Thread by @douglewinenergy

Best books I read in 2021. Lmk which ones you read which you think I should read too. This is an incomplete list but includes most of what I read this year.

Overstory by R. Powers "The hottest year ever measured comes & goes. Then another. Then 10 more.. Species disappear. Too many species to count..Things are going lost that have not yet been found. Look at the life around you; now delete 1/2 of what you see"
richardpowers.net/the-overstory/

Ministry for the Future by K.S. Robinson.
"The invisible hand never picks up the check." Texans will be remineded of this often in coming decades as the costs of Feb 2021 are paid. Great book about what 2035 might look like given the heating of the planet. rollingstone.com/culture/cultur…

The Extraction State: A History of Natural Gas in America by Charles Blanchard (@CBthegasguy) "Industry does not abide ideology. Private business lobbies for the sort of regulation that yield the highest profits." #txenergy #txlege
amazon.com/Extraction-Sta…

Let Love Rule by @LennyKravitz. Loved this book (also the name of one my favorite albums of all time).

"Things that are authentic and organic take the time they take. new life has a rhythm of its own."

us.macmillan.com/books/97812501…

Under a White Sky by @ElizKolbert: "Stick to a strict interpretation of the natural and these--along with thousands of other species--are goners. The issue, at this point, is not whether we're going to alter nature, but to what end?"
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/617060/u…

Souls of Black Folk by WEB DuBois "So he brought w/ his wide influence all that was best of those who walk w/in the Veil. They who live w/out knew not nor dreamed of that full power w/in, that mighty inspiration which the dull gauze of caste decreed that most men should not know"

The Sword and The Shield by @PenielJoseph. As we near MLK Day, this is a great one to remind ourselves of what he actually said & believed: "There aren't enough white persons in our country who are willing to cherish democratic principles over privilege."
basicbooks.com/titles/peniel-…

The Sum of Us by H. McGhee: "Nothing about our situation is inevitable or immutable but you can't solve a problem with the consciousness that created it...everything we believe comes from a story we've been told. I set out...to piece together a new story."
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564989/t…

Lives of the Stoics by @RyanHoliday. I try to read everything he writes but he's too damn prolific. "There is no better definition of a Stoic: to have but not want, to enjoy without needing."
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605841/l…

The Parable of the Sower By Octavio Butler:
"Drowning people
Sometimes die
Fighting their rescuers."

Butler was a prophet. One more:

All that you tough,
You Change.

All that you Change,
Changes you.

The only lasting truth
Is Change.

God
Is Change.

Give and Take by @AdamMGrant. Jeff Ashby, NASA space shuttle commander says that "expedition behavior--being selfless, generous, & putting the team ahead of yourself--is what helpus us succeed in space more than anything else." More of this in 2022 please.
adamgrant.net/book/give-and-…

Saving Us by @KHayhoe: True hope must begin by recongizing the risk & understanding what's at stake...success isn't inevitable or even probable...Real hope provides a vision of a future that we want to live in where our lives are better than they are today simonandschuster.com/books/Saving-U…

Energy's Digital Future by @AmyJaffeenergy: "China aims to dominate the global clean energy makert. Doing so could give it economic & strategic advantages over the U.S. The market for clean energy is expected to reach over $2.6t in the coming decade..."
cup.columbia.edu/book/energys-d…

Livewired by @davideagleman: "Your third grader is smart, and Albert Einstein is smart. We’ll slowly transition from a smart grid to a genius grid"
More of that quote here:

https://twitter.com/douglewinenergy/status/1429858019077206017?s=20

Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards, by Jan Reid. A must read for all Texas history buffs. "Mobilizing constituences ignored by everyone else was one of the ways underfunded long shots gained ground." #txlege
utpress.utexas.edu/books/reid-let…

I read some others but it's New Year's Eve and I'm done tweeting for 2021. Hope y'all have a great time ringing in the New Year and that 2022 is as good as it can possibly be. One way to make it so: Read more books!!

Thanks for following and happy new year!