8.15.2021

Still reading Undaunted Courage. These frontiersmen, what they endured, it’s just amazing. Great read. Great adventure book. Also picked up Harrari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century; the last of his trilogy. So far so good but kind of dull.

6.15.2021

I started reading this a while ago and had to return it to the lib before I could finish, but I picked back up Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose which is the story of Meriwether Lewis and his trip to the West. Awesome story. So far so good.

5.13.2021

It’s been a while since I’ve reported back on my readings. Does anyone really even care? Probably not, but I don’t care that you don’t care so I guess we’re at an impasse…

Anyways.

Bad Blood was great and Elizabeth Holmes is a total kook. Shocked at how much money was invested (by really smart and savvy investors) in her company without proving anything worked as advertised. Goes to show you how far you can get by dropping your voice a few octaves and having extreme confidence in your fake product.

Didn’t end up reading Digital Minimalism but I’m not on my phone nearly as much as 80% of the people out there so I didn’t need the hard reset recommended in the book.

I picked up This is Water by David Foster Wallace and it was short but excellent. Reminds us all to take a step back and be grateful; you should give it a try some time.

I meant to start reading Where Men Win Glory by Krakauer while I was on vacation last week but never got around to it. I’ll start it sooner or later.

Happy New Year People - 1.6.2021

I’ve read the following since last checking in end of September:

• Homo Deus which is the sequel to Sapiens. Good stuff in there and an interesting perspective from Harari once again

• The Four by Scott Galloway which talks about Amazon/Apple/Facebook/Google their dominance and why they are so dominant. Good read and I liked Galloway’s writing

• Turtles All The Way Down by John Green which is basically Teen fiction and shouldn’t be classified as a novel. quick easy and entertaining read but overall not good.

I’m now reading:

• Bad Blood by John Carreyou

• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

9.23.2020

Kavalier and Clay is or has been boring so far, so I’ve turned my attention elsewhere. Junot Diaz’s Drown; short stories. Very entertaining and I usually don’t like short stories. So many books so little time.

8.28.2020

Finished Sapiens (finally) and I thoroughly enjoyed overall. Needed a break from nonfiction so I started reading Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. So far so good, but I can kind of tell what’s going to happen already so I may discontinue. What’s nice about fiction is you can skim and still get the gist.

8.4.2020

Yes its been a while and trust me I know better than you do. We got a puppy (Rosie) the middle of April and I haven’t had a chance to really read for pleasure as of late with the new job and additional responsibility of caring for a pup.

I have continued to read Sapiens and have still found it to be an entertaining and informative read. Really helps you check your ego at the door when you are reminded that we’re just animals that have evolved over the last couple thousands of years. I’m half way through and want to get through as quick as possible as I ordered Harari’s other books (Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century) and want to actually read the books I have rather than let ‘em collect dust.

The list of books I want to read keeps growing. Will I ever have time to read them all? I was in a good groove when commuting to/from the back bay; had about 30min each way (sometimes longer) to knock a bunch of pages out. With being at home, it has been a challenge.

More to come once I finish.

4.28.2020

Started Harari’s Sapiens a few weeks ago and its fascinating. A lot of information about our species. Then we got a puppy (Rosie) three weeks ago and I haven’t had much time to sit and read. I will finish though as it is a really good read so far. I wonder how bad my library fees are going to be as these books are longggg overdue. BPL will probably waive the fees…I hope…

3.11.2020

IN COLD BLOOD is Truman Capote’s non-fiction about the 1959 murder of Kansas family. The writing is fantastic, but I find myself wondering, how could he possibly know all this information? I’m waiting until I finish to learn more about Capote. Also, can’t help but think of Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) every time I say Capote’s name.

2.3.2020

Gawande’s Being Mortal and the healthcare industry’s aversion to geriatric care. I really hope that I age gracefully. Perhaps a bit morbid, but death is a part of life.

1.26.20

Finished Immortal Life and while there is some interesting scientific info, I wouldn’t call the book a ‘must-read’. It was sad how the family was victimized, but they, and I assume most people, wouldn’t know any better.

I think the lesson here is read the fine print. Though there probably wasn’t much in the 50’s when the cells were harvested unbeknownst to the family.

1.20.2020

After slogging through Tartt’s fiction, I’ve taken a break from the fake and am going to be reading more non-fiction. Its good to learn a thing or two while you’re reading.

I’ve since started up Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which goes in to the HeLa cell, its history (where it came from. info about Henrietta’s family, etc.) and how the HeLa cells have advanced modern medicine. Polio vaccine, artificial cornea growth, etc.

I’m about half way through it and it’s interesting. I’ve learned a bit. I wouldn’t call it a ‘must-read’ but its got some good info in there.

1.9.2020 

I finished Goldfinch. It should NOT have won the Pulitzer Prize. Anticlimactic. Far too long. Tartt is a phenomenal storyteller and her prose is solid but the ending definitely fell flat.

12.19.2019

The BPL only lets you keep a book for 3 weeks and it will take well over 3 to finish Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. Good story so far, but authors, like actors who like to hear themselves talk like to see how many words they can put on a page. Where is the editor trimming this thing down? Far too much.

So I had to return Goldfinch and now in the meantime I’m on to this memoir called Educated about this Mormon from Idaho who never went to school until she did. The dad in the book is already always worried about the Feds. What’s with Mormons worrying about the Feds? Could be a guilt thing? They know they’re doing something wrong and have this unfounded fear of the gov’t coming to raid their farm/compound etc. I listened (for way too long and there was never a punchline) to an NPR piece about some outfit in the middle of nowhere where a guy (I think a Mormon) blew his house up and refused to give himself up to authorities. Could be where this book is going. Guessing Educated is more so about this person’s matriculation in to schooling.