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Holiday 10

August 10th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Four pillars

Some of you have asked me to share my reading habits with you, so here’s my current ten-in-parallel:

The Black Swan: Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Fascinating, eminently readable, gentle and easy and unusual. Second pass.

Science, Faith and Society: Michael Polanyi: My regular Polanyi “fix”. Not for the faint-hearted. Third pass.

Comedy by the Numbers: Hoffman and Rudoren. A little bit of McSweeney’s goes a long way. Oddball but fun. First time.

The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe: Elizabeth Eisenstein. A giant of a book, my third read through. A must.

The Accidental Investment Banker: Jonathan Knee.  I like accidents. Not yet started it.

Blood Thirsty: Marshall Karp. I loved The Rabbit Factory, so I thought I’d try Karp again. Unread.

What’s So Funny? Donald E Westlake. I’m fanatical about Westlake, particularly the Dortmunder series. Unmissable.

Crooked Little Vein: Warren Ellis. Trying him out, just because William Gibson said it was worth it. Unread.

Silence: Thomas Perry. I’d walk a mile for a new Thomas Perry. Ten miles. As with Westlake, I’ve been a fan for decades.

Bad Monkeys: Matt Ruff.  I judged this book by its cover. Never heard of him, but liked Christopher Moore’s comments.

Tags: Four pillars

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Artichoke // Aug 19, 2007 at 3:06 am

    If you are enjoying The Black Swan: Nassim Nicholas Taleb you will most likely find much provocation and new thinking in Phil Rosenzweig’s “The Halo Effect … and the Eight other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers”

    It is a great read with fascinating examples throughout - has also given me a most satisfying framework to analyse recent claims in a New Zealand Ministry of Education Best Evidence Synthesis about leadership practice and performance in education.

  • 2 JP // Aug 19, 2007 at 3:14 am

    Thanks artichoke, I hadn’t heard of the book till now; I will definitely follow it up.

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