Summer Reading

This has been an interesting summer for reading, especially for non-fiction In normal times I think I generally consume mostly fiction, but this past few months it seems as though we've had a bumper crop of really good non-fiction. Here are some of the ones that stand out:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander:

Ethan read this one first and then recommended it to me (it was his summer reading book for Brown). A real eye-opener, especially as regards the history of the "War on Drugs" and the court cases in involving challenges to alleged police and prosecutorial discrimination; definitely worth reading.

Why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty, by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson:

This book reminded me a lot of the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (another one of my favorites) in terms of the approach that it took to looking at how successful and economically prosperous specific nations have been over time, in a very sweeping way (both in terms of time/scope and geography). Very interesting stuff!

The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities, by Will Allen and Charles Wilson:

This was one of Lydia's required reading books. Very inspiring and interesting, about a local-food revolutionary trying to make community agriculture work in Wisconsin (along with a very intruiging "back story" of how he wound up in the business).

Capital in the 21st Century, by Thomas Piketty, translated by Arthur Goldhammer.

Ethan decided to read this one; I've started it, but I'm only a couple hundred pages in.  I'm enjoying it so far -- unlike other economists, this guy seems to be much more willing to look at things in historical context, which I think makes all the difference.

[Update: I've since finished the book, and it was a really good read -- took a long time to get all the way through, but it was worth it. Really changed the way that I think about capital, earnings/savings, and money in general on the "macro" level.]

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Julia Enders:

This was definitely a sort of "pop science" book, but it was still pretty interesting, and I think I learned a certain amount about the digestive system. Originally written in German, then translated, which gives it an odd quality (can't quite put my finger on it).

On the fiction front: 

I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak:

Amy picked it out to have something to listen to in the car while we were driving around in Germany and Italy this summer-- we all enjoyed it. I think it's categorized as "yound adult" (whatever that means these days) but it appealed to everyone in the family.

Science fiction:

The Martian by Andy Weir:

I read this earlier in the summer and really enjoyed it -- tried to get other folks in my family to give it a shot (unsuccessful), then one of Lydia's friends highly recommended it to her, at which point she grabbed it and gulped it down (isn't that how it always works...).

Fantasy:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik:

I enjoyed this (not a very weighty read) and Lydia read it as well (I think she was a little more luke-warm on it, but still liked it).