New On My TBR List This Month

Eight new books I came across in November

We’re reaching the homestretch of the year and I think there are just fewer great books being released at this time. As I mentioned last month, despite it being close to the holidays, books coming out now will miss the annual lists and book awards. Nonetheless, here are eight new books I came across that I think have the most potential for me to pick up and read.

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Silent Spring Revolution

Xavier (who has a new substack – subscribe!) recommended Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, by Douglas Brinkley (November 2022). And I was about to buy it on my last trip to the bookstore, but this thing is a monster. I’m going to have to be in the right mood to read this one.

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Awkward Intelligence

Most AI books I find quite boring despite the subject matter being interesting. But Awkward Intelligence: Where AI Goes Wrong, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do about It, by Katharina Zweig and Noah Harley (October 2022), caught my eye as one that may be engaging enough for me.

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The Mind of a Bee

I love a bold book that has no subtitle. But really, The Mind of a Bee, by Lars Chittka (July 2022) caught my eye after reading Endless Forms about wasps – bee’s less popular ancestors.

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Beyond Measure

With the notorious poor measurement that occurs in the social sciences, Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants by James Vincent (November 2022), seems like a curious read. It may even offer some great insights for social scientists looking to improve our measurement practices.

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When Brains Dream

I’ve come across many thoughts as to why we sleep and dream without much apparent consensus. When I came across When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep, by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold (January 2021), at my last trip to the bookstore, it seemed like a great read of the latest science.

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Art is Life

After reading Picasso’s War, the history of modern art became highly interesting. Art Is Life: Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night by Jerry Saltz (November 2022) seems to be a great complement. Also, have you looked at this cover?!

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Shape

I think I saw this at the bookstore a couple weeks back. I generally love the approach of finding biological principles and applications of math to nature, so Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else by Jordan Ellenberg (March 2021) seemed like a natural add to my TBR.

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Campus Misinformation

is there really a free speech crisis on campus? I think both sides are a bit hyperbolic, but since I generally read on the “yes” side of this debate, Campus Misinformation: The Real Threat to Free Speech in American Higher Education by Bradford Vivian (December 6 2022) looks like a good read for the opposing perspective.

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