Review: The Rise of Silas Lapham

The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting title given the book covers more of the fall of Mr. Lapham. But that title puts a different filter on that decline. Nicely done. Well written for its time, this one reminded me of another recent read, Frank Norris’ “McTeague”. But where McTeague (and other Norris characters) decline through greed, Lapham seems to owe stubbornness for his downfall. Makes me wonder if greed is a Western American trait, as Norris’ books are about the West, while perhaps stubbornness is a New England trait. I’ll have to read more to validate that. This also offers an interesting (to me, maybe only to me) description of the early American paint industry. I had not understood the background, and now wonder how true-to-history this is. Looking forward to reading another Howells book, but hoping he changes the story, as this one got a bit depressing in its slide.

View all my reviews

Review: The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats Are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas

The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats Are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas by Daniel W. Drezner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easy to read book on the state of idea expression. It doesn’t focus on the conferences, as I initial believed. Instead, it focuses on the people behind the distribution of the ideas – the intellectuals and the thought leaders. The author distinguishes these two types, with the first being the kind that can apply intellectual thought anywhere and the kind that would in the past show up as the intellectual on, say, “The Dick Cavett Show”, on a regular basis and speaking on a variety of topics. The perfect talk show guest. The thought leader is more of a one-trick pony, focusing on a single topic. Think of the famous author who writes books that are very similar, never far afield from the previous one. There appears to be more one-trick ponies nowadays. But I wonder if there is a dearth of talk shows with intellectual hosts driving this conclusion. I’d read more by the author.

View all my reviews

Review: Broken Horses

Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile


Brandi Carlile book is a lot like her albums. There are plenty of heart felt stories that involve lovers and family. I wasn’t expecting to read about Brandi the fan, but here, she lays claim to being a common music fan, attentive to the musicians she meets along the way, famous and not-so. Another part that I didn’t expect was the beginning of her career, where she seemed to “pull herself up by her bootstraps”, from humble beginnings. Otherwise, this is the story you’d expect it to be. I listened to this in its audiobook version. Carlile sings some songs at the end of her chapters, her and her guitar. These were very nicely done. As an additional bonus, the last hour, or half hour (I lost track) is an album of additional songs. That was quite a nice bonus for the audiobook (although perhaps as a tradeoff for the pictures you don’t get, it lowers the value a bit relative to the paper version). Altogether a nice intro to a down-home yet quirky singer.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done

The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I must enjoy reading personal productivity books, I’ve read dozens. This is another. I enjoyed the author’s voice in this one. I didn’t find anything groundbreaking, but it was another good reminder of how to be effective and efficient. I’d be willing to read more by this author.

View all my reviews

Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven’t yet gotten around to seeing the movie, so I took on this audiobook without much of an idea of what I was getting into. What I found was a well narrated book, with plenty of Hollywood trivia and casual name dropping, along with a series of scenes that fit together well, but didn’t seem to follow a plot, perhaps because of all the flashbacks. And I find, a few weeks after finishing the audiobook, that I can’t for the life of me remember the ending, which implies to me a fade to black. But it was fun to listen to. It reminded me of all those stories that celebrity guests would tell Johnny Carson, but with more detail, which made these characters seem more real than those real celebrities. I’d love to hear another by Mr. Tarantino.

View all my reviews

Review: The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age

The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age by Sridhar Pappu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Did anyone read “Summer of ‘68” by Tim Wendel? It covered the intersection of baseball and current events in the Summer (and Fall) of 1968. The focus was on the key pitchers of the time, Denny McLain and Bob Gibson, and the racial issues prevalent in the country. Wendel’s book was published in 2012. Fast forward 5 years to 2017. That’s when “The Year of the Pitcher” was published. And it’s about…the same things. I recall writing in my review of Wendel’s book that it mentioned the encroachment of football onto the stage, vying to replace baseball as “America’s sport”. I remember thinking this was an unexpected bit of history to share in a baseball book. Strangely, the same thing popped up in “The Year of the Pitcher”. The authors seem to have used some of the same sources. I’d guess these two books have about 80% overlapping topics, and perhaps 2/3 overlapping anecdotes. The obvious takeaway is that 1968 was a highly interesting year for baseball and American society. I’m not sure you need to read two pop-history/sports books on it. “Summer of 68” covered the fall as well. “Year of the Pitcher” talks a lot about Jackie Robinson, who was not a pitcher, nor was he facing pitchers at the time. Both titles were a little misleading. Having read both, I’d say both are good, with “Summer of 68” taking the nod based on a better cover and seniority.

View all my reviews

Review: Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays

Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays by Joan Didion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing in these twenty or so essays is striking compared to many of the recent articles and essays I’ve read. She can set a mood. The essays are not even, some hit, some don’t. My favorite, the final one about getting tired of living in NYC, reminded me of my feelings before moving away from various places I’ve lived. I will be reading more…

View all my reviews