Review: Blast #2

Blast #2 by Wyndham Lewis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Forgettable, but for the artwork.

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Review: Out of the Dog House

Out of the Dog House by Dick Portillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of the reviews here trash this book as repetitive, and with the author's arrogance in plain sight. I have read many business biographies, which this is, and I found it actually pretty good. Portillo goes into some depth in describing his childhood and how his time in the Marines taught him how to think. He relates the difficult start to the business, including not having running water at his first location. He talks about how he came up with his drive through concept and tested it to get it to work better. He even talks about how his kids were involved in the business. He also dives into the operations of the business, dealing with competition, rewarding the long-time employee, and running a massive training program. He doesn't give all the details, you get more of an outline than a blueprint, but the story, for those interested in modern rags to riches stories that don't involve the internet, is quite interesting. When you finish this book, you understand how Portillo thought about running his business. I see this book as being written to provide to Portillo's employees and vendors, to help keep his way of thinking in the business. As Portillo sold off his business, this was likely his last chance to influence its ongoing operations.

I recall hearing an interview of Dick Portillo, probably on Chicago's WGN, probably during the 2008 recession. The announcer jokingly suggested Portillo's deal with the recession by putting less beef on his Italian beef sandwiches. Portillo's reply, deadly serious, was that they would never reduce the size of their offerings, because that's not what his customers want. The announcer jokingly repeated his idea of reducing serving sizes, and Portillo, even more deadly serious, said they would not do it. It seemed if the announcer repeated himself one more time, it would come to blows. You love to hear guys this serious about their product and talk about the business, as you'll get to know how they think and became successful. It might not be replicable, but it's interesting.

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Review: Paula

Paula by Isabel Allende
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this audiobook on a couple of long drives by myself. Sometimes listening that way makes you forget the story, but here I have memories of many of the sequences and anecdotes, and strong memories of the emotions reading this induced. Allende tells of her family's history, as well as her own, with unexpected depth. You feel you know each as a character. And along the way she tells of her daughter, Paula, becoming more and more ill. It's the story of moving, changing cities and countries many times throughout a lifetime, and often for difference circumstances. Many trials are faced. I found this quite memorable and will plan to read more by Allende.

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Review: Talking Mysteries: A Conversation With Tony Hillerman

Talking Mysteries: A Conversation With Tony Hillerman by Tony Hillerman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was more a hardback fanzine than a book. There are a number of articles, most not by Hillerman. Interesting only to those who have run out of Hillerman mysteries to read.

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Review: The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found the suspense in the story very well managed by Atwood. It was a very compelling read, once you got into the setting. I read her MaddAdamm books before this, and really enjoyed them. In comparison, this felt more like the less technical 1970s. I am looking forward to reading this one's recent sequel to see if the difference in when it was written makes a difference to the story.

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Review: Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV

Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV by Francis Parkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another in Parkman's series of old Canada and America histories. Parkman writes with details and imbues the stories in the history with adventure and with hardship you can see and feel. Nice reading.

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Review: The Art of Living

The Art of Living by André Maurois
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this little book with a neatly penned gift inscription for a young man just starting out in the world. It was in a Christian organization's thrift store. While this copy was 60 years old, it looked to be like new, but had been read. I thought I'd take it for a spin, and found the writing to be about what you'd expect, very reflective, mostly common sense, with some odd suggestions here and there. I enjoyed the feel of the book - it felt antique in the thoughts, though not in the writing.

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