Category: Books

  • Arbitrary Stupid Goal

    I got an email from my library that Arbitrary Stupid Goal was ready to be picked up. I didn’t remember reserving it. I couldn’t even remember hearing about this book. I’m glad that me-from-the-past gave me this surprise homework assignment. After reading the first pages, I realized I had reserved it after seeing those same…

  • Once upon a time there was a dungeon master who really loved the world-building aspect of the job

  • Criticize with Empathy

    I love these rules from Anatol Rapoport on how to criticize: How to compose a successful critical commentary: You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way. You should list any points of agreement (especially if they are…

  • Deep Work

    I recently finished Deep Work by Cal Newport. To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction. Deep Work feels like a continuation of Newport’s previous book So Good They Can’t Ignore You. That book argues that your mastery of your craft is a…

  • The Handmaid’s Tale

    I love a good dystopia. 1984 painted a vivid picture of a surveillance state, but also showed us people controlled with a common enemy and fake news. Neuromancer and Snow Crash mixed the computer revolution with the 1980’s “Greed is Good.” I recently finished reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood and I’m surprised it…