that has is the kind of sci-fi I like. Reading this one on Kindle.

Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee – I picked this one up at our local used bookstore. I love McPhee and will buy pretty much any of his books when I see them. He weaves interesting history and geology into physical travel stories.

Looks like I’m actively reading eight books, all of which I intend to finish. I have no problem stopping books if I don’t like them, and I won’t put books like that in this list.

Eight seems like a lot. I usually don’t have more than five going at any one time. I’ll buckle down and finish a few of these before I pick up any more. I’m not having issues keeping them clearly separated in my head because they are pretty distinct subject matters.

Up next

Demand-Side Sales by Bob Moesta

The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse

Paris in the Present Tense by Mark Helprin

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly

Want to see what I’ve finished recently? Check out my Reading page.