2014-05 - Illusion Dweller, by Stimson Bullitt

5 - Illusion Dweller, by Stimson Bullitt
WHY I PICKED IT: Alia thought it would be a good read for me, as I am really getting into climbing.
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Not Good

This book is a collection of thoughts and experiences by and of Stim.  Early on, he writes about how mountaineering and climbing are his way of proving his manliness (to himself?), and then seemingly uses much of the book to list his accomplishments in short paragraphs, leading me to think: “Yes, I get it, you’re manly!”  Not an enjoyable read.

His chapter on the personality of the mountaineer is poorly written – simply his thoughts on their physique, mind, and so forth.  Not really a compelling read – for a budding climber, or likely anybody.

He does make a great points about risk:  A recreational climber is more likely to take unnecessary risks because they are more likely to view the experience as a one-off, less willing to return and try another day, and therefore more willing to push themselves beyond where they should.

All in all, I would not recommend this book.

2014-04 - This is the story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett

4 - This is the story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett
WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Ann Patchett
ELAPSED TIME: 9 days
RATING: Good

This collection of essays is almost a memoir.  Almost, because there is other stuff too (want to know how to be a writer? write!) and also because it doesn't follow a standard narrative, rather it weaves various topics together that only just brings it to the title at the end... The essay of how she and her husband got together is good, that it is followed by an essay about her and her dog and ends with one about her friendship with a nun is fantastic.

What keeps this book from being Very Good is that the first few essays were more of a grind. A better way to frame it is to reverse the question: What keeps this book from being Meh is that the final few essays were truly a joy to read.

(as an aside, I LOVE that she started her own independent bookstore; I now want to do the same!).

2014-XX - The Lazarus Project, by Aleksandar Hemon

XX - The Lazarus Project, by Aleksandar Hemon
WHY I PICKED IT: Something else by him hit my to-read list, and I found this at a used book store
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING: Meh

In 1908 Lazarus Averbuch, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant is killed by the Chicago Police Chief.  100 years later, Brik, an Eastern European immigrant decides to write about what happened.

Hemon does a great job with some things: Cultural differences between Brik and his American wife are beautifully described (the American need for Truth, versus the Bosnian willingness to believe a good story). The description of feeling at "home" in Sarajevo versus Chicago is evocative and relate-able.

Despite those real strengths, but that wasn't enough to overcome a fatal flaw: Brik is written as a weak character, and that makes him someone hard to root for.  And it was because of that that I skipped most of the second half of the book...

2014-03 - How Bad Are Bananas?, by Mike Berners-Lee

3 - How Bad Are Bananas?, by Mike Berners-Lee
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Chris
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Week
RATING: Good

This is an interesting read.  Advocating for people to make smart decisions that impact their carbon footprint, Berners-Lee takes a cut at identifying the carbon footprint of various items.  He shows quite well how you might be missing the point if you spend ages worrying about how you dry your hands (<10grams of CO2e) if you also own a pool (>100 tons).

He makes the case for eating food that is less CO2 intensive in multiple ways:
a) Veggies are less carbon  intensive than meat in multiple ways: Not just amount of space required for animals, but also the gases that come out of cows and sheep.
b) Local is generally better than transported in, but the manner of that transport is also important (bananas come by ship, asparagus comes by plane), and also the seasonality (greenhouses growing things out of season in your own locality aren't good either!).

I appreciated that he starts by acknowledging the limitations of his methodology, but accept the argument that the logarithmic scale when comparing things that are dramatically different is more than sufficient in the context of decision-making.

This book is probably best read in short chunks rather than front-to-back (as I did).