I’ve made it a point to read physical books again—audiobooks are great, but the quiet, the calm, the contentment that comes from deep, slow reading, it’s something else. I’m fortunate to have picked three excellent reads.

There’s David Commins’ outstanding history of Saudi Arabia, titled just that: ‘Saudi Arabia: A Modern History’. I’ve learned so much and enjoyed the well-crafted narrative.

I’m also reading Will Gervais’ ‘Disbelief,’ a scientific study of how religion and atheism both emerge in human beings (and why). This is enjoyably academic: deeply thoughtful but never off-putting

And Ross Barkan’s Fascism or Genocide, which so intrigued the salesman at the Barnes and Noble I ordered from that he went ahead and got a second copy for the store