I am eternally curious! I know I’ll never know all there is to know, but learning is always exciting. I could engage with just about any subject and find it fascinating; if I gain any context, perspective or insight into existence, I am enlightened. I seek the Ultimate Truth, and I am on a lifetime quest to understand the nature of Reality; it sometimes seems that the more I learn, the less I know.
Most books that I read are non-fiction, but sometimes stories can reflect a truth beyond facts and inspire me in profound ways. I present here my reading list from January-May 2024:
Origin Story – David Christian
- A pan-scientific account of our universe’s creation and development, from the physics of the Big Bang, to the chemistry of star and planet formation, to the evolutionary biology of life on Earth.
A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
- Another Big History book, relating our current scientific understanding to our place in the Cosmos, written with Bryson’s humble wit.
The World According to Physics – Jim Al-Khalili
- Quantum Physics and General Relativity explain interactions on the smallest and largest scales we know, but seem incompatible and hint at a yet to be discovered deeper understanding.
The Universe – Andrew Cohen
- The unimaginable vastness of space and time envelop us and guide our meta-investigations.
Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution – Carlo Rovelli
- In quantum mechanics, three distinct features of activity; determinate observation, predictable probability and quantifiable granularity, produce a counter-intuitive and endlessly puzzling picture of reality.
On The Origin of Species – Charles Darwin
- One of the most important and far-reaching scientific theories ever proposed, presented logically and irrefutably 165 years ago and still standing today as the foundation modern biology and ecology.
Your Brain on Art – Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
- How we create and interpret art with our central nervous system, understanding why we are compelled to make art and why it moves us.
The Rest Is Noise – Alex Ross
- Twentieth Century Classical music as a lens to the social and geopolitical events of a potent 100 years; from Wagner and Strauss, Stravinsky and Shostakovich, Satie and Debussy, Gershwin and Ellington, Cage and Riley, Reich and Glass, to The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth.
Finding The Mother Tree – Suzanne Simard
- A Scientist’s life, documenting the personal and professional trials and triumphs of a commitment to discerning the Truth.
Chaos – James Gleick
- The development of a new framework and mathematics for understanding chaotic structure underlying the natural world.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin
- A fictional account of video game designers, living and working through the evolution of gaming in my lifetime, searching for the true meaning and optimal play of this game of Life.
New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
- In tribute to the recently deceased author, I re-read this again 25 years later and am still haunted by its stark existentialism.
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
- Another book I read 25 years ago, I was inspired by the idealism of Roark and the pure purpose of creation. Politically a different time today, I see the one-dimensional characters and anti-collectivism in a darker light.
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
- A Sci-Fi adventure featuring a sun-eating lifeform and humanity’s effort to save our star.
I am grateful to these authors for sharing their ideas and research and inspiring me in my journey of discovery and understanding.