This is where I record the books that I have read. When I finish a non-fiction book I usually write a brief Twitter thread about what I got from the book, linked as a thread or reflections at the end of applicable entries.
2023
- Killing Commendatore. Haruki Murakami (@harukimurakami_).
- The Old Wives’ Tale. Arnold Bennett.
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexander – reflections.
- Praying in the Dark. Daniel O. Snyder – reflections.
- The Golden Notebook. Doris Lessing.
- The Thief and the Dogs. Naguib Mahfouz.
- See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love. Valarie Kaur – reflections.
- The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race – reflections.
- The Winds of War. Herman Wouk.
- The Color of Law. Richard Rothstein – reflections.
- Apeirogon. Colum McCann.
- Victory City. Salman Rushdie.
- Great Expectations. Charles Dickens.
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Gabrielle Zevin.
2022
- The Looking Glass War. John le Carré.
- The Wretched (Les Misérables). Victor Hugo (tr. by Christine Donougher) – thread.
- Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church. Barbara A. Holmes – thread.
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. John le Carré.
- The Honourable Schoolboy. John le Carré.
- Tao Te Ching. Lao-tzu (tr. by Stephen Mitchell) – thread.
- Tao Te Ching. Lao-tzu (tr. by Marc S. Mullinax) – thread.
- Afropessimism. Frank B. Wilderson III (@b_wilderson) – thread.
- Smiley’s People. John le Carré.
- Billy Summers. Stephen King (@StephenKing).
- Harlem Shuffle. Colson Whitehead (@colsonwhitehead).
- Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Linda Tuhiwai Smith – thread.
- The Dutch House. Ann Patchett.
- The Forever War. Joe Haldeman.
- True Meditation. Adyashanti (@Adyashanti).
- Bel Canto. Ann Patchett.
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Isabel Wilkerson (@Isabelwilkerson) – thread.
- Data Feminism. Catherine D’Ignazio (@kanarinka) and Lauren F. Klein (@laurenfklein) – thread.
- 11/22/63. Stephen King (@StephenKing).
- South To America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. Imani Perry (@imaniperry) – thread.
- The Eyes of the Dragon. Stephen King (@StephenKing).
- Elevation. Stephen King (@StephenKing).
- The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System. Ed. by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman (@itsafronomics) – thread.
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) and Terry Pratchett.
- A Great Deliverance. Elizabeth George (@lynleymysteries).
- The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas. Gal Beckerman (@galbeckerman) – thread.
- Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume 1. Karl Marx – thread.
- Payment in Blood. Elizabeth George (@lynleymysteries).
- Well-Schooled in Murder. Elizabeth George (@lynleymysteries).
- A Suitable Vengeance. Elizabeth George (@lynleymysteries).
- For the Sake of Elena. Elizabeth George (@lynleymysteries).
- The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations. Toni Morrison – thread.
- Death at La Fenice. Donna Leon.
- The Grace of Kings. Ken Liu (@kyliu99).
- Rethinking Law. Ed. by Amy Kapczynski (@akapczynski) – thread.
- Silverview. John le Carré.
- Sea of Tranquility. Emily St. John Mandel (@EmilyMandel).
- The Glass Hotel. Emily St. John Mandel (@EmilyMandel).
- Station Eleven. Emily St. John Mandel (@EmilyMandel).
- Beautiful Country. Qian Julie Wang (@QianJulieWang).
- Theory and Credibility: Integrating Theoretical and Empirical Social Science. Scott Ashworth (@soashworth), Christopher R. Berry, and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita (@ethanbdm) – thread.
- Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. John Lewis with Michael D’Orso – thread.
- Cloud Cuckoo Land. Anthony Doerr.
- The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction. Stephen Koch – thread.
- Fairy Tale. Stephen King (@StephenKing).
- Klara and the Sun. Kazuo Ishiguro.
- Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal. Carissa Byrne Hessick (@CBHessick) – thread.
- Talking Prices: Symbolic Meanings of Prices on the Market for Contemporary Art. Olav Velthuis – thread.
- Darkmans. Nicola Barker.
- Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Age of Crisis. K. Sabeel Rahman (@ksabeelrahman) & Hollie Russon Gilman (@hrgilman) – thread.
- Beartown. Fredrik Backman (@Backmanland).
- The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty. Sebastian Barry.
- Regeneration. Pat Barker.
- The Eye in the Door. Pat Barker.
- The Ghost Road. Pat Barker.
- Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. William Cronon (@wcronon) – thread.
2021
- What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. Dan Rather (@DanRather) and Elliot Kirschner – thread.
- Unseen Academicals. Terry Pratchett.
- Raising Steam. Terry Pratchett.
- A Hat Full of Sky. Terry Pratchett.
- Liberty and Coercion: The Paradox of American Government from the Founding to the Present. Gary Gerstle (@glgerstle) – thread.
- Thud! Terry Pratchett.
- Wintersmith. Terry Pratchett.
- I Shall Wear Midnight. Terry Pratchett.
- The Great War and Modern Memory. Paul Fussell – thread.
- John Dies at the End. David Wong.
- Things Fall Apart. Chinua Achebe.
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Paolo Freire – thread.
- The Fifth Risk. Michael Lewis – thread.
- Snuff. Terry Pratchett.
- The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth & Change. Camille Fournier (@skamille) – thread.
- A Prayer for Owen Meany. John Irving.
- The Shepherd’s Crown. Terry Pratchett.
- Quicksilver. Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson).
- Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation. Imani Perry (@imaniperry) – thread.
- The Confusion. Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson).
- The Soul Sourced Entrepreneur. Christine Kane – thread.
- Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry. Owen Barfield – thread.
- Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them. Ethan Zuckerman (@EthanZ) – thread
- The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X. Les Payne and Tamara Payne – thread.
- System of the World. Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson).
- The Princeton Guide to Historical Research. Zachary M. Schrag (@zacharyschrag) – thread.
- At War With Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump. Amy Fried (@ASFried) and Douglas B. Harris – thread.
- The Magician’s Nephew. C. S. Lewis.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. C. S. Lewis.
- Nothing Personal. James Baldwin – thread.
- The Horse and His Boy. C. S. Lewis.
- Prince Caspian. C. S. Lewis.
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. C. S. Lewis.
- The Silver Chair. C. S. Lewis.
- The Last Battle. C. S. Lewis.
- The Way of Kings. Brandon Sanderson (@BrandSanderson).
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson.
- Wealth and Democracy. Kevin Phillips – thread.
- Words of Radiance.
- Brandon Sanderson (@BrandSanderson).
- Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Haruki Murakami (@harukimurakami_).
- Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Marshall McLuhan – thread.
- The Water Dancer. Ta-Nehisi Coates.
- How To Be An Antiracist. Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) – thread.
- The Bluest Eye. Toni Morrison.
- The Left Hand of Darkness. Ursula K. Le Guin.
- The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. Heather McGhee (@hmcghee) – thread.
- The Perfect Spy. John le Carré.
- Call for the Dead. John le Carré.
- A Murder of Quality. John le Carré.
- Everyday Information Architecture. Lisa Maria Martin (@redsesame) – thread.
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. John le Carré.
2020
- The Truth. Terry Pratchett.
- The Wee Free Men. Terry Pratchett.
- Soul Music. Terry Pratchett.
- If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating. Alan Alda (@alanalda) – thread.
- The Magicians. Lev Grossman (@leverus).
- A Canticle for Leibowitz. Walter M. Miller, Jr.
- The Stranger. Albert Camus.
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick.
- Democracy in America. Alexis de Toqueville – thread.
- Our Mutual Friend. Charles Dickens.
- A Game of Thrones. George R. R. Martin (@GRRMspeaking).
- A Clash of Kings. George R. R. Martin (@GRRMspeaking).
- A Storm of Swords. George R. R. Martin (@GRRMspeaking).
- The Good Lord Bird. James McBride.
- Lead From The Outside. Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) – thread.
- Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Martin Luther King, Jr. – thread.
- A Feast for Crows. George R. R. Martin (@GRRMspeaking).
- Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic – thread.
- Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics. Jamila Michener (@povertyscholar) – thread.
- Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy. Margaret Sullivan (@sulliview) – thread.
- Myths, Models and Paradigms. Ian G. Barbour – thread.
- The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life. James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) – thread.
- Women, Race, and Class. Angela Y. Davis – thread.
- Bleak House. Charles Dickens.
- Sister Outsider. Audre Lorde – thread.
- No Name in the Street. James Baldwin – thread.
- Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (@esglaude) – thread.
- The City We Became. N.K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin).
- How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective. Ed. by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (@KeeangaYamahtta) – thread.
- Reaper Man. Terry Pratchett.
- Witches Abroad. Terry Pratchett.
- Lords and Ladies. Terry Pratchett.
- The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy and the Life of John Maynard Keynes. Zachary D. Carter (@zachdcarter) – thread.
- Men at Arms. Terry Pratchett.
- Soul Music. Terry Pratchett.
- Interesting Times. Terry Pratchett.
- Maskerade. Terry Pratchett.
- Feet of Clay. Terry Pratchett.
- Hogfather. Terry Pratchett.
- Jingo. Terry Pratchett.
- A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy. Jane McAlevey (@rsgexp) – thread.
- We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, & Possibility. Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) – thread.
- The Last Continent. Terry Pratchett.
- Carpe Jugulum. Terry Pratchett.
- Kill It with Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Future Proof Modern Ones). Marianne Bellotti (@bellmar) – thread.
- The Fifth Elephant. Terry Pratchett.
- Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Caroline Criado Perez (@CCriadoPerez) – thread.
- Thief of Time. Terry Pratchett.
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Terry Pratchett.
- The Last Hero. Terry Pratchett.
- Geeks Bearing Gifts: Imagining New Futures for News. Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) – thread.
- Monstrous Regiment. Terry Pratchett.
2019
- Quaker Witness as Sacrament. Daniel O. Snyder – thread.
- America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By. Akhil Reed Amar – thread.
- Sitting in the Fire: Large Group Transformation Using Conflict and Diversity. Arnold Mindell – thread.
- Infinite Jest. David Foster Wallace.
- Pyramids. Terry Pratchett.
- There There. Tommy Orange.
- When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. Paula Giddings – thread.
- Gilead. Marilynne Robinson.
- Notes of a Native Son. James Baldwin. Especially the last essay, “Stranger in the Village” – thread.
- To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – thread.
- Infomocracy. Malka Older (@m_older).
- The Unconquerable World. Jonathan Schell – thread.
- Null States. Malka Older (@m_older).
- Thick and Other Essays. Tressie McMillan Cottom (@tressiemcphd) – thread.
- Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin. John Hope Franklin – thread.
- Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing. Robert Caro – thread.
- State Tectonics. Malka Older (@m_older)
- Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society. Earl Lewis, Nancy Cantor, eds. – thread.
- The Song of Achilles. Madeline Miller.
- Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto. Vine Deloria, Jr. – thread.
- Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. Eric Klinenberg (@EricKlinenberg) – thread.
- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell. Robert Dugoni (@robertdugoni).
- A New Way: Embracing the Paradox As We Lead and Serve. Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) – thread.
- The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials Book 1. Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman).
- A Nazareth Manifesto: Being With God. Samuel Wells – thread.
- The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Book 2. Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman).
- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. Priya Parker (@priyaparker) – thread.
- Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone. Astra Taylor (@astradisastra) – thread.
- The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials Book 3. Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman).
- Washington Black. Esi Edugyan.
- The Shadow of the Wind. Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
- Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. James McPherson – thread.
- The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind. Raghuram Rajan – thread.
- On Writing Well. William Zinsser – thread.
- Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Anne Lamott (@ANNELAMOTT) – thread.
- The Angel’s Game. Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
- The Prisoner of Heaven. Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
- The Woman Suffrage Movement in America: A Reassessment. Corrine M. McConnaughy (@cmMcConnaughy) – thread.
- A Colony in a Nation. Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) – thread.
- Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Saul Alinsky – thread.
- Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality. Danielle Allen (@dsallentess) – thread.
- The Labyrinth of the Spirits. Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
- Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening. Cynthia Bourgeault – thread.
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson.
- A Coffin for Dimitrios. Eric Ambler.
- Get Shorty. Elmore Leonard.
- 52 Pickup. Elmore Leonard.
- Montaro Caine. Sidney Poitier.
- America, Compromised. Lawrence Lessig (@lessig) – thread.
- This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class. Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) – thread.
- 1Q84. Haruki Murakami.
- Master and Commander. Patrick O’Brian.
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Ocean Vuong.
- Black Reconstruction in America. W.E.B. Du Bois – thread.
- Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science. Dani Rodrik (@rodrikdani) – thread.
- The Color of Magic. Terry Pratchett.
- An ABC of Color. W.E.B. Du Bois – thread.
- The Light Fantastic. Terry Pratchett.
- How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning. George Lakey (@GeorgeLakey_) – thread.
- Equal Rites. Terry Pratchett.
- Mort. Terry Pratchett.
- Going Postal. Terry Pratchett.
- Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett.
- Night Watch. Terry Pratchett.
- Pity the Reader: On Writing With Style. Kurt Vonnegut & Suzanne McConnell – thread.
2018
- How Representation Enables Democratic Citizenship. Mark E. Warren, ECPR General Conference, Oslo, September 2017 – thread.
- Devil in a Blue Dress. Walter Mosley.
- Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh.
- All The King’s Men. Robert Penn Warren.
- Congress’s Constitution. Josh Chafetz (@joshchafetz) – thread.
- Great Expectations. Charles Dickens.
- Healing the Heart of Democracy. Parker J. Palmer (@parkerjpalmer) – thread.
- David Copperfield. Charles Dickens.
- On Democracy. Robert A. Dahl.
- Economics for the Common Good. Jean Tirole – thread.
- American Gods. Neil Gaiman.
- Exit West. Mohsin Hamid.
- Doughnut Economics. Kate Raworth (@KateRaworth) – thread.
- Мастер и Маргарита, Михаил Булгаков (Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov).
- A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius. Dave Eggers.
- Life After Life. Kate Atkinson.
- Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America. John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) – thread.
- The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can’t Do. Edward Tenner (@edward_tenner) – thread.
- Sing, Unburied, Sing. Jesmyn Ward (@jesmimi).
- Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo – thread.
- The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment is Reshaping Africa. Irene Yuan Sun – thread.
- Democracy as a Way of Life: Rethinking the Places and Practices of Public Administration. Kelly Campbell Rawlings & Thomas Catlaw (In: Government is Us 2.0, ed. by Cheryl Simrell King) – thread.
- Отцы и Дети, Иван С. Тургенев (Fathers and Sons, Ivan S. Turgenev).
- Ready Player One, Ernest Cline.
- The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Book 1), N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin).
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. Elizabeth Gilbert (@GilbertLiz).
- The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth Book 2), N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin).
- The Sleepwalkers. Hermann Broch.
- The Legacy of the Civil War. Robert Penn Warren – thread.
- I Am David. Anne Holm.
- The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth Book 3), N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin).
- The English and Their History. Robert Tombs – thread.
- Remote: Office Not Required. Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson – thread.
- Grant. Ron Chernow – thread.
- The Fire Next Time. James Baldwin – thread.
- The Federalist Papers. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay – thread.
- Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History. Erna Paris – thread.
- Unbought and Unbossed. Shirley Chisolm – thread.
2017
- Slade House. David Mitchell.
- The Fractured Republic. Yuval Levin – thread.
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Muriel Barbery
- Hear the Wind Sing. Haruki Murakami.
- Bone Clocks. David Mitchell.
- America’s Constitution: A Biography. Akhil Reed Amar – thread.
- Year of Yes. Shonda Rhimes (@shondarhimes) – thread.
- Pinball, 1973. Haruki Murakami.
- Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon To White America. Michael Eric Dyson (@MichaelEDyson) – thread.
- Countdown City. Ben H. Winters.
- The God of Small Things. Arundhati Roy.
- Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. Salman Rushdie.
- World of Trouble. Ben H. Winters,
- Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha). Mahatma K. Gandhi – thread.
- Invitation To Love: The Way Of Christian Contemplation. Thomas Keating.
- Something Wicked This Way Comes. Ray Bradbury.
- The First Bad Man. Miranda July.
- Mahatma Gandhi’s _Constructive Programme_: Building a New India. Allwyn Tellis. University of Illinois dissertation, 2006 – thread.
- Constructive Programme. Mohandas Gandhi – thread.
- Middlemarch. George Eliot.
- Open Mind, Open Heart. Thomas Keating.
- Giraffe. J.M. Ledgard.
- How Nonviolent Struggle Works. Gene Sharp.
- The Sympathizer. Viet Thanh Nguyen.
- Rethinking Capitalism: Economics and Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. Michael Jacobs, Mariana Mazzucato, eds. – thread.
- The Road. Cormac McCarthy.
- The Book Thief. Markus Zusak.
- The Man in the High Castle. Philip K. Dick.
- The Buried Giant. Kazuo Ishiguro.
- Engaging the Powers. Walter Wink.
- Super Sad True Love Story. Gary Shteyngart.
- Light Years. James Salter.
- The Productivity Project. Chris Bailey.
- The Three-Body Problem. Cixin Liu.
- Cat’s Cradle. Kurt Vonnegut.
- Slaughterhouse-Five. Kurt Vonnegut.
- Breakfast of Champions. Kurt Vonnegut.
- Kingdom Cons. Yuri Herrera.
- The Pale King. David Foster Wallace.
- Tell the Wolves I’m Home. Carol Rifka Brunt.
- WTF? What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us. Tim O’Reilly (@timoreilly) – thread.
- The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Arundhati Roy.
- Kanban. David J. Anderson – thread.
- Submergence. J.M. Ledgard.
- An Atlas of Impossible Longing. Anuradha Roy.
- What Happened. Hillary Rodham Clinton (@HillaryClinton) – thread.
- A Legacy of Spies. John le Carré.
- The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs Over Self-Interest. Yochai Benkler.
- Public Opinion. Walter Lippmann.
- A Little Life. Hanya Yanagihara.
- The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left. Yuval Levin – thread.
- Lincoln in the Bardo. George Saunders.
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Ransom Riggs.
- The Unbearable Wholeness of Being. Ilia Delio.
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne.
- The Color of Magic. Terry Pratchett.
- The Light Fantastic. Terry Pratchett.
- Equal Rites. Terry Pratchett
- Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets, Speculation and the State. William H. Janeway (@billjaneway) – thread.
- Mort. Terry Pratchett.
- Sourcery, Terry Pratchett.
- Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom. Jacob T. Levy (@jtlevy) – thread.
- Wyrd Sisters. Terry Pratchett.