Since the last thread, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear, which as far as productivity books go is one of the better ones. Found my few diamonds in the rough and moved on. I also finally got around to reading That Orange Mark Manson Book, mostly out of spite. It's basically some Buddhist/Taoist ideas wrapped in a shouty, infantalizing narrative. It's Essentialism rewritten for people who watched too much South Park. The annoying part is that I do agree with a bunch of things he says, I just hate the way he says it. Read a Dutch book called Elite Gezocht ("Elite Wanted"), a book that perfectly characterizes and explains the creation and demise of the modern Dutch elite and its beliefs. I also simultaneously read Primates of Park Avenue, the latter referenced by the former just a few hours after I read the referenced paragraph, which was kinda funny. I found both absolutely fascinating and may or may not have enough thoughts to put into a review of some sorts. Read How to Change your Mind by Michael Pollan. Nearly quit because the second chapter is so godawfully bad, but kept on reading to see if there was more around the corner. There wasn't a lot, and I came away from reading it more convinced that the noetic quality of LSD/psylocibin (the quality of the drugs that makes it feel like it's truth-revealing, instead of just a drug trip) is bullshit. Pollan actually makes half on an argument about the potential reason for this quality, which is that from an evolutionary point of view it makes sense for a drug to convince people that it's the greatest thing in the world, and while he does ignore that argument I simply cannot. So while I won't recommend the book, it at least made me think. I started reading In Search of Zarathustra on kb's recommendation, as I have become somewhat fascinated with Zoroastreanism lately. It's an ebook though so progress is kinda slow. I also started reading Bowling Alone, which I have read parts of in college but haven't yet read back to back. I think it's a good sign that the majority of the reviews talk about how dry it is - so far I quite like it in a Tony Judt/Edward Said deep-dive kind of way. On my reading list: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland and Disneywar.