Corey's Books
Anyone that knows me, knows I love
reading!
[If you click on this link to Amazon, I can earn an associate fee.]
In 2005, I decided to document
my reading as it happens. I am curious to see just how many and what kind of
books in 2005. Habit has me reading at least 2-5 books at a time, so the
start/end times do not accurately reflect the difficulty or size of the
book. Since my MANY magazine subscriptions, multiple daily newspapers are
not being track, note that they do cut into my book time. If you want to
keep track with me, read on...2007
should be a more prolific year for finishing books since my work and soccer
commitments have changed dramatically. Looking forward to it!
CURRENTLY BEING READ:
-
The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World
Affairs by Madeleine Albright, 352 pages
Secretary of State under President
Clinton and a devout Catholic (with recently discovered Jewish roots),
Albright (Madam Secretary) is especially qualified to tackle the
thorny subject of the role of faith in international relations. In a
remarkably accessible, even breezy style, she looks at these issues in light
of recent history both abroad and at home, from the religious fundamentalism
that led to the ouster of the shah of Iran to the invasion of Iraq and
American hope that a political culture can emerge there that integrates
democracy and Islam. But Albright also looks critically at President Bush,
an evangelical Christian who invokes God in the name of fighting "evil." In
this ambitious, thoughtful, and wide-ranging treatment, Albright deftly
balances the pragmatic need to confront religious-based unrest and the
idealistic need to temper one's own personal beliefs in the public realm.
While fully acknowledging the threat al- Qaeda poses, Albright rejects the
notion that a "clash of civilizations" is in progress and wisely calls for
care and nuance in how America approaches international confrontations that
are tinged with religion.
My Take: The author is a
favorite with me since her book, Madam Secretary. I like how she takes on
the religious aspect (and often hypocrisy) of our nation's history and
modern day messaging both in and outside of the country. Thought provoking
as I slowly read this between other work and books. (started 6/1/06; status:
1/4 done)
-
Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy by Christopher
Phillips, 241 pages
Taking his cue
from Socrates, the inaugurator of the Western philosophical tradition,
Phillips embarks on a search for truth and meaning through a series of
conversations that is at once refreshing, humorous, troubling, confusing,
encouraging, depressing, and provocative. What makes Plato's Socratic
dialogues so enduring--and Phillips's book so intriguing--is that for both
Plato and Phillips, philosophy is not something you read or study. It is
something you do.
My Take: The attraction to this
book is that is about dialog in general. Something that it feels none of us
take the time to do anymore. (started 3/1/06; status:
1/4 done)
IN THE QUEUE FOR
2007:
READ IN 2006 (count = 7):
-
for one more day by Mitch Albom, 197 pages
In this second novel from Tuesdays with Morrie and
The Five People You Meet in Heaven author Albom, grief-stricken Charles
"Chick" Benetto goes into an alcoholic tailspin when his always-attentive
mother, Pauline, dies. Framed as an "as told to" story, Chick quickly
narrates her funeral; his drink-fueled loss of savings, job ("sales") and
family; and his descent into loneliness and isolation. After a suicide
attempt, Chick encounters Pauline's ghost. Together, the two revisit
Pauline's travails raising her children alone after his father abandons
them: she braves the town's disapproval of her divorce and works at a beauty
parlor, taking an extra job to put money aside for the children's education.
Pauline cringes at the heartache Chick inflicted as a demanding child,
obnoxious teen and brusque, oblivious adult chasing the will-o'-the-wisp of
a baseball career. Through their story, Albom foregrounds family sanctity,
maternal self-sacrifice and the destructive power of personal ambition and
male self-involvement. He wields pathos as if it were a Louisville
Slugger—shoveling dirt into Pauline's grave, Chick hears her spirit cry out,
" 'Oh, Charley. How could you?' "—but Albom often strikes a nerve on his way
to the heart.
My Take: Very short, easy to
read, very compelling. The author knows how to lay out a strong message in
short order. I can not help thinking of my relationship with me own son as I
read each page of this book. It would mean so much to me if he never
regretted our time spent (and I do not think he does) where he felt
"cheated" in anyway that he would long for one more day with me after I go.
One hopes we are always ready when the time comes; that our relationships
are always up-to-date and we know just where we stand; are loved as much at
all times. (started 11/23/06; done 12/27/06)
-
Soccerhead: An Accidental Journey into the Heart of the American Game by
Jim Hanner, 288 pages
The year his son turned six, Haner was
shanghaied by a group of local parents into coaching the College Park
Hornets, a scrappy group of boys (and one girl) finding their legs on the
pee-wee soccer fields outside Washington, D.C. His book charts his ensuing
obsession with the sport in language as brisk as the game. Between weekly
matches, Haner, a Baltimore Sun writer, pores over books, visits
fabled soccer homelands and interviews legends to uncover the American heart
of this foreign game. Although Native Americans played a version of soccer
with a deerskin ball, the sport really took root in the U.S. in the 1930s,
when immigrant workers played in raucous leagues. Walter Bahr, who took the
winning shot against the English in a 1950 World Cup game, tells Haner how
his team of blue-collar laborers stunned some of the world's best players.
But Haner learns the essence of the sport from his kids. Watching them play,
he sees how fluidity, creativity and trust reign in this simple game. After
the Hornets lose a county championship, Haner concludes, "There is a God...
and he gave us soccer at the dawn of time so that we would never forget who
is in charge."
My Take: Loved this book. It
outlines exactly how most of us got caught up in soccer in America today (I
know it is true for David and myself) and how soccer quickly takes you over.
This books is also a good resource to learn about the beginnings of US
soccer, especially for the girls. (started 09/29/06;
done 12/27/06)
-
The World Is Flat:
A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman, 496 pages
What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of
trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the
digital revolution have made it possible to do business, or almost anything
else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This
in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to
deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these
developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business
and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward
the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization
3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade
organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers
and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and
China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and
information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design
work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda
that let the small act big in more destructive ways.)
My Take: I can rave about this
book enough. I love it. Easy to read and get a real sense of what
globalization is offering, both the up and downside for all sides. (started 10/15/05;
done 11/22/06)
-
He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys
by Greg Behrenht, Liz
Tuccillo, 272 pages
It’s a classic single-woman scenario:
you really like this guy, but he’s giving mixed messages. You make excuses,
decide he’s confused, afraid of commitment. Behrendt, a former executive
story editor for Sex and the City—and a formerly single (now happily
married) guy who knows all the excuses—provides a simple answer: he’s just
not that into you. Stop kidding yourself, let go and look for someone else
who will be. After all, as Behrendt sensibly puts it, "if a (sane) guy
really likes you, there ain’t nothing that’s going to get in his way." If
you’re not convinced yet, by all means read this smart, funny and
surprisingly upbeat little book, full of q’s and a’s covering every excuse
woman has ever made to avoid admitting to herself that a man just wasn’t
that smitten with her.
My Take: A necessary reminder to all the ladies out there. (started 10/23/05;
done 10/1/06)
-
Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference by Bill
Bradley, Andrew Blauner, 304 pages
These often
entertaining reminiscences about the impact that athletic coaches can have
on their players are a mixed bag. The very disparate nature of the essays
sometimes creates a loss of overall focus, but the wide range of sports
covered—baseball, football, basketball, track, tennis, golf and fencing—is a
plus.
My Take: The qualities of the
coaches that these writers respect are often "old school". Some of these
characteristics are not necessarily still valued the same as they might be
today. The majority of the stories are about tough and less social coaches.
Today, one is expected to be more in touch with the players. The
coach/parent relationship has changed from the coach being the sole director
of the team to a more parent-directed environment. (started 2/15/06;
done 3/23/06)
-
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life by Michael Lewis, 93 pages
Lewis (Liar's
Poker; Moneyball) remembers his high school baseball coach, Coach
Fitz, a man so intense a room felt "more pressurized simply because he was
in it." At the New Orleans private school Lewis attended in the late 1970s,
Coach Fitz taught kids to fight "the natural instinct to run away from
adversity" and to battle their way through all the easy excuses life offers
for giving up. He was strict, but he made such an impression on his students
that now, 25 years later, alumni want to name a new gym after him. But the
parents of today's students aren't as wowed by Coach Fitz's tough love. They
call the headmaster with complaints, saying Coach Fitz is too mean to their
children and insisting on sitting on his shoulder as he attempts to coach.
My Take: This book points out
the change from the "old school" of coaching to modern day where the parents
are far more vocal and drive the team direction more than the coach. (started
12/1/05; done 1/10/06)
-
Winning
by Jack Welch, Suzy Welch, 384 pages
Welch's first book,
Jack: Straight from the Gut, was
structured more as a conventional CEO memoir, with stories of early career
adventures, deals won and lost, boardroom encounters, and Welch's process
and philosophy that helped propel his success as a manager. In Winning,
Welch focuses on his actual management techniques. He starts with an
overview of cultural values such as candor, differentiation among employees,
and inclusion of all voices in decision-making. In the second section he
covers issues around one's own company or organization: the importance of
hiring, firing, the people management in between, and a few other juicy
topics like crisis management. From there, Welch moves into a discussion of
competition, and the external factors that can influence a company's
success: strategy, budgeting, and mergers and acquisitions. Welch takes a
more personal turn later with a focus on individual career issues--how to
find the right job, get promoted, and deal with a bad boss--and then a final
section on what he calls "Tying Up Loose Ends." Those interested in the
human side of great leaders will find this last section especially
appealing. In it, Welch answers the most interesting questions that he's
received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing
audiences of executives and business-school students.
My Take: I started reading this
literally standing in line at the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. Other
people didn't seem to mind when I read pieces about mission and values out
loud to David. Even though Jack is still quite loyal to GE (and he should
be), it is interesting to read him talking about his experiences and
thoughts after retirement. I wonder what I'll be like as a
retiree...probably not publishing Top Seller books. This book has been a
slow ready only because so many others have come up since I picked this one
up. (started 5/27/05; done 2/2/06)
READ IN 2005 (count = 9):
-
Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano, 256 pages
A history of
World Cups, but even more interestingly, a strong commentary on the
evolution of modern soccer and all its components.
My Take: I love this book! The
writer creates vivid imagery in your mind of every situation and goal that
he describes. Poetic descriptions and his strong opinion (even when I do not
agree) are compelling reading. (started 10/5/05;
done 12/7/05)
-
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of
Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner,
256 pages
In
Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many
apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they
could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right
questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in
violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to
the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who
would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered
from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate
structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while
scores of underlings make something below minimum wage.
My Take: This is an interesting
book where they look for non-traditional root causes that might explain some
economic impacts. David read this book, but due to direct exposure, and
listening to the interviews with the authors I feel I have experience its
material enough to claim it largely read. Lately, I read an article that
pointed out some disagreement on the algorithms that the authors used and
thus, there has been the usual non-believers. Every theory has those.
(started 10/5/05; done 10/7/05)
-
How Soccer Explains the World:
An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
by Franklin Foer, 272 pages
As a journalist, Mr. Foer is accustom to discussions on the concept of
globalization. As his love of world soccer has feed by the growing
availability of satellite and digital cable, the Fox World Sports channel (channel
401 on Comcast digital cable in the East Bay area of California)
My Take: Do not read this if you are depressed about the amount of violence in the
world, not just in the soccer stands. So far, I am not convinced that soccer
fanaticism is an accurate gauge of the state of globalization and its effect
of drawing together or further diving people. (started 12/23/04;
done 6/15/05)
-
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders as All
Levels
by Michael Watkins, 208 pages
Transitioning to a new position in an
unfamiliar role is a challenge. You have 90 days to prove yourself. This
book offers sensible "teachable" skills to help you be successful.
My Take: Quick read and good for taking on new
role in any organization. Having been promoted to a manager of managers last
last year, this would have been a perfect book. But it's never too late. (started
2/5/05; done 4/13/05)
-
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person
in the World by A.J. Jacobs, 400 pages
Mr. Jacobs used to be smart. And then he left college, started working as a
journalist (Entertainment Weekly, current at Esquire), and got married. Like
all of us, he wonders how his senses got dulled. To get back into mental
shape, he decides to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (33,000 pages, 65,000 articles, 9,5000
contributors, 24,000 images = 32 volumes at 4 lbs. each = 44 million words)
in one year.
My Take: I really liked this book. Mr. Jacobs relates some of the
interesting items he has learned interwoven into his account of his
experience and life as it unfolds during his quest. Is his the
Ken Jennings
of 2003? We'll see, but he did make it to play on
Jeopardy. (started 12/28/04;
done 4/13/05)
-
Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency
by Tom Demarco, 256 pages
The importance of purposely creating
slack time is stressed. Without free time, individuals can not create, clean
up, organize, or able to handle emergencies.
My Take: This book came to me at just the right
time. At work, our division has installed the
Agile Development method
using the
Scrum Process. While this process is supposed to all flexibility,
including scheduling less than a full schedule of tasks for the cycles, we
are finding that we still over schedule for the work hours. By the way, I
have spent the last two years working hard to create slack time in our busy
family schedule. It is very rewarding and I have found more time to read and
write this webpage. (started 10/5/04;
done 4/5/05)
-
The Double Goal Coach: Positive Coaching Tools for Honoring the Game
and Developing Winners in Sports and Life by Jim Thompson, 368 pages
Winning is a good goal. It's can be a
fun goal. However, winning is also about character development that lasts a
lifetime long after the sports have ended. This is not a book to spread
"happy talk", but a great read that combines conventional wisdom with
psychology and sociology studies and known child development strategies.
This is an easy and perfect read for coaches and parents of youth sports
players.
My Take: Easy to say and I hear it all the
time. "It's for the kids" is the truth that I believe 90% of people
that say it actually behave in a manner that demonstrate they actually
believe it. The remain ones may also believe that youth sports is not about
their own adult ego, but don't "walk the walk" to back that up. I see that
ratio as a positive statement, but in light of current events where adults
are going WAY beyond the scope of youth sports, there is a sad reality we
have to deal with. This book, from the
Positive Coaching Alliance, is a
fantastic reminder and training tool for all of us adult to remember the kid
rule! (started 1/11/05; done on 2/5/05)
-
It's Not About the Bra: How to Play Hard, Play Fair, and Put the Fun
Back into Competitive Sports
by Brandi Chastain with Gloria Averbuch, 224 pages
Obviously the sport used in the book
is soccer, but Brandi's personal experience and observations are appropriate
for all sports, and frankly, other dealings where adults and young intermix
(like high school). Focuses on gamesmanship, sportsmanship, and parental
involvement.
My Take: An easy read that I enjoyed. Great
reminders on what can parents can do that negatively impact the kids to
enjoy the sport that ironically, they are pushing the kids to embrace. The
book is largely skewed towards the negative impact (sadly very topically and
relevant in today's youth sports). While she does have a few years
experience working with her older teenage stepson who excels at soccer, I
can't help but believe that her tune would change in a number of ways that . (started
10/10/04; done on 2/5/05)
-
The Wisdom of Crowds:
Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes
Business, Economies, Societies and Nations
by James Surowiecki, 5 CDs (6 hours) [note: book is 320 pages]
Explores the idea that groups of
people are smarter than then an elite few. There are many examples that
support this statement including one from the game show "Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire" (91% of the audience help answers were the rights ones where
only 65% of the 'phone a friend' calls were accurate), as well as examples
from many other walks of life and situations.
My Take: The traditional Type-A personality in
my wants to rely on people with experience in the subject area at hand.
However, this CD only serves to remind me of what I already know from other
sources (first hand and learning resources); groups outperform individuals
under most circumstances. (started 1/5/05; status: done
on 1/13/05)
ON THE WAITING LIST:
-
Just Let the Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your
Child's Fun and Success in Youth Sports
by Bob Bigelow, Tom Moroney, and Linda Hall, 320 pages
A common complaint in the last few
years have parents that push their kids in youth sports often beyond their
skills. There is too much emphasis on scoreboard wins over the child's fun
of the game and skill and character development.
My Take: I am just starting this book. While it
is not unlike most of the books, newspapers, and talk among adults that seem
to be out on youth sports, yet we still have the problem. Change is just too
slow somethings. The more I read books like this, the more I try to find
ways to address that in our soccer league. Our bowling league doesn't seem
to have this problem...most of the time. (status:
on hold)
-
Just Enough Software Test Automation by Daniel J. Mosley, Bruce A.
Posey, 288 pages
Offers advice on designing and implementing a software test
automation infrastructure, and identifies what current popular testing
approaches can and cannot accomplish. Rejecting the automation life cycle
model, the authors favor limited automation of unit, integration, and system
testing. They also present a control synchronized data-driven framework to
help jump-start an automation project.
My Take: Automation testing is the hope that
many have, but the frustration we all share. There are some great benefits
to using automation, but it is not easy to sell the idea of something that
you can no define as the "silver bullet" to answer all your problems. There
are different types of automation for different situations. And not all
situations call for automation. (status: on hold)
-
Snobs by Julian Fellowes, 272 pages
As a journalist, Mr. Foer is accustom to discussions on the concept of
globalization. As his love of world soccer has feed by the growing
availability of satellite and digital cable, the Fox World Sports channel (channel
401 on Comcast digital cable in the East Bay area of California)
My Take: Do not read this if you are depressed about the amount of violence in the
world, not just in the soccer stands. So far, I am not convinced that soccer
fanaticism is an accurate gauge of the state of globalization and its effect
of drawing together or further diving people. (status:
on hold)
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[This page was last updated:
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 10:25 PM]
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