Blog

Topper by Thorne Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A light and fluffy yet beautifully written and funny story about one man’s mid-life crisis, triggered and resolved through unexpected means.

View all my reviews

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. I had no idea what the high-frequency trading types were actually up to. Craziness. Lewis, as always, makes an obscure story featuring mostly nerds incredibly fascinating.

View all my reviews

American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed these thoughtful essays on the history and sociology of my tribe. Nugent is sympathetic but still critical and he’s tried, possibly successfully, to leave his early nerdom behind. For better or worse I seem to have a lifetime membership.

View all my reviews

Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun tour of modern behavioral psychology through the lens of Sherlock Holmes. Specifically, how can we be more like Holmes, proceeding mindfully through the world, and less like Watson, just muddling through. Thanks Amy!

View all my reviews

Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance by Jane Gleeson-White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A history of double-entry accounting. Do not be afraid. It is far more enjoyable than you might have thought. Really.

First of all, the history of accounting goes back to the earliest civilizations and may have played a role in the invention of writing. Things really get going in Venice at the start of the Renaissance when the Venetians discover (or possibly borrow from the Arabs) the techniques of double-entry, the form of accounting used all over the world today, for good or ill. Highly recommended. Thanks Lucas!

Boomerang by Alan L. Hutcheson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun satire about spies, conspiracy, bureaucracy, and jazz. Just don’t expect plausibility.

View all my reviews

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A little gem. Smart, thoughtful, and funny essays about video games. And speaking of them, may I recommend The Room series, a perfect way to waste time with a touchpad.

View all my reviews

By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire by Ian Worthington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A quick but very informative history of the Macedonian Empire spanning both Philip II and Alexander, reassessing each in the light of the other.

View all my reviews

Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chödrön
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not quite what I was expecting, but nevertheless good. One hundred and eight micro-chapters, each about two pages long, with a short explication of Buddhism from Chödrön’s perspective. Buddhism and Stoicism have some interesting parallels. In some respects they each start from the same place and reach some of the same conclusions. It’s their tenor that is so strikingly different. Something like the difference between acceptance and resignation.

A Wake for the Living by Andrew Nelson Lytle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lytle’s graceful and loving portrait of the lost world of his youth, the Old South. I found it a bit dry in parts, but mostly enjoyable. Basically a lyrical variation of one of history’s oldest laments: The World Is Different Than When I Was Young. To which I had my usual reaction: the past is interesting to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I hope that when I am near the end of my life I will have the courage to see the present and future with kinder eyes.