Review: Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech

Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Given the title of this book, I assumed it would focus exclusively on the problems of bias in software and machine learning. This has been in the news for quite a while, and on top of the news recently. While most of the book provides stories about bias as I expected, a large part of the book was about various other behaviors, sexist, racist, illegal, and just bad. (Think hiring at Uber.) If you have kept up with these kinds of issues in Wired/Fast Company magazines and their ilk, you get many more examples here, but not much by way of solutions. Despite that mild disappointment, I found the writing kept my interest, at least up until the end, when it felt like the authors were reaching for things to write about. Good for helping an ITer, data scientist, or a tech company exec to think through how these issues may touch on your own company, products and practices.

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Review: The Captain Class: The Hidden Force that Creates the World's Greatest Teams

The Captain Class: The Hidden Force that Creates the World's Greatest Teams by Sam Walker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you believe that great teams need great leaders, that leaders are more likely the normal Joes than the superstars, that leaders earn their position by working harder than the other teammates and paying attention to each teammate, then this book is strong confirming evidence that you are correct. It’s not wholly subjective in choice of teams and in choice of measurement criteria, but it is pretty subjective. The author describes the rules he sets to choose the right kinds of teams for his analysis, but he doesn’t let these choices stop him from repeating any good, related anecdotes from teams that don’t make the cut. That’s actually what I most liked about the book, the many anecdotes, a majority from sports I don’t follow very closely, often from seasons in the now distant past (think rugby, women’s and men’s soccer, hockey). After having read dozens of business leadership books over the years, I didn’t find much unexpected here. But the many new-to-me stories made it very entertaining. I chose to read this based on reports that various professional sports teams had asked their players to read it, and I can understand the possible implications of putting these ideas into the heads of players. The examples and classifications may be translatable to leadership in business, but the book isn't written to focus on that use.

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Review: The River

The River by Peter Heller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Heller’s “The Dog Stars”. I found the end-of-the-world story compelling and the writing and characters memorable. When I saw this one pop up on the library’s Overdrive service, I hoped that Heller could maintain the depth of writing despite not having that creepy end-of-worlder storyline. I think he succeeded. But what surprised me was that the storyline, while about canoeing in the wilds of Canada, covered characters and a story somewhat similar to “The Dog Stars”. The canoeists are mostly alone, and dealing with life and death situations requiring quick thinking and the use of deadly force. A study of character. The story can at points get too involved. But the book is quite short, and the ending was shorter, and quite a bit different, than I expected.

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Review: The Couple's Retirement Puzzle: 10 Must-Have Conversations for Creating an Amazing New Life Together

The Couple's Retirement Puzzle: 10 Must-Have Conversations for Creating an Amazing New Life Together by Roberta K. Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've read a lot of retirement how-to books over the past few years. I'm always looking for things to think about that I might have missed. This was not one of the few books to provide entirely new insights. However, I did find the focus on communications with your spouse/partner to be rare. The topics were broader than many books, more on how to live, from sex to separate vacations, less on money, money, money. Nicely done.

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Review: Why Do I Feel Like an Imposter?: How to Understand and Cope with Imposter Syndrome

Why Do I Feel Like an Imposter?: How to Understand and Cope with Imposter Syndrome by Sandi Mann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I switched from a true introvert job, researching new technology for a big company, to being a techie sales person. You betcha I feel like an imposter at times, even after decades, and feeling more so the more there is to learn. I found this book quite interesting, although the focus was not what I expected. A lot of the book focused on the difference between the sexes. According to the book, this is mostly thought of as a woman’s issue, but it impacts quite a few men as well. I found this part of the book, the majority, quite interesting. The book also talks about imposter parenting, which I didn’t find as interesting. So why do I feel like an imposter? One reason could be that some people just don’t like me, and some people just like making others feel bad. This book provides some of the logical arguments to move on from this. Good read, and short.

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Review: A Great Place to Work for All: Better for Business. Better for People. Better for the World.

A Great Place to Work for All: Better for Business. Better for People. Better for the World. by Michael C. Bush
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Diversity and trust, trust and diversity.

The points here all seem to boil down to this. I don't recall much actionable advice beyond common sense, except for involving a consultant.

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Review: Cave of Bones

Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was enjoyable in that you get to visit with some of the Tribal Police from earlier books by Hillerman and her father. But this didn’t have the feel of the earlier books in the series, especially the early Tony Hillerman books. What made the earlier books interesting was the unique characters from the tribal areas, the descriptions of the sparsely populated land, and the plots that greatly borrowed from American Indian traditions. While you get some of the old characters here, they don’t sparkle. The land is well described, but the highlight of this book is lava fields in Winter – not the most cinematic location. The “Indian content” just didn’t seem that interesting here. I had found that the books Anne has written were getting better as she gained experience, but this wasn’t a better one. I already have her next one, and hope it rebounds. I listened to the audiobook version of this, narrated by Christina Delaine. I liked the narration, except for when Officer Manuelitto’s sister calls Chee “Cheeseburger.” She’s being a brat when she calls him that, and the continuing teasing is grating.

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