2005 Book Reccommendations
I've been doing a bit more reading lately. I made it a new years resolution to read one book a month. I'm a bit behind being in the middle of books 7 and 8. I guess if you count the books I read to the kids, I've kept my resolution. :)
Here are some of the books this year and some commentary. I'll rate the books on a scale of 1-5. For Non Fiction, a 5 is "you MUST read,this book significantly changed my thinking or my life. " and for Fiction 5 is "this was a blast, one of the top 10 books of all time for me"
I'm currently in the middle of Erwin McMannus's most recent book, The Babarian Way. Erwin is my pastor . . He's got a book coming out in Dec and January. He's quite prolific. Usually his books are pretty intense and require time to digest, but this is has been a bit of an easier read..so far. (Not that it's not good. ) I like where he is going with this one. One of his main thesis is that Christ doesn't promise a life of wealth, happiness, and success when we choose to follow up, but probably the opposite. Now this may seem obvious, the challenge is/will be living it. Its been something I've been thinking a lot about recently. Right now the book is a 4.
I've also started a little bit of "Managing Change" by Kotter, because my work project right now involves restructuring our company. Not that exciting. Right now its a 2.
Michael Crichton - State of Fear - (3, 4) This may have been a Christmas read, but close enough. This is an interesting mix of fiction(3) and non fiction (4). I've read all of his books, this is a good one, but probably not a favourite for entertainment value. However, Crichton presents a very compelling arguement against global warming. A recommended read.
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - (3) Not my favourite one, but I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. (Spoiler warning: if you've been hiding under a rock or if you don't want the book spoiled, don't read ahead. . . ....I did see a guy wearing a shirt last week that said "Dumbledore dies on page 396" or whatever page it was)
James Dobson - Bringing up Boys (3) I was really excited about reading this one. It came out right before my wife got pregnant with our son, and the whole reason I wanted a son was to be able to read this book and apply it. In the end, I was a bit dissappointed because while it provided good information overall about parenting, it was more presenting facts and arguments for strong family, a involved father, challenges of raising boys etc, then offering practical advice what to do. More facts then advice
Malcolm Gladwell - Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking - 3.5 There's been a lot of hype in my company about this one recently. It discusses the amazing ability of the human mind to subconsciously make decisions before the conscious realizes it (sometimes right, sometimes wrong). While it offers a very interesting premise, I'm still figuring out how to apply it to my life. It has taught me to go with my gut more often.
- The GE Workout Model 2.5 - This book covers the reengineering processes that GE uses to solve business problems, and that has been adopted by many other companies. We are still using it at work.
Harry S Dent - The Next Bubble Boom (4.5) - This is a really interesting book. This guy predicted the .com rise and fall, the JApanese recession in the 80's, and is predicting a bigger bubble and burst in the latter half of this decade. He studies many different statisitics and cycles, including the demographics of the baby boomers, presidential cycles, technology cycles, etc. Very strong evidence and thoroughly researched. I'm basing a lot of my investment philosphoy on his writings.
Erwin McMannus - Uprising - I got through about 75% of this one.
Books on my list to read next:
HOw to behave so your preschooler will behave too! I started this one a year ago, but didn't finish. I've got too many of those. This should be a good one, though.
Maverick Real Estate Investing : The Art of Buying and Selling Properties Like Trump, Zell, Simon, and the World's Greatest Land Owners
Demographic Trends in Real Estate (More of a report)
The Birth Order Book: Why You Are The Way You Are [Paperback] by Leman, Kevin
I borrowed a couple of Michael Moore books from my brother when I was home this weekend. While I'm not a big fan, I'm curious to see what he has to say.
Speaking of Michael Moore, I was browsing the books at Costco the other day and saw "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) (Hardcover)". Michael Moore is on the list. I plan to pick this one up.
Here are some of the books this year and some commentary. I'll rate the books on a scale of 1-5. For Non Fiction, a 5 is "you MUST read,this book significantly changed my thinking or my life. " and for Fiction 5 is "this was a blast, one of the top 10 books of all time for me"
I'm currently in the middle of Erwin McMannus's most recent book, The Babarian Way. Erwin is my pastor . . He's got a book coming out in Dec and January. He's quite prolific. Usually his books are pretty intense and require time to digest, but this is has been a bit of an easier read..so far. (Not that it's not good. ) I like where he is going with this one. One of his main thesis is that Christ doesn't promise a life of wealth, happiness, and success when we choose to follow up, but probably the opposite. Now this may seem obvious, the challenge is/will be living it. Its been something I've been thinking a lot about recently. Right now the book is a 4.
I've also started a little bit of "Managing Change" by Kotter, because my work project right now involves restructuring our company. Not that exciting. Right now its a 2.
Michael Crichton - State of Fear - (3, 4) This may have been a Christmas read, but close enough. This is an interesting mix of fiction(3) and non fiction (4). I've read all of his books, this is a good one, but probably not a favourite for entertainment value. However, Crichton presents a very compelling arguement against global warming. A recommended read.
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - (3) Not my favourite one, but I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. (Spoiler warning: if you've been hiding under a rock or if you don't want the book spoiled, don't read ahead. . . ....I did see a guy wearing a shirt last week that said "Dumbledore dies on page 396" or whatever page it was)
James Dobson - Bringing up Boys (3) I was really excited about reading this one. It came out right before my wife got pregnant with our son, and the whole reason I wanted a son was to be able to read this book and apply it. In the end, I was a bit dissappointed because while it provided good information overall about parenting, it was more presenting facts and arguments for strong family, a involved father, challenges of raising boys etc, then offering practical advice what to do. More facts then advice
Malcolm Gladwell - Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking - 3.5 There's been a lot of hype in my company about this one recently. It discusses the amazing ability of the human mind to subconsciously make decisions before the conscious realizes it (sometimes right, sometimes wrong). While it offers a very interesting premise, I'm still figuring out how to apply it to my life. It has taught me to go with my gut more often.
- The GE Workout Model 2.5 - This book covers the reengineering processes that GE uses to solve business problems, and that has been adopted by many other companies. We are still using it at work.
Harry S Dent - The Next Bubble Boom (4.5) - This is a really interesting book. This guy predicted the .com rise and fall, the JApanese recession in the 80's, and is predicting a bigger bubble and burst in the latter half of this decade. He studies many different statisitics and cycles, including the demographics of the baby boomers, presidential cycles, technology cycles, etc. Very strong evidence and thoroughly researched. I'm basing a lot of my investment philosphoy on his writings.
Erwin McMannus - Uprising - I got through about 75% of this one.
Books on my list to read next:
HOw to behave so your preschooler will behave too! I started this one a year ago, but didn't finish. I've got too many of those. This should be a good one, though.
Maverick Real Estate Investing : The Art of Buying and Selling Properties Like Trump, Zell, Simon, and the World's Greatest Land Owners
Demographic Trends in Real Estate (More of a report)
The Birth Order Book: Why You Are The Way You Are [Paperback] by Leman, Kevin
I borrowed a couple of Michael Moore books from my brother when I was home this weekend. While I'm not a big fan, I'm curious to see what he has to say.
Speaking of Michael Moore, I was browsing the books at Costco the other day and saw "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) (Hardcover)". Michael Moore is on the list. I plan to pick this one up.
posted by Cobra Bubbles and the Grand Councilwoman at 8:45 PM
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