Reading Log
The Taiga Syndrome by Christina Rivera Garza
The Color Storm by Damian Dibben
Fun read about a painter in Renaissance Venice with a little mystery and a little romance. Read January 2022
The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
Great first chapter about early computer (pre-)history, and good through the rest of it, although it seemed a little patchy to be called definitive. Lots of interesting stories, though, and filled in some of my own personal holes. Read December 2022
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Interesting retelling of this country’s history, with more of a focus on “the people”. Good stuff, but somehow more recognizable than I expected.
System Error
by Rob Reich
Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Re..,
I didn’t get through this… probably I’m just too in the weeds and didn’t find enough interesting. Sorry. November 2022
User Friendly by Cliff Kuang
How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play
A weaving of the history of UX and UI, from early innovators and insights. Having lived through this, it seemed strange to call out some specific instances, where I had experienced other ones, but it had many good stories and held together.
November 2022
The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
Really enjoyable and occassionally hilarious story. November 2022
Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World by William Alexander
Enjoyable stories about … tomatoes. The situation with Italian tomatoes and the politics of it is interesting to hear about. November 2022
After Steve by Tripp Mickle
How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost its Soul Despite the click-baity title, it was a very positive book mainly about Jonathan Ive and Tim Cook, although many other players are included. It was a nice follow-on to Isaacson’s book on Jobs. November 2022
AUDIOBOOK
Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle by Jody Rosen Read October 2022
Lots of great stories about the bicycle’s rather rocky start and continued history.
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui. Read October 2022
The Ministry for the Future: a Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. Read September 2022
Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
i’m finish up the walter isaacson book on Steve Jobs (tonight, so I can go). it’s gotten very emotional for me, he was such an amazing person and changed and shaped our world in so many positives ways.mid-read review: from the name “walter isaacson”, I thought he’d write deep academic analysis, but it’s just slightly trashy journalism fare. lots and lots of stories, (many i just barely missed). many great marketing case studies. great stories about people standing up for their values. the pacing of the book may be a little off: he’s been dying for 100 pages, and there’s another 50 pages to go. a typical story from the book (for marketing people who redesign logos): ‘In order to make it more distinctive, he decided he needed a world-class logo. So he courted the dean of corporate logos, Paul Rand. …Rand flew out to Palo alto to spent time with Jobs and listening to his vision… The computer would be a cube, so Rand decided that the logo should be a cube as well, one that was tilted at a a 28° angle. When Jobs asked for a number of options to consider, Rand declared that he did not create different options for clients. “I will solve your problem, and you will pay me,” he told Jobs. “You can use what I produce, or not, but I will not do options, and either way you will pay me.” … the company would pay an astonishing $100,000 flat fee to get one design.’
. Read August 2022
The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion. Read August 2022
Killers of the Flower Moon. Read August 2022
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days, Eric Berger. Read August 2022
Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump’s Washington and the Price of Submission, Mark Leibovich. Read August 2022
The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, Jimmy Soni. Read August 2022
Death Without Company (Longmire series), Craig Johnson. Read July 2022
Ten Masterpieces of Music, Harvey Sachs. Read July 2022
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, by Rob Goodman. Read July 2022
The Anomaly, Hervé Le Tellier. Read June 2022
In Hitler’s Munich, Michael Brenner. Read June 2022
The Art of Insubordination, Todd B. Kashdan.. Read May 2022
Watergate, Garrett M. Graff.Read May 2022
The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forwar, Daniel H. Pink. Read May 2022
Moonshot: Inside Pfizer’s Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible, Dr. Albert Bourla. Read May 2022
_The Shame Machine, Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation: , Cathy O’Neil. Read May 2022
The Quiet Before, On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, Gal Beckerman. Read April 2022
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters, Henry Gee. Read April 2022
Time for Socialism: Dispatches from a World on Fire, 2016-2021, Thomas Piketty. Read April 2022
The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard J. Evans. Read April 2022
Dare to Lead Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts., Brené Brown. Read April 2022\n
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, Annie Murphy Paul. Read March 2022
Figuring, Maria Popova. Read March 2022
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, Mary L. Trump. Read February 2022
State of Terror: A Novel, Louise Penny. Read February 2022
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, Adam Grant.\n### _San Francisco’s Glen Park and Diamond Heights, Emma Bland Smith. Read February 2022
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Oprah’s Book Club Novel, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. Read January 2022
Every Idea is a Good Idea: Be Creative Anytime, Anywhere, Tom Sturges. Read January 2022
Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values, Marshall Rosenberg. Read December 2021
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, Donald J. Robertson. Read December 2021
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love, Cal Newport. Read November 2021
Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir, Alan Cumming. Read November 2021
The Wright Brothers, David McCullough. Read November 2021
Dreamers and Schemers: How an Improbable Bid for the 1932 Olympics Transformed Los Angeles from Dusty Outpost to Global Metropolis, Barry Siegel. Read November 2021
Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania, Frank Bruni. Read October 2021
Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, Oren Jay Sofer. Read October 2021
Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Thich Nhat Hanh. Read October 2021
The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America, Joshua D. Rothman. Read October 2021
Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity, Charles Seife. Read October 2021
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar Villanueva. Read October 2021
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, Simon Garfield. Read October 2021
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, Robert M. Pirsig. Read September 2021
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari.
So You Want to Talk about Race, Ijeoma Oluo. Read August 2021