Martin Chevreau's Blog, page 3

Slow Productivity

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From the initial pages, I thought that Slow Productivity would have little substance, but past the introduction chapter Cal Newport offers a lot of practical and actionable advice, particularly for those working on long, creative and projects. Much of it seems intuitive, although I had never thought to implement the solutions listed. I look forward to thinking about how to use these in my schedule. This said, I doubt this book would be useful for every knowledge worker as you need a lot of freedom to implement the changes required, however much the author tries to broaden the appeal of slow productivity.



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Edible Economics

Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World by Ha-Joon Chang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Edible Economics is a set of short (and rather fun) chapters, each addressing some common misconceptions related to economics. In particular, these passages aim to debunk much of the thinking behind neo-classical economics and provides alternative ways of thinking about the economy. My key takeaway is that the economy as it stands today is the result of government (and colonial) intervention over millennia, both in global trade and in the domestic economies of wealthy countries; in other words, the market has achieved a lot, but only because it has been manipulated (rather than left to act in the interest of efficiency- some right-leaning readers may find this troubling).

One thing to note: If you are expecting to understand ‘the world in 17 dishes’ in a literal sense, you may be a little disappointed. Food is used to introduce ideas rather than to drive them, and links between them are often loose. This said, this does leave room for plenty of food-related fun facts (I have enough to entertain family dinners for months).



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l'Affaire Alaska Sanders

L'Affaire Alaska Sanders by Joël Dicker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


L’Affaire Alaska Sanders nous fait découvrir deux univers liés: celui de Marcus Goldman en 2010 (peu de temps après le succès de la Vérité sur l’affaire Harry Quebert) et celui d’Alaska Sanders, assassinée 11 ans plus tôt. Souvent, les histoires parallèles servent à ralentir et à accélérer le rythme du livre. Là, ce n’était qu'accélération. Les indices s’accumulent sans jamais que le lecteur ne sache véritablement qui est coupable du meurtre d’Alaska. À chaque fois qu’on pense l’avoir deviné, il y a quand même un sens d’inachevé, et ce jusqu’à la fin où l'on découvre la vérité. J’étais aussi heureux de retrouver Goldman et Gahallowood, lesquels me font penser à Tintin et Haddock dans leurs enquêtes!



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The Outsider

The Outsider by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I found Stephen King’s The Outsider to be mostly gripping, although admittedly my reading slowed when the story turned from a detective chase into a ghostbuster hunt. The fantastical aspect of the book does mean that there is a lack of closure: how did the detectives know how to ‘off’ the outsider? is the outsider really gone? It is hard to know if this is intentional; I suppose you have to give King the benefit of the doubt in this instance. 4*.



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The Audacity of Hope

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Aside from Barack Obama’s recognisably authoritative and warm voice, The Audacity of Hope is different from his other books as its purpose seems to be to present his vision for America - unsurprisingly, as it was published just a couple years before his ascendancy to the Oval Office - which is made more obvious as you come across the not-so-subtle digs at the Bush Administration and the ‘I love this county’ narrative. Naturally, the individual ideas are not entirely relevant almost two decades later (where did the time go?), particularly given the deteriorating state of things, but the vision is still important in my opinion. And although I won’t remember all of his individual policy and political recommendations, I will remember his ability to be reflexive and open in his efforts towards bipartisanship. In this respect, I think the book promotes values that everybody will appreciate (humility, self-awareness…) although I will put 4* down as the intentions in this book have not always translated to his positions while in office.



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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was both captivating and beautiful. It is quite clear from early on in the story what the key moral messages will be by the end of the book, but Taylor Jenkins Reid adds nuance to these with each chapter. While I can’t relate to the protagonist’s lifestyle, I found her take on the complexity and diversity of relationships, and by extension love, to be accurate in its messiness.

On a separate note, if someone reading this has a word for being ‘accurate’ about a concept that is as inherently messy and subjective as love and which cannot be definitely be grappled with, then please share (as ‘accurate’ just won’t do it!)



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Shakespeare

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


With Shakespeare (the novel, that is; the playwright did obviously not co-author this book!), Bryson delimits what we know and most importantly what we do not know about the famous English writer. On the plus side, this book is written with the humour that is typical of Bryson's books. Although admittedly, this reads more as a (short) fact-finding mission split across five chapters, as opposed to the longer (travel) novels which have an amplified narrative.



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La Porte du Ciel

La Porte du ciel by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Un roman passionnant avec des personnages attachants, inspiré tantôt de la fiction, tantôt de faits réels, tantôt de textes religieux. Ce qui m'a plu le plus, en fin de compte, fut les notes de bas de page, qui donnent plus de détails sur l'époque et mettent le roman en perspective de l'histoire (des autres tomes, de l'humanité).



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Tourists

Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves by Lucy Lethbridge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Reading Tourists is a compelling way of revisiting the recent history of British tourism. What struck me the most was how little tourism has changed in character over two hundred years despite the modernisation of Britain. While technology has transformed some aspects of tourism, it seems that the social characteristics of tourism have rarely changed and we find ourselves upholding the same habits as our ancestors abroad.

Before reading this book, I expected a chronological recounting of the history of tourism. Instead, the author selects certain facets of tourism - without a particular order and often going beyond scope - and details these with plenty of material and anecdotes. In the end, you get more than you bargain for, which I think is both the highlight and the drawback of this book as although the stories were interesting, they became increasingly repetitive with each chapter.



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The Four Winds

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


With The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah recounts the (fictional) story of the Martinelli family as they attempt to create a new life for themselves in California in the aftermath of the Great Depression and the drought that plagued the Great Plains at the time. Although this adventure (somewhat of a euphemism to describe the family's escape away from the Dust Bowl) is supposed to be representative of the 'typical' American family's experience of this journey westwards, the role of Elsa as a single mother is unique and sheds light on a missing piece of history- that of women's work in supporting the nation in these hard times. I was absorbed by the book and its characters and looked forward to returning to the story each time. The only drawback I would point to was the sudden culmination of the book, particularly given the lengthy repetitions of the family's day-to-day activities on the road that had previously driven the storyline. 4*.



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