Episode · The Book Review · 2018-06-08
Michael Pollan on The Book Review: books mentioned (Jun 2018)
Michael Pollan on His Acid Test
Gilbert Cruz discussed How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan and The efficiency paradox by Edward Tenner. Michael Pollan discussed The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Pamela Paul discussed Why things bite back by Edward Tenner, Our own devices by Edward Tenner, and Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. Greg Cowles discussed Ulysses by James Joyce. Roman Alam recommended The juniper tree by Barbara Comyns, High Dive by Jonathan Lee, and Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Tina Jordan recommended And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, discussed The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware and The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, and criticized In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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How to Change Your Mind
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is a comprehensive exploration of the history, science, and cultural renaissance surrounding psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Discussed“Michael pollen will give us some very good reasons when he joins us to talk about his new book how to change your mind”
Where to get it
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The efficiency paradox
Discussed“Edward tenner will be here to talk about his new book the efficiency Paradox”
Where to get it
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The Botany of Desire
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan is a fascinating exploration of the co-evolutionary relationships between humans and four specific plants, demonstrating how domesticated species like apples, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes have successfully fulfilled human desires while securing their own survival and global spread.
Discussed“and back when I was working on botony of Desire I got very interested in the in the the the desires that other species gratify in us as part of their evolutionary strategy”
Where to get it
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Why things bite back
Discussed“you tell us a little bit about your first two books why things bite back and our own devices and then sort of how the efficiency Paradox continues”
Where to get it
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Our own devices
Discussed“you tell us a little bit about your first two books why things bite back and our own devices and then sort of how the efficiency Paradox continues”
Where to get it
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Ulysses
James Joyce's landmark modernist novel Ulysses chronicles an ordinary day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin, mapping human consciousness and daily existence through a revolutionary stream-of-consciousness technique.
Discussed“I am about ready to give up on James Joyce's ulyses”
Where to get it
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The juniper tree
The juniper tree by Barbara Comyns is a haunting twentieth-century novel that reimagines fairy-tale motifs in a stark, domestic setting characterized by tragedy, resilience, and the uncanny.
Recommended“the first novel that I want to talk about is a book called The juniper tree by Barbara comans and it was reissued earlier this year by New York Review books”
Where to get it
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High Dive
High Dive by Jonathan Lee is a gripping historical novel that fictionalizes the real-life 1984 Brighton hotel bombing carried out by the IRA, focusing on the interwoven lives of a fictional bomber, a hotel manager, and a young girl.
Recommended“and then I picked up a book called High Dive by the writer Jonathan Lee”
Where to get it
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Less
Less by Andrew Sean Greer is a comedic novel that follows a failed novelist nearing fifty who accepts a series of haphazard international literary events to escape a wedding.
Recommended“and then the third book I was going to talk about I see Pamela Paul is also prepared to talk about is a novel called less by Andrew Shawn”
Where to get it
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The Death of Mrs Westaway
Discussed“so I've picked up Ruth we's the death of Mrs Westway”
Where to get it
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In a Dark, Dark Wood
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a suspenseful thriller about a reclusive writer who gets drawn into a chaotic weekend in a remote glass house that ultimately ends in murder.
Critiqued“and I should say up front that I have a complicated relationship with Ruth wear books because unlike most people I did not love in a dark dark wood I it either”
Where to get it
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The Woman in Cabin 10
The Woman in Cabin 10 is a gripping psychological thriller by Ruth Ware that follows a journalist who witnesses a suspected murder while on a luxury cruise, only to find that all passengers and crew are seemingly accounted for.
Discussed“uh she's British and I then liked very much one called the woman in Cabin 10 and the reason I liked that is that it was a closed door mystery”
Where to get it
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And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a masterclass in suspense, following ten strangers lured to a remote island who are systematically murdered one by one.
Recommended“I mean the greatest one of course is Agatha Christie and then there were none just read that last year for the first time so good right”
Where to get it
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Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier is a sharp critique of modern digital platforms and their detrimental effects on human behavior and society.
Discussed“it's called 10 Arguments for deleting your social media accounts right now”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“this is Michael Lewis author of The Blindside and Moneyball and liars poker and a number of best sellers and he sold more than 10 million copies of his books”
“this is Michael Lewis author of The Blindside and Moneyball and liars poker and a number of best sellers and he sold more than 10 million copies of his books”
“this is Michael Lewis author of The Blindside and Moneyball and liars poker and a number of best sellers and he sold more than 10 million copies of his books”
“she's the author of St Mark's dead”
“notably who owns the future”
“and you are not a gadget”
“and I think most recently dawn of the new everything um which came out last year”