From fa04634e50b73b39da5bec64d7f22681207aa5bb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Marcin Chrzanowski Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2021 23:36:23 -0500 Subject: Publish 2020 books blog post --- src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html | 80 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 80 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html (limited to 'src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html') diff --git a/src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html b/src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a20fd17 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/blog/books-read-in-2020.html @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +title: Books Read in 2020 +date: February 02, 2021 22:35 +--- +

+If memory serves me right, I read around 10 books last year. Here's the list, +with a few words about each entry. +

+ +

+

    +
  1. +

    Moby Dick, Herman Melville. The Great American Novel. Haven't + actually quite finished this one, but I've gotten most of the way + through it, so feels more appropriate to include it in the 2020 list + rather than the 2021 one (I do intend on finishing this book).

    +

    Interestingly, despite its length, I found it fairly easy to pick the + book up midway after a longer pause from reading it. This might be due + to quite a different structure compared to the more modern novels I'm + used to. Though it happens mostly chronologically, it's not really a + linear, continuous story where you have to keep track of the plot and + characters. Instead, you're presented with short vignettes of whaling + life (and, sometimes, everyone's favorite cetology lectures).

    +
    2. +
  2. +

    Się, Edward Stachura. A collection of short stories by the + Polish poet, one of his last published works before his suicide two + years later. The stories are mostly set in travels around both Poland + and the American continent.

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    3. +
  3. +

    The First Philosophers, Robin Waterfield. Guess you could say + I'm finally starting with the Greeks (I did read The Republic the year + prior, reading it was an interesting experience but I'm sure a lot of it + went way over my head at the time).

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    Like Moby Dick, I haven't quite finished the whole book yet — + I read the first half on the presocratics, but will need to get back to + the part on the sophists at some point. +

    4. +
  4. +

    Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. Probably shouldn't talk about + this one much, but man, this is the first time in a while a book sucked + me in this strongly. A literal page turner that kept me awake late into + the night.

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    5. +
  5. +

    Antifragile, Nassim Taleb. Very glad I finally got around to + reading something from Taleb.

    +
    6. +
  6. +

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig. + Another foray into philosophy, though definitely more modern than the + Greeks. It wasn't until I was about halfway through the book that I + found out it's mostly autobiographical rather than pure fiction.

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    7. +
  7. +

    Vagabonding, Rolf Potts. I've published extended reading + notes here. +

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    8. +
  8. +

    The Sovereign Individual, James Dale Davidson and William + Rees-Mogg. Widely popular amongst and recommended by Bitcoin/blockchain + fans.

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    9. +
  9. +

    Brave New World, Aldous Huxley. Probably my favorite + dystopian novel I've read so far.

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    10. +
  10. +

    Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman. An interesting (and + long!) volume on how our brain's work.

    +
    11. +
+

+ +

+Interestingly, in the first month alone of 2021, I've already read nearly half as +many new books. Granted, none of them were quite as long as, say, Antifragile or +the Kahneman book, but still a welcome metric. Off to more reading, now! +

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