Heavy Reading

11 August 19

These are the most thought-provoking books I’ve read so far this year.

BULLSHIT JOBS by David Graeber

Graeber expands on an essay he wrote for STRIKE! Magazine by diving deeper into the bullshit jobs phenomenon. He explains what bullshit jobs are (and what they’re not), why they’re bad, how they’ve risen and what the heck would need to happen to get rid of them. (You guessed it: It’s not that simple.)

WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin Diangelo

This is a necessary read for anyone seeking a tool kit about racism. One of the most telling, aggravating and amusing things about this book is that the readers who are so angered by it just end up proving the author is right.

DEEP WORK by Cal Newport

There is plenty of valuable insight presented here about the benefits of deep concentration, but this is the bit that resonated with me most:

“If you want to win the war for attention, don’t try to say ‘no’ to the trivial distractions you find on the information smorgasbord; try to say ‘yes’ to the subject that amuses a terrifying longing, and let the terrifying longing crowd out everything else.”