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July 28
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Garrett
gave
 
to:
The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars (Paperback)
by Joël Glenn Brenner
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Garrett said:
"An inside look at the candy industry... Brenner focuses her writing primarily on Hershey and Mars. The book bounces around between characters and time periods as it covers Mars, then Hershey, then Mars, and so on. Because of this chapter volleying, s...more
An inside look at the candy industry... Brenner focuses her writing primarily on Hershey and Mars. The book bounces around between characters and time periods as it covers Mars, then Hershey, then Mars, and so on. Because of this chapter volleying, some general information is repeated unnecessarily. Brenner does a nice job of sketching the big players, presents a lot of great business information that must have been a bear to gather. Must have been? No, Brenner reflects on the difficulty of her research a few times per chapter, so if I got nothing else, I learned this: writing about the chocolate industry is tough.
I went on a little trip to Hershey, PA, as I read this. Unfortunately I didn't get to Brenner's description of modern-day Hershey until I had come and gone. The moral? It used to be cool. Now it's totally stupid....less
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Garrett
gave
to:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Paperback)
by Jean-Dominique Bauby
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Garrett said:
"Bauby suffered a stroke and was unable to move thereafter. He could, however, blink one of his eyes. And so he wrote a book, blinking it out letter by letter. Unable to move, his mind wanders in interesting and creative ways. He is delighted by simpl...more
Bauby suffered a stroke and was unable to move thereafter. He could, however, blink one of his eyes. And so he wrote a book, blinking it out letter by letter. Unable to move, his mind wanders in interesting and creative ways. He is delighted by simple pleasures like the smell of fries and is angry at small setbacks like an inattentive nurse turning off a soccer game.
What is most interesting is that Bauby is never delights in any great pleasures or expresses anger at the biggest setback of all--the inability to use his body. He spends surprisingly little time feeling sorry for himself and the book is thankfully short on platitudes. It has no overriding moral and no sweet conclusion. Like Bauby, it simple is. ...less
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July 14
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Garrett
marked as to-read:
Why Flip a Coin?: The Art and Science of Good Decisions (Paperback)
by H. W. Lewis
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Garrett
gave
to:
So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life (Paperback)
by Jacob Slichter
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: Semisonic and 90s alt rock fans
read in July, 2008
Garrett said:
"Slichter was the drummer for the band Semisonic, and shares his take on going from nobody, to struggling musician, to giant star, to struggling, to nobody. He is charming and clever and gives a non-rock and roll star's version of rock and roll stardo...more
Slichter was the drummer for the band Semisonic, and shares his take on going from nobody, to struggling musician, to giant star, to struggling, to nobody. He is charming and clever and gives a non-rock and roll star's version of rock and roll stardom. He's surprised by the political nature of the music biz and holds a fair amount of bitterness. He has some good stories and gives a great behind-the-scenes look at life in a band....less
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Garrett
gave
to:
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life (Hardcover)
by Steve Martin
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Garrett said:
"This autobiography covers Steve Martin's life from childhood through about 1980 and focuses almost exclusively on his stand-up comedy...lots on how he got there, and kind of a sad take on being very, very famous. He had a pleasant and (imagine this) ...more
This autobiography covers Steve Martin's life from childhood through about 1980 and focuses almost exclusively on his stand-up comedy...lots on how he got there, and kind of a sad take on being very, very famous. He had a pleasant and (imagine this) funny writing style and told many great anecdotes, including a bit about dating author Dalton Trumbo's daughter. Anyway, a wonderful one about Steve Martin's stand-up....less
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July 11
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Garrett
marked as to-read:
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge (Hardcover)
by David McCullough
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Garrett
is currently reading:
The Corrections (Paperback)
by Jonathan Franzen
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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July 09
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Garrett
gave
to:
All the Money in the World: How the Forbes 400 Make--and Spend--Their Fortunes (Hardcover)
by Annalyn Swan
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Garrett said:
"While the book had a number interesting histories of businesses and their founders, it read like a series of cobbled-together Forbes articles (which I imagine is all the book is). People named in the book were introduced every time they were mentione...more
While the book had a number interesting histories of businesses and their founders, it read like a series of cobbled-together Forbes articles (which I imagine is all the book is). People named in the book were introduced every time they were mentioned as though the authors had no confidence that we would remember who they were talking about from page to page. Also, every time a name was mentioned, it was followed by a year and a net worth (in this fashion: Bill Gates, 2006 net worth $62 billion, blah blah blah). This got annoying very quickly.
It had enough interesting tidbits to really earn the single star I'm giving it, but having learned from those curmudgeonly ultra-wealthy Forbes 400-ers, I'm going to take the second star I would have given the book and reinvest it in my company or buy another vacation home with it. ...less
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Garrett
gave
to:
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (Paperback)
by Mary Roach
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Garrett said:
"My biggest mistake was reading the chapter about corpse decomposition while eating low-grade Chinese food. Roach (the author) has a wonderful approach to the topic (death and corpses). She is sensitive enough about it and is careful to separate the p...more
My biggest mistake was reading the chapter about corpse decomposition while eating low-grade Chinese food. Roach (the author) has a wonderful approach to the topic (death and corpses). She is sensitive enough about it and is careful to separate the person from the cadaver. She talks about the odd history of anatomical research, crash-testing cars (and testing ammunition), and more. She herself is the main character in the book. She tells interesting stories and takes us along as she conducts her interviews. The style works well and results in a book that is informative, humorous, and a pleasure to read, though not over lunch....less
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Garrett
gave
to:
Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear (Hardcover)
by Frank Luntz
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in May, 2008
Garrett said:
"Frank Luntz, excuse me, Dr. Frank Luntz came across as a pompous, arrogant idiot. I guess it was supposed to be a book on rhetoric. He includes some really weak bits about business, the history of the English language, and grammar that were cringe in...more
Frank Luntz, excuse me, Dr. Frank Luntz came across as a pompous, arrogant idiot. I guess it was supposed to be a book on rhetoric. He includes some really weak bits about business, the history of the English language, and grammar that were cringe inducing. He is a pollster who works mainly with politicians. When he sticks with his strengths (opinion polls and dealings with politicians), the book is tolerable. As the one star I awarded indicates, for the most part it was not tolerable.
After a few chapters I considered quitting. Then I thought, "That's probably what Dr. Frank Luntz wants, and I won't give him the satisfaction." So I kept reading. It became a contest of endurance...how long could Dr. Frank Luntz wander with this awful book and how long could I keep reading it. After finishing the last page, I felt like I had won. But in many ways I lost. However, I feel better knowing that no one is as big a loser as Dr. Frank Luntz....less
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