Things I Loved This Week (11-3-2019 edition)

November 3, 2019

The Making Sense podcast featured an interview this week with Jewish journalist Bari Weiss about her new book, How to Fight Anti-Semitism. I loved this episode, and learned a lot about the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Western Europe, Israel’s key role in ensuring Jewish safety, and some interesting bits of Jewish history. Bari’s book sounds like a must-read!

I’ve also been enjoying the audiobook version of Edward Snowden’s autobiography, Permanent Record. I haven’t even gotten to the part where he joins the NSA yet, but his descriptions of his childhood bear an uncanny similarity to my own. Hours spent chatting on early Internet forums, learning how to build computers, and basically forsaking all other pursuits in order to discover the world that lies hidden behind that screen.

The book is well-written and interesting, and I’m very curious to see what he says about his reasons for going public, why he went to reporters (rather than, say, Congress) with his information, and what I will think about him as a person—is he a hero, or a criminal?

I finished Dan Blank’s Be the Gateway this week as well. It’s a short read about welcoming people into your creative vision. If you’re an artist seeking to build a following, and especially if you’re a writer, check it out. Dan also has a fantastic weekly newsletter that I read every single week.

My bedtime reading, the second book in The Three-Body Problem series, just keeps getting better.

What did you love this week? I want to hear about it!