Just a Lil' Roundup
Archived from Aug 03, 2023:
I got a booster yesterday and it felt like getting hit by a truck so writing is not feeling particularly inspired right now. Instead I’m doing a quick little round up of things I’ve been reading lately.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm. A sharp, intense manifesto about the things that need to be and will be done in the name of saving our planet from the destruction wrought by a handful of wealthy people. Upsetting, inspiring and something I would consider required reading.
Beijing Sprawl by Xu Zechen. A story told in many parts, it is haunting in a way that is so hard to articulate. Grounded, real yet pulling back a veil to reveal something much deeper than the mundanity of urban life.
Data and Society Labor Futures Newsletter. In a time where more and more people are going on strike to demand better from the structures that in no way serve the average person, I find this research illuminating and hopeful. While it frequently points to problems, it also gives a concrete set of reasons for why we should all be standing together for dignity and rights for all.
Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner. I didn’t care much for his writing style, and there were a few things that seemed laughable in their interpretation but it’s not his fault he wrote it in 1999 and I read it in 2023. Overall, an interesting view of how people fundamentally don’t understand statistics and an omen of the things that would come in the 20 after writing it, even if he couldn't see it coming.
We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Philip Gourevitch. Harrowing is about the best word I can think of for this book. An astonishing and compelling book that covers the Rwandan genocide.
Well, it seems I have been thinking a lot about the intersection of fear and community and how that materially manifests in the world. In lighter media consumption, I finally beat Hades (on heat 10, thank you very much) and I am so excited for the second one to come out this fall. It can’t all be doom and gloom, right? What are you reading these days?
Sorry for the short week, friends, but this booster got the better of me. So if you’ll excuse me, I have a cat to cuddle and some books to fall asleep while reading.
