Review: Say This, Not That: A Foolproof Guide to Effective Interpersonal Communication

Say This, Not That: A Foolproof Guide to Effective Interpersonal Communication by Carl Alasko
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was surprised that so many of the scenarios that the author describes here relate to dating. Then by the end of the book he is covering talking to your children. The intent must have been to ensure the book would be useful for decades for the purchaser. I found the scenarios of conversations were often over-simple, but Alasko usually provided commentary that I found valuable. The value to me was in repeating the oft heard wisdom of the ages – ends up Alasko agrees with a lot of the old saws, like “treat others as you would like to be treated”, and “don’t speak in anger”, and his scenarios illustrate these over and over. The book was short enough, and compartmentalized enough, that it went by quite fast. Enjoyable, as an example of a how-to conversation book.

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Review: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Library Edition

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Library Edition by Cal Newport
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another in the large number of recent books bemoaning the loss of the ability to concentrate that seems to be plaguing the peoples of earth, particularly those with smart phones. Like the others, “Deep Work” includes a homage to the granddaddy of books on the powers of focus called, well, “Focus”. The author describes the issue and provides background and evidence, both academic and anecdotal. In the last half of the book, the author suggests some ways to bring focus back and to eliminate distraction. This is the same story I’ve already read quite a few times recently, but this seemed to me to be better told. I enjoyed the voice of the author, and his choices of anecdotes. This is really the first of these books to convince me that I am also suffering from this battle with distraction, and while I don’t think the author’s solutions will work for me, I will likely make some effort to pry back my attention from the little device in my pocket. Whoops, new news story. Be right back.

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Review: Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do about It

Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do about It by Richard V. Reeves
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I come across a book that purports to tell me that how well-to-do people act, I look to see whether I myself act this way. Reeves defines upper middle class to be those households with income over $120,000 per year. He then goes on to say that those “rich people” do things to ensure their kids continue to be rich people. Things like saving for college. Reading to them when they are young. Working to get them good internships. Ensuring they have good schools and teachers. This is the suburban way, if not the American way, to get your kids ahead. I now realize that I should have spent more time getting my daughters the best possible internship in college. I didn’t realize that was part of the game I was being forced to play by society. I’m also now worried that my daughters chose careers where they thought they could do a good job making the world a better place instead of focusing on getting a wage that kept them lofty in society.

The problem the author exposes is that everybody likes their offspring to be “better”, and no one wants them to be “worse”. In other words, intergenerational progress. But the author is focused on one scale, that of income. The author identifies this issue, and in the end concludes with some policy suggestions that may help to combat it. Interesting. And not very likely. Good read for the description of the issue, to cause thought around the impact this issue has on society, and to identify those areas where you should help your kids, and maybe other kids, more.


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Review: The Good House

The Good House by Ann Leary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable listen, the story of an alcoholic small town realtor had a great voice. The subplot of a secret affair wasn’t so interesting, but the descriptions of Hildy’s normal days in a waning career, her increasingly alcohol-fueled blackouts, and her memories and attempts at romance were. Most interesting to me was the belief Hildy had that she was descended from Salem witches and had an ability to read people. (view spoiler)[ As her alcoholism worsens, she believes more and more in her “gift”. You could really sense this story becoming a crutch for the character by the end of the book, and that really felt well written. (hide spoiler)] Mary Beth Hurt's narration fit the character to a T. I would read more by Leary, especially on small town life.

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Review: Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball

Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball by R.A. Dickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dickey’s book follows his life, from being a youngster to entering the world of professional baseball. The beginning of the book describes the abuse he encountered as a child, which continues to impact his life throughout the book, and which seems to be the impetus for his focus on religion. The bulk of the book covers Dickey’s professional baseball career, and it is more up and down than the average player. Given Dickey’s extensive experience in the minors, I expected this to have that minor league flavor. Instead of getting extended descriptions of the lower leagues (and you do get some of this), you get a lot more about Dickey’s take on his career. It’s a more personal book than I initially expected. Given that it’s personal, the book rises and falls based on how well you like Dickey. In the end, I would consider him in a slightly positive manner, but based on some of his responses to events that seem a bit whiny, his stories about issues with his marriage, and his many anecdotes ending in prayer, he comes across as a bit overwhelming. Interesting book, and great telling the story of learning the knuckleball over the last ten years or so.

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Review: Self-Tracking

Self-Tracking by Gina Neff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Self-Tracking” discusses the uses of self-tracking, focusing on medical uses and the technology that is making tracking easier. Think Fitbits and emotion journals and Instragrammed meal pictures. Much of the discussion centers around the ownership and legalities of the data created by tracking. The book describes current state and weighs in on the future. This was a deeper dive into the topic than, say, a Scientific American article. I found it met my expectations on an interesting topic and I learned a few things, but I found the organization of the book seemed too outline-centric, making it harder to follow in the audio version. This short book might be better read than listened to if looking for retention and organizational cues.

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Review: Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I hadn’t read a book about astronauts since “The Right Stuff”, and I figured this would kind of be like that one. Way wrong, even though “The Right Stuff” makes an appearance here as the book that drove author Scott Kelly to becoming an astronaut. Instead of the 1950s test pilot personalities that populated “The Right Stuff”, Kelly’s autobiography shows that nowadays astronauting is less the man against nature story, and more about man against the complex machine. The anecdotes here are not stories of swashbucklers or lone cowboys, they are the stories of scientists forced to follow procedure or, to coin a phrase, action bureaucrats. The stories in space didn’t really grab me.

What did stand out was the story of Kelly’s schooling and of his rise through NASA. Kelly is likely one of the very few self-professed bad students to work his way through college/academy and into the astronaut program. This part of the book is greatly uplifting, showing a student who didn’t apply himself to his schooling and got bad grades could find a purpose (in that Tom Wolfe book!) that would provide the impetus to become a good student with excellent grades in order to become a Navy pilot and later, astronaut. This was very impressive. The author continues telling of his rise through the Navy and NASA, giving details into the conversations he had when getting promotions or reassignments. I found this very interesting as the story of a career.

I listened to the audio version of this book, read by the author. His voice is very even throughout, perhaps too steady and unemotional. A professional narrator would have made this sound quite differently, and possibly better.

Overall, I liked the career story of an astronaut, from difficult student-hood through academy and military training. I found the anecdotes about his time in space to be surprisingly less intense, but maybe this means that space travel is becoming less the risky world of the explorer and more like the world of the office worker, albeit with plenty of procedures.


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