Month: December 2020

I feel like I should have read more books this year, given that I spent most of it underemployed and stuck at home. Then again, I typically do much of my reading in coffee shops and airplanes, neither of which I’ve had occasion to spend time in for the past nine months. I also wrote another book, which is rather time-consuming. Below is my annual post of books that stood out for me in 2020. (That’s when I read them, not necessarily when they were published.)

The Narrow Corridor, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson — If there was an apt year for diving deep into the relationship of liberty and state capacity, it was certainly this one. Recommended for its wide-ranging exploration of state and society, economic development, and the fragility of liberalism.

Apollo’s Arrow, Nicholas Christakis — An impressively good book to get out in such a short period of time, providing a broad overview of this strange pandemic year and situating it in historical context.

Spillover, David Quammen — This was a re-read for me, but a worthwhile one as we found ourselves in the midst of a zoonotic outbreak of the type predicted in this book in 2012. I revisited it in a blog post back in March.

The Seabird’s Cry, Adam Nicolson — After the long election, I desperately needed a break from politics and picked up this book about seabirds, a lovingly informative look into the lives of ten different species. It’s exceptionally good nature writing.

Something Deeply Hidden, Sean Carroll — This was the first book in a long time that brought back the wonder and excitement of reading speculative physics books like Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe back in high school. This one makes a tantalizing case for the many-worlds hypothesis to explain quantum weirdness.

Weird, Olga Khazan — Speaking of weird, I enjoyed Atlantic writer Olga Khazan’s blend of first-hand reporting on people who turned their weirdness into a superpower and her own recollections of growing up as a Russian outsider in Texas. (As a weird Texan adolescent myself, I could relate .)

Calling Bullshit, Carl Bergstrom and Jevon West — This is a fun and informative book about misleading statistics, bad science, and biased news. The examples and illustrations are smartly chosen and it never gets too technical while remaining a very smart read. As a science journalist without formal statistical training, I appreciated the defense of treating some statistical work as a black box that you don’t necessarily need to know the inner workings of. (Bonus surprise: Finding my friend’s research on workplace wellness programs discussed in the chapter on selection bias.)

Lakota America, Pekka Hämäläinen — I have no excuse for not knowing more about Native American history and read this comprehensive new book on the Lakotas to begin addressing that. Highly recommended.

Overdoing Democracy, Robert Talisse — From one of my undergraduate philosophy professors, Overdoing Democracy contends that part of what ails American democracy is that we’re simply doing too much of it, losing our capacity to relate to each other outside of our political roles. Especially relevant as we can hopefully turn down the temperature post-Trump.

History Has Begun, Bruno Maçães — I just finished this and its mode of analysis is so different from what I’m used to that I don’t quite know what to make of it yet. That said, its discussion of Trump, COVID, and American politics’ venture into unreality is engaging and thought-provoking.

The United States of Cocktails, Brian Bartels — More than a book about cocktails, this love letter to American bar and drinking culture is an especially welcome escape in this year that we’ve all been stuck at home.

Brief notes on fiction: I started the year with Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan’s indescribably weird and gritty Gould’s Book of Fish, set mostly in a fantastical and cruel nineteenth century Australian prison; recommended but I’d suggest The Narrow Road to the Deep North first. Giovanni’s Room was my long overdue introduction to James Baldwin. Jumping on bandwagons, I loved Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, with the rest of the Neapolitan novels now next on my to-read list. Daniel Mueenuddin’s short story collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, set in Pakistan, is excellent. I really liked Emily St. John Mandel’s new book The Glass Hotel, very loosely inspired by Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble is funny, surprising, and brilliantly constructed as its perspective shifts from the titular character to that of the novel’s women.

What should I add to my list for next year? Recommendations welcome!

I thought I was done publishing for the year, but never underestimate the American government’s capacity to surprise. Over at Reason, I have an infuriating story about how distillers who pivoted from spirits to hand sanitizer during the early days of the pandemic are getting hit with unexpected fees of more than $14,000 by the FDA. It looks like this is my most widely-read piece of the year and I didn’t even know I was going to write it when I woke up yesterday. Go check it out!

I’ve been closing out the year with a few topical pieces at Inside Hook. First up, evaluating the safety of various outdoor dining set-ups with regard to COVID transmission:

With temperatures dropping and rain and snow on the horizon, many businesses have been putting up more substantial structures to shelter diners from the elements. These range from simple umbrellas and heaters to massive communal tents, the latter often so thoroughly enclosed as to raise the question of whether they meaningfully count as being outdoors at all. Some cities have issued guidance about how to adapt outdoor dining for cold weather, while for others it’s a free-for-all. 

Those of us who love bars and restaurants are thus faced with a dilemma. The seemingly carefree ease of al fresco dining in the summer has been replaced by difficult tradeoffs between comfort and safety. We want to help our favorite places survive the winter, but we’re on our own when it comes to evaluating the risks of various outdoor dining set-ups. Where is one to begin?

Next, a look at how the pandemic is affecting the craft segment of the distilling industry:

The popular perception is that consumers have compensated for lost bar and restaurant sales by purchasing more liquor to drink at home. While there’s some truth to that, aggregate statistics obscure the fact that the gains have not been evenly distributed. Established liquor brands are reaping the benefits of increased retail sales, but craft distillers are getting crushed.

Finally, on a lighter note, a guide to making and aging your own eggnog:

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”

So goes an old proverb that one could adapt for other things that take time to reach maturity. Eggnog, for example. The best time to make your Christmas eggnog is before Thanksgiving. The second-best time is now.

These are some of the items I get the most use of throughout the year. If you’re shopping for someone who’s into cocktails, coffee, cooking, travel, or apparel, you might find something of interest. (NB: If you purchase from Amazon links, I’ll get a referral.)

Bull in China Stirred Cocktail Set — I tested hundreds of cocktail recipes this year for my next book and every stirred cocktail was made in a Bull in China mixing glass. Bull in China is a Portland brand recently relaunched by my friend Matan Steinfeld, selling stylish professional gear to working bars and enthusiastic consumers. Their entire selection is worth checking out, but I particularly like this stirred cocktail set that provides everything you need to make quality stirred drinks like Manhattans, Martinis, and Negronis. It comes with their excellent mixing glass, a jigger with measurements ranging from 1/4 oz to 2 oz, a spiral spoon, and a Hawthorne strainer. Matan has also kindly offered a discount code to readers of this blog. Get $15 off the whole set with code “LIQUIDITYPREF” at checkout, now through December 17.

Chocolate bitters — I wrote a few months ago about my love for chocolate bitters. They’re extremely useful and they’re my go-to addition to a bitters line-up after the big three of Angostura, orange, and Peychaud’s. There are lots of good ones out there, but a couple available online that I recommend are Scrappy’s from Seattle and Pitch Dark from the Portland Bitters Project.

Metal Aeropress filter — Metal Aeropress filters are designed for making coffee, but that’s rarely how I use them. (I prefer the clean profile of a paper filter with that brewing method). So why include these here? I’ve found them to very handy when I need to strain things out of spirits or bitters that are too small to be caught by a fine mesh strainer. When a cork disintegrates in your bottle or a spice infusion kicks off a bunch of sediment, a quick pass through one of these in an Aeropress will take care of it.

Lewis bag and ice mallet — Do you really need a specialized bag and hammer for smashing ice? Probably not, but if you’re anything like me you’ll end up using them far more often than you expect to once you finally bring a set home. A handful of cocktails are just better when they’re served on finely crushed ice, and smashing it yourself is both easy and a form of stress relief. Bull in China makes an extremely attractive and well-made set, but for lower budgets there are less sexy options that still get the job done.

Gammel Dansk — This obscure Danish spirit is hard to find, having just recently been re-imported to the United States, but it’s a great gift for anyone who likes bitter spirits like Fernet-Branca or Campari. It’s intensely bitter without the offsetting sweetness typical of Italian amari, taking it to a different level of challenge drink that’s highly enjoyable for those who like that sort of thing. In Denmark it’s associated with morning coffee and outdoor hikes. (Disclosure: I formerly worked for the company that produces this.)

Temperature-controlled kettle — What do you get for a coffee lover who already has a good brewer, grinder, and scale? There’s a decent chance they could still benefit from a better kettle. A few years ago, I upgraded my basic electric kettle to one that has digital temperature control. A typical kettle takes water to a boil, but you generally want a lower temperature for brewing coffee or tea, so you end up having to guess at a time for the water to cool slightly. Being able to simply set the temperature you want is a worthwhile step up, and if you brew with a pour over method you’ll appreciate the gooseneck spout. (I’ve yet to try the specific model linked here, as I’m currently replacing my old Bonavita that began malfunctioning after a couple years of use, but reviews are very positive.)

Manual coffee grinder — After suffering through too many miserable hotel coffees while traveling for work, I finally invested in a travel coffee set-up. On the road I pack one of these little manual grinders. Is it as consistent as my home grinder? No. Is it kind of annoying to grind by hand? Definitely. But the purpose of this isn’t to make a perfect cup, it’s to brew coffee that’s heads and tails above what you find in most hotels. An added bonus of this model is that it’s designed to fit snugly within the chamber of an Aeropress, minimizing the space it takes up in your luggage. (The other components of my travel set are a compact scale and an electric heating coil.)

Coffee from Proud Mary — I got to know Proud Mary from their amazing cafes in Melbourne. A few years ago they expanded to the United States with a new roastery in Portland, where they consistently make some of my favorite coffees in the city. I particularly like their “wild” coffees made with less common processing methods to bring out unusual flavors, such as their current “Full Noise” offering, but anything you order from them is bound to be good.

Pizza pans from Lloyd — If you’ve followed my recent writing, you know I’ve been obsessed with making pizza this year. There are a ton of gifts you could give a pizza-loving friend or family member, from a baking steel to an outdoor oven, but perhaps the most affordable and easiest is a pan from Lloyd Pans, a small company based in the Pacific Northwest. Pizza makers swear by them, especially the 10 x 14-inch Detroit pizza pan [Amazon; Lloyd]. I’ve also been getting a lot of use out of their 7-inch personal pan, which is great for cooking solo. The pans deliver a great crust yet they release easily and clean up with hardly any effort. If you want to ease into making better pizza at home, there’s no better way to do it.

Tortilla press — Making fresh tortillas is worth the effort. I’m not saying you need to nixtamalize corn from scratch, but if you can find fresh masa (such as from Three Sisters in Oregon, or from your local tortilleria), you can make tortillas that are far better than what you buy at the store with just a little bit of practice. You can get a cast iron press for under $40. Do it. You won’t go back.

Sichuan ingredients from Mala Market — I cook Sichuan food more than anything else at home, and ingredients from Mala Market are a complete gamechanger. This small importer in Nashville brings in hard-to-find ingredients that are far better than what you typically find in US stores. If you’ve never had a really high-quality Sichuan peppercorn, theirs will blow your mind. Their Pixian chili bean paste, flakes for making chili oil, and sesame paste also find frequent use in my kitchen. And if you want to splurge, their Zhongba soy sauce has incredible depth of flavor that makes it excellent for finishing dishes. (Out of stock items are expected to arrive soon.)

Atheist shoes — I picked up a pair of boots from this quirky Berlin shoe brand on my first trip to the city years ago, and they’re still looking great with a little weathering and a more than a few cocktails spilled onto them. I love everything about them, from the soft leather to the unusual design and unique sole. One note: If you need lots of padding and support in the soles, these may not be the best fit for you, although I personally find them comfortable to wear all day. They come in a few styles and a wide range of colors, the Das Petrol shown here being my favorite.

Thursday boots — For everyday wear, Thursday Boots have become my go-to, practically living in their “Captain” boot (on days when I leave the apartment, anyway). They’re not cheap, but they’re more affordable than similar leather boots, and after more than a year of frequent wear they’re still in great shape and very comfortable.

Far Afield “Porter” shirt jacket — I had to include at least one corduroy item. As fall arrived this year, I picked up this corduroy shirt jacket from Far Afield in the UK. It’s casual, comes in multiple colors, and is the perfect weight for slightly chilly weather. And did I mention it’s corduroy?

Thousands bike helmet — I spent most of my life biking without a helmet (I know, I know) until a friend finally shamed me into buying one a couple years ago. The problem is that most helmets are rather ugly. Helmets from Thousands are an exception, and now I wear one without even thinking about it. The magnetic fastener and pop-out hole for securing to your bike lock are both smart additions to the design. [Thousands; Amazon.]

Weekenders sunglasses — I lose or scratch my sunglasses too often to spend a lot of money on them. These glasses from Huckberry strike the perfect compromise between price and style. They look good, they’re comfortable, and at just $35 you won’t feel too bad when you inevitably leave them somewhere.

Topo Commuter briefcase — This rugged laptop bag from Topo Designs in Denver traveled all around the country with me, back when travel was a thing. It’s got ample padding for your computer, room for books and other items, and a convenient zippered compartment up front. One of my favorite things about it is that it easily converts from a messenger-style bag to a backpack, so that you can switch it up to whichever is most practical in a given situation. (Available in multiple colors, but this green one is currently on a very good sale.)

My latest piece for Inside Hook examines the increasingly sheltered outdoor structures restaurants and bars are putting up as the weather gets colder:

With temperatures dropping and rain and snow on the horizon, many businesses have been putting up more substantial structures to shelter diners from the elements. These range from simple umbrellas and heaters to massive communal tents, the latter often so thoroughly enclosed as to raise the question of whether they meaningfully count as being outdoors at all. Some cities have issued guidance about how to adapt outdoor dining for cold weather, while for others it’s a free-for-all. 

Those of us who love bars and restaurants are thus faced with a dilemma. The seemingly carefree ease of al fresco dining in the summer has been replaced by difficult tradeoffs between comfort and safety. We want to help our favorite places survive the winter, but we’re on our own when it comes to evaluating the risks of various outdoor dining set-ups. Where is one to begin?

Read it here.