Lost in Words
The lockdown lifestyle favors readers. There are those among us who’d just as gladly seek the company of characters in a great book on a Friday night than the company of strangers or friends in some dimly lit bar. For these introverts, the current state of things (and wild winter weather) has eliminated the need for elaborate excuses to simply stay in and read. In light of this, we surveyed the Athletics team for the literature, articles, essays, poems, and other artful applications of language we’ve been disappearing into lately.
Jaime Patino-Calvo
Interactive Designer
by Daniel Kahneman
“This book is a good reminder about how our minds can create useless and baseless biases if we don’t apply logical and objective thinking towards our ideals.”
Matt Owens
Creative and Project Lead
by Matthew McConaughey
“Part memoir, part Texas folk wisdom, plus a bounty of life lessons, Greenlights is an easy read with an uplifting message. As a Texas native, I really enjoyed McConaughey’s childhood story and how it shaped his values and self image. The fact he has been keeping a journal for 35 years is impressive. This book will make you laugh, smile, and ponder. Just keep livin!”
Triana Thompson
Designer
by Zadie Smith
“Zadie Smith wrote this collection of essays during the first few months of the pandemic which, for many of us, was a time clouded by heightened bouts of fear and rage and anxiety and guilt. Smith touches on every painful aspect of those early months, reflects on herself, and considers the future in the most calm and poetic way. I’m interested to know how I would have felt if I’d read this any earlier than I did, but I think anyone whose world has shifted in the past year (aka everyone) can gain something from her perspective.”
Malcolm Buick
Executive Creative Director
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
“It’s a children’s book. My daughter handed it to me, and told me I had to read it. I find reading the books my kids are reading helps us keep up healthy discussions.”
Katherine Lee
Executive Strategy Director
“Has the Pandemic Transformed the Office Forever?”
by John Seabrook
“This really points to a sea change in the way that people think about communal space, working together, and hygiene. I really think this is going to be as monumental as the point in history when human beings began to understand that it was a good idea to wash their hands before performing surgery (even if they don’t look that dirty).”
Allie Stenclik
Project Manager
by Muhammad Yunus
“It’s an accessible read on how business models can be designed for social good, and Yunus takes a very case-study heavy approach in underlining the feasibility and success of centering social and community needs.”
Jackie Zhang
Studio Experience Manager
by Susanna Clarke
“This novel was initially recommended by a friend, and I’ll be honest, one of the main reasons I dove in was that it’s a quick read. As someone whose life has become decidedly unmysterious, the slow-motion unravelling of the plot felt very cathartic. The book’s initial ‘world within a house’ conceit feels a little on the nose, but is ultimately satisfying.”
Britton Walker
Creative Technologist
by John Williams
“A heartbreaking, beautiful, and patient story about a stoic man whose admirable qualities contribute to a life unfulfilled. It’s such a real and relatable story. It forces introspection on past experiences and awareness on the consequences of our actions. I think it’s great because it plays on the innate fears many creative and ambitious people have about living a mediocre life and not being true to yourself.”
Ellen Voorheis
Designer
By Torrey Peters
I’m in the middle of this one but into it so far. An interesting look at the complexities of trans relationships, parenthood, and self-reckoning in general. It’s funny and honest–would recommend.
Zander Abranowicz
Senior Strategist
by Seamus Heaney
“Heaney is my favorite modern poet, and this collection, assembled by the Irish master’s family after his passing in 2013, brings together a representative sweep of his career in one slender volume. I’ve been reading one a day, right when the workday ends. Weaving memoir, history, and nature, Heaney’s poems never get lost in form, staying firmly rooted in the peaty soil of Ireland, or the parched earth of Greece, where he loved to travel. The love poems to his wife Marie are particularly special.”