Review: Microtrends Squared: The New Small Forces Driving the Big Disruptions Today

Microtrends Squared: The New Small Forces Driving the Big Disruptions Today by Mark Penn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another reviewer wrote that a futurist book like this is a kind of time capsule, highlighting the topics that are top of mind during the time period when the book was written, and often focused on the author’s interests. This seems true here. The author, from both the political and tech realms, provides some interesting food for thought on trends in these areas. He also provides interesting analysis on trends in other areas, especially social and health. The author writes dozens of chapters, all on different topics. I appreciated the organization, which made it easier to follow. I had read the author’s earlier “Microtrends” book, written more than a decade ago, just a couple of years ago. I found the author’s take on future trends interesting then as well, but I noted that he had missed a few, like cloud computing. Here he changes tune to correct that mis-prediction. Feels more correct now, making me wonder if just the opposite will happen.

I’ve always found these type of futurist books, covering a wide variety of topics, are great food for thought when doing long term planning. The analysis, and often odd choice of topics, helps creativity, and reminds that not everything happens using straight line projections. You can sense some of the prose seems very pro conservative, and other seems just the opposite. Quite interesting to follow the author’s reasoning. You can also see the author’s suggestions as to making elections better, written after the 2016 elections and reflecting what I believe was the liberal thought at the time, now reads like the post-2020 election conservative viewpoint. Talk about a time capsule.

I listened to this on audio. There are a large number of chapters on different topics. I found it a little hard to keep track what was being discussed, but this was not a huge problem, just something to look out for when listening – this may require more attention than some audiobooks. I also note that the author quotes from a prodigious number of sources. This includes quotes as well as statistical information. On audio, this can be difficult to listen to and follow, and this is probably a good reason to recommend the print/ebook versions if you have great interest in these topics.


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Review: The Color of Magic

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I realize there are many, many books in the Ringworld series, and I’m surprised I hadn’t gotten into them. I enjoy occasional forays into fantasy/sci-fi series, but have always been behind on the ones I had started. So finding myself wanting to explore a little, I picked up the first of this series. I found bits that were quite funny, especially the involvement of an insurance salesman tourist in a fantasy world, as well as his mobile luggage. Quite entertaining. The characters were interesting as well. On reflection, I found that the story felt too episodic, like stand-alone short stories, without a driving force putting them together in a compelling way. This was fine but unexpected, being the first in a series. I also felt the satire, or the humor, was a bit too overwhelming for the story at times. I found the story not quite what I expected, and I found I enjoyed the story less than I hoped. I can see the cleverness of the author here, though, and I know some times it takes me a while to better appreciate a work. I’ll be considering reading more in this series when the mood hits me again for this kind of humor.

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Review: The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading this story of an orphaned child chess prodigy who is also addicted to painkillers, I got that same kind of feeling that I got reading one of my favorite series of books. This felt very similar to Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” series (or more his follow-on books on character Bean). “The Queen’s Gambit” is similar to these other series in that you have a child with almost superhuman capabilities figuring out how to put things together for the first time. This book is all about learning and growth on an intellectual level, while also facing the problems involved in growing up. This book replaces the moral issues faced in Card’s books with the more personal drug problem, so on reflection I see the differences. (Card had it easier in a sci-fi environment.) But altogether I very much enjoyed this book. I felt an emotional connection to this story and found it easy to listen to. I will be looking for more by this author.

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Review: They're Playing Our Song

They're Playing Our Song by Carole Bayer Sager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read many music industry books because I like reading about the creative process and I like reading about the business aspects of a creative industry. Successful pop song lyricist Bayer Sager, I would think, would have a lot to say on the creative process and perhaps on the industry. But in this book, the focus is more on her life story, centered mostly on her romances and marriages and friendships. To her credit, she runs in an a-list crowd, having Elizabeth Taylor as a good friend, dating George Lucas and Davy Jones, and marrying Burt Bacharach. There are some interesting stories about the people she interacts with, and that accounts for most of the book.

But I was more interested in song writing and the music industry. Here, Bayer Sager sheds light on the process she used to write with a variety of other writers, including Bacharach, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, and Bob Dylan. Ends up they are all have their unique creating styles, but also seem to be similar in the basic approach to songwriting. As for industry insight, you get a lot of grousing that the author feels underappreciated, but then she slips into a personal story, which leads me to wonder how seriously upset she really was. You do get some aspects of the industry through her marriages. She married a record producer, a songwriter/performer, and a music company executive, working her way up the “steady income” ladder of the music business. Interestingly, she seems happiest with the husband that is in the least creative line of work.

I found her descriptions of the writing process to be the best parts in the book. And her characterizations of Burt Bacharach’s comments and voice were often hilariously odd. I learned a bit about song writing, but I learned a lot about the author that I probably didn’t need to know.


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Review: A Wild Sheep Chase

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Surreal book that I sheepishly enjoyed. I’m reading Murakami’s “The Rat” series in order, but this can stand alone. Wonderful descriptions of an old house off in the mountains in Japan.

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Review: Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream

Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream by Nicholas Lemann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I tend to enjoy these kinds of books. I found this to be the same kind of book as Alvin Toffler’s “The Third Wave”. Toffler divides human history into 3 “waves”, or defining eras. Here, the author divides the post WW1 times into 3 “eras” related to economics. Interesting, and with some similar thoughts as following reading Toffler. The author focuses on a few individuals for each era, making this a reasonably readable book. Interesting framing, but I will need to think through the consequences of looking through this lens, if any. My doubt is because the progression the author describes, from organizational man to transactional man to network man, is how I pictured the world prior to reading the book. Here you get the author’s naming, as well as history and back stories.

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Review: Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business

Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business by Jason Hanson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This felt like many other sales persuasion books I’ve read, with the hook that the underlying capabilities of a good influencer are the same as good spies. That was an excellent way to get me to read this book – as kids we didn’t play soldier or fireman or cowboy, we played spies. I found the content pretty similar to other sales persuasion books, with a focus on planning and stick-to-it-iveness. The author does mix in some stories to set the stage for each chapter, and provides some simple breakdowns of different aspects of the spycraft he is discussing. The author also tells how he got on TV (spoiler: it involves persistence and planning). All together, a fun read, though not earth shattering. Also note – I listened to the audiobook version. I see (using Amazon’s “look inside” feature) that the book has a large number of bulleted lists. While listening, I found the content sometimes confusing and as a result forgettable. I think a big part of the problem is that bulleted lists, especially ones that contain multiple sentences, are very difficult to make understood on an audio production. What looks nice and organized on a printed page runs together in audio and sounds disorganized. For that reason, I think I would suggest the written version of this book over the audio.

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