Travel Broadens the Mind

But also sometimes empties it of coherent thoughts.

Even though Mrs. Biblioracle and I have been traveling in Edinburgh, Scotland this week, and it is a holiday for we USians, I had planned on trying to muster a full-fledged newsletter entry about a fairly recent book that I think should be in the conversation when it comes to thinking about a way forward for an America where prosperity is shared, but I have found myself without sufficient time to think this week.

Which, honestly, has been a good thing. Other than my responsibilities as a panelist on AI and the future of learning at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, I have been playing the tourist, well-disengaged from the sources of news, information, and critical perspective I rely on to have the kind of thoughts I try to share here.

Instead, we saw a very old castle, drank some rather old whiskey, and climbed an extinct volcano that is supposedly the legendary location of Camelot.

Edinburgh Castle from Well Below

I learned this is not Johnnie Walker himself, but “the striding man.”

Arthur’s Seat

We also had probably the best meal our lives, a 10-course tasting menu, which included a dish that looked like this:

Every bit of that is edible.

On our last day in Edinburgh, the UK Parliament cleared a significant procedural hurdle on approving their version of assisted dying. For about an hour we watched the coverage of the parliamentary debate in our hotel room, and it was fascinating to see a truly substantive political debate that was not just some ridiculous bit of theater before reaching a foregone conclusion.

I did not leave the United States until after I turned 30 years old, but I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to make up for lost time as an adult and to be able to take an entire week where I was required to do almost nothing, but expand the range of my lived experiences.

I recommend it if you can swing it.

Links

This week at the Chicago Tribune I covered Weike Wang’s third novel, Rental House, which is top notch, just like her other books.

Erik Hoel

shared his story of why he turned down a pretty signficant check over an opportunity to have himself turned into an AI book guide. He doesn’t name the company, but there’s only one suspect I can think of, and I found the product so dull, I couldn’t muster the energy to review it either negatively or positively.

The New York Times named their 100 notable books. As I wrote previously, it’s important to remember that notable does not equal “best.”

Via

McSweeney's Internet Tendency

and by Jared Flood, “Famous Authors Lose Their Moms in Department Stores.”

Recommendations

1. The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut
2. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
3. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
4. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Heming
5. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

Elliot C. - Denver, CO

Looking for something a little heady. How about a book that’s in the news because its television adaptation just dropped? Interior Chinatown by Charles You.

1. Let Me Be Frank With You by Richard Ford
2. Be Mine by Richard Ford
3. Search by Michelle Huneven
4. Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard
5. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Charlie P. - Cullman, AL

I see Charlie has been reading the later Frank Bascome novels of Richard Ford, which brings to mind the WMFUN novel (click on that if you’re not familiar), which makes me want to go with a classic of the genre, A Fan’s Notes by Fredrick Exley.

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I’d be hard-pressed to think of anyone whose writing in education has influenced me more than James Lang, so I’m very excited to have his endorsement for More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.

I hope everyone who celebrates has had a very fine Thanksgiving holiday filled with the giving of thanks.

Back to the grind,

JW
The Biblioracle

1. All books (with the occasional exception) linked throughout the newsletter go to The Biblioracle Recommends bookstore at Bookshop.org. Affiliate proceeds, plus a personal matching donation of my own, go to Chicago’s Open Books and an additional reading/writing/literacy nonprofit to be determined. Affiliate income for this year is $133.70.