About
I am a librarian in the San Francisco Bay Area Bend, Oregon. My mind on books is a reading blog that I hope will provide a guide to books on consciousness, the mind, cognitive psychology, and related topics, with occasional forays afield.
I use Amazon Affiliate links to provide information on books and receive a small referral fee for items purchased through those links, but there is no extra cost to the buyer. “My Mind on Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.”
5/9/11 – “Retired” to beautiful Bend, Oregon!
Hello!
This is a great idea. Will you profile the books you enjoy the most, per topic? as in, “the best of this month for people interested in…”
would be very helpful. thanks
Hi Alvaro, Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not sure about every month (I have a “day job”) but it sounds like a good idea to periodically highlight some titles.
Hello! I am a cognitive scientist in Seoul, Korea, and running a homepage and blogs on psychology and cognitive science (in Korean).
Would it be OK if I copy some of the data (forthcoming books) on your site to the book-section of my homepage (with additional comments in Korean)?
Best wishes,
Hi metapsy, That would be great, just give a link-back or credit to this site, please. The cognitive science book list will be posted in the pages soon…. I’ve limited it to English-language titles just due to my own limitations.
That will help a lot of Korean students who are interested in cognitive science.
Thanks a lot.
Great site!
From the department of “how to make it even better”: could you increase the font size on your site?
In my Firefox browser, I need to increase the font size twice (CTRL+) before I can actually read anything.
Thanks, and keep up the good work.
myopic – I will try. I’m not sure why the font is bigger on IE than Firefox though. I have them side-by-side on my monitor right now & IE looks at least twice as big. So there’s a little worry that increasing font size for Firefox will cause some problems in other browsers. I’m a novice so anyone who can offer CSS advice, please leave a comment.
[A little later:] I found that Firefox has a place where you can set minimum font size. (Tools – Content – Fonts & Colors – Advanced). I just increased it from 12 to 15 on my browser & that works.
Im writing to tell you about a book that Doubleday is publishing MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE by Bill Strickland
Last November I flew to Pittsburgh to meet Bill Strickland. All I knew was that he had built a center in the middle of the ghetto, six blocks from where he grew up, and “was saving the lives of troubled youths and disadvantaged adults through arts and education.” Exactly what that meant didn’t hit home for me until I stepped foot inside his building and met the man himself.
Bill started off his center, The Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in a row-house that was donated by the local church. His method for getting kids out of trouble and off the street was simple: physically take them and show them how to work with clay. As word traveled from person to person and school to school, he no longer had to go seeking them; they came to him and his little center grew to become a world-class facility.
Designed by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s students, the center is bathed in sunlight despite the cold and snowy November day, fresh flowers are everywhere, and a buzz of activity from both students and adults is in the air. The flowers are not just any flowers, but prize-winning orchids grown in their state-of-the-art greenhouse just next door. Some might ask what a poverty program needs a greenhouse for and to that Bill would be the first to say that it is NOT a poverty program. It is a training program for poor people and why shouldn’t poor people be given a sanctuary from the streets where they see no light ahead of them? By teaching them horticulture, along with culinary, computer, mathematics, chemistry, ceramics, photography, and much more, Bill is helping to change the conversation and help them see that they have a future outside of what they know. In building this world-class facility, he is helping to create world-class citizens.
Over the years I have worked with many different authors, all with their own unique backgrounds. Bill is the first author whose story has brought tears to my eyes, has received a standing ovation at every speech I have seen him give, and has even tempted me to leave my job so that I might follow in his footsteps. Luckily for me, Bill’s message also shows us that we don’t need to do anything that drastic. There is always something we can do right in our own backyard that will make a difference in people’s lives. It is my hope that in writing this letter and offering you a complimentary copy of MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE, you too will be inspired by his remarkable life and share it with your blog readers.
I look forward to hearing from you and getting your mailing address to send you a free copy of this amazing new book.
To find out more about Bill, the book and view a video of him please visit http://www.bill-strickland.org.
To see more about the center in Pittsburgh watch: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qg4bqejzCkc
Best,
Meredith McGinnis
Associate Director of Marketing
Doubleday 1745 Broadway New York, NY 10019
Tel: 212-782-8967
E: mmcginnis@randomhouse.com
Meredith, Thanks so much for the book offer. I’ve emailed you….
Hi there,
I saw your blog post while I was doing a Google Blog Search, and I quote you on the buzz page – hope you don’t mind!
If you do mind, just email me and I’ll delete delete delete. Also, your comments might take a few days to show up. Thanks for excellent review of LibraryThing – every little bit is a step Toward Fame!
Just kidding. Thanks anyhow!
Lindsey, Assistatnt LT Librarian
Hi Lindsey – I’m happy to be a part of the LibraryThing buzz!
What a great site.
You are writing about the type of books I love to read…when I have time, which is a rare commodity in my life right now.
I’ll definitely come back and visit you, and read more of your writings.
Barbara, It’s nice to hear from you – Thanks for stopping by! There are always too many books and not enough time….
Hi, I just signed onto the distribution list for your very interesting blog. Noted your profession as a librarian – that’s of interest as I’m writing a book that should be of interest (the emotional basis of mind) and am curious how certain books get chosen for library collections. My tome will be out next spring. If you have a moment to correspond, I would be appreciative. Sincerely, Mike J.
Just found your blog via a link on Clay Shirky’s (mostly moribund) “Here Comes Everybody” blog. What a treasure this is! My thanks to you. I’m an instant fan. The news of the upcoming Hofstadter book is itself enough to keep me going for days–I’ve recently fallen under the spell of his “Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies” and eagerly look forward to this new book. (I’m about halfway through ‘I Am A Strange Loop’–I think I must have overdosed on the richness and one point, and I need to get back to it, obviously.)
Congratulations on the new job, too. I hope it’s all going well for you.
Thanks for your brilliant and insightful write up on 2 books that just happened to cross my path simultaneously. A thrill for me to read your smart reviews on both. Paul Bloom’s How Pleasure Works, and “Shop Class as Soul Craft”. I will be sure to buy via your blog. I would also like to publish the latter in the Boxer Shorts, journal of the Yankee Beemers motorcycle club here in Boston. We are 25 years old as a club with some 400+ members conducting 5 events (mostly outdoor camping) every season. http://www.YankeeBeemers.org. With your permission, can we run your short review of Shop Class? I cannot find your name. Please provide if willing. Thanks again for your great blog.
Thanks, Victor! I’ve emailed a reply but just want to clarify that I didn’t actually review the two books mentioned. The post on ‘How Pleasure Works’ includes a “product description from the publisher,” which is what I usually post, & the “Shop Class” post has a couple of short extracts from the book.
I’d like to be able to read everything & write reviews but time is short. I enjoy keeping up with the new books coming out so that is what I mostly concentrate on here. Thanks for your support!
Given your interests, my new book might interest you. It’s called On second Thought (Crown), and it’s about cognitive biases and decision making. May I have Crown send you a copy?
Wray Herbert
I was reading at a local bookstore in Portland, Maine, when a man came in who had found me by reading your blog. Thank you!
Hannah Holmes
Hannah — That’s great! Thanks for letting me know & thanks to the anonymous reader for the mention!
Several years ago you reviewed Jonathan Bricklin’s Sciousness. I am now pleased to offer you a review copy of Lawrence LeShan’s new groundbreaking book, Landscapes of the Mind.
In this work, LeShan does for human consciousness and behavior what Linneaus did for biology,
— provide a classification system for aspects and states of consciousness. This framework contains both the objective and subjective aspects of life and shows that they can be intelligibly connected.
It is an important addition to the literature on consciousness.
Please let me know if you would like to feature this work on Thinking Allowed.
Best regards,
Denise Meyer
How can you be so sure about this one ? Although most of the information provided is true as per my knowledge but I don’t agree fully. I think it should be more practical. I visited your website while searching for this topic and hope to see more good information on it. Do keep up the good work.
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