What to Read Next: June 20, 2025

Issue #381, featuring a parenting textbook for the digital age

Happy Friday readers!

While my reading has been a bit uneven for the last 5-6 weeks, I’m still squeezing in some great books and getting into a good groove with our new home and routine. This week’s edition features:

• A review of the new parenting must-read of our era

• What to read in light of the terrible political assassination in Minnesota

• 5 Things: Link and Opinions

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The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

For the last year, no book has been more talked about in parenting circles than Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation. And for good reason: Haidt offers up a sobering reality check about the effect screens are having on children, particularly (though not solely) with algorithmic apps like social media and YouTube.

With his usual and effective mix of science, sociology, and anecdotal evidence, Haidt walks readers through the boatload of evidence that describes the detrimental effects of too much screentime.

I was actually hesitant to read this book for a while because I was worried it would be full of scare tactics and black and white ideas about the evils of screens. I mean, ‘90s kids grew up with tons of TV time and we’re fine — it can’t be that bad, right?

The problem is that adults, myself very much included, can feel what smartphones and social media have done to us. We can feel that it’s fundamentally different than just sitting around watching a TV screen. So of course it’s going to have an impact on our children in the same ways, but on a developmental level.

Haidt also offers a few ideas in the way of solutions, but it really boils down to just getting more into the real world and the embodied existence that makes us human. Rather than just taking something away, we need to reveal something even better and ultimately more satisfying. This book is a must-read if you’re a parent, teacher, or caregiver of children — and it offers plenty of compassion and advice for adults too.

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In the News: Tragedy in Minnesota

This section offers a book recommendation based on recent headlines, to help you make sense of the world with a bit more depth and context rather than just clickbait.

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

While there are a lot of great history books about politically-fueled crimes, the first thing that came to mind was actually Stephen King’s The Dead Zone. (Read my original review here.) The novel was published in 1979 to great critical and commercial acclaim, but has since become mostly unknown outside of adamant King fans — which is a shame because it’s a great, thought-provoking story.

Main character Johnny Smith emerges from a five-year-long coma and discovers he’s clairvoyant. Like any good superhuman, Johnny decides to use his power for good by exposing evildoers. One of those men is politician Greg Stillson. How far will Johnny go to stop Stillson? Is it worth it? How do his actions change the course of history? King, as he always does, manages to ask important questions about society while giving us a thrilling plot.

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5 Things: Links and Opinions

1. The Toaster Project — My pal Jonny sent me a video that talked about Thomas Thwaites’ project of making a toaster from its raw materials. This TED talk (embedded above) expands on the short reel I watched. It’s fascinating on a mechanical level, but also hits philosophically on that idea of doing embodied things even when they aren’t convenient.

2. “Navigating by Aliveness” — Oliver Burkeman is always worth reading, but his May newsletter is one that will stay with me a long time. Rather than weighing practicalities and doing pros/cons lists (which are still valuable), Burkeman proposes we should also be asking what makes us feel alive.

3. “AI Is Poised to Rewrite History. Literally.” — This is a great longform piece about how AI is changing how history books are researched, outlined, and written. Some folks are experimenting, but many, as you can imagine, are rather wary.

4. Need summer beach toys? Jane found this sand sifting thingamajig and it was immediately a hit not only with our kids, but with other random kids at the beach too. Be prepared for the poo jokes, but one of these for each of our kids entertained them for hours.

5. The last few months have made it very clear to me how much reading and mental bandwidth are connected. There’s no grand pronouncement here other than to say that you should read what you have brain space for — don’t let anyone (mainly the bookish internet) tell you otherwise.

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Thanks so much for reading. Be good to each other.

-Jeremy