892 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
892 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
[1]Skip to the content
|
||
Search
|
||
[3]Tracy Durnell's Mind Garden
|
||
Thinking and Learning In Public
|
||
Menu
|
||
|
||
• [5]Blog
|
||
□ [6]All posts
|
||
□ [7]Featured Posts
|
||
□ [8]Articles
|
||
□ [9]Post Index
|
||
□ [10]Microblog (external)
|
||
□ [11]Links to blog about
|
||
• [12]Big Q’s
|
||
□ [13]Future of the Internet
|
||
□ [14]Information Diet
|
||
□ [15]Making Culture
|
||
□ [16]Transforming Capitalism
|
||
□ [17]Resisting Fascism
|
||
□ [18]Women’s Equality
|
||
□ [19]Thinking Better
|
||
□ [20]Creative Processes
|
||
□ [21]Writing Fiction
|
||
• [22]About
|
||
□ [23]About Tracy
|
||
□ [24]Start Here
|
||
□ [25]Now
|
||
□ [26]Weeknotes
|
||
□ [27]All Pages
|
||
• [28]Books
|
||
□ [29]Read in 2025
|
||
□ [30]Past Reading
|
||
□ [31]Book Reviews
|
||
• [32]Tunes
|
||
□ [33]Listened in 2025
|
||
□ [34]Birthday Playlists
|
||
□ [35]Best of Year Playlists
|
||
□ [36]Favorite Albums
|
||
• [37]Eats
|
||
□ [38]Recipes I’ve Made
|
||
□ [39]Recipes to Try
|
||
• [40]Links
|
||
□ [41]Blogroll
|
||
□ [42]Interesting People
|
||
□ [43]Cool Artists
|
||
□ [44]Neat Websites
|
||
□ [45]Small Businesses
|
||
□ [46]Graphic Design Resources
|
||
|
||
Menu
|
||
Search
|
||
Search for: [49][ ] [50][Search]
|
||
Close search
|
||
Close Menu
|
||
|
||
• [53]BlogShow sub menu
|
||
□ [55]All posts
|
||
□ [56]Featured Posts
|
||
□ [57]Articles
|
||
□ [58]Post Index
|
||
□ [59]Microblog (external)
|
||
□ [60]Links to blog about
|
||
• [61]Big Q’sShow sub menu
|
||
□ [63]Future of the Internet
|
||
□ [64]Information Diet
|
||
□ [65]Making Culture
|
||
□ [66]Transforming Capitalism
|
||
□ [67]Resisting Fascism
|
||
□ [68]Women’s Equality
|
||
□ [69]Thinking Better
|
||
□ [70]Creative Processes
|
||
□ [71]Writing Fiction
|
||
• [72]AboutShow sub menu
|
||
□ [74]About Tracy
|
||
□ [75]Start Here
|
||
□ [76]Now
|
||
□ [77]Weeknotes
|
||
□ [78]All Pages
|
||
• [79]BooksShow sub menu
|
||
□ [81]Read in 2025
|
||
□ [82]Past Reading
|
||
□ [83]Book Reviews
|
||
• [84]TunesShow sub menu
|
||
□ [86]Listened in 2025
|
||
□ [87]Birthday Playlists
|
||
□ [88]Best of Year Playlists
|
||
□ [89]Favorite Albums
|
||
• [90]EatsShow sub menu
|
||
□ [92]Recipes I’ve Made
|
||
□ [93]Recipes to Try
|
||
• [94]LinksShow sub menu
|
||
□ [96]Blogroll
|
||
□ [97]Interesting People
|
||
□ [98]Cool Artists
|
||
□ [99]Neat Websites
|
||
□ [100]Small Businesses
|
||
□ [101]Graphic Design Resources
|
||
|
||
• [102]BlogShow sub menu
|
||
□ [104]All posts
|
||
□ [105]Featured Posts
|
||
□ [106]Articles
|
||
□ [107]Post Index
|
||
□ [108]Microblog (external)
|
||
□ [109]Links to blog about
|
||
• [110]Big Q’sShow sub menu
|
||
□ [112]Future of the Internet
|
||
□ [113]Information Diet
|
||
□ [114]Making Culture
|
||
□ [115]Transforming Capitalism
|
||
□ [116]Resisting Fascism
|
||
□ [117]Women’s Equality
|
||
□ [118]Thinking Better
|
||
□ [119]Creative Processes
|
||
□ [120]Writing Fiction
|
||
• [121]AboutShow sub menu
|
||
□ [123]About Tracy
|
||
□ [124]Start Here
|
||
□ [125]Now
|
||
□ [126]Weeknotes
|
||
□ [127]All Pages
|
||
• [128]BooksShow sub menu
|
||
□ [130]Read in 2025
|
||
□ [131]Past Reading
|
||
□ [132]Book Reviews
|
||
• [133]TunesShow sub menu
|
||
□ [135]Listened in 2025
|
||
□ [136]Birthday Playlists
|
||
□ [137]Best of Year Playlists
|
||
□ [138]Favorite Albums
|
||
• [139]EatsShow sub menu
|
||
□ [141]Recipes I’ve Made
|
||
□ [142]Recipes to Try
|
||
• [143]LinksShow sub menu
|
||
□ [145]Blogroll
|
||
□ [146]Interesting People
|
||
□ [147]Cool Artists
|
||
□ [148]Neat Websites
|
||
□ [149]Small Businesses
|
||
□ [150]Graphic Design Resources
|
||
|
||
Categories
|
||
[151]Featured [152]Learning [153]Meta [154]Writing
|
||
|
||
What to read? Big questions as filter and frame (Part 7)
|
||
|
||
• Post author By [155]Tracy Durnell
|
||
• Post date [156]August 16, 2025
|
||
• [157]4 Comments on What to read? Big questions as filter and frame (Part 7)
|
||
• ❤️
|
||
|
||
This is part seven of a series on tackling wants, managing my media diet, and
|
||
finding enough. Each post stands alone. See the introduction on “[158]the
|
||
mindset of more” for links to all posts in the series.
|
||
|
||
Social media and streaming subscriptions encourage us to [159]gorge on the glut
|
||
of information (Harjas Sandhu describes [160]“hoarding type scrolling” that
|
||
sounds veeeery familiar), promising that the algorithm will feed us the best.
|
||
Instead of helping us practice discernment, corporate platforms offer us an
|
||
all-you-can-eat buffet of candy. Yet as Olga Koutseridi [161]writes,
|
||
“low-quality info is designed to leave us craving more instead of leaving us
|
||
feeling satisfied.” We keep eating and eating, but there’s nothing of substance
|
||
to sustain us.
|
||
|
||
I think curiosity is innately good, and that there’s value in learning about
|
||
many aspects of the world for no more reason than that it is interesting. At
|
||
the same time, I have limited time and capacity for thinking — I need [162]some
|
||
sort of filter for what to read, especially as I make efforts [163]to slow my
|
||
pace. The morass of information online is what brought us algorithmic curation
|
||
and now pushes genAI — but [164]corporate algorithms encourage rage and
|
||
polarization and create [165]“curiosity ruts”, so I [166]avoid them.
|
||
|
||
How can I create my own mental algorithm for choosing what to read?
|
||
|
||
For me, reading and blogging are interconnected; [167]what I read influences
|
||
what I write about. I’m working on flipping that around, with the goal that
|
||
[168]what I want to write about determines what I read. But how to decide what
|
||
to write about, if not by what I read?
|
||
|
||
What I’m trying is using [169]my Big Questions as a structure for curiosity, a
|
||
way to practice more intentionality in what I spend my time thinking about.
|
||
I’ve been working on this for a few years, but I feel like I’m getting a better
|
||
handle on it now.
|
||
|
||
tl;dr I’m basically doing [170]research projects for fun 😉
|
||
|
||
Since I started this experiment, I’ve noticed I’m less driven to read random
|
||
stuff online because I’m so excited about this playful approach to reading. The
|
||
carrot method — giving myself exciting things to think about — has worked way
|
||
better than the stick method of deleting my feed reader from my phone so that
|
||
the only thing I had to read was my Read Later app, which instead drove me to
|
||
read the Bluesky and mastodon.social Discover feeds (do not recommend) in a
|
||
desperate quest for novelty and news. Glad I dodged that becoming a habit 🙌
|
||
|
||
(I personally dislike video and podcasts, so I’m talking about reading in this
|
||
piece, but I think the same approach applies to any media type.)
|
||
|
||
The Big Questions framing
|
||
|
||
I got the framing of [171]Big Questions at an [172]Oliver Burkeman workshop. I
|
||
recall it as a tangential mention but it immediately sent me spinning. As
|
||
simple an idea as it is to identify some key overarching questions in your
|
||
life, sometimes we need to put a name to something to really get it.
|
||
|
||
Anne-Laure Le Cunff recounts advice Richard Feynman gave “to keep a dozen of
|
||
your favorite problems constantly present in your mind,” and describes [173]
|
||
favorite problems as “a curiosity engine”:
|
||
|
||
Your favorite problems form a prism that separates incoming information
|
||
into a spectrum of ideas — a frame that allows you to deliberately filter
|
||
distractions, direct your attention, and nurture your curiosity.
|
||
|
||
Last year, I [174]wanted to do more self-directed writing, but it was
|
||
challenging not to be reactive. This year, I’m discovering that self-guided
|
||
reading is the other half of the equation.
|
||
|
||
Big questions give me a reason to seek rather than simply receive, and are
|
||
broad enough to provide direction without constraint.
|
||
|
||
Turning directed curiosity into big questions
|
||
|
||
Reading towards questions gives purpose to my curiosity. Curiosity comes in two
|
||
styles: receptive and directed. Receptive curiosity is openness to learning;
|
||
directed curiosity is more active, and [175]invites you deeper. Allen Pike
|
||
[176]observes that the internet primarily serves our receptive curiosity:
|
||
|
||
By occasionally picking things to go deep on, you balance out the otherwise
|
||
broad information diet we all get by default by being on the internet,
|
||
consuming media, and just kind of being a modern human.
|
||
|
||
My big questions coalesced out of my receptive curiosity reading; I identified
|
||
my first big questions in 2023 by reflecting on what I’d been thinking and
|
||
writing about and looking for overarching themes. I first listed off a bunch of
|
||
smaller questions within that theme, then worked backwards to find a bigger
|
||
question uniting them all. Defining these questions made me enunciate for
|
||
myself exactly what it was I was wondering, a process I found helpful in
|
||
itself.
|
||
|
||
Last fall, I realized that my big questions didn’t align with my main interests
|
||
anymore, so I created a few new ones and retired a couple. Updating my [177]big
|
||
question pages a couple-three times a year also nudges me to notice which
|
||
questions I’ve been neglecting and might like to put some attention towards, or
|
||
retire.
|
||
|
||
Big questions are a self-created tool that serves my thinking, not the other
|
||
way around. I don’t treat them as a boundary to my curiosity, but can expand or
|
||
add to my questions when I need. The questions are big enough to keep exploring
|
||
within for a year or more, still offering plenty of the novelty I crave. I
|
||
think of the Big Questions as high level themes, and blog posts as a way to
|
||
explore sub-questions within them.
|
||
|
||
How this changes my reading
|
||
|
||
The feed reader and beyond
|
||
|
||
I subscribe to a ton of feeds, ever-changing, which showers me in riches of
|
||
information that satisfy my broad curiosity, some directly from topical blogs
|
||
and some shared by [178]cool people. Earlier this year, I reoriented the way I
|
||
think of the topic-specific blogs and newsletters I follow, and moved them from
|
||
my blogroll page onto my big question pages. It’s now easier for me to unfollow
|
||
and refollow topical feeds as my focus shifts between questions.
|
||
|
||
I’ve also been more proactive in seeking out online articles related to my
|
||
questions — I’ve been using [179]Search My Site, [180]Marginalia Search, and
|
||
appending Reddit to DDG searches to seek out opinions and recommendations.
|
||
These smaller, weirder information pools yield some intriguing results. (There
|
||
are so many personal websites out there guys!)
|
||
|
||
Choosing not to read *good* online content
|
||
|
||
Marco Giancotti points out that [181]weeding out the bad stuff isn’t the hard
|
||
part of deciding what to read (emphasis mine):
|
||
|
||
Filtering out spam and slop is relatively easy with the right tools and a
|
||
little thought, at least at an emotional level.
|
||
|
||
The much tougher job, I think, is giving up on things that would be good,
|
||
meaningful, fulfilling, and useful in order to do things that are even more
|
||
so—or, to be precise, to do things that are better aligned with what I
|
||
really care about right now. The hard part is dealing with the fact that,
|
||
whatever I may try, I will never get to do the vast majority of those
|
||
amazing activities.
|
||
|
||
I’m of two minds here: I don’t want to ignore everything that isn’t immediately
|
||
useful, but recognize that I read a lot of things that leave me with nothing
|
||
more than “cool🤷♀️” (or [182]political stuff that ties me in a knot of nerves
|
||
and anger). I don’t want to fall prey to utilitarianism, [183]reading only what
|
||
has a tangible, immediate takeaway, but also find I do get more satisfaction
|
||
from going deep.
|
||
|
||
Oliver Burkeman writes about accepting our finitude in Four Thousand Weeks,
|
||
commenting (emphasis mine):
|
||
|
||
“Social media is a giant machine for getting you to spend your time caring
|
||
about the wrong things, but for the same reason, it’s also a machine for
|
||
getting you to care about too many things, even if they’re each
|
||
indisputably worthwhile.”
|
||
|
||
I cannot care about everything, and trying to prevents me from going deep on
|
||
the things I care most about. Wendell Berry puts it: “To know some things well
|
||
is to know other things not so well, or not at all. Knowledge is always
|
||
surrounded by ignorance.”
|
||
|
||
Accepting my own interests
|
||
|
||
I [184]use my Read Later app as [185]the filter point between my shoulds and my
|
||
interests; everything I encounter online and want to read gets saved there. I
|
||
tag articles with key topics and themes (including “mindset of more” for
|
||
articles related to this series) to let me see only articles related to my
|
||
questions. When a bit of time has passed from saving the article and I am less
|
||
emotionally invested, I can more easily let go of the things that I imagine
|
||
“someone like me” ought to read. Looking into these “should” articles often
|
||
exposes tender spots of (typically unwarranted) inadequacy, or what-if’s around
|
||
choices long since made.
|
||
|
||
What this ultimately requires is self-knowledge and self-acceptance — to
|
||
release our imagined selves and [186]“navigate by aliveness.” We must not judge
|
||
our own curiosities as unworthy, or torment ourselves that we ought to be
|
||
different people than we are. Whatever we are interested in, however
|
||
idiosyncratic, holds meaning for us, and that’s what counts.
|
||
|
||
(It is possible to gently shift your own interests towards self-actualization,
|
||
especially if resistance is your barrier — Tara McMullin [187]names this
|
||
“discrepancy reduction.”)
|
||
|
||
Curating reading lists
|
||
|
||
After reading around a question for a while online, I start to get a better
|
||
feel for where I should dig in to books. The internet primarily produces
|
||
breadth, but books offer depth.
|
||
|
||
In the past, I would pick a single book as representative of a topic I was
|
||
broadly curious about and call it good. Now, I’m going more [188]research-style
|
||
, collecting a stack of books on the same topic, knowing full well that I won’t
|
||
read them all*.
|
||
|
||
*(My library system allows us to keep books for up to three months if there are
|
||
no active holds so my eyes are always bigger than my reading time 😅)
|
||
|
||
I start off by [189]browse-searching the library catalog for books related to a
|
||
question that’s been niggling at me — this spring one has been: in the age of
|
||
generative AI, what’s the value in craftsmanship? — and collecting potential
|
||
titles into [190]a list. Of course, I have my own answer to this question, but
|
||
the meaning of making can be a tricky thing to describe, so I wanted to see how
|
||
others have done so, and explore some different angles:
|
||
|
||
• What’s the value of art and craftsmanship to the creator, to the receiving
|
||
audience, to society?
|
||
• How have we dealt with similar challenges to craftsmanship in the past, and
|
||
how is generative AI different?
|
||
• What do artists, writers, academics, craftspeople think?
|
||
• What is craft, and how do we learn it? How is what generative AI does
|
||
different than what human creators are doing?
|
||
|
||
I try to keep the lists generously open-ended — since these are library books I
|
||
don’t have to pay for, I have nothing to lose from trying something a bit out
|
||
there besides a bit of time. (I had been keeping a single list with all my
|
||
questions crammed together but have finally taken the time to separate them out
|
||
😉) Art books, poetry, memoirs, all fair game. Celine Nguyen [191]observes,
|
||
“Research as a leisure activity isn’t constrained by these disciplinary
|
||
fiefdoms and schisms. Any discipline can offer interesting ideas, tools,
|
||
techniques.” I’m trying to turn my “ooh?” energy towards intriguing books than
|
||
enticing online articles.
|
||
|
||
(I’ve also been buying more books that the library doesn’t have, so three
|
||
months ago I set a goal to read one physical non-fiction book I own each month,
|
||
partly to clear up shelf space and partly to give myself some impetus to
|
||
actually read books I own — we’ll see if I can keep it up!)
|
||
|
||
When I’m requesting books from the library (we get free holds — 25 on ebooks
|
||
and I’ve never hit the limit on physical), I skim through the library list and
|
||
try to think about which would be most helpful to read next based on where my
|
||
thinking is now. (This is also influenced by what has a wait list.) Although I
|
||
like reading fiction as an ebook, I prefer to read non-fiction in hard copy. I
|
||
benefit from having a non-fiction book in sight — it’s easy for non-fiction
|
||
ebooks to get pushed below the digital fold so I forget I have them borrowed —
|
||
and a due date so I actually get around to reading it 😉
|
||
|
||
(And let’s be honest, I’m often thinking towards multiple questions at once —
|
||
once I’m excited about something, I want the book now! Maybe I’ll get better
|
||
about this, but I’ve read multiple books for as long as I’ve been reading, so I
|
||
don’t see that stopping 🤷♀️ Self-acceptance 😜)
|
||
|
||
Although I’m reading the book or article [192]towards a particular theme, I’ll
|
||
still write down unrelated connections — if I can’t use it for the post at top
|
||
of mind, it might apply to a future question or post. Despite starting off with
|
||
a vague idea of the question I’m getting at, I find that my original question
|
||
often shifts and becomes more compelling, and I develop new questions. I’ll
|
||
write more than one blog post, and explore more than one question, based on
|
||
what I’ve been reading this spring and summer.
|
||
|
||
How I’ve been choosing books to read
|
||
|
||
Here’s a demonstration of my selections across four library runs (you’ll see
|
||
I’m still grabbing books for entertainment, other interests, and broad
|
||
curiosity, but also focusing on a particular topic):
|
||
|
||
stack of 8 library books, two on writing craft, three on the arts and crafts
|
||
movement[193]In April, I decided to dig into the Arts and Crafts movement as a
|
||
historic example of valuing handiwork. I started with [194]In Harmony with
|
||
Nature, an art-style book about Arts & Crafts gardens that offered an
|
||
introduction, then read [195]The Arts and Crafts Movement, which gave me just
|
||
what I was looking for: quotes from the founders of the movement about what
|
||
craftsmanship meant to them. [196]Dangerous Fictions offered a slightly
|
||
different angle on interrogating the function of art in culture, especially
|
||
difficult art. I drew on the Arts & Crafts background for my blog post about
|
||
the [197]Business Borg. stack of library books that includes six books related
|
||
to the mindset of more seriesMy [198]early May library haul had four books
|
||
loosely related to AI / craftsmanship (American Book Design and William Morris,
|
||
Deep Dream, More Than Words, and Changing the Subject) and two related more
|
||
broadly to the “mindset of more” theme (Possessed and The Plenitude of
|
||
Distraction). I dipped into American Book Design, decided it was more technical
|
||
than I wanted, and fully read [199]More Than Words, which directly compared
|
||
writing with generative AI text, and [200]Plenitude for an exploration of
|
||
leisurely thinking and “unproductive” behavior. flatlay of 7 library books
|
||
related to cultural elites and the creative classMy [201]late May library haul
|
||
focused on cultural elites and impacts on the creative class. I read [202]
|
||
Pretentiousness, which advocated for the value of pushing artistic boundaries,
|
||
and [203]The Crisis of Culture, which connected better to a different question
|
||
I was thinking about 😉 I rejected The Meaning in the Making and read a review
|
||
of Elite Capture that made me think their definition of elite wasn’t what I was
|
||
looking for. After skimming the table of contents for Culture Crash, I decided
|
||
it wasn’t getting at the interesting part of the question for me, so my reading
|
||
time would be better spent elsewhere. stack of 9 library books, including 6
|
||
related to blog postsFor my [204]early June library haul, I wanted to follow a
|
||
thread of interest on identity politics, so I grabbed The Class Matrix and The
|
||
Case Against the Professional Managerial Class. I also borrowed four more
|
||
related to the AI / craftsmanship question: What We See When We Read, The Art
|
||
of Slow Writing, The AI Mirror, and Unmasking AI. I read all of [205]What We
|
||
See, digging into what’s actually happening while we are reading. The
|
||
introduction to The Class Matrix made me realize it was more advanced theory
|
||
than I was prepared to read. Based on time limitations, I decided the AI books
|
||
weren’t a priority.
|
||
|
||
When writing is the point of your notes — when informing your writing is the
|
||
goal behind reading — Richard Griffiths [206]proposes that it’s most useful to
|
||
“develop a concept of your intended output before you start reading a book.
|
||
That way, your interests will fruitfully guide your reading and note-making.” I
|
||
do this by periodically ducking into my collecting grounds (draft blog post)
|
||
for a particular question and developing a starter outline of declarative
|
||
statements. I organize the material I’ve already collected (initially from
|
||
online readings) into those headings, then continue to read more based on the
|
||
parts of my argument I’m not sold on yet, or where I don’t feel comfortable
|
||
making a declarative / interesting statement.
|
||
|
||
Reading with purpose
|
||
|
||
Sometimes I like to read for the sake of reading, and sometimes I enjoy more
|
||
purposeful reading. Knowing that I’m planning to write about a question changes
|
||
how I read by defining my idea space. Instead of reading according to receptive
|
||
curiosity, I’m using directed curiosity to seek what of the text relates to my
|
||
question. It makes me pay closer attention to language that I might quote in a
|
||
blog post.
|
||
|
||
When I read non-fiction, two levels of interpretation are happening in my mind
|
||
at the same time: first, I am directly intaking the language and interpreting
|
||
the author’s intention; at another level, I am processing it analytically and
|
||
relationally, trying to understand what it means to me. Johan Hari [207]
|
||
describes it: “If you weren’t letting your mind wander a little bit right now,
|
||
you wouldn’t really be reading this book in a way that would make sense to you.
|
||
Having enough mental space to roam is essential for you to be able to
|
||
understand a book.” This is an [208]unfocused, connective mode of thinking that
|
||
uses my brain’s [209]default mode network. I use reading non-fiction as a
|
||
commitment to spend time thinking about a subject; the book itself is a tool
|
||
towards that.
|
||
|
||
When I read towards a question, I concentrate my connection-making within that
|
||
question space, but it remains loose. [210]I am reading for ideas, not
|
||
information per se, so [211]the dialogue between me and the book is what
|
||
matters. Roland Barthes [212]writes, “[The text] produces, in me, the best
|
||
pleasure if it manages to make itself heard indirectly; if, reading it, I am
|
||
led to look up often, to listen to something else.” Just as [213]writing
|
||
doesn’t only look like typing, reading doesn’t only look like rapt attention to
|
||
the page. A big question offers a frame for my reading, like the viewfinder of
|
||
a camera; framing is a way of sense-making.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Further reading:
|
||
|
||
[214]How Small-Town Public Libraries Enrich the Generative Research Process by
|
||
Nick Fuller Googins (LitHub)
|
||
|
||
[215]More search, less feed by Austin Kleon
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
See also:
|
||
|
||
[216]Choosing between ideas for blog posts
|
||
|
||
[217]How I approach crafting a blog post
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Shout-out to [218]James for asking about my Big Questions last December and
|
||
(eventually) prompting this!
|
||
|
||
This is the (current) last article in a [219]series on the mindset of more.
|
||
|
||
•
|
||
• Previous: [220]Slow craft: writing with a noncapitalist mentality (Part 6)
|
||
|
||
• Tags [221]agency, [222]blogging, [223]curiosity, [224]decision making,
|
||
[225]novelty, [226]Oliver Burkeman, [227]play, [228]process, [229]reading,
|
||
[230]research
|
||
|
||
[70c71f48c24aa2fcf7]
|
||
|
||
By Tracy Durnell
|
||
|
||
Writer and designer in the Seattle area. Reach me at tracy@tracydurnell.com or
|
||
@tracy@notes.tracydurnell.com. She/her.
|
||
|
||
[231] View Archive →
|
||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||
[232] ← Weeknotes: Aug. 9-15, 2025 [233] → Read The Last Battle at the End of
|
||
the World
|
||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||
|
||
4 replies on “What to read? Big questions as filter and frame (Part 7)”
|
||
|
||
[] [234]Jay says: @ [235]thejaymo.net
|
||
[236]August 17, 2025 at 12:06 pm
|
||
|
||
The summer is waning, you can feel it in the mornings, the dog days are over,
|
||
and it’s getting noticeably darker earlier in the evenings
|
||
|
||
[237]Reply
|
||
[IMG_9150-100x] [238]Joe Crawford says: @ [239]artlung.com
|
||
[240]August 17, 2025 at 7:12 pm
|
||
|
||
What to read? Big questions as filter and frame (Part 7)
|
||
|
||
[241]Reply
|
||
[] [242]Ruben Verweij says: @ [243]kedara.eu
|
||
[244]August 29, 2025 at 7:20 am
|
||
|
||
What to read? Big questions as filter and frame (Part 7)
|
||
– Tracy Durnell
|
||
|
||
I love Tracy’s idea of defining personal Big Questions. She uses these
|
||
questions as a basis, to decide what she’ll read and write about (and
|
||
crucially, what not). I’ll definitely think about what my Big Questions are.
|
||
|
||
[245]Reply
|
||
[70c71f48c24aa] [246]Tracy Durnell says: @ [247]tracydurnell.com
|
||
[248]September 6, 2025 at 12:52 pm
|
||
|
||
I saw someone post a (kind) reminder to go back and read your saved for later
|
||
articles. I’m here to tell you you don’t have…
|
||
|
||
[249]Reply
|
||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||
|
||
Leave a Reply [250]Cancel reply
|
||
|
||
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
|
||
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
Comment * [ ]
|
||
|
||
Name * [252][ ]
|
||
|
||
Email * [253][ ]
|
||
|
||
Website [254][ ]
|
||
|
||
[255][ ] Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I
|
||
comment.
|
||
|
||
[256][Post Comment]
|
||
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
[ ]
|
||
Δ[ ]
|
||
|
||
To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should
|
||
contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear
|
||
(possibly after moderation) on this page. Want to update or remove your
|
||
response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again. ([262]
|
||
Find out more about Webmentions.)
|
||
|
||
URL/Permalink of your article [263][ ]
|
||
|
||
[264][Ping me!]
|
||
|
||
Explore
|
||
|
||
[267]All Posts | [268]Featured | [269]Categories | [270]Random
|
||
|
||
Recent Posts
|
||
|
||
• [271]It’s ok to not read your read later backlog September 6, 2025
|
||
• [272]Weeknotes: Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2025 September 5, 2025
|
||
• [273]Read The Eye of the Heron September 5, 2025
|
||
• [274]Listened to Ambulette – I’ve Got More September 4, 2025
|
||
• [275]Read Virtue Hoarders September 3, 2025
|
||
|
||
About Tracy
|
||
|
||
[276][70c71f48c24aa2]
|
||
|
||
Tracy Durnell
|
||
|
||
• [277]microblog
|
||
• [278]mastodon
|
||
|
||
Writer and designer in the Seattle area. Reach me at tracy@tracydurnell.com or
|
||
@tracy@notes.tracydurnell.com. She/her.
|
||
|
||
Search for: [279][ ] [280][Search]
|
||
• [281]Digital Garden RSS Feed
|
||
• [282]Book Review RSS Feed
|
||
• [283]Comments RSS Feed
|
||
• [284]Privacy Policy
|
||
|
||
No soliciting
|
||
|
||
Please and thank you! I do not accept guest blog posts.
|
||
|
||
© 2025 [285]Tracy Durnell's Mind Garden
|
||
|
||
[286]Privacy Policy
|
||
|
||
[287] Powered by WordPress
|
||
|
||
[288] To the top ↑ Up ↑
|
||
|
||
References:
|
||
|
||
[1] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/#site-content
|
||
[3] https://tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[5] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[6] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[7] https://tracydurnell.com/category/featured/
|
||
[8] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/article/
|
||
[9] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/index/
|
||
[10] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[11] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/links-to-blog-about/
|
||
[12] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[13] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/future-of-the-internet/
|
||
[14] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/information-diet/
|
||
[15] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/culture/
|
||
[16] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/transforming-capitalism/
|
||
[17] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/resisting-fascism/
|
||
[18] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/feminism/
|
||
[19] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/thinking-better/
|
||
[20] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/effective-creative-processes/
|
||
[21] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/writing-fiction/
|
||
[22] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[23] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[24] https://tracydurnell.com/start-here/
|
||
[25] https://tracydurnell.com/now/
|
||
[26] https://tracydurnell.com/category/weeknotes/
|
||
[27] https://tracydurnell.com/pages/
|
||
[28] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[29] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/read-in-2025/
|
||
[30] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[31] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/read/
|
||
[32] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/
|
||
[33] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/listened-in-2025/
|
||
[34] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/birthday-playlists/
|
||
[35] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/best-of-year-playlists/
|
||
[36] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/favorite-albums/
|
||
[37] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[38] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[39] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/recipes-to-try/
|
||
[40] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/roundups/
|
||
[41] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/
|
||
[42] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/interesting-people/
|
||
[43] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/cool-artists/
|
||
[44] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/neat-websites/
|
||
[45] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/shopping/
|
||
[46] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/graphic-design-resources/
|
||
[53] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[55] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[56] https://tracydurnell.com/category/featured/
|
||
[57] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/article/
|
||
[58] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/index/
|
||
[59] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[60] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/links-to-blog-about/
|
||
[61] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[63] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/future-of-the-internet/
|
||
[64] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/information-diet/
|
||
[65] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/culture/
|
||
[66] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/transforming-capitalism/
|
||
[67] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/resisting-fascism/
|
||
[68] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/feminism/
|
||
[69] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/thinking-better/
|
||
[70] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/effective-creative-processes/
|
||
[71] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/writing-fiction/
|
||
[72] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[74] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[75] https://tracydurnell.com/start-here/
|
||
[76] https://tracydurnell.com/now/
|
||
[77] https://tracydurnell.com/category/weeknotes/
|
||
[78] https://tracydurnell.com/pages/
|
||
[79] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[81] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/read-in-2025/
|
||
[82] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[83] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/read/
|
||
[84] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/
|
||
[86] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/listened-in-2025/
|
||
[87] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/birthday-playlists/
|
||
[88] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/best-of-year-playlists/
|
||
[89] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/favorite-albums/
|
||
[90] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[92] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[93] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/recipes-to-try/
|
||
[94] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/roundups/
|
||
[96] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/
|
||
[97] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/interesting-people/
|
||
[98] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/cool-artists/
|
||
[99] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/neat-websites/
|
||
[100] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/shopping/
|
||
[101] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/graphic-design-resources/
|
||
[102] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[104] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[105] https://tracydurnell.com/category/featured/
|
||
[106] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/article/
|
||
[107] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/index/
|
||
[108] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[109] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/links-to-blog-about/
|
||
[110] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[112] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/future-of-the-internet/
|
||
[113] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/information-diet/
|
||
[114] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/culture/
|
||
[115] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/transforming-capitalism/
|
||
[116] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/resisting-fascism/
|
||
[117] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/feminism/
|
||
[118] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/thinking-better/
|
||
[119] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/effective-creative-processes/
|
||
[120] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/writing-fiction/
|
||
[121] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[123] https://tracydurnell.com/about/
|
||
[124] https://tracydurnell.com/start-here/
|
||
[125] https://tracydurnell.com/now/
|
||
[126] https://tracydurnell.com/category/weeknotes/
|
||
[127] https://tracydurnell.com/pages/
|
||
[128] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[130] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/read-in-2025/
|
||
[131] https://tracydurnell.com/reading/
|
||
[132] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/read/
|
||
[133] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/
|
||
[135] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/listened-in-2025/
|
||
[136] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/birthday-playlists/
|
||
[137] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/best-of-year-playlists/
|
||
[138] https://tracydurnell.com/listening/favorite-albums/
|
||
[139] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[141] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/
|
||
[142] https://tracydurnell.com/recipes/recipes-to-try/
|
||
[143] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/roundups/
|
||
[145] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/
|
||
[146] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/interesting-people/
|
||
[147] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/cool-artists/
|
||
[148] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/neat-websites/
|
||
[149] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/shopping/
|
||
[150] https://tracydurnell.com/resources/graphic-design-resources/
|
||
[151] https://tracydurnell.com/category/featured/
|
||
[152] https://tracydurnell.com/category/learning/
|
||
[153] https://tracydurnell.com/category/meta/
|
||
[154] https://tracydurnell.com/category/writing/
|
||
[155] https://tracydurnell.com/author/tracyadmin/
|
||
[156] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/
|
||
[157] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/#comments
|
||
[158] https://tracydurnell.com/2024/12/30/mindset-of-more/
|
||
[159] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/02/23/choosing-my-pace-by-shaping-my-thinking-spaces/
|
||
[160] https://hardlyworking1.substack.com/p/hoarding-type-scrolling
|
||
[161] https://www.localbreadbaker.com/p/research-as-a-way-of-life
|
||
[162] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/01/04/disrupting-my-reading-habits/
|
||
[163] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/02/23/choosing-my-pace-by-shaping-my-thinking-spaces/
|
||
[164] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/11/07/in-algorithm-we-trust/
|
||
[165] https://tracydurnell.com/2022/12/17/algorithmic-recommendations-create-curiosity-ruts/
|
||
[166] https://tracydurnell.com/2021/11/11/breaking-out-of-what-the-algorithm-feeds-you/
|
||
[167] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/01/04/disrupting-my-reading-habits/
|
||
[168] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/03/10/reclaiming-intentionality-in-browsing-and-blogging/
|
||
[169] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[170] https://www.personalcanon.com/p/research-as-leisure-activity
|
||
[171] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[172] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/03/11/designing-your-system-for-creativity-inputs/
|
||
[173] https://nesslabs.com/favorite-problems
|
||
[174] https://tracydurnell.com/2024/01/02/challenging-myself-playfully/
|
||
[175] https://tracydurnell.com/2022/03/16/shapes-of-reading/
|
||
[176] https://allenpike.com/2023/have-a-research-question
|
||
[177] https://tracydurnell.com/questions/
|
||
[178] https://tracydurnell.com/blogroll/
|
||
[179] https://searchmysite.net/
|
||
[180] https://marginalia-search.com/
|
||
[181] https://aethermug.com/posts/the-luxurious-pain-of-using-my-time
|
||
[182] https://tracydurnell.com/2022/05/13/article-pairing-stop-reading-the-news/
|
||
[183] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/05/04/discerning-the-value-of-note-taking/
|
||
[184] https://tracydurnell.com/2021/03/19/tbr-stream/
|
||
[185] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/01/04/disrupting-my-reading-habits/
|
||
[186] https://ckarchive.com/b/zlughnhk8772ma7qrr9qehwzgng00f6
|
||
[187] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/03/08/read-what-works/
|
||
[188] https://lithub.com/how-small-town-public-libraries-enrich-the-generative-research-process/
|
||
[189] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/04/28/browsing-as-thinking/
|
||
[190] https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/222055327/2828776997
|
||
[191] https://www.personalcanon.com/p/research-as-leisure-activity
|
||
[192] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/05/19/foraging-for-insights/
|
||
[193] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/2025/04/03/library-haul-peacock-and-vine.html
|
||
[194] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/04/05/read-in-harmony-with-nature/
|
||
[195] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/06/24/read-the-arts-and-crafts-movement/
|
||
[196] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/07/11/read-dangerous-fictions/
|
||
[197] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/06/02/generative-ai-and-the-business-borg-aesthetic/
|
||
[198] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/2025/05/06/library-haul-the-plenitude-of.html
|
||
[199] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/05/28/read-more-than-words/
|
||
[200] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/05/17/read-the-plenitude-of-distraction/
|
||
[201] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/2025/05/23/library-roundup-on-culture-and.html
|
||
[202] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/05/29/read-pretentiousness/
|
||
[203] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/15/read-the-crisis-of-culture/
|
||
[204] https://notes.tracydurnell.com/2025/06/17/library-haul-planning-a-blog.html
|
||
[205] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/07/17/read-what-we-see-when-we-read/
|
||
[206] https://writingslowly.com/2025/03/10/roland-barthes-on-the-purpose.html
|
||
[207] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/07/31/read-stolen-focus/
|
||
[208] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/05/17/read-the-plenitude-of-distraction/
|
||
[209] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network
|
||
[210] https://tracydurnell.com/2024/12/17/in-praise-of-the-hundred-page-idea/
|
||
[211] https://zettelkasten.de/posts/dont-rely-on-source-have-faith-in-yourself/
|
||
[212] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/05/02/read-the-pleasure-of-the-text/
|
||
[213] https://tracydurnell.com/2021/12/08/writing-metrics-and-capitalism/
|
||
[214] https://lithub.com/how-small-town-public-libraries-enrich-the-generative-research-process/
|
||
[215] https://austinkleon.com/2019/04/04/more-search-less-feed/
|
||
[216] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/12/18/choosing-between-ideas-for-blog-posts/
|
||
[217] https://tracydurnell.com/2023/09/27/how-i-approach-crafting-a-blog-post/
|
||
[218] https://jamesg.blog/
|
||
[219] https://tracydurnell.com/2024/12/30/mindset-of-more/
|
||
[220] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/03/23/slow-craft-writing-noncapitalist-mentality/
|
||
[221] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/agency/
|
||
[222] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/blogging/
|
||
[223] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/curiosity/
|
||
[224] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/decision-making/
|
||
[225] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/novelty/
|
||
[226] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/oliver-burkeman/
|
||
[227] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/play/
|
||
[228] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/process/
|
||
[229] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/reading/
|
||
[230] https://tracydurnell.com/tag/research/
|
||
[231] https://tracydurnell.com/author/tracyadmin/
|
||
[232] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/15/weeknotes-aug-9-15-2025/
|
||
[233] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/18/read-the-last-battle-at-the-end-of-the-world/
|
||
[234] https://thejaymo.net/2025/08/17/403-summer-is-waning/
|
||
[235] https://thejaymo.net/2025/08/17/403-summer-is-waning/
|
||
[236] https://thejaymo.net/2025/08/17/403-summer-is-waning/
|
||
[237] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/?replytocom=14439#respond
|
||
[238] https://artlung.com/likes/0d0bf55b70f54fd45c3f4fb8fc8a73f4
|
||
[239] https://artlung.com/likes/0d0bf55b70f54fd45c3f4fb8fc8a73f4
|
||
[240] https://artlung.com/likes/0d0bf55b70f54fd45c3f4fb8fc8a73f4
|
||
[241] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/?replytocom=14442#respond
|
||
[242] https://kedara.eu/bookmarks/blaugust2025#bm-12
|
||
[243] https://kedara.eu/bookmarks/blaugust2025/
|
||
[244] https://kedara.eu/bookmarks/blaugust2025/
|
||
[245] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/?replytocom=14484#respond
|
||
[246] https://tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[247] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/06/its-ok-to-not-read-your-read-later-backlog/
|
||
[248] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/06/its-ok-to-not-read-your-read-later-backlog/
|
||
[249] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/?replytocom=14560#respond
|
||
[250] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/#respond
|
||
[262] https://indieweb.org/webmention
|
||
[267] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/
|
||
[268] https://tracydurnell.com/category/featured/
|
||
[269] https://tracydurnell.com/mind-garden/index#categories
|
||
[270] https://tracydurnell.com/random
|
||
[271] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/06/its-ok-to-not-read-your-read-later-backlog/
|
||
[272] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/05/weeknotes-aug-30-sept-5-2025/
|
||
[273] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/05/read-the-eye-of-the-heron/
|
||
[274] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/04/listened-to-ambulette-ive-got-more/
|
||
[275] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/09/03/read-virtue-hoarders/
|
||
[276] https://tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[277] https://micro.blog/tracydurnell
|
||
[278] https://micro.blog/tracydurnell?remote_follow=1
|
||
[281] https://tracydurnell.com/feed/
|
||
[282] https://tracydurnell.com/kind/read/feed
|
||
[283] https://tracydurnell.com/comments/feed/
|
||
[284] https://tracydurnell.com/privacy-policy/
|
||
[285] https://tracydurnell.com/
|
||
[286] https://tracydurnell.com/privacy-policy/
|
||
[287] https://wordpress.org/
|
||
[288] https://tracydurnell.com/2025/08/16/what-to-read-big-questions/#site-header
|