David Suzuki's Green Guide, David Suzuki & David R. Boyd

You can certainly tell this was co-written as it is not nearly as "doom and gloom" as I expect from David Suzuki.  I haven't read much of his recently, so that could just be baggage I'm carrying.

The short review: good book. recommended whether you are wanting to come up to speed on environmental issues or whether you consider yourself deeply rooted in the cause.

I can't imagine anyone not already in the choir picking it up to read given the title.  I like the approach taken in Your Money or Your Life.  They wrote a personal finances book that, at its heart, is an environmental book.

I really liked the approach they took in the book.  They singled out a couple of key areas of everyone's life: Home, Food, Travel.  For each of these topics they covered three things.  First, they reviewed the state of things, issues, statistics, etc.  Then they offered up a few optimistic examples of how specific people and organizations have addressed the current and future state of things.  They then close with a very specific list of things you can personally do.  Some of them were simple enough that I could do them while taking a brief pause from the book (started a hazardous waste bag for batteries and such [which I will replace with rechargeable as they wear out], lowered the water heater setting, checked the house for water leaks to name a few, reduce the number of baths I take).  At the other end of the spectrum, some of them were requests to assess where you live and work.

In the end, I was left feeling pretty optimistic which is not generally the case when I read an environmental book.  It's not that I think the masses are any more intelligent than I did before reading the book, but I do feel like my actions matter.  That is an (the?) essential element for any progress on environmental issues.

Well done.

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

I enjoyed the book, but it was not nearly as inspiring as his other two.  It started out strong, but seemed to trail off at the end to me.

The premise of the book is that many (all?) of the really significant 'outlier' personal successes that we see around us are not due to some inherent exceptionality in individuals, but rather is result of some aptitude plus exploitation of opportunities that lead to vast quantities of experience that then leads to huge 'success'.  I suppose it is sort of a nature vs. nurture type of argument, where 'nurture' is access to almost ridiculous opportunities.

Where it kind of fell flat to me was that it felt very anecdotal.  Some of the topics are covered broad stroke (sports), but I don't feel like he made an general case with enough impact.  He certainly addressed the specific areas covered in the book well, and you can see how it would apply to other topical areas, but I came away feeling you would actually have to go through the same analysis to validate the applicability of his thesis.

Like his other two books, good read.

Winning, Jack Welch

Apparently Jack Welch was hated by many many people that worked for him. Despite that, he did demonstrate success from all the standard corporate measures.  In this economy, that may not be saying much, but his book Winning really resonated with me.

While his particular implementation of differentiation doesn't sit quite right with me, I do agree with the underlying concept.  He proposes that you manage your people in one of three categories: the performers (20%), the sustainers (70%), and the cruft (10%).  The performers are the top talent and you reward them and set expectations appropriately.  The sustainers are the heart-and-soul.  You develop them and manage them upwards.  The cruft are the ones you manage out.  He takes a much stronger stance on 'manage out' than I would.  I personally feel that 'out' might simply be out of your department.  I suppose he was writing from a holistic corporation perspective, so maybe his 10% are those folks that don't fit anywhere within the organization.

At smallish numbers, I don't think this necessarily holds.  It is implicit that you replace the 10% you manage out and then determine who the bottom 10% are at that point.  With small numbers of people, and a few iterations of this strategy, you may be creating more instability that costs more than the gains of such a strategy.  As always, good judgement should prevail.

Having said that, this did make me comfortable with accepting that there may be a bottom 10% that, no matter how much I like them, I do no good by retaining them.   This applies to shit-disturbers as well.

Some other concepts I liked are his commentary on mission and vision statements.  Nothing new there: make them practical, etc., etc., but well written.

He also reminds us that candor is key.  I've been trying this out more explicitly at work with good success.  I doesn't always sit well with everyone, but it does focus discussion.

Good read, but take with a grain of salt.

Dune, The Butlerian Jihad

OK, so I have not been great about blogging. At all. Like my journal, I'm going to try it again. and probably again and again and again.

I just finished The Butlerian Jihad, the first in the second set of two Dune prequel series in order of writing, but the first to occur chronologically in the Dune Universe. Think the Star Wars episode that would occur if George Lucas were to document Qui-Gon Jin's initial discovery of his Midiclorian infestation.

I've had it sitting on my desk at work and I have comments such as "the author should have stuck to Star Wars novels" and "Brian Herbert is a disgrace to his father's legacy." It certainly is not up to the standards of Frank Herbert and the original Dune series, but I can't honestly say that all of the books in the original series are up to the standards of Frank Herbert and the original series.

The writing was acceptable, if aiming a few school years below the original Dune. It's above newspaper level, but not much. The story is somewhat predictable (perhaps because it is a prequel :P) and I find it curious that <spoiler>10,000 years before the events in the original series all of the interesting technologies, spice, and political upheaval affecting the future storyline occur within the span of about twenty five years</spoiler>.

Having said all of that, I did fly through it. It was a light, enjoyable read if you like formulaic science fiction (which I have a sweet tooth for) with a gratuitously violent antagonist. I think I was supposed to see a moral dilemma or at least consider the cosmic subjectivity of morality, but it passed me by. In any case, it made me want to go back and read the original series so it can't be all that bad.

... or maybe I just need to wash the stink off.

ahhh, Nellie.. I too have not been diligent

I haven't really embraced the whole blogging thing. Still too conscious of the audience.

anyhoo,

With all the hype around the Narnia (no, wait... here. noo, probably here - actually I'm just playing with the editor) movie, I downloadedpurchased a copy of the first (depending on who you talk to) book in the series. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I think I read it last when I was about ten. The only specific memory I had was (spoiler here) Aslan being butchered by the White Witch :). ... and that's pretty much it. Both in memory and fact. I was shocked at how simplistic the story was. It really is written for an eight to ten year old. Hopefully they spiced it up a bit to fill 90 minutes in the theatre. And that's all I have to say about that.

Having said that, I am reading the second book now and it seems to have a bit more meat to it. I'll update you as events progress.

Now, how many incomplete sentences are there in the above paragraphs? The Internet would try to imortalize me as an illiterate except that none of these formats will be readable in fifty years. Hopefully I'll outlive the public record :)

Catching Up!

I've been a little neglectful in keeping up with my book reviews - though I see I'm not the only one! Anyways, here are my most recent reads...

The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I was a little dubious because it was highly recommended by Stephen King - but in the end it was a good read. A fun little tale of mystery and intrigue.

My Review? Not Bad.

The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant

Another biblical re-telling. I love these types of books. This one delves into the mysteries behind the "red tent" - a place where women go each month or when they are pregnant. It centers around Jacob's four wives and his daughter Dinah whose stories were probably overshadowed by the likes of stupid Joseph and his amazing technicolor dreamcoat or whatever.

My Review? Pretty good.

Lullaby
by Chuck Palahniuk

My first introduction to Chuck Palahniuk. You know I'm enjoying a book when I come home and keep on reading instead of "leaving it for the subway". Wouldn't it be cool to be able to kill people with your thoughts?

My Review? Really good.

The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold

I loved this book. And so did other people, because they kept coming up to me on the subway saying "that's a great book". Considering the background story consists of a grim rape and murder I was surprised by how light and uplifting this book was.

My Review? Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!

Atonement
by Ian Mcewan

It took over half the book to set up an "event" that the back cover promised would "resonate through the war and over the rest of their lives" so I felt that the second half never really delivered on it's promise.

My Review? Not Bad.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by Gregory Maguire

Read all about the Wicked Witch of the West in her early years, before Dorothy and Toto and that pesky house that killed her sister. Not quite the social commentary that it was trying to be but it served its purpose as entertainment on the subway.

My Review? Not Bad.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel
by Gregory Maguire

Same author as Wicked, different fairy tale. This time about Cinderella's "ugly" stepsisters. Much better than Wicked.

My Review? Pretty good.

Testament
by Nino Ricci

A much more realistic take on an old story and a great read... ya know... that Jesus guy...

My Review? Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!

Co-branding!

Just an interesting note in this New York Times article about Freakonomics, which I think I've mentioned to most or all of you. They mention it in the same breath as Guns, Germs And Steel, a book which I know G & C read and enjoyed.

It's no wonder they feel a kinship. The men, along with Jared Diamond, the evolutionary biologist and author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," share a recognition that people are hungry for books that reveal the hidden processes that underlie everything from the tides of world history to how a 7-Eleven patron decides between Coke and Pepsi.

Might be enough reason to check out Freakonomics too. You can read the full article here (free registration required though)

On Bullshit

Once again, a book suggestion from The Daily Show. A few weeks ago Jon's guest was a professor emeritus at Princeton named Harry Frankfurt, whose new book was called On Bullshit. The more I hear about it, the better it sounds.
From Amazon:

More pertinent is Frankfurt's focus on intentions--the practice of bullshit, rather than its end result. Bullshitting, as he notes, is not exactly lying, and bullshit remains bullshit whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bullshitter's complete disregard for whether what he's saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: he "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."

From Powells:

Lying is a craft, but bullshitting is an art. "Hence the familiar notion of the 'bullshit artist,'" moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt reminds us in this fun, erudite treatise. On Bullshit surely ranks as one of the best gift books to come along in quite some time, but — I shit you not — gift-giving aside, you'll probably want a copy for yourself.