Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky
Why I have it: Would have picked it because of the behavioral biology theme.
Summary: Sapolsky explores the biology of violence, aggression and competition.
I’m thinking: Maybe.
Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge
Why I have it: Not sure.
Summary: On November 23rd, 2013 ten children were shot dead. None made the national news. It was just another day in America, where on average seven children and teens are killed by guns daily. Younge picked this day at random, searched for their families and tells their stories.
I’m thinking: Yes (I will always struggle to understand America’s gun culture).
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper
Why I have it: Spotted during Nonfiction November 2018.
Summary: We might take dictionaries for granted, but the process of writing them is as dynamic as language itself. Stamper explores the complex, obsessive world of lexicography from how it can take nine months to define a single word to how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence.
I’m thinking: Yes.
The Younge is, as you might expect, eye-opening and devastating. I think Behave was longlisted for the Wellcome Prize. It’s the sort of book I might skim, but would find too overwhelming in full.
When I studied for my English degree we had some teaching on dictionaries. I thought I’d be bored stiff but it was fascinating! So the final one definitely gets my vote.