Recent non-fiction recommendations

At the beginning of this year I scoured the best of 2021 non-fiction lists and began working reading several books that seemed appealing. Not all of them are worth recommending (and are not mentioned here), but all of the following are worth your time.

Propagating the faith

The term propaganda originally comes from The Congregatio de propaganda fide or “Congregation for propagating the faith” created by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. The group’s aim was to increase Catholic missionary activity. Propaganda today is associated more with political activity and often has a negative connotation: “Don’t believe the propaganda.” But like all speech, how you judge it it...

Copywriting tips for your Shopify store

I recently began the process of refreshing the copywriting on my Shopify-hosted business to boost traffic and improve conversions. The project includes updating product descriptions, product category pages and creating new landing pages for search engines.

How to read 100 books a year

We’re still early in the New Year when people are actively pursuing resolutions. “Reading more” often shows up on lists and I thought I’d share a proven method for reading 100 books a year. There are just three steps, and if you follow them you’ll be well on your way:

Best nonfiction books of 2021

I like to dive into nonfiction the way I dive into TV series. That is, I let others test the water first and look for recommendations from a number of sources. I went through several nonfiction best-of-the-year lists for 2021 and came up with the following books I plan to read at the beginning of this year. I have finished...

Consensus top albums of 2021

Several publications have posted their lists of the top 50 albums of 2021. There are 153 different albums on these five lists: Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard, Paste and NPR.

Ginger simple syrup and old fashioned recipe

After looking at multiple recipes for ginger simple syrup, I have developed and tested the consensus best recipe and included a recipe for a ginger old fashioned below.

Review of The Hollow Places

After recently divorced Kara moves into her uncle’s home she discovers through a hole in a wall a portal to an alternate and mysterious reality. This is the beginning to T. Kingfisher’s horror novel The Hollow Places, a story that moves at a quick pace but offers too few spine-tingling scares.

Photographers against COVID-19

Photographers are selling limited edition prints for € 100 each to raise funds for “All United Against Coronavirus,” a French effort to support COVID-19 research and relief.

Martin Parr interviews Alec Soth

Martin Parr has a fairly new YouTube series in which he has casual conversations with photographers. In the most recent segment Parr sits down with Alec Soth, who discusses his beginnings as a photographer and his most recent work, I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating.

Toward the end of the discussion Soth touches on photo ethics...