WJW Book Club: 2024 Reading List
Here's what we read together this year.
Each year WJW's Book Club selects 3-4 books, usually with some relevance to our design work, and we meet for a quarterly lunch hour discussion. This year's picks were all non-fiction, with two focused on the Midwest. One was even co-authored by our very own Mary Begley! Drum roll, please as we reveal our selections!
The Third Coast
Thomas Dyja's The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream is a fascinating history of Chicago in the early 20th century, with a lot of focus on the development of ITT's architecture school and the design of the first modern skyscrapers in the city.
Atlas of Remoteness
Atlas of Remoteness: Midwest USA is part of a series of books by the Institute for Linear Research. The authors explore geography, cartography, topography, and the built environment along a line that travels through several Midwestern states.
Homelessness is a Housing Problem
Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain US Patterns by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern makes a compelling argument for creating more affordable housing.
Invisible Women
Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men is chock full of examples of how women are not accounted for in product design, medicine, and even crash tests for cars.
All of these books were incredibly thought-provoking and we had a great time reading and discussing!
