Always a fan of friends giving me their favorite books to
read once I am finished with the RA Favorites.
So I ventured into the life of the hillbilly and finished JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. I had great reviews from people on the book,
so high expectations. Note to self in
the future, this is dangerous as you may not get what you hoped for…. Enter Hillbilly
Elegy. OK, compelling story of a
young man who grew up in rural Appalachia.
No money, no father (well, you’ll see that he did have fathers, but no
real father), a mother who has an addict, and too many family issues to go
over. JD shares many of the barriers he
faced from youth to finishing law school at Yale, where being in “the network”
changed the outcome. Did I learn
anything, sure, but I had the feeling that every millennial has a story to
tell, but few have the platform to share it.
This hillbilly did, so congrats.
He should be commended for the great accomplishments….. paying for
school through his military service, (and graduating in two years from
college!!) and then enter Yale for his JD (same as his initials). It’s a nice tale, but not sure how much I
walked away from the hillbilly culture, outside of this one person’s perspective. Reminded me of the book Running with Scissors. Tough
and crazy family life. I wanted more and
didn’t get it. So goes expectations.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Settle for More
Megyn Kelly’s book Settle
for More is an autobiography of her life, from youth through fall of
2016. Kelly was a Fox News anchor,
jumping to NBC in January. Kelly and I
have a few things in common, spending her early life in the Albany, NY area,
and going to college at Syracuse University (where I worked). Her stories included: the death of her father
while in college; her failed marriage; and then re-marriage a few years
later. She also discussed becoming a
mother, but the bulk of her book was her very public battles with President
Trump during his process of running for the Republican nomination. One last topic covered in her book was her
decision to come forward against Fox News President Roger Ailes for his sexual
advances to her during her first year on the staff. Kelly’s book moved from personal lessons
learned and her professional career. I
don’t watch the ‘political pundits’ and tv anchors on news channels, so much of
this was new to me. As a book….
Lightweight. Actually surprised this was
a book that someone thought so highly to recommend. Onward and upward with better books….
Friday, February 3, 2017
Creativity Inc.
It must be a trend for very successful business people from
all industries to write their “tell-all” story on how they how to be successful
through the context of a quality they embody.
So enter the world of Ed Catmull.
Not a name that rang in my memory, but a famous guy for the work he
does… the President of Pixar Animation Studios.
Catmull’s book, Creativity Inc.,
is a road map for his success as a CEO in the art industry. Like most leadership books, Catmull draws upon
the tenets he believes created the success for the company. Catmull provides an in-depth history of his
humble beginnings through college life and how he worked to help the movie
industry realize the importance of animation and special effects for movies. He worked with Speilberg, Lucas and the
company was first funded by Steve Jobs of Apple fame. If you are a fan on animated movies, you’ll
love the inside stories of Finding Nemo,
Toy Story, and Up (to name a
few). Catmull shared the characteristics
for a successful company: honesty and candor; not having fear of failing;
Change and randomness are important; broadening one’s view, and not staying
status quo, to name a few. Each tenet
was woven into the history of a particular movie. Movie buffs will love it, leadership guru’s
might say, another one-word leadership book…
There was no “wow” moments for me and I felt it was rather short on
innovation or new ideas related to leadership.
I was hoping for a bit more on why curiosity? How is it further developed, and it is
important for success (with some data points to prove it). An ok book, I wouldn’t run out to get it
though.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
Only a few more books left from friend’s favorites, many are
second choice books form RAs. Finished
listening to Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour
Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Clay
Jannon has lost his job in the San Francisco area after the tech bubble has
burst in the 1990s. Silicon Valley is
reeling and Jannon needs a job. As a
former techie who helped write ads for a bagel store, finally has his luck
change when he finds a job at a bookstore, or so he thinks it is a
bookstore… Jannon works the night shift
of the 24-hour store owned by Mr. Penumbra, a strange old man, and realizes
that there is something strange about this place, which has very few customers,
and those who are regulars come in to borrow books that he is told “not to
open”… but Jannon’s curiosity is raised,
and with the goading of his friends, realizes the books are written in
code! Uncovering the code will involve
his techie friends and bring them to NYC on a search for the secret society of
customers, or as he calls them: “a cult.”
It becomes a raise to solve the mystery between the “secret society” and
Jannon’s friends and the battle between old technology and new technology within
the battle. There’s a lot in this
fantasy / futuristic technology read.
Who will get the answer to the question regarding life? A few twists and turns in this well-written
mystery which I highly recommend.
Jannon’s a great character which represents that “down on your luck” and
finding his way out in work and love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)