Here’s what I’m actively reading right now. Almost done with the book on Malcolm Kerr’s 1984 assassination in Beirut and the aftermath for his family, and same with the terrific Kate Marvel book on our warming climate.

April Books of 2026

Also shown: Computer, pencil, and dodecahedron-shaped timer

Anyway, right to left:

The Infographic Guide to Science: I stopped off at the West LA Library to pick up a book about zero, which I returned because it didn’t have enough in it. Found this 2016 outing by Tom Cabot, and decided to buy the book. Arriving Thursday
One Family’s response to Terrorism, a daughter’s memoir – Susan Kerr Van de Ven: An examination of how the Kerr family decided to sue Iran for damages – but not punitive damages – after his assassination by gunmen in Beirut in 1984.
Human Nature – Kate Marvel: A climate scientist’s response to global warming, nine chapters, one for each of these emotions: Wonder, Anger, Guilt, Fear, Grief, Surprise, Pride, Hope, and Love. There is just the right amount of climate science in here, mostly things I did not know. Dr. Marvel, and yes this is her real name, quit her climate modeling job at NASA when every single one of her projects was canceled. To boost her morale I bought the book, and now YOU HAVE TO BUY IT TOO! And read it. One of these days when we get our democracy and our science back, we will have to return to the global warming issue, and what you learn from this enjoyable book will help.
55th Anniversary Report, Harvard and Radcliffe Class of 1971 – “The Red Book”, by us: What we did, what we face, and those who left without a trace. I wrote two pages, while others contributed the remaining 654. Thanks, everyone!
River of Shadows – Rebecca Solnit: So I was reading a re-release of Rebecca Solnit’s 2008 essay “Men explain things to me.”, which see. I suddenly realised from her retelling that I had read that 2008 essay, and never read the original book. Which, given my interests, sounded just terrific. The first sentence: “In the Spring of 1872, a man photographed a horse.” Guess who?

Since I like to read about photography and California, I’m still reading and enjoying River of Shadows.

Lab Girl – Hope Jahren: Rereading this one, in the large print edition. Do you have a favorite tree? Did your life ever change in a day? Do you like to read about science? By the way, the author mentions an enormous monkeypod tree in the book, and you can totally look it up and get an aerial view on Google maps. They are pretty amazing trees

--- title: "Tiny bookpile April 2026" format: html: css: book-a-style.css author: "George Girton" date: "2026-04-06" categories: [books] image: "Book-Stack-2026-April.png" draft: false --- Here's what I'm actively reading right now. Almost done with the book on Malcolm Kerr's 1984 assassination in Beirut and the aftermath for his family, and same with the terrific Kate Marvel book on our warming climate. # April Books of 2026 ![Also shown: Computer, pencil, and dodecahedron-shaped timer](Book-Stack-2026-April.png) Anyway, right to left: ::: {.book-list} The Infographic Guide to Science : I stopped off at the West LA Library to pick up a book about zero, which I returned because it didn't have enough in it. Found this 2016 outing by Tom Cabot, and decided to buy the book. Arriving Thursday One Family's response to Terrorism, a daughter's memoir -- Susan Kerr Van de Ven : An examination of how the Kerr family decided to sue Iran for damages -- but not punitive damages -- after his assassination by gunmen in Beirut in 1984. Human Nature -- Kate Marvel : A climate scientist's response to global warming, nine chapters, one for each of these emotions: Wonder, Anger, Guilt, Fear, Grief, Surprise, Pride, Hope, and Love. There is just the right amount of climate science in here, mostly things I did not know. Dr. Marvel, and yes this is her real name, quit her climate modeling job at NASA when every single one of her projects was canceled. To boost her morale I bought the book, and now YOU HAVE TO BUY IT TOO! And read it. One of these days when we get our democracy and our science back, we will have to return to the global warming issue, and what you learn from this enjoyable book will help. 55th Anniversary Report, Harvard and Radcliffe Class of 1971 -- "The Red Book", by us : What we did, what we face, and those who left without a trace. I wrote two pages, while others contributed the remaining 654. Thanks, everyone! River of Shadows -- Rebecca Solnit : So I was reading a [re-release of Rebecca Solnit's 2008 essay "Men explain things to me."](https://www.guernicamag.com/rebecca-solnit-men-explain-things-to-me/), which see. I suddenly realised from her retelling that I had read that 2008 essay, and never read the original book. Which, given my interests, sounded just terrific. The first sentence: "In the Spring of 1872, a man photographed a horse." Guess who? Since I like to read about photography and California, I'm still reading and enjoying River of Shadows. Lab Girl -- Hope Jahren : Rereading this one, in the large print edition. Do you have a favorite tree? Did your life ever change in a day? Do you like to read about science? By the way, the author mentions an enormous monkeypod tree in the book, and you can totally look it up and get an aerial view on Google maps. They _are_ [pretty amazing trees](https://www.liliuokalanigardens.org/plants-of-liliuokalani-gardens/monkey-pod-tree) :::