By Any Other Nerd

The Generation Myth: Why When You're Born Matters Less Than You Think by Bobby Duffy My rating: 4 of 5 stars Duffy's the argument that I've been thirsting for. He takes a solid crack at the often-tepid, reductive, and wildly over-abused generational-differences discourse around Silent-Gen through Generation Z (or whatever we're calling this group). He illustrates how these approaches do harm to understanding generational experiences (which, of course, are not universal and should not be the means for HR training and the like) and stress more understanding of how life spans play out in similar ways across generations but often at different collective times.  Much of the reasons for these differences are not grounded in innate elements of each generation or age cohort but rather in what is happening in the larger cultural space. Generations all go through similar challenges but may experience them at different times in their live

Move: How the New Science of Body Movement Can Set Your Mind Free by Caroline Williams My rating: 3 of 5 stars There's lots of anecdotal and scientific evidence that elevates the connection between mind and body--essentially raising the question of whether they are separate (as Global North cultures like the US often insist through discourse and policy).  Williams grabs hold of this consideration and reframes our thinking, offering that our brains evolved in relation to humankind's ability to move and be active in particular ways (on our feet, interval activity throughout the day, moving in natural ways that reflect the life of a hunter-gathering life, etc). The book then proceeds through different types of movement (aerobic exercise, muscle building, breathing, rest, stretching, etc) to explore what the current scientific studies have to say about how these impact and relate to our state of mind (from mental health to alertness to cre

Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay by Marcus Rediker My rating: 4 of 5 stars On one level, this graphic novel has struck a spark in me to find out even more about its subject, Benjamin Lay, an 18th-century abolitionist Quaker.  Born in England and raised in the Quaker religion, Lay challenges the hypocrisy of Quaker leadership who at the time still profited and made use of slaves.  Throughout his life, he is chased out of Quaker communities and ends up in Pennsylvania.  Continually dismissed for his ideas (and likely discrimination for his kyphosis--extreme-forward curving of the back), he challenges Quakers to align their beliefs with their actions.  While he does not see the fruit of his labor, his lifetime of work and humble living (literally living in a cave on a vegetarian diet) inspires younger Quakers and has a lingering effect in many Quakers abandoning and rejecting the supposed necessity of slavery in the 1800s.  The sketching lin

The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal--and How to Set Them Right by Adam Harris My rating: 5 of 5 stars The depth to which white culture and citizens have gone to deny Black people equal opportunity has been well-documented in the realm of housing, criminal justice, primary education, and many other spaces.  Intentional calculations about how to legally avoid, subvert, and manipulate policies are a hallmark of white supremacy in the United States--and, of course, when that doesn't work, mob violence in the form of lynching, riots, and even storming the Capitol are practices white people are willing to take to assert their supposed right to feel mightier than Black people.  Harris's book brings another well-documented and critical look at how these practices and policies also played out in higher education over the history of the US. Harris balances a complicated argument quite effectively as he fo