Review: Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor

Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor by John C. Bogle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you've read any of Bogle's other, shorter books on mutual funds, and you have an interest in the markets and some history investing, you probably already know what this book is about. I'd say this is about the same as Bogle's other books, but more so. More pages, more details, and more, albeit similar pronouncements. Here he explains stock mutual fund investing, but also bond mutual funds and money markets. I listened to this on audio, free from the jarring charts and tables that must have filled many a page in the paper version of the book. Did I miss those reference items? Yes, the audio version was more difficult to follow without referencing those items. Keep that in mind. I suspect I'd rate this higher were those reference items been described in the audio version.

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Review: The Gifts of Imperfection

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having read a large number of similar books over the years, I find that the lessons provided rarely strike me as something new. What is memorable about these books, at least the ones that aren’t big on sharing research, is the personality of the author and their stories. Here Brown shines as a big personality not afraid of making big pronouncements. And for a book like this, that is a good thing. Probably not enough, but good as it makes it easy to read through all the lessons presented.

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Review: Radiant Shimmering Light

Radiant Shimmering Light by Sarah Selecky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version, and maybe that was a mistake. The main character speaks in what I would term something like “modern self-help babble” mixed with social media speak. It’s the kind of talk I’ve heard some friends of friends regress into, a mood of “what I do is so obvious” but in an unintentionally droll yet overbearing manner. It’s not fun to listen to this character’s thoughts. I took this as a satire of this kind of person, who levels-up in self help at the end of the book, without giving the reader enough definitive examples of growth. It was fun, in its way, though annoying and sad on reflection. I’d try the author again.

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Review: A Private Cathedral

A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have read all but one of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels, and I still find that I enjoy the writing. His description of the swamps and bayous and bars and fishing boats and mansions are like Westerns, where place becomes as important as characters. Characters are where Burke is wearing out his welcome, though. Or more plot. The last more than half dozen Robicheaux books have a killer with what seems to be supernatural powers that tend to show up about halfway into the story and disappear before the finale. This killer is usually not the focus of the book, but at times you feel like you’ve wandered into a bayou version of the old TV show “The Night Stalker”. Burke’s bad guys are usually rich and connected. And almost every one of his plots involve musicians or actors. This book followed his formula. And I’m hoping it’s out of Burke’s system. I can't bring myself to say this was just OK, so I'll give it 3 stars based on the descriptive writing and the narration of the audiobook by the always awesome Will Patton.

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Review: Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music

Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music by Tricia Tunstall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quite an interesting story about community bands consisting of youth, becoming popular throughout the world. The book describes the history of the “el Sistema movement”, starting in Venezuela and growing in cities throughout the world. The idea is that professional musicians can give back to their community by leading a band of youth. The band tends to provide the instruments, the training, and the opportunities to play before audiences. The youth involved in the project gain by being involved as integral parts of a group endeavor, by learning that they can learn something new, and by learning new habits related to practice aiming at mastery. These last benefits of the program are the focus of the book. The authors claim that youth involved in these student bands and orchestras are less likely to be involved in the bad things happening in a community, like gangs. In some cases, the kids can choose gang life or being in a band. Story after story, in cities across the globe, the same benefits surface. The author does a good job of describing the good that the program can accomplish. It was kind of humorous to read the author repeat quite a few times that there hasn’t been time to objectively measure the benefits of the program, so they have to focus on the subjective and on stories. It struck me as humorous because I was picturing some similar types of programs that have similar social goals and results. For example, chess clubs could be another type of project used for social good, providing many of the same benefits mentioned above with the band project, but without, perhaps, the performance aspect and the emotion. Emotion, you say? The authors focus on the emotional aspects of playing and understanding music, providing another possible benefit of increasing the emotional intelligence of youth.

I was reminded of the musical “The Music Man” when reading this book. While the musical revolved around an itinerant bandleader with questionable intentions, he sold a town on a community youth band. And he presented similar benefits to the community as El Sistema present here. If pool halls were in the same league as gangs…


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Review: Microshelters: 59 Creative Cabins, Tiny Houses, Tree Houses, and Other Small Structures

Microshelters: 59 Creative Cabins, Tiny Houses, Tree Houses, and Other Small Structures by Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was expecting to see plenty of pictures that really explained what made these structures interesting. You get some of that here, with each structure getting from 2 to 5 or so pictures. But many were just glossed over with one exterior and one interior shot. Sure, some were pretty self explanatory, like the glass box treehouse that contained only a desk and chair, but that steamed up when running it as a sauna. There are a lot of odd little structures here. While it starts with most being “tiny houses” on the smaller end, it ends with treehouses, children’s playhouses, and sheds. Many of these structures were built by the author, who enjoys using found building materials and using items in new ways. For instance in various builds he shows using wine bottles, 5 gallon water bottles, and IKEA fruit bowls as windows cut into the sides or floor of structures. What I thought of while browsing through the pictures of most of these structures was how to keep insects and other critters out. I didn’t catch the author covering that… The book ends with some discussion of typical tools used, generally non-powered hand tools that the author says aren’t widely available any more. Seems strange. There are also more detailed plans of 6 of the units here, showing roughly how they are built and the kinds of materials needed. It’s a good book to get an idea of what to do with a small structure that may be used for purposes like a spare bedroom, a small and incomplete living unit, a lonely writers garret, or a play area. I would have liked to see some more info on practical things like installing indoor plumbing and electrical service, pest-proofing, storage, and building with purchased materials instead of found.

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Review: The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gladwell can make topics you’d think would be boring into an interesting study. Here, he takes on precision bombing. He tackles the subject in a few distinct ways. First he tells the history of the WWII Norton bombsight, including details of its eccentric creator, production, and use. The bulk of the book describes the military theoreticians who believed that more accurate bombs would change war, and follows this group as well as the opposing theoreticians that preferred carpet bombing, telling their stories from before WWII through the current day. This is not Gladwell’s normal pop psychology book, but there are shades of psychology here – it colors what he writes. The only con I recall is the repeated mention of Gladwell’s new imprint to create these audiobooks in the style of an NPR radio documentary. Audiobooks first, book second. While listening to this, with clips of the subjects talking, old newsreel audio, and Gladwell narrating, I don’t see how the paper or e-book version of this book would be as interesting as the audiobook. And the book would require some modification to the text to portray the nuances and details in the audio.

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Review: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam M. Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Grant writes a Malcolm Gladwell-ian style book here (or does Gladwell write Grant-ian books?). There are a number of interesting examples of the topics he writes about, and I find myself remembering the examples more than the topics (same as with Gladwell books). And the author is a presence in the flow of the book. A nice look into the difficulties of rethinking an issue or position. There is hope, and a few suggestions along the way.

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Review: Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos by Jeff Bezos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve read a book or two about Amazon, but thought this “from the horse’s mouth” selection of Bezos’ writing would be a different take on his company’s story. Before you get to the business discussion, the book begins with an excellent introduction by Walter Isaacson. This is followed by a collection of Bezos’ letters to shareholders from Amazon’s annual reports as well as various other speeches and transcripts Bezos has given over the years. I found the introduction well written and interesting in providing a biographical background on Bezos. I found his explanation of why he wants to invest in going to space was eye-opening. Being the same age and consuming the same sci fi books as Bezos when young, I strongly identified with his thoughts on this, and you could understand how his thoughts on building an infrastructure also came into play with Amazon. I enjoyed his explanation of how decisions are made at Amazon, and found it very much as I was taught to present cases when I was in business school – concise. And I found the writing style of the shareholder letters and the speeches to government to be very much in line with Trump’s style in boiling issues down into simple terms that anyone could understand. While you could say that this style was the results of using corporate writers, given Bezos’ goal to simplify decision-making through concise communication, it seems to be driven from the top. Overall, I found this a worthwhile read in terms of understanding the business of Amazon, understanding a simple writing style, and understanding the way Bezos thinks.

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Review: Roadmap: The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What To Do with Your Life Kindle Edition

Roadmap: The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What To Do with Your Life Kindle Edition by Roadtrip Nation
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read a lot of career books over the past few decades, and this is another one. It covers the typical kinds of “live your best life” advice with the typical positive, uplifting spin. To the good, I enjoyed most of the many writeups showing how different people approached their working life and career. These have links to a website for additional information and multimedia interviews, so you can really get some background in some of the people and their choices. I found the ones I looked into interesting. To the bad, I read the ebook, and the spacing of the many art and design components that apparently work well in the physical book just get in the way in the ebook. You are constantly scrolling past a multiscreen piece of art. OK for an edgier career book full of examples.

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Review: The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour by Adam O'Fallon Price
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing was clever and the characters were memorable, but in a mostly unlikeable way. I say mostly because the main character, an author, is portrayed with an over-the-top personality, always with a pithy quip. When you get tired of the alcohol-driven quips, the author chose to expose a character’s weakness and learning and striving to better, or at least explain himself. I liked how the author handled these transitions. Overall, an OK story.

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