Category Archives: Lit Review

Nuts and Bolts

Title: Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way) Author: Roma Agrawal Completed: Jan 2024 (Full list of books) Overview: I was very excited to read this book, hoping it could tell a story … Continue reading

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Blood in the Machine

Title: Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech Author: Brian Merchant Completed: Dec 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: The term “Luddite” gets thrown around a lot these days. I had a general idea that … Continue reading

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The Art of Relevance

Title: The Art of Relevance Author: Nina Simon Completed: Oct 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: I stumbled onto this book when I saw the author promoting her new book on LinkedIn. We met at the ASTC annual conference over … Continue reading

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Religious Literacy

Title: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know–And Doesn’t Author: Stephen Prothero Completed: September 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: This is one of the only books I’ve reread and now that I have, I realized it wasn’t really … Continue reading

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A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth

Title: A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters Author: Henry Gee Completed: August 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: This was an unusual book to me. It started off covering vast swaths … Continue reading

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A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Title: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book Author: Becky Chambers Completed: July 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: I read the first in this series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, last year and really enjoyed it. … Continue reading

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The Rules We Break

Title: The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design Author: Eric Zimmerman Completed: July 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: I expected this book to be more about design in general. I knew games would be the focus, … Continue reading

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A Complaint Free World

Title: A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted Author: Will Bowen Completed: July 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: I like the idea presented here, but this book was too woo-woo … Continue reading

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If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?

Title: If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating Author: Alan Alda Completed: July 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: This book boils down to … Continue reading

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In Search of Deeper Learning

Title: In Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to Remake the American High School Author: Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine Completed: July 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: While listening to an older Getting Smart podcast, I heard about this … Continue reading

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