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So much of what shapes my thoughts these days are books like the ones I recommend below. It's a snippet of what I have on my shelves at home, but like the next-on-my-reading-list book I pull from my meticulously organized-by-genre-and-alphabetized-by author-last-name library, what I recommend is something I've read or just finished reading. Books on this list will come and go.
One thing I want to point out: my book blurbs are not rehashed product descriptions. They're personal. Whatever I felt or did after reading them, what they taught me, how they transformed me — that's the insight you get.
If that or the title (hopefully both) catch your attention, I encourage you to click on the "learn more" button to read a full synopsis and get to know the author a little. Open yourself up to the digital experience of perusing a physical bookstore with a friend (that I may or may not successfully create, but I'm sure as hell going to try).
Literary Theory for Robots: How Computers Learned to Write
By Dennis Yi Tenen
Vindication for English majors. Enlightenment for tech enthusiasts who've never dabbled in the arts. (Did you know we've been trying to make AI "happen" since the 17th century?) Will make my students read this at somepoint.
Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines
By Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Taught me that I didn't know as much about the intersection of technology and racism as I originally thought. Not solely responsible for creating my disillusionment with big tech, but definitely helped.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
By Cal Newport
I was halfway done with this book when I decided to buy a "dumb" phone. I still use a "dumb" phone, but now I use a "dumb" calendar and a "dumb" notebook, too.
Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity
By Devon Price, PhD
Read this right after being diagnosed with Autism in my late 30s. My diagnosis alone was a paradigm-shifting experience, but Price's book held the answers to so many questions I had been asking for nearly my entire life.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
By Grady Hendrix
The fucked up, modern history of forcing pregnant girls into seclusion. But that's only the backdrop of this tremendous novel. It's really about women reclaiming their personal autonomy — their power — in spite of the patriarchy doing everything it can do strip it away. (And now you know why I identify as a witch.)
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
By Amanda Montell
Made me realize that every press release is just one, long thought-terminating cliché. Especially about generative AI.
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
By Tiago Forte
Little of what Tiago Forte talks about felt revolutionary or eye-opening. But then again, much of what he talks about is second-nature to the majority of English majors and writers I know (including myself) — and he's not wrong about any of it. It's wisdom I've taken for granted.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
By Kate Moore
A classic, true tale of an American corporation denying responsibility and refusing accountability for the physical health — and eventual death — of its workers. (Things haven't changed much, have they?)
Disclaimer: I receive no affiliate revenue. My intention is to get you to buy books from anywhere other than Amazon; I prefer buying books through Bookshop.org.