Age of the City

Read Age of the City: Why Our Future Will be Won Or Lost Together ( )

In this book, Professor Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin show why making our societies fairer, more cohesive and sustainable must start with our cities. Globalization and technological change have concentrated wealth into a small number of booming metropolises, leaving many smaller cities and towns behind and feeding populist resentment. Yet even within seemingly thriving cities like London or San Francisco, the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen and our retreat into online worlds tears away at our social fabric. Meanwhile, pandemics and climate change pose existential threats to our increasingly urban world.

Felt rushed and superficial in some parts, some others were better. A frustrating read because many very interesting things are said but stay on the superficial level; a good read nonetheless, not too US-centric. Mes notes de lecture en français sont ici.

Liked Designing Mastodon’s reply safety features by Sam Gold (lickability.com)

Lickability has been Mastodon’s design partner since 2021, when we helped design their first-party iOS app (and more recently, their Android app). In 1.0 for each of those apps, there have been the expected safety features — mute, block, and report. But those are very direct and technical tools. Don’t get us wrong, those features are critical to having some level of safety on any online platform. But their reach is limited to what you see, which, by definition, puts the onus on the person who needs it. If someone is bothering you, you’re required to block or mute them.

Refuse to choose!

Read Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams by Barbara Sher ( )

Don’t know what to do with your life? Drawn to so many things that you can’t choose just one? New York Times best-selling author Barbara Sher has the answer–do EVERYTHING!

This didn’t age very well in parts, but I enjoy the sheer optimism and positivity of it. I am definitely a Scanner-Type but I think I’m doing pretty well making the most it, which means I wasn’t the target audience for this self help book aimed at very confused and desperate people. There were still…

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

poster for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Watched Agrandir The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes from themoviedb.org

64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.

Things you should know about me: I was (am?) a Hunger Games superfan (to the point that I launched an ill-fated webseries project which got me bankrupt, but that’s a story for another time) I loved The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes when it came out. It was really good and seeing the bootstrap years…

Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends

Read Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends by Marisa G. Franco ( )

How do we make and keep friends in an era of distraction, burnout, and chaos, especially in a society that often prizes romantic love at the expense of other relationships? In Platonic, Dr. Marisa G. Franco unpacks the latest, often counterintuitive findings about the bonds between us—for example, why your friends aren’t texting you back (it’s not because they hate you!), and the myth of “friendships happening organically” (making friends, like cultivating any relationship, requires effort!). As Dr. Franco explains, to make and keep friends you must understand your attachment style—secure, anxious, or avoidant: it is the key to unlocking what’s working (and what’s failing) in your friendships.

I’ve been changing my entire world every decade at most for my entire life, and it gets lonely out there. Moving to a not-actually-new city and having to start from not-really-scratch has been very hard for the past six months, and my whole approach of friendship doesn’t help – I struggle a lot with keeping…

The other black girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Read The other black girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris ( )

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust.
Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.
It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career.

Such an excellent book with such a disappointing ending. Mild spoilers for the endingI was really invested in the conspiracy arc and having it end nowhere AND sprinkled with magical realism when the plot could have been just as solid without it? I truly hope fanfic writers will write the conspiracy arc I need to…