Four Books for Summer 2020 - and Other Ideas
Photo by Dan Dumitriu
As summer 2020 arrives, we present four books to consider, comments from Ray Dalio and a Bell Telephone ad from the early 1900s.
‘Why We Swim” by Bonnie Tsui (published April 2020, a tough time to release a book)
The author is a journalist that lives, surfs and swims in the San Francisco Bay area.
The New York Times said, the book is “an enthusiastic and thoughtful work mixing history, journalism and elements of memoir … [and] incorporates the stories of daredevils, but it also covers tales of survival and inspiration.”
Sharing perspectives from casual swimmers, Olympic competitors, scientists, medical therapists and disaster survivors, the book is about developing a better appreciation for water, swimming and our world.
“Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures” by Merlin Sheldrake (published May 2020)
The author is a biologist with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University in tropical ecology.
The Wall Street Journal said the book's “provocative chapters describe the “radical” decomposing powers of fungi, their implications for pollution remediation and their ability to transform industrial and agricultural waste into a variety of new materials, from building blocks to vegan leather.”
The medical use of mushrooms is part of the discussion as well.
“Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life” by Steve Martin (published Nov. 2007)
The author, known for being "a wild and crazy guy", was the biggest act in the history of stand-up comedy in 1978.
The memoir starts when Martin was ten years old selling guidebooks at Disneyland and tells the story of “why I did stand-up and why I walked away.”
In the book, Martin discusses his pursuit of excellence and innovation - which includes sacrifice, focus and a lot of practice.
“How Buildings Learn: What Happens after They’re Built” by Stewart Brand (published June 1994, developed as a BBC series in 1997)
The author was founder/editor of the Whole Earth Catalog and founded organizations such as The WELL, the Global Business Network and the Long Now Foundation.
The book focuses on how buildings change over time - driven by how people interact with them and the need to adapt buildings to new uses.
As we reshape our views about public and private spaces, Brand’s comments may help building planners, users and investors navigate the path ahead.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, responded to questions from various readers on social media - including the following, which seems relevant for our current moment.
Question: "If you were a young adult in this quarantine, what would you do to better yourself?"
Dalio's response: "I'd feed my curiosity, stay in touch with people i care about and meditate."
As we increasingly use video streaming and cloud services for daily interaction, consider the ad from the Bell System, encouraging the use of telephone technology during the early 1900s, a period of frequent virus and flu outbreaks.
