How the Mind Works by Stephen Pinker

Summary: Pinker explains culture– music, art, fashion– and how they were born from our minds and our evolutionary need to interact with each other.

Review: Amazing. I particularly adored the way he described music’s appeal with a strong basis in Western (European) music theory. He described the cycle of fashion, how it is important to be different than your peers, the cycle of haut-couture going from jewels to minimalistic to jewels again, always trying to be ahead of everyone else, appropriating stuff that is out of style.

Rating(1-10): 8 paintings of inviting landscapes with trees easy to climb and indications of fertile soil

Favorite part: “If you give a species an elementary understanding of mechanics, biology and psychology, the world becomes a machine, a jungle, and a society.”

Wine-pairing: The author sings praises of this song: “Ev’ry Time We Say Good-Bye” by Cole Porter. I won’t raise your expectations higher than that.