What We Are Reading Today: To Build a Black Future

Short Url
Updated 28 February 2024
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: To Build a Black Future

Author: Christopher Paul Harris

When #BlackLivesMatter emerged in 2013, it animated the most consequential Black-led mobilization since the civil rights and Black power era.

Today, the hashtag turned rallying cry is but one expression of a radical reorientation toward Black politics, protest, and political thought.

“To Build a Black Future” examines the spirit and significance of this insurgency, offering a revelatory account of a new political culture—responsive to pain, suffused with joy, and premised on care—emerging from the centuries-long arc of Black rebellion, a tradition that traces back to the Black slave.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

Updated 05 February 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

Authors: Robert Hansen and Jackson D. Shedd

California is home to more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians that can be found in an extraordinary array of habitats, from coastal temperate rainforests with giant redwoods to southeastern deserts offering dazzling wildflower displays each spring. 

“California Amphibians and Reptiles” covers every species and subspecies in this biodiverse region of the United States, with outstanding color photography and in-depth species accounts that draw on the latest findings on taxonomy and distribution.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Make Your Bed’

Photo/Supplied
Updated 04 February 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Make Your Bed’

  • The author argues that discipline, resilience and hard work are essential for personal improvement and growth

Author: William H. McRaven

Published in 2017, “Make Your Bed: Small Things That Can Change Your Life … And Maybe The World” by retired US navy four-star admiral, William H. McRaven, is an exploration of discipline and self-control.

According to McRaven, attending diligently to simple daily tasks, such as making one’s bed in the morning, create a sense of discipline and accomplishment.

In addition, having a sense of order and purpose in life can help motivate one to push beyond initial goals.

The author argues that discipline, resilience and hard work are essential for personal improvement and growth.

In the book’s 10 chapters, McRaven outlines specific lessons which include the value of teamwork, perseverance, and the importance of facing adversity.

His style of writing is engaging and he emphasizes some of his own struggles and wins, while elaborating on how the principles he learned can be applied.

The book provides valuable insights that could inspire people to go and “make their bed” if they want to change their own lives, and maybe even the world.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Power of Cute’

Photo/Supplied
Updated 04 February 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Power of Cute’

Author: SIMON MAY

Cuteness has taken the planet by storm. Global sensations Hello Kitty and Pokémon, the works of artists Takashi Murakami and Jeff Koons, Heidi the cross-eyed opossum and E.T.—all reflect its gathering power.

But what does “cute” mean, as a sensibility and style? Why is it so pervasive? Is it all infantile fluff, or is there something more uncanny and even menacing going on—in a lighthearted way? In “The Power of Cute,” Simon May provides nuanced and surprising answers.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior’ by David Hone

Updated 03 February 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior’ by David Hone

Our understanding of dinosaur behavior has long been hampered by the inevitable lack of evidence from animals that went extinct more than 65 million years ago and whose daily behaviors are rarely reflected by the fossil record. Today, with the discovery of new specimens and the development of new and cutting-edge techniques, paleontologists are making major advances in reconstructing how dinosaurs lived and acted.

“Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior” provides an unparalleled look at this emerging field of science.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’ by Ed Lam

Updated 02 February 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’ by Ed Lam

Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern.

This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.

The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.

“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.