Books – overstated

Harvard Book Store for sale

I just received an email noting that the Harvard Book Store is for sale. I know that online book sales has limited the ability for book stores to succeed, but I personally think that Harvard Book Store is the best in the world. I hope this sale doesn’t affect its standing.

Digging into Satisfaction

Quite a while back I reade a book called Satisfaction: the science of finding true fulfillment. The book is about the scientific escapades of its author, Gregory Berns, as he seeks the answer to a number of questions about happiness. The book varies from extremely technical descriptions of Berns’ research in neuroeconomics to extremely accessibleContinue reading “Digging into Satisfaction”

Snakes out of the plane

Sure, I’ve got tickets to the 10pm showing of Snakes on a Plane tonight. With the help of Justin, we might be eating some dips and pretzles off of a blueprint-covered table (snacks on a plan). I’ve been impressed with all of the quite-savvy marketing done on behalf of the producers thus far, but IContinue reading “Snakes out of the plane”

Teenage Wasteland

Now that I have forsaken the academy (just kidding!) and have copious amounts of commute time, I’ve been trying to read all of the books I punted on over the past 6 years. I just finished Donna Gaines’ Teenage Wasteland, an ethnography of the youth culture in the late 80’s that coincided with a numberContinue reading “Teenage Wasteland”

Become a millionaire, get straight A’s

A team of MIT students under the direction of a quirky math professor moonlight as blackjack sharks, pulling a profit for investors by academically outwitting casinos. This has been a rumor I’ve heard on and off for the past three years; sometimes rumors are true, and they turn out to be bigger than you everContinue reading “Become a millionaire, get straight A’s”

Cradle to Cradle

A story on OnPoint tonight, a story about William McDonough’s preaching environmentalism beyond recycling. In his new book Cradle to Cradle with co-author Michael Braungart, McDonough predicts another industrial revolution where materials move beyond the “cradle-to-grave” paradigm, where resources are created with their demise in mind. Recycling can perpetuate the life of a milk bottle,Continue reading “Cradle to Cradle”

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

I just finished one of the best pieces of non-fiction I’ve read quite some time, Jane Jacobs’ indictment of orthodox city planning, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. This is one of those books I wish I was forced to read at an early age: insightful, motivating, and connected to so many ideasContinue reading “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”