Chad Comello

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  • Favorite Books of 2024

    It would be more accurate to title this post merely “Books I Read in 2024” because man oh man did I slack on reading this year. Long gone is my 80+ per year pace (pre-kids, crucially), replaced by not even hitting double digits. There are various reasons for this, but suffice it to say I…

    Jan 5, 2025
    # best of, books, lists
  • Book Notes

    These are the scattered notes and quotes from 130+ books I’ve read over the years. I’ve always enjoyed taking notes on my reading, whether to track factoids or save interesting quotes for reference. I put them all on this one page to make browsing and searching easier, and in case they might be of use…

    Jan 3, 2025
  • Media of the moment

    An ongoing series The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson. Another brilliant narrative nonfiction saga from Steven Johnson that weaves multiple historical threads together to tell the riveting story of how dynamite, fingerprinting, anarchism, information science and other seemingly disparate forces all conspired…

    Jul 15, 2024
    # books, film, media of the moment, movies, Steven Johnson, television
  • Quotes

    I’ve been collecting quotes since college. Quotes from books, movies, songs, interviews. Quotes that make me think, appreciate, question. Quotes that turn a beautiful phrase or ignite a lightbulb moment or send an arrow into my heart. Here’s what I have so far. “We should live until we die.” – Fun., “The Gambler” “Why do…

    May 13, 2024
  • Scientific achievements that deserve their own ‘Oppenheimer’

    I half-joked in my Oppenheimer blurb that I have a long list of history books that also deserve to be turned into IMAX-worthy epics. Well, I’m happy to report my favorite author Steven Johnson is also on board with this movement—specifically for the story of penicillin and other incredible scientific achievements: If Nolan can create…

    Apr 16, 2024
    # books, Oppenheimer, science, Steven Johnson, Technically First
  • Favorite Books of 2022

    Gotta be honest: 2022 wasn’t a great reading year for me. I read 22 books, which was much worse than 31 in 2021 and just barely better than the 18 in 2020. A lot of my potential reading opportunities were either taken up by movie watching, Cinema Sugar, or other leisure activities. Not a bad…

    Jan 17, 2023
    # best of, books, lists
  • At home in the Library of Congress

    In a delightful convergence of two of my favorite things, Steven Johnson wrote about a research trip to the Library of Congress: Everything about my visit was an object lesson how a government agency can make a public resource available to its citizens in an efficient, useful, and even aesthetically-pleasing fashion. I am generally not…

    Jun 10, 2022
    # democracy, libraries, Library of Congress, politics, quotes, Steven Johnson
  • Media of the moment

    An ongoing series Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer by Steven Johnson. My favorite author does it again, using his signature storytelling savvy to explain how human life expectancy has doubled in the last century. Vaccines, epidemiology, pasteurization, drug regulation, penicillin, and automobile safety sound like dry topics, but how they came to…

    Feb 16, 2022
    # books, film, media of the moment, movies
  • Favorite Books of 2021

    In 2021 I read 31 books. That’s 13 more than my record-low in 2020, so that’s nice. Regardless, my prime directive as a librarian and reader remains to follow my own reading values. Don’t worry about the quantity. Read serendipitously and at whim. Don’t forget fiction. And heed the Pollanian reading maxim. With that in…

    Jan 13, 2022
    # best of, books, Josh Ritter, Lin-Manuel Miranda, lists, Malcolm Gladwell, quotes, review, Richard Powers
  • Media of the moment

    An ongoing series of what I’ve read, seen, and heard lately Schmigadoon. Though its story is a little loose at the edges throughout the show’s short six-episode run, the central conceit of a couple getting stuck inside the world of an old-timey musical was a fun journey. Watch out for “Corn Puddin’” because it’s an…

    Aug 25, 2021
    # books, film, media of the moment, movies, music, television
  • The Ghost Map

    When I learned Steven Johnson (my favorite author) has a new book out, it prompted me to finally read one of his previous books that’s been on my list for a while. The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World was a timely read,…

    Jun 16, 2021
    # book notes, books, England, quotes, review, science, sociology, Steven Johnson
  • Favorite Books of 2020

    In his year-end summary of reading, Seth Godin wrote: “Books are an extraordinary device, transitioning through time and space, moving from person to person and leaving behind insight and connection. I’m grateful every single day for the privilege of being able to read (and to write).” I read 18 books in 2020. For some people…

    Jan 5, 2021
    # Alan Jacobs, best of, books, James Nestor, Jeopardy, lists, Max Brooks, parenting, reading, review, Richard Linklater, Steven Johnson, World War II
  • Media of the moment

    An ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. Songs for Singin’ by the Okee Dokee Brothers. My eager anticipation was rewarded with this double-album’s worth of characteristically clever, catchy, and joyful tunes. I may have teared up during “Jubilation”. The Last Temptation of Christ. Sure, there are few regrettably ’80s moments and…

    Jun 30, 2020
    # books, film, media of the moment, movies, music
  • Favorite Books of the 2010s

    See also: my favorite films, TV shows, and albums of the 2010s. This list happens to coincide perfectly with the period of time I began (1) reading for fun once I graduated college, (2) tracking my reading, and (3) reading a lot more. This means I had tons of titles to consider. I forced myself…

    Dec 12, 2019
    # Atlas of a Lost World, best of, books, Boom Town, Circe, Kory Stamper, lists, Madeline Miller, Station Eleven, Steven Johnson, The Hunt for Vulcan, The Shepherd’s Life, Typewriter Revolution
  • Favorite Books of 2018

    Goodreads tells me I read 72 books this year. Though I didn’t read as many as last year, with a baby on the way I’ve been trying to read abundantly while I can, for both quality and quantity. Here are the books published in 2018 that I enjoyed the most. (See previous best-of book lists.)…

    Jan 2, 2019
    # 2001: A Space Odyssey, best of, books, Boom Town, Circe, Coen Brothers, lists, Madeline Miller, Oklahoma City, quotes, review, The Odyssey
  • Potent quotes noted in 2017

    A few years ago I started logging the interesting or inspiring quotes I come upon in my reading and watching. I thought it would be fun to post the ones I captured in 2017, which taken together tell part of the ongoing story going on in my head and heart. What story do they tell,…

    Jan 5, 2018
    # Andrew Jackson, Dwight Eisenhower, logbook, Mary Oliver, quotes, quotes of the moment, Steven Johnson
  • Favorite Books of 2016

    According to my records I read more than ever in 2016. Partially this was due to starting as a book reviewer for two library trade journals, thus increasing the volume of pages coming my way. But I also made more time overall for reading, because I love it and I work at a library and…

    Jan 2, 2017
    # Batman, best of, books, Candice Millard, Chuck Klosterman, Glen Weldon, Hope Jahren, lists, Nick Offerman, Paul Kalanithi, review, Rod Dreher, Scandinavia, Steven Johnson, telegraphy, Winston Churchill
  • How I Got to Now: A Librarian Year

    This week I celebrated my one-year anniversary of librarianship. In my application essay for library school I wrote that I’d been a frequent library user for most of my life, yet had never considered working in one until recent epiphanies changed my outlook. Perhaps I thought of it like working at a movie theater—another regular…

    Mar 7, 2015
    # Anne Lamott, archives, books, Dewey Decimal Classification, education, librarians, libraries, library school, life, MLIS, Steven Johnson, Willy Wonka
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© Chad Comello