Q4 Book List

Thoughts on the year to follow next week. But I got my century!

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I love Nassim Taleb, but not nearly as much as he loves himself. Interesting throughout nonetheless, though less so than previous work. And even more self-congratulatory and arrogant, which is hard to believe.

The Cay, Theodore Taylor

Classic shipwreck story, where young boy learns a thing or two about people and prejudice in WW II Caribbean. Easy to read, harder to recommend.

Taft 2012: A Novel, Jason Heller

Very cute idea, capably rendered.

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, David K. Randall

Sleep is crucial for well being and happiness, yet it remains mysterious to doctors and scientists.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, Christopher Paul Curtis

Disjointed story with little to say about the titular subject. Disappointing, because I expected to enjoy the Michigan connection.

Public Opinion, Walter Lippmann

Classic about how the media shapes public opinion, rather than reporting the news. Full of insight, but I found the writing hard to digest

The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's,Farm Fields and the Dinner Table, Tracie McMillan

Not as interesting or as insightful as I'd hoped, but I'll never look at supermarket produce or an Applebees menu the same way again.

Friend of My Youth, Alice Munro

Beautiful and engaging writing about ordinary people doing ordinary things. A delightful surprise--and a Canuck to boot!

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, Robert M. Pirsig

It's exhausting, all that passionate searching for fundamental truths and essences. Also for the reader

Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, Ryan Holiday

Pressures to be first and interesting make information online increasingly combative, sensational and unreliable. Plus, the people who provide information care more about money than truth. Not the Internet we were promised. Not hardly.

Death in Venice, Thomas Mann

Somewhat disturbing story of aging and obsession. Not quite sure what to make of it, but I do know that I did not enjoy reading it, but am glad to have read it. And I am still thinking about it.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Poignantly and generally believable novel about the problems and triumphs of a troubled ninth grader. Read this after seeing the movie, whose faithfulness to the text was to its detriment. I find it difficult to read about this kind of suffering. It hurts.

Rickshaw reporter, George L. Peet

Dreadfully dull and quotidian memoir about life in Singapore between the two world wars. I had thought this might be interesting, but the author provided scant context and color. Very British in its rote chronicling of everyday life.

Future Perfect: The Case For Progress In A Networked Age, Steven Johnson

Not as good as the other book by the author that I read this quarter. Interesting ideas though about the applicability of peer-to-peer networking in government and society.

The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler

The best of the three classic detective stories I read this year. A little cliched, but the writing is brilliant, and the ending surprised even me. Incredible, but I bought it.

Can You Trust a Tomato in January?, Vince Staten

Tour of the supermarket. circa 1994, blending a little economics, history science and folksy philosophy. A little bit dated, but interesting throughout.

The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in aMultispeed World, Michael Spence

Readable look by a Nobel prize winning economist at the patterns by which markets emerge, and how they are the drivers of future growth. Korea and China follow Japan, but the timing is faster. Is Africa next? Many seem to think so.

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, A. J. Jacobs

Entertaining look at all of the noise and signal in the "wellness" industry. Some science, but more anecdotal than anything. Recommended nonetheless.

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, Steven Johnson

Key is the “adjacent possible”, the innovations inspired by what is known. Collaboration and serendipity help as well.

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, Jonathan Gottschall

Is fiction a drug? A flight simulator? It serves no clear evolutionary purpose, yet we love it. Maybe we love stories and familiar patterns because they economise on mental processing power. That’s what Kahnemann would say, I suspect.

Detroit: (a Biography), Scott Martelle

 Brief history of the city from Cadillac to Dave Bing. Surprisingly, Racial relations seem to have done more than unions to shape the city and its politics.