Erin's updates http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/680587 en-US Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:37:30 -0700 60 Erin's updates http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 31672012 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:37:30 -0700 Review26992180 <![CDATA[Erin added 'Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26992180 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court (Paperback) by Jan Crawford Greenburg
This is a totally fascinating account of what happens behind the scenes in the Supreme Court appointment process. I've always wondered how Bush I came to appoint Souter; this book does a great job of setting the scene politically to explain his actions. While quite critical of Democrats and very lenient to downright praising of Republicans, this is still a great book. ]]> 30985025 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:01:31 -0700 QuestionUserStat34712 <![CDATA[Erin Kuka took the never-ending book quiz]]> http://www.goodreads.com/trivia 680587 Erin took the never-ending book quiz.
questions answered: 46
correct: 21 (45.7%)
skipped: 0
best streak: 5
questions added: 0
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]]> 29614193 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:34:04 -0700 Review22331574 <![CDATA[Erin added 'Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22331574 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars to: Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Hardcover) by Richard H. Thaler
I heard about this book months before it came out and anxiously awaited it. Accordingly, my expectations were high, and this book fell short. I have two beefs: 1) the more interesting question for me is whether the government should use these "nudges," not how it would work if they were to do so. Unfortunately, there were maybe 15 pages on this, and they were not well done. They mentioned Rawls for literally 2 paragraphs - that's a problem. 2) Maybe it's because I learned torts from a commie, but there's a whole analysis of why patients and doctors should be able to contract to release the doctor from liability in the case of negligence, and it's extremely one-sided and uninteresting. That could be a great topic to write on, and others have done a great job, but it was a very blase account of their perspective. Med mal is a topic I know pretty well and have thought about; their scant coverage makes me question how well they covered other topics that I don't know well enough to see the flaws. ]]> 29387618 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:07:22 -0700 Review25198926 <![CDATA[Erin added 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25198926 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover) by David Sedaris
I've always thought of DS as a formulaic writer, but it usually doesn't bother me too much. This time, for whatever reason, the formula was out in full force and I felt like it was hitting me over the head. Also, I heard him read about a year ago and he read some stories that were great but left them out of this book. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading. I particularly recommend "The Monster Mash" - but listen to it on This American Life - it sounds better than it reads. ]]> 26635377 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:01:50 -0700 Review23361581 <![CDATA[Erin added 'About Alice']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23361581 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: About Alice (Hardcover) by Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin is my new favorite author. My favorite professor recommended this book, and it lived up to his high recommendation. It was so moving and beautiful, without feeling contrived or forced. It was authentic, amazing writing; I recommend it to anyone feeling emotional, or wanting to feel emotional. ]]> 21352471 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:24:14 -0700 Review18946621 <![CDATA[Erin added 'Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18946621 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (Hardcover) by Dan Ariely
Overall, a great, quick read. (It took me about 4 days.) Ariely's voice was a bit annoying - his writing feels contrived and unnatural in his summaries at the end of many of the chapters. Also, I continually returned to the question of what Ariely's definition of rationality is - for such a prevalent concept in the book to go undefined felt like a huge gaffe.

That said, the experiments were very entertaining, and he raises a number of issues worth contemplating. Just the fact that someone is out there loudly and empirically questioning neoclassical economic theory is commendable. ]]> 17135518 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:46:08 -0800 Comment443775 <![CDATA[new update: Update]]> 14511011 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:28:31 -0800 Review14010675 <![CDATA[Erin added 'The Logic of Life']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14010675 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: The Logic of Life (Hardcover) by Tim Harford
This book starts out extremely strong - the first 5-6 chapters are really, really interesting and really, really well written. The last two chapters overstep their bounds a bit; his argumentation gets a little attenuated the broader he reaches. But, the first 5 pages of the final chapter are amazing.

I recommend this book to other geeks who like to read about economics. ]]> 11672916 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:42:49 -0800 Review11725847 <![CDATA[Erin added 'Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11725847 Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink (Hardcover) by David Remnick
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 11672211 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:40:23 -0800 Review11725270 <![CDATA[Erin added 'The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11725270 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Hardcover) by Jeffrey Toobin
I really, really love Jeff Toobin. The first 30 pages are superb - they are extremely well-written, and they do an amazing job of setting the scene. He succeeds in straddling the fence between journalistic writing and tabloid. There's enough juice to amuse the reader, but enough substance so that you're not embarrassed to be reading it on MUNI. ]]>