“The history of transportation will always be social history, writ large.”
Books
How Tokyo Became an Anti-Car Paradise
“The world’s biggest, most functional city might also be the most pedestrian-friendly. That’s not a coincidence.”
How Bookshop.org Survives—and Thrives—in Amazon’s World
“Andy Hunter’s ecommerce platform was a pandemic hit. Now he’s on a mission to prove that small businesses can scale up without selling out.”
There’s Nothing Unnatural About a Computer
“James Bridle’s Ways of Being wants us to take a fresh look at nature’s intelligence.”
Stet: On Cutting—but Keeping—Everything
” I prefer to keep my darlings on ice.”
BookTok Is Good, Actually: On the Undersung Joys of a Vast and Multifarious Platform
“When I scroll TikTok, I see creativity, joy, pleasure, energy, and a contagious enthusiasm for books.”
Messengers From the Past
“I may have seen all there is to see at the Bosque yet I keep returning each year. It’s as though I, too, migrate to the Bosque.”
Anatomy of the Mask: A Reading List on Superhero Comics
The adventures of superheroes reveal a lot about the people who created them — and the marginalized communities they represent.
Reading Doesn’t Have to Mean Keeping Your Books Forever
“The paradox of the library in our time is that it aspires to be vast but is also selective and bounded – a tiny droplet of material in a seemingly limitless sea of content.”