tbm, digest
The Last Case of Señor Cuervo; Read past books; The Anxious Generation; The first author in history; How to read more; Jólabókaflóðið.
Stories, ideas and books for curious minds around the world.
Tale of the day: The Last Case of Señor Cuervo
Every morning, the old raven watched people from the roof of a quiet bookstore.
He wasn’t just any bird. In another life, he'd been a detective — sharp, stubborn, and a bit dramatic.
That life ended with a poisoned cup of coffee and an unsolved case.
Now, with feathers instead of fingerprints, he waited.
One afternoon, a young man walked in. Loud voice, nervous hands.
“My grandfather stole it during the war. A black stone necklace. Said it brings bad luck.”
The raven froze.
It was the same necklace. The one from his last case.
He ruffled his wings.
Time to work again.
Big idea of the day
Have you stopped to think that every book you read is a conversation with a different version of yourself?
The book you read when you were 17, could sounds completely different if you read it nowadays. What in the past sounded boring and abstract, now can be something very profound and interesting.
The book is the same, but what has changed is you. That’s why reading old books is not a waste of time, because it allows us to know and understand a new version of ourselves.
Has this happened to you?
Book of the moment: The Anxious Generation
Why did teen mental health collapse after 2010?
In this urgent and eye-opening book, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores how a sudden shift—from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood—has rewired the minds of Gen Z. As smartphones and social media took over, rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among teens more than doubled.
Haidt lays out the science behind this crisis: from sleep loss and addiction to loneliness, social comparison, and the rise of perfectionism—especially among girls. He explains why boys are withdrawing into virtual worlds, and how this shift is harming not just kids, but entire societies.
Most importantly, he offers a clear path forward: four simple rules to reclaim childhood and protect the next generation from the mental health fallout of a phone-first life.
Rules:
No smartphones before high school
No social media before 16
Phone-free schools
More free play and independence in the real world
A must-read for parents, educators, and anyone who cares about the future of childhood.
Did you know…?
The first known author in human history was a woman.
Her name was Enheduanna, a Sumerian high priestess who lived around 2285 - 2250 BCE in ancient Mesopotamia. She wrote hymns, poetry, and philosophical texts —becoming the first person in recorded history to sign their name to a literary work.
Thousands of years later, we still read her words.
Something to share
Want to read more? Make your phone work for your reading, not against it.
Move your reading app (Kindle, Scribd, PDF reader) to your home screen. Move social media to a folder on the last page.
One habit swap can change your whole year.
Around the world
In Iceland, 1 in 10 people will publish a book in their lifetime.
It’s one of the most literary countries on Earth.
There's even a word —Jólabókaflóðið— for the “Christmas Book Flood,” when people give books as gifts and spend Christmas Eve reading by candlelight with hot chocolate.
