100 books like Writing on the Wall

Monro draws our attention to China and Islam and provides evidence of the spread of the Kingdom of Paper later in the 10th Century to China where millions were using Chinese pulp paper for money, scrolls, and other products. 

He presents a detailed history of writing in China and the use of early media, esp. silk, and bamboo strips. Paper, whatever it was made of and wherever it appeared, was a writing surface cheap, portable, and printable enough that books and pamphlets began to be mass-produced and to travel more widely through the world from the time of Cheops’ early papyrus paper. 

Monro discusses how in the pre-digital age, paper aided the rise of both universal education and universal suffrage and refers to the ‘Republic of Letters’ which transcended national divisions. In modern times the multiple uses of paper, especially as wrappings, indicate that the Kingdom of Paper has… show more.

Bloom’s book, available in hardcover at a reasonable price, but not on Kindle, is a work of art. 

His intention is obviously to cover the period between 105 AD when pulp paper was first made and the 1000s AD when the Islamic papermakers saw their improved paper taken over by medieval Italian mills where it was improved further into the type of paper that could be used by Gutenberg in the 1450s. 

This period of over a thousand years saw profound changes, during which the papyrus paper and parchment that still ruled the Kingdom of Paper was gradually replaced. Bloom also explores the impact of paper on the development of writing, books, mathematics, music, art, architecture, and even cooking.

And he discusses why Europe was so quick to adopt paper from the Islamic lands and why the Islamic lands were so slow to accept printing in return. Altogether a remarkable… show more.

Müller takes up the story of the Kingdom of Paper by illustrating that the Kingdom was still firmly in place by 1932 when paper was omnipresent and indispensable in and for modern civilization. 

He focuses on paper as more than just a writing surface, especially on its physical, material form, as a product of civilization, something which does not occur naturally in the world but instead requires a technology to produce. This leads him into the great boom in Western paper mills and the realization that we are after all still living in what Marshall McLuhan called the “Gutenberg era” which was made possible by paper. 

Müller further notes how in 1997, faced with what seemed like the extinction of the Kingdom of Paper in the face of the Internet, the world found out that paper continues to have a massive presence in modern civilization even after the explosion of… show more.

Basbanes’ book examines the many uses for paper. 

He takes us along on a visit to papermaking family mills in villages in China and Japan where handmade paper is still produced in quantity, using two-thousand-year-old traditional methods and local plant materials. This is followed by a summary of the development of pulp paper in Asia, Islam, Italy, and Europe including the evolution of paper machines. 

Much of the book is devoted to an extensive coverage of every possible use of paper, including disposable paper, paper cartridges for rifles, artillery wadding, cigarettes, passports, coded messages, hard copy secret documents, government archives, recycled paper, paper money, postage stamps, diaries, letters, artistic designs, music scores, junk mail, construction plans, origami and paper models.

All proof that as someone said, “The paperless society is about as plausible today as the paperless bathroom.”

At Gianni Rodare Scuola for 3-month to 3-year-olds, I watched 2 to 3-year-olds draw, a year-long project described in the book The Little Ones of Silent Movies by Loris Malaguzzi and Tiziana Filippini: The authors explain:

“Children are born with “insuppressible, vital, eager urges to build conversational friendships... Words that come later are not a sudden event born from nothing but emerge from a submerged silent laboratory of attempts, trials, and experiments in communication using tools children constantly improve through long preparation. The results—words and drawings—show the strong desire to communicate and interact, basic traits of children.”

I love this book because its text explains and drawings show the roots of language. It inspired me to observe babies more closely and introduce paints and markers.

This is not only one of the best books on politics, but on people’s behavior in social media and beyond. Grandstanding, Warmke and Tosi say, is the use of moral language for the purpose of self-promotion.

For example, my neighbors put up political signs that say “No human is illegal” even though those same neighbors (unlike me) in fact advocate closed borders, suppose immigration restrictions, and want to deport illegal immigrants. (In contrast, I actually advocate open borders, though my lawn remains silent about my politics.)

The point of this behavior is like praying in public—it’s about trying to impress other people and convince them you’re a good person. 

Today, people are in a kind of moral arms-race with each other, each trying to prove they’re better than others. This explains why people are dismissive of evidence, tend to have over-the-top, exaggerated emotional reactions, make exaggerated moral complaints, or invent… show more.

Have you ever found that you unintentionally offended someone with an innocuous message? Or perhaps no one responds to your emails, even when you think they should.

We lose so much meaning and context when we interact online rather than in person. In a world of virtual and hybrid work, it’s not enough to write well. We must also master the non-verbal signals that accompany our words. This book is an essential guide to mastering the subtle ins and outs of writing emails, messages, texts, social media posts, and more.

In discussing difficult issues with those close to us we all know the importance of listening, empathy, and the power of stories. However, is it possible to do this when communicating via text, email, or Facebook?  What Schultze has taught me is how to utilize these communication skills not only in face-to-face encounters but also when discussing issues via social media. How can I discern which media platform is best suited for sharing my opinions or perspective on potentially divisive issues? While social media is often cast as a source of our collective incivility, this book gives hope that it can also be part of the solution. While written for Christian communicators, the principles he shares are applicable to anyone interested in fostering productive conversations either in person or via social media.  

American Passage’s portrayal of early New England as a fluid frontier where people, goods, and information traveled is excellent.

I like how Grandjean retells the English settlement of the region in terms of how people moved and communicated with one another. She forces readers to rethink our ideas of settler colonialism. In reality, English settlements were tiny islands in a vast sea of Indian lands.

This book focuses on cybersecurity for parents and teenagers, specifically focusing on social media. As a parent of a teenager myself, I know how critical this area really is. Teens are often using social networks and communication channels that their parents are mostly or completely unfamiliar with. Due to that lack of familiarity, parents have a hard time monitoring or setting appropriate limits on the ways their children use social media. Author Effie Manolas wrote this book for both parents and teens, enabling an open conversation on both the benefits and the risks of social media.