Pandemic Reading

I have had, for many years, a deep-rooted passion for books and reading. Due to the pandemic that passion has been unleashed, with so many of life's natural obstacles laid low, like some pesky job or insistent deadline looming over me. Free now from daily life's "normal" demands, I have been luxuriating in books. I have been reading the books I've always wanted to read, along with many that have come to me by chance. I thought this page would serve as a lovely place to begin sharing and advocating on behalf of the books I love. In the library, below you will find summaries, a bit of my commentary, and links to the books I've been reading. I hope you find as much beauty and inspiration as I've seen in many of these works. I hope you'll be ensorcelled by the ideas and the elegant prose that have enchanted me over the last eighteen months. Lastly, all the images are of my copies of these books. Their coffee stains, crinkles, and wrinkles are in full view. You'll see the damaged cover of Joan Didion's "The White Album" as I purchased it from the Harvard book store and then immediately dropped it on the ground. It was then promptly run over by a bicycle. Or the worn cover of Robert Caro's "The Power Broker" having been folded back on itself, opened, and closed a million times because it took me months to read. I shot all images on Kodak Ektar 100 35mm film using my beloved Nikon F6. I hope you enjoy reading about these books as much as I enjoyed reading them.

This Is Your Mind On Plants

Michael Pollan's examination of the relationship between humans and Opium, Caffeine, and Mescaline

On The Origin Of Species

Darwin's feather ruffling masterpiece

You Don't Belong Here

A brilliant profile on the three most important Vietnam-era journalists you’ve never heard of.

A moving little book by Sebastian Junger, one of America's greatest journalists.

George Packer's potent political diagnosis of America's current divisions and a suggested path forward.

A gorgeous book of poetry from D. Eric Parkison

Doughnut Economics

Kate Raworth's incredible conception of an economy that could provide a safe and just space for humanity to live.

Dawn O'Porters intimate and hilarious meditation on the pandemic, motherhood, and everything in between.

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