Here’s the 2017 edition of my summer reading recommendations! Two teaching-related books, a biography, a book about, like, everything, and one great sci-fi novel.
Have anything you’ve read and loved lately? Shoot me your recs at ian@byrdseed.com.
Thinking Fast and Slow
This bad boy is a beast. It’s huge. It’s complex. It will absolutely challenge your thinking about, well, thinking. I’d say it’s a must-read – if you’re willing to sweat a bit. Thinking Fast and Slow is about intuition, how our brain can deceive us, and how little we really understand about our own thought process. You’ll see some big connections to education.
Nudge
Nudge is a less hefty tome and focuses on how small changes can nudge people towards better decisions. Want to lose weight? Use smaller plates and so on. Lots of classroom application.
George Washington: A Life
I got super into Hamilton recently, and this Washington biography comes from the same author. Long and super-detailed, but highly recommended. For me, it highlighted how we can become nostalgic about the past, assuming life was so much simpler, when really, everything was pretty complex, nasty, and confusing. Tons of “OMG, I didn’t know that!” moments in this one.
At Home
Speaking of “OMG, I didn’t know that!” momements, Bill Bryson’s At Home is nothing but those moments. He basically takes you on a tour of a home and explains the history of the items in each room. You’ll learn how everything from beds, to toilets, to ice, to windows, to fireplaces ended up like they are. Bryson’s hilarious. I’ve probably never giggled so much while reading non-fiction.
Dark Matter
Ok, this one’s just a great sci-fi novel with no larger purpose. No book in my recent memory had me so delightfully confused for as long as *Dark Matter. You won’t know what the heck’s going on until pretty deep into the plot. Some Rated R moments.
From The Past
Other reading lists that might be of interest to you:
