One of my more recent Ask Prolly emails was pretty straight forward and slightly off-topic:

“Hey Prolly, what’s the last book you’ve read? Any recommendations? It doesn’t have to be bike related”

To be honest, I don’t read as much as I’d like to. It’s kinda hard for me to find time to sit around with my nose in a book. Earlier this summer I picked up a book entitled Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford. It’s been on the NY Time’s best seller list and its published, Penguin was kind enough to send one my way out of the blue. It took me a little while to get around to reading it but with the recent time I spent on planes and vegging out on the beach, I managed to finish it quickly.

Crawford’s premise is that with the dissolution of shop classes in high schools, our generation has been raised to be technologically savvy and in the process we’ve lost touch with the soulcraft of making things. He goes on to relate the recent economic decline and job losses to the boom in “blue collar” job openings, which usually pay much better than the “desk job / tech” counterparts. It’s an excellent read and as someone who went to grade school without the use of computers, I can really identify with that he’s saying. So if you’re looking for a book to read this summer, pick it up at your local shop!