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- 📚 The Reading Journal #024
📚 The Reading Journal #024
Where Is My Flying Car, Neuromancer, Why Can't We All Just Get Along, The Pirate's Wife
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The earliest known form of a book was created over 4,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. These books were made of clay tablets and were used to record information such as laws, tax records, and literature. The clay tablets were inscribed with cuneiform script using a reed stylus, and were then baked to preserve the inscriptions. This early form of book-making is a testament to the enduring importance of the written word and the desire to record and preserve information.
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📚 Staff Pick of the Week
Where Is My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall
In Where Is My Flying Car?, engineer and futurist J. Storrs Hall explores the reasons for the technological stagnation since the 1970s and presents a blueprint for a future with exponential progress and abundance. The book begins with a question about the lack of fulfillment of the technological promises of the 1960s and examines the factors that have contributed to the economic stagnation of recent decades. These include the failure to adopt nuclear energy and the suppression of cold fusion technology, as well as the rise of a counterculture hostile to progress. The book offers a detailed analysis of these issues and presents a framework for achieving a future that realizes the potential of technology to improve society and create wealth.
I discovered, to my amazement, that all through history there had been resistance— and bitter, exaggerated, last-ditch resistance— to every significant technological change that had taken place on earth. Usually the resistance came from those groups who stood to lose influence, status, money as a result of the change. Although they never advanced this as their reason for resisting it. It was always the good of humanity that rested upon their hearts.
Where Is My Flying Car? has been recommended by Patrick Collison and Balaji S. Srinivasan.
🎥 Reading Talk's
📈 Rising Quickly - Week of December 5, 2022
The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World by David Sax
In The Future Is Analog, author David Sax argues that the pandemic has revealed the limitations of the digital world and our need for real-life experiences, relationships, and spaces. The book explores the impact of digital technology on various aspects of society, including work, school, and religion, and asks whether we can build a future that prioritizes human needs and experiences over productivity and technology. The book presents a manifesto for choosing a different path that values analog experiences and connection with the world and each other.
🪄 Most Talked About Fiction - Week of December 5, 2022
Neuromancer by William Gibson
In the novel Neuromancer, the protagonist Case is a skilled hacker who is banned from cyberspace after angering the wrong people. He is given a chance to redeem himself by taking on a dangerous mission involving an artificial intelligence. Along the way, he is accompanied by a dead man and a street-samurai named Molly. The novel is known for its portrayal of a digital future and its impact on society and the individual. It has had a lasting influence on the genre of science fiction and on popular ideas about technology and its role in society.
⭐️ A message from Leader's Lens
Have these Christian millennials fixed the news?
It’s called The Pour Over, and it has two goals:
Keep its readers informed about world events
Keep its readers focused on Christ
That means providing politically neutral coverage of events and pairing it with brief Biblical reminders.
The question is… are they hitting the mark? See what you think. Subscribe in just one click. No seriously, one click.
📚 Most Talked About Non-Fiction - Week of December 5, 2022
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Shout Less. Listen More by Iain Dale
In Why Can't We All Just Get Along, author Iain discusses the state of public discourse in Britain and the world and examines why society has become increasingly divided and disrespectful. Drawing on his experiences in politics and the media, he suggests ways to overcome tribalism and division and to promote more respectful and tolerant behavior. The book is part memoir and part polemic, and it offers a hopeful perspective on human nature and the potential for improving both individual and collective well-being.
🆕 New and Noteworthy
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Geanacopoulos
The Pirate's Wife tells the story of Sarah Kidd, the wife of the famous pirate Captain Kidd. Sarah was a New York socialite who became an international outlaw and played a key role in her husband's pirating activities. The book explores Sarah's transformation and her resourcefulness and resilience as she navigates the structures of society and the challenges and tragedies caused by her husband's deeds. Based on primary-source documents, the book offers a rare glimpse into the lives of pirate wives during the Golden Age of Piracy and tells a captivating tale of love, adventure, and survival.
👀 In Case You Missed It
✍️ Quote of the Week
You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
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