In her debut poetry collection, Daley-Ward strips the complexity of sensuality, mentality, and spirituality down to its bone. By cutting straight to the human sufferings, her poems are powerful yet accessible. Even though I don’t read as much poetry as I should, I appreciate the simplicity in her prose. Here are a few of my favorites:

battle

Loving someone who hates
themselves
is a special kind of violence.
A fight inside the bones.
A war within the blood.

wine

It’s never too late to be wise.
See how your spirit has been
fermenting.

lesson

The difference between attraction
and compatibility

how it kicks you in the belly every
now and then.

In her concise, compelling book, Wachter-Beottcher lays out the danger and the insensitivity of biased algorithms, alienating online forms, and harassment-friendly platforms in the tech industry. As designers and developers, we put too much assumptions into the users without understand their circumstances. We place cleverness over clarity. As demonstrated examples after examples in the book, the results of these poor-designed decisions are unfortunate and tragic. It’s an important read for those of us who truly care about our users.

In the age of liar in chief, alternative facts, and misinformation, Nichols’s outstanding book draws the difference between knowledge and ignorance. He makes a compelling argument on the failing of higher education, in which the institutions treat students as customers rather than learners. He points out the negative impact of having too much information at our fingertips and the danger of dismissing recognized expertise. It’s an informing, intelligent read. As Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, an adjunct professor at the Harvard Extension School, and a former aide in the U.S. Senate, Nichols knows what the fuck he is talking about.

A practical guide on typography that covers everything from classifications to principles. It is well-written with tons of visual examples. The text face in the book is set in Retina, by Tobias Frere-Jones. It’s a good choice. Unfortunately Poulin who designed the book himself ruined it with vertical lines. They are so distracting. In addition, the type designer profiles, which are written in a couple paragraphs, are set in bold font with vertical lines. It is so disappointing to see a book on typography is not so readable.

What do Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sean Spicer, Stephen Miller, and Mitt Romney have in common? That’s right. They’re all Sucking Up to Trump. In this short, enlightening book, Deborah Parker and Mark Parker cover the history, art, and science of sycophancy. Other terms for sycophancy includes lickspittle, ass-kisser, bootlicker, and brownnoser. It’s an engaging and informing read; however, I wish the leading in the typesetting is a bit more generous. It feels tight.

In her new concise, engaging book, Ms. Lemott shares inspiring stories drawing from the Bible, real life, and her own flaws to illustrate mercy. Ms. Lemott is obviously a skillful writer. Just read how she defines mercy:

Misericordia is Latin for “mercy,” from misericors, “merciful,” which is in turn derived from misereri,“to pity,” and cor, “heart.” Mercy means compassion, empathy, a heart for someone’s troubles. It’s not something you do—it is something in you, accessed, revealed, or cultivated through use, like a muscle. We find it in the most unlike places, never where we first look. (p.51)

Although Ms. Lemott incorporates theology in her writing, she is not preaching. In fact, she questioned God and I appreciate that. The conflicts she had with her son resonated with me the most. I am sure I will be in the same boat when my boys become teenagers. It’s touching and beautifully written. The book design by Amanda Dewey is also gorgeous. I highly recommend turning off your digital device and pick up this book, you’ll be enlightened.

I love the art of stand-up comic and I have watched as many specials as I can, but this is the first time reading one. Grossman’s novel revolves around a 57-year-old Israeli comedian with a wounded soul trying to tell jokes for almost 200 pages. He started off with a few funny jokes, but then delved deeper into his bizarre, terrifying personal stories. His materials got darker and harder for his audience to tolerate. He even beat himself up and broke his glasses. It’s a tragic yet terrific read. Jessica Cohen’s translation does Grossman’s fiction its justice.

Blitt is the political cartoonist behind many brilliant satirical covers of The New Yorker. In his latest book, Blitt shares his published works (“Resolute Smokers” and “The Politics of Fear”), his process (rough sketches), and his rejected pieces (a cartoon of Anthony Weiner about to hang himself with a string of wieners). With contributed writers from David Remnick, Frank Rich, Steve Brodner, Steven Heller, to Françoise Mouly, this book shows and tells the humorous genius of Blitt’s body of work.

Jeff Rosenblum and Jordan Berg write:

Think about it: Digital has fundamentally changed the way that human beings interact with the world around them. And what was the business world’s response to this world-changing technology? Pop-up ads. Motherfucking pop-up ads. (p.40)

Pop-up ads are friction. They interrupt and annoy customers. To build a strong, long-lasting brand in the modern world, companies must remove friction. In this concise, insightful, and beautiful book, Jeff Rosenblum and Jordan Berg demonstrate the power of eliminating friction to create a brand that focuses on behaviors over messaging, emotional over transactional, transparency over obscurity, and empowerment over frustration. An enlightening and useful read for brand designers and marketers.

Tập truyện ngắn viết về những cuộc hôn nhân đổ vỡ. Tuy mỗi chuyện khác nhau nhưng tác giả cho chúng ta cảm nhận được nổi đau đớn của cảnh ly dị. Từ những tiếng hát não nề đến những chén rượu cay, Nguyễn Mỹ Nữ đem đến cho người đọc những cảm giác nặng trĩu và xót xa. Mong rằng tôi sẽ không rơi vào những tình trạng bi đát như thế. Những ai đang trong hoàn cảnh chia lìa không nên đọc.