What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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It is true that the video series covers just a small portion of the info in the book, but it might be the right amount before the typical viewer's eyes glaze over. My wife was able to watch the video with me, but hell must freeze over before she would read the book as I did.

And I have no doubt medical professionals would find it easy to read, while some of them would find talk about audio or loudspeakers boring out of their wits. ;)
 
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Another book I read recently was Irrational Exuberance by Robert Shiller.

When I reserved this book from the local library, I made sure that I was getting the 3rd edition (2014) of this book. The 1st edition came out in 2000, right before the crash of the dot-com bubble. The 2nd edition (2006) was right before the subprime RE crash. And in this 3rd edition, Shiller was not happy with both the stock and the RE markets!

Shiller is no fan of the EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis), although he agrees that it is difficult to beat the market. A reason he cites is the influence of the masses or group think, and even "smart money" people or money managers cannot escape that. It is interesting that Shiller got the 2013 Nobel Prize jointly with Farma who is an EMH proponent.

There is a long wait on the reservation list for this book. Yet, when I finally got it, I was surprised that the copy was in good shape, like it was hardly read. I think many readers expect to see a simple formula to trade the market to get rich quickly, thumb through the book looking for it, and not finding it, quickly drop it aside.
 
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I wanted to find out if anyone has read any of the "Freakonomics" books and if so, what your impressions were.
I have read earlier books by one of the authors (S. Dubner) and liked those, (autobiographical books, not the ones with Leavitt) and was not aware that the later books have turned into popular blogs and podcasts.
I noticed there's a new book that has come out this year by the two of them as well.
I will take a look in the library or bookstore. So far just saw it online.
 
Eileen said:
I wanted to find out if anyone has read any of the "Freakonomics" books and if so, what your impressions were.
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I have, and enjoyed it.

Mostly the aspect and power of individual incentives, and why people do what they do. Some of their assertions may be on very shaky foundation, but they make you think about a problem or situations in new ways.
 
I learned about Freakonomics (2005) here on this forum, checked it out from the library, and enjoyed it. So, there are many readers of this book here.

I was subsequently gifted SuperFreakonomics (2009), and enjoyed it too. I like to read non-fictions, and the above are among the easy-reading type. I have read that the second book's discussion of global warming was controversial and disputed by some experts.

This discussion reminded me to look to see if the authors have written more along this line. I found that they have Think Like A Freak (2015). This book appears not as highly regarded as the 1st, but I am going to read it. If nothing else, it is going to be entertaining, I am sure.
 
I'm drawn to non fiction disaster books. No matter what dismal things are happening in my own life and world it is comforting to be able to say "could be worse!"
I just finished an excellent book on the Donner party, The Indifferent Stars Above. Well researched and beautifully written. Me, I would have lasted in those appalling circumstances about a day and a half. Interesting that the survivors tended to be the young women, not the men.
 
greydog17 said:
Just finished "Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown, good easy read and interesting story of competitive rowing teams, the people and hard times of the great depression and 1936 Olympics.
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I read this at the beach last week. Excellent.
 
The book on the Donner party I just mentioned is written by Daniel James Brown. I will definitely read his other works. He has one on the Great Hinckley Fire, of local interest here in MN.
 
+3 on "The Boys in The Boat" - I gained a new appreciation for the discipline of team rowing + "catching a crab" and "ten big ones". Set in depression era Seattle with tie-ins to Sequim, Berkeley, and Nazi Germany.
 
I just blazed through a few different books. The Cheapskate Next Door was the latest. I think it agreed with me more than The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches.
 
How a Gunman Says Goodbye, by Malcolm Mackay, is quite a few steps above routine crime novels. Mackay is known for "Glascow Noir." This one gets into the heads of an aging hit man who is on the way out and a younger hitman who may have to help the old guy's exit. It is basically a well written psychology treatise on the life and thinking of criminals. Excellent read.
 
Factotum by Charles Bukowski. Fiction about young bohemian guy trying to be, but also fearing to be, a "real" person. Main character says he hates "real people". He survives by working many different low level jobs, drinks away his earnings, and has interesting encounters with people on the very low end of the socioeconomic scale, and even has time left over to write short stories. Very interesting so far. One third of the way through it.
 
Another post apocalyptic novel, this one called Earth Abides. Published in 1949, it is a bit different in that it deals with city folk trying to retain a bit of the old world while the future generations want nothing to do with the old ways. Interesting reading. By George R. Stewart. I read a pdf online, since our library didn't have a copy.
 
Finally got around to reading Zelinski's book "How To Retire Happy, Wild, and Free". Good reading and prep for heading into retirement next year!
 
Sarah in SC said:
Another post apocalyptic novel, this one called Earth Abides. Published in 1949, it is a bit different in that it deals with city folk trying to retain a bit of the old world while the future generations want nothing to do with the old ways. Interesting reading. By George R. Stewart. I read a pdf online, since our library didn't have a copy.
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Very good. I picked it up from the library after reading about it here. My wife doesn't like SF but loved this book.
 
Marita40 said:
I just finished an excellent book on the Donner party, The Indifferent Stars Above. Well researched and beautifully written. Me, I would have lasted in those appalling circumstances about a day and a half. Interesting that the survivors tended to be the young women, not the men.
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+1 I just read it. Very good although I would put his Boys in the Boat just a tad higher.
 
80% through "Enemy Inside" by Steve Martini. So called "fiction" but sure makes you think about what might REALLY be going on!
 
The Martian. I wanted to read it before seeing the movie. I realized that I enjoy science-based fiction. Weir maintained a good balance between science and progressing the story line, even though towards the end the pattern of something went wrong, I'm screwed, and I solved another problem was getting a bit repetitive. But it was still an enjoyable read.
 
Dead Wake ( the last crossing of the Lusitania ) by Erik Larson . Great reading ! A little slow at first but it gets better .
 
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumaker. She's a local writer who has recently won awards for her fiction. This is a hilarious look at academic life through the eyes of a jaded English professor at a small college who we come to know through the letters of recommendation he writes. (Hey--he could be me!) Highly recommended, especially for anyone who knows the quirks and trials of academia.
 
I'm a bit over halfway through "The Lost Bank: the Story of Washington Mutual - the Biggest Bank Failure in American History". A good read if you're interested in the topic. I wouldn't buy it though - I got it at the library.

One of the things that jumped out at me was all the silly motivational stuff the staff members had to endure. I've read others on the board here mention those things and how glad they are not to have to put up with that anymore. I've never worked where we had to put up with that silliness so to me it's kind of a foreign concept.
 
I'm just getting into "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. It's the true story about HH Holmes, who built a "murder hotel" in Chicago on the eve of the Columbian Exposition. Awesome book about America's first acknowledged serial killer along with a behind-the-scenes look at the men behind the construction of the great world's fair. Soon to be made into a movie! Wikipedia says Leonardo DiCaprio has bought the film rights and Martin Scorsese will direct.
 
Marita40 said:
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumaker. She's a local writer who has recently won awards for her fiction. This is a hilarious look at academic life through the eyes of a jaded English professor at a small college who we come to know through the letters of recommendation he writes. (Hey--he could be me!) Highly recommended, especially for anyone who knows the quirks and trials of academia.
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Thanks--this will be a great gift for my English professor sister! Sounds awesome!
 
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