FRI: My Book World | S. J. Dahlstrom, Texas Grit
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Carol Windley
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Salman Rushdie
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Lillian Hellman
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THURS: A Writer's Wit | Simon Callow FRI: My Book World | S. J. Dahlstrom, Texas Grit Up Next:
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Djuna Barnes THURS: A Writer's Wit | Simon Callow FRI: My Book World | S. J. Dahlstrom, Texas Grit MY BOOK WORLD![]() Swisher, Kara. Burn Book: A Tech Love Story. New York: Simon, 2024. I’m not a techie, but since the age of thirty-seven (1985), I have assimilated much knowledge (as much as I could retain) about smartphones, computers, laptops, printers, scanners, cameras, smart thermostats, GPS on my Camry, smart doorbells that announce by camera . . . whew. But Kara Swisher has made it her life to know about and report on the digital world creating all these products—with expertise and chutzpah. She has no fear of calling out the Bigs of this world. No fear of changing jobs when she wears one out. I first became acquainted with her work when I listened to her now-defunct New York Times podcast, Sway. There she would interview these Titans of the digital (under)world, and sometimes their fannies would get a bit warm roasting over her blaze of questions (and snappy patter of complaints). Swisher’s book is no different, as she has no problem slicing up the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and to some degree (although she liked him), the late Steve Jobs. It is easy to grok (digital word meaning to understand, which she uses throughout) why the digital world of Silicon Valley both loved, hated, and feared her all at once. Swisher also speaks of her brush with ill health: a mild stroke. She mentions her marriages to two different women, her children with each one (never married a man to have children). Her love of children and family life. Near the end of the book, she makes this definitive statement that might be a clarion call for all of us who use digital devices (EVERYONE): The dire situation had been aggravated by elected officials who, a quarter century into the Internet age, had managed to pass exactly zero legislation to protect anyone. Democratic institutions that we hold dear had crumbled in the face of what this digital engagement has wrought: no privacy protections, no updated antitrust laws, no algorithmic transparency requirement, no focus on addiction and mental impact. It is breathtaking to think that there are no significant guidelines governing these areas. However flawed, there are laws for everything but tech companies” (284) Amen. We can only hope that Congress passes some of those laws . . . and soon.
Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | Jennifer Armentrout WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Djuna Barnes THURS: A Writer's Wit | Simon Callow FRI: My Book World | S. J. Dahlstrom, Texas Grit FRI: My Book World | Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story
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THURS: A Writer's Wit | Pierre Corneille FRI: My Book World | Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story Up Next:
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Drabble THURS: A Writer's Wit | Pierre Corneille FRI: My Book World | Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story MY BOOK WORLD![]() Fitzgerald, Daniel G. Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 1994. This book no doubt creates a rich resource for those searching for specific information regarding ghost towns located in one of the 105 Kansas counties. I, myself, found Fitzgerald’s first book (Ghost Towns of Kansas, Volume I) helpful when I became curious about the former town of Runnymede, where, in 1924, my maternal grandfather established a grocery store—only to fail a year later because the automobile allowed people to travel to other towns for their needs. However, by reading about these over one hundred ghost towns, one begins to sense a mosaic of the state’s checkered history, as well. How, for example, some nineteenth-century Kansans were pro-slavery and others were freestaters, in favor of abolition, that people murdered others with regard to the issue. One state historian establishes that from its inception Kansas garnered over 6,000 town “start-ups,” and that if they all had flourished (theoretically) one could not now drive twelve miles in any direction without encountering another town. Of course, reality has turned out being very different. Vast acreages of agricultural land and prairies have swallowed up those former towns—leaving only crumbling foundations or memorial plaques found on what is now private property. Any number of events or trends contributed to the defeat of these ghost towns. Even grand entrepreneurial efforts failed. Important infrastructure (roads, rivers, and railways) did not materialize. Political decisions made in Topeka or county seats (some of those heartily fought over) ruined yet other towns. Catastrophic weather events played a part in some cases. Some towns just lacked proper leadership from the beginning. Thus, Fitzgerald paints a fascinating history of primarily nineteenth-century Kansas (although many towns do not emit their last gasp until the 1930s), in which mostly white people from the east and European locations do battle with indigenous people to usurp or purchase lands that are questionably for sale in the first place. And the author does so without favor to either side. Just the facts. In any event, and regardless of motive, the people portrayed here do represent a certain heroic and pioneer spirit attempting literally to create something out of nothing. The text includes fascinating vintage photos, as well. Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | Ruth Westheimer WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Drabble THURS: A Writer's Wit | Pierre Corneille FRI: My Book World | Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story Up Next:
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THURS: A Writer's Wit | Ken Dixon FRI: My Book World | Daniel Fitzgerald, Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas
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WEDS: A Writer's Wit | John F. Kennedy THURS: A Writer's Wit | Ken Dixon FRI: My Book World | Daniel Fitzgerald, Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas MY BOOK WORLDSharot, Tali and Cass R. Sunstein. Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There. New York: Simon, 2024.
“What is thrilling on Monday becomes boring by Friday. We habituate, which means that we respond less and less to stimuli that repeat” (2). This statement is the authors’ thesis. What implications does it have? Just about everything. What if you eat your favorite ice cream, rocky road, every day? You eventually become habituated to it; you get tired of it. (Get used to seeing habituate because you’ll see it on nearly every page.) Eroticism can become numbed by repetition. The more sex you have with someone, the less exciting it becomes. The chapter on “variety” is interesting, as well. University professors take sabbaticals every few years, not only to study but to be exposed to a variety of stimuli. They may travel out of town, out of the country. The authors also address the problems of social media, how habituation relates to the topic. They tackle misinformation and the environment. And they address society as a whole: discrimination, tyranny (fascism), and the law. An interesting and timely book. Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | May Swenson WEDS: A Writer's Wit | John F. Kennedy THURS: A Writer's Wit | Kenneth Dixon FRI: My Book World | Daniel Fitzgerald, Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas
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FRI: My Book World | Sharot and Sunstein, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There TUES: A Writer's Wit | May Swenson WEDS: A Writer's Wit | John F. Kennedy THURS: A Writer's Wit | Ken Dixon Up Next:
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Fuller FRI: My Book World | Sharot and Sunstein, Look Again
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WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Susan Dodd THURS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Fuller FRI: My Book World | Sharot and Sunstein, Look Again MY BOOK WORLD![]() Towles, Amor. Table for Two: Fictions. New York: Viking, 2024. These six lengthy stories and one novella stand as jewels in Towles’s already glittering list of works: A Gentleman in Moscow being my favorite. These works exhibit the same inventiveness and wit. My favorite story, perhaps, is “The Ballad of Timothy Touchett.” Touchett is a young writer who moves to NYC at the turn of this century. He finds work, toiling for a Mr. Pennybrook, a “purveyor of used and rare editions.” Pennybrook is much more, as Touchett soon finds out. Because of Timothy’s ability to mimic handwritings, he is lured into “signing” editions, which Pennybrook then pawns off as the real thing, providing Timothy with what seems like a hefty bonus to a young man attempting to live in the city ($50 per signature). Of course, readers can imagine where this sort of behavior leads, but it’s how they arrive at that point: what Touchett must experience before experiencing his comeuppance. The author’s approach seems a bit Dickensian but also somewhat like metafiction, in which he turns to his readership and reveals perhaps his own points of view. In the novella, Eve in Hollywood, set in 1938, one Evelyn Ross takes a train to Chicago, but instead of meeting her parents who have driven in from Indiana, she boards one to Los Angeles. Ross is beautiful save for one thing: she bears a long scar across her face, which turns some away. Perhaps because of the scar, she has learned to bear rejection and doesn’t worry about such behavior. She marches to her own drum. Towles has lifted this character from his first novel, a curious idea but one I admire (sometimes writers are just not finished with a character), and takes her on this noir-like voyage of mayhem and murder. Enough said. If you’re a fan at all of Towles’s work, you will enjoy this delightful collection of “Fictions,” as he forms his book’s subtitle. Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | Miriam Toews WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Susan Dodd THURS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Fuller FRI: My Book World | Sharot & Sunstein, Look Again Up Next:
FRI: My Book World | Amor Towles, Table for Two: Fictions TUES: A Writer's Wit | Miriam Toews WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Susan Dodd THURS: A Writer's Wit | Margaret Fuller Up Next:
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jean Hanff Korelitz FRI: My Book World | Amor Towles, Table for Two: Fictions
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WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Clifton Fadiman THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jean Hanff Korelitz FRI: My Book World | Amor Towles, Table for Two: Fictions MY BOOK WORLDAgus, David B. The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature’s Lessons for a Long and Happy Life. New York: Simon, 2023.
At first I felt this book to be a bit contrived, but as I got deeper into it, I realized that the author has a seriousness of intent and purpose. From domesticated canines to “wild” animals, he intends for us to see that we have much to learn about living from our animal friends. A few things he hammers home again and again: 1) Companionship can include animals. 2) Like pigeons, pay attention to patterns; don’t take the same route to and from work each day. 3) Keep your cardiovascular system fit. Don’t smoke. Sleep in a flat position. Maintain dental hygiene. 4) Eat a diverse diet, “but stay as close to nature as possible.” Like chimps, learn to take some risks; don’t be afraid of trial-and-error learning. 5) Teamwork, like ants employ, is always a healthy way to live. These are just a few lessons learned from our wild friends. Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | Sofia Coppola WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Clifton Fadiman THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jean Hanff Korelitz FRI: My Book World | Amor Towles, Table for Two Up Next:
FRI: My Book World | David Agus, The Book of Animal Secrets TUES: A Writer's Wit | Sofia Coppola WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Clifton Fadiman THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jean Hanff Korelitz Up Next:
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Candice Bergen FRI: My Book World | David Agus, The Book of Animal Secrets Up Next:
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Phyllis Wheatley THURS: A Writer's Wit | Candice Bergen FRI: My Book World | David Agus, The Book of Animal Secrets MY BOOK WORLDMcQuade, Barbara. Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America. New York: Seven Stories, 2024.
This book combines both anecdotal and hard evidence to define disinformation (deliberate misrepresentation of facts), provides a number of ways in which authoritarians use disinformation, and finally, gives a number of steps citizens and government can take to reduce the effects of it. If readers have studied the first two ideas, the book may seem like an excellent review. The last part—ways to combat disinformation—are the most informative for me. One way is To Reduce Disinformation from the Supply Side. Germany, for example, REQUIRES “digital platforms to monitor and remove illegal content for face civil penalties” (251). To Regulate Online Publishers Like Other Industries is another. Prohibit Anonymous Users and Bots. Require Disclosure of Funding Sources. Strengthen local journalism by having the government provide partial funding. Local sources are less likely to disinform their friends or in a situation where it comes back on them. McQuade furnishes numerous other ways in which to combat disinformation, locally, nationally, and on digital platforms. She concedes that these methods will not entirely make disinformation go away, but they could certainly reduce its effects. This read is well worth the time if you’re at all interested in the topic. Any one of us can be duped at any time. Oh, and I really admire McQuade’s prose in print. She, a former copy editor, is meticulous to get the correct subject/verb agreement, in, say, using the word “media.” The media are responsible for content. Too many people in journalism use media as a singular noun. Wrong. Up Next: TUES: A Writer's Wit | Angela Carter WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Phyllis Wheatley THURS: A Writer's Wit | Candice Bergen FRI: My Book World | David B. Agus, The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature’s Lessons for a Long and Happy Life Up Next:
FRI: My Book World | Barbara McQuade, Attack from Within TUES: A Writer's Wit | Angela Carter WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Phyllis Wheatley THURS: A Writer's Wit | Candice Bergen |
AUTHOR
Richard Jespers is a writer living in Lubbock, Texas, USA. See my profile at Author Central:
http://amazon.com/author/rjespers Archives
June 2024
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