Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck My rating: 2 of 5 stars I wanted to learn more about how to use the growth mindset. I personally tend to fall too much into the fixed mindset. Only this book fell too much into the Self-Help traps: “This is how I am. What…
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup My rating: 3 of 5 stars An autobiography about a mixed race free man kidnapped into slavery hit a little too close to home. His experience being free made acclimating to the difficult masters more challenging. More amazing me is he did not break under the weight of…
Chant of Ages; Cry of Cotton: The Biography of a South Georgia Jewish Community’s Beginnings 1865-1908 by Louis Schmier My rating: 4 of 5 stars NOTE: I have known the author since I was maybe 5 years old? His son and I were friends in elementary school. We worked in the same building for several…
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Pro-tip: All the chapters are articles published for Gladwell by The New Yorker. Most are behind their paywall. However, his web site has an an archive where I found the ones mentioned below. The publication date is noted at…
Divergent by Veronica Roth My rating: 2 of 5 stars The dystopian environmental use of Factions reminded me of the Houses in Harry Potter. People have a label by which they belong to another group of people who behaviorally are supposed to be like themselves. They are natural allies and yet frictions exist within the…
Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang by Paul J. Steinhardt My rating: 3 of 5 stars Tone of this book felt defensive. Too much reliance on ad hominems? I like the ekpyrotic theory presented by the authors and hope theirs is what wins out over the Big Bang. View all my reviews
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink My rating: 5 of 5 stars A few days ago I tweeted, How bad would it be for me to anonymously leave a copy of @DanielPink ‘s book Drive on the desk of every exec[utive] at work? First, I actually think every person…
The Read 52 books goal is done over a couple months early. The last couple years, I read over 21,000 pages and at this point have read 18,027. Guess this means selecting shorter books helped me hit the number easier. It also means I should get in another 3,000 pages before the end of the year…
Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe by Simon Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars This one falls along the lines of the Elegant Universe as a history of science. Going back to Greek philosophers and moving through developments in understanding the Universe, Singh explains the findings and the contemporary reactions. And also how…