I approached this book with some trepidation. The premise was intriguing: A.J. Jacobs, a moderately well-known writer for Esquire, would attempt to go for a year literally following all the rules in the Bible. I knew that Jacobs wasn’t a… Read More ›
Books
Beauty Queens
Why do so many people have trouble with satire? I guess it’s because you have to approach it on two levels at once: the literal and the figurative. That can be difficult. So don’t read Libba Bray’s novel, Beauty Queens, if you… Read More ›
Can math skills arise from a brain injury?
“A man became a math wiz after suffering brain injuries,” claimed the Washington Post. Hard to believe, isn’t it? We all know that brain injury can have a harmful effect on one’s mathematical abilities, but how could it possibility turn someone with… Read More ›
Plato at the Googleplex
Some people like to read bestsellers. In fact, lots of people must like to read bestsellers. Otherwise they wouldn’t be bestsellers — right? And then, at the other extreme, there are many people who don’t like to read at all…. Read More ›
Louise Penny
By this point I’ve read Louise Penny’s entire oeuvre to date. Obviously I like what I’m reading, or I wouldn’t continue. You can get a full list of her novels at her website, or you can just pick one up at random… Read More ›
The Outer Limits of Reason
Science and math can tell us everything there is to know about the universe, right? There must be people who believe that. If such people exist, they should definitely run out and read Noson Yanofsky’s new book, The Outer Limits of… Read More ›
And God Said
Brandeis professor Joel Hoffman’s wonderful linguistic analysis is surprisingly readable and engaging. I recently read his full-length book, And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning, which is filled with such analysis. Normally I’m not enthusiastic about quoting other readers’ reviews… Read More ›
0 for 3
“Sigh. I’m 0 for 3 in recent books and movies!” That’s what I said to myself after finishing a book that I had recently taken out of the library. What I meant was that I had disliked all three of… Read More ›
Journey through Mathematics: Creative Episodes in its History
Original sources are key when studying the history of anything, including mathematics. Most readers, however, have neither the time nor the knowledge nor the access to be able to read original sources, so we rely on secondary works, such as Journey… Read More ›
Of Dice and Men
Of Dice and Men is a great book for those who want to geek out for a few hours. I enjoyed it tremendously. It’s a sympathetic first-person overview of everything you wanted to know about Dungeons and Dragons, written by a Forbes… Read More ›
Lexicon
Mixed feelings here about Maxx Barry’s science fiction secret-organization thriller, Lexicon. Actually, I’m not sure that science fiction is the right genre. To the extent that linguistics and psychology are sciences, I suppose this novel counts as science fiction, but it’s pretty… Read More ›
Oh no, not another Jeopardy book!
Just look at the title! That’s all you need to do in order to know that Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! is a quirky book. I think this is the fourth book that I’ve read about Jeopardy, but let… Read More ›
Anathem
You don’t mind spending an hour or two on a Neal Stephenson novel, do you? OK, so Anathem is slightly over a thousand pages long…but it’s not much over a thousand. I mean, it’s not as long as Cryptonomicon, which clocks in at 1168 pages. Anathem is… Read More ›
Real Talk for Real Teachers
The full title of Rafe Esquith’s latest inspiring book is Real Talk for Real Teachers: Advice for Teachers from Rookies to Veterans: “No Retreat, No Surrender!” There’s rarely any need for a three-tiered title, but in this case I think it’s… Read More ›
The Autistic Brain
An absorbing and fascinating book, The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum should be read by anyone in education. The latest work of the famous Temple Grandin, a well-known autistic biology professor, explores not only autism as a disorder of the mind but… Read More ›
On Looking
“How do you like my new hairstyle?” “Um…what new hairstyle?” OK, I’m not the most observant person in the world, to put it mildly. But I’d like to get better. And I’m really interested in cities, and in psychology, and… Read More ›
The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg is another fine novel by Donna Leon. This thoughtful novel rewards slow, careful reading — don’t expect a fast-paced thriller here. As is usual in Leon’s books, the city of Venice (where Leon lives) is one of the… Read More ›
The Child’s Child
There’s no such thing as a bad book by Ruth Rendell. The Child’s Child, written under Rendell’s Barbara Vine pseudonym, must therefore be a good book. It’s the only possible logical deduction. Is The Child’s Child a mystery novel? Not really…. Read More ›
The Last Samurai
What a fascinating story! There are several books by this title, but I’m talking about the first novel by Helen DeWitt, published in the year 2000. If you know me, you won’t wonder which half of the story I liked… Read More ›
Blackout and All Clear
Time travel stories are tricky. The author must either ignore the inevitable paradoxes or must find some plausible device for resolving them. (In a few cases, there’s a third option: the author decides to wallow in paradoxes, which can put… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 