Here are previous months.
Books finished in June
Levels of the Game by John McPhee [Amazon]. John McPhee is an incredible writer. First came across this wonderful interview, then started reading his New Yorker pieces. Reading McPhee is like going on a great first date – before you know it, 3 hours have flown by and the restaurant’s closing ;) Levels of the Game is ~150 fluid pages).
McPhee uses an Arthur Ashe-Clark Graebner tennis match as a jump-off point to discuss everything from their differing personalities to race-relations to the state of the professional game.
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer [Amazon]. Honestly, the cover is what first attracted me. The story is amazing – “clueless journalist learns secrets from pros to become US memory champion within a year”. Highlights include Foer’s writing style, an enjoyable overview of memory’s role in various historical periods, and inside access to an entertaining group of professional memory champs.
My own memory is very shitty, and along with enjoying a great story, I picked up some practical tips on how to improve it.
The Wise Man’s Fear (sequel to Name of the Wind) by Patrick Rothfuss [Amazon]. Sci-fi is my usual guilty genre. I enjoyed reading Name of the Wind but wanted to take a break before diving into its sequel. The story unfolds slowly in both books and are driven by two dominant themes: “a young magician improving his skills” and “two un-star-crossed lovers”.
Here’s a full list of completed books.
What have you read and loved? Please share! Thanks as always for your time.