Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 2024-01-09
Books mentioned on How to Discover Your Own Taste
Ezra Klein discussed Moby Dick by Herman Melville and MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville. Kyle Chayka recommended In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki, Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees by Lawrence Weschler, and The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, and discussed Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Moby Dick
Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic 19th-century novel exploring the obsessions of Captain Ahab and the dramatic whaling voyage of the Pequod.
Discussed“but Moby Dick barely sold in Herman Melville's Lifetime and only became this iconic work of literature over you know a century”
Where to get it
-
MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or, The Whale explores the obsessive, destructive quest of Captain Ahab to hunt down the white whale that maimed him, weaving a sprawling narrative that blends high-seas adventure, philosophical inquiry, and encyclopedic maritime lore.
Discussed“Moby Dick barely sold in Herman Melville's Lifetime and only became this iconic work of literature over you know a century”
Where to get it
-
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami is a surreal, imaginative novel that intertwines two alternating plots concerning a data processor in a futuristic Tokyo subculture and a walled town where shadows are separated from their owners.
Discussed“discovered that that anime was based on a huki morakami novel called hardboiled Wonderland and the end of the world”
Where to get it
-
End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami is a surreal, speculative novel exploring dual narratives of a futuristic data-processing underworld and a walled town where shadows are separated from their owners.
Discussed“discovered that that anime was based on a huki morakami novel called hardboiled Wonderland and the end of the world”
Where to get it
-
In Praise of Shadows
In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki is a classic 1933 essay by the renowned Japanese novelist that explores aesthetics, architecture, and traditional Japanese perceptions of light, shadow, and dark spaces.
Recommended“this Japanese novelist jinichiro tanaki 1933 essay In Praise of Shadows”
Where to get it
-
Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees
Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees by Lawrence Weschler is a celebrated biography of artist Irwin Robert that explores the intersection of perception, art, and the way human beings process visual reality.
Recommended“the next book was seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees by Lawrence wetchler”
Where to get it
-
The Mushroom at the End of the World
The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing is an ecological and anthropological study that explores the possibilities of life in capitalist ruins by following the global commodity chain of the matsutake mushroom.
Recommended“and then the last book was the mushroom at the end of the world the possibility of life in capitalist ruins which is by Anna loen ho Singh”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“he's got a book coming out on January 16th called filter world how algorithms flattened culture”
“the generic coffee shop I think has become kind of like my Moby Dick like it's this aesthetic puzzle or problem”