Recommended Reads, 22nd in a Quarterly Series

This past three months included our Amtrak trip across the country, so there was plenty of time for reading even in the midst of the craziness of my work and family life.  Here are my favs from the past quarter:


Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Aslan).  A really interesting look into the time period Jesus lived in.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions (Munroe).  The kinds of crazy questions you think of but never consider anyone will answer, and voila here they are.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (Obama).  Interesting to get into the head of our POTUS as he mulled over issues of family and race.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich (Metaxas).  An incredibly exciting book about a truly committed Christian who paid the ultimate price for standing up to dastardly evil. 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Kondo).  I don't buy everything here but I did get motivated to minimize my possessions and my living space.

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets (Venkatesh).  I loved this account of a PhD candidate who embeds himself in the life of Chicago's most notorious housing project and learns about the drug trade in the process.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us (Moss).  A searing expose into both Big Food's marketing ways and our mindless consumption of them.