Reading

I have a friend whom I love exchanging "books to read" with. I've been poor at keeping in regular touch recently, but already in school, she'd have a passion for novels that was contageous, and also has great tips for non-fiction. So, in this "spirit", and now that I have more mental energy (and non-office luberty), here are a few book tips. Funnily, this blog started when I, then with a small baby, wanted to break out of the "mommy bubble", and re-integrate into the world as an actively thinking (or at least reading) citizen. I feel happy that I've accomplished that, and although no longer reading the FT, I'm addicted to several online news outlets, my daily newspaper (Sueddeutsche), and even get through the Economist again regularly. Twitter has become a great news source as well, combining actual happenings with opinions. I just finished a great non-fiction book, "Virus", which explains how most viral infections (including lethal ones) have jumped over to humans from animals, and how our current food production, urbanization, and travel patterns are increasing risks. Fascinating stuff, and it was very relevant for my field of work (but something I would rarely find time to read if at work!). I just started on another book that I've been wanting to read for years, called "Nudge", which is about creating incentives for people to make (healthy, good) choices. Funnily, it builds on a lot of Daniel Kahnemann's work, which is again fascinating psychology, but I admit I failed to get through "Quick/Slow", as it got too repetitive. For novelistas, I tried Nobel winner Alice Munro, but although easy reading, wasn't touched, amazed or that impressed (I read her "Selected Stories"). I'm now reading a Finnish author (I do that far too rarely, which is not good for my mother tongue), Kjell Westö. Random list of the day....