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I read No Rules Rules:Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings. I'm usually not a business book reader but some of my coworkers organized a work book club and this was the book. I really enjoyed it! Hastings and his co-author, Erin Myer, are candid about the strengths and weakness of the Netflix culture. In spite of their admonishment that you can't just take bits and pieces of their culture and try to retrofit it to your workplace, I'm sure there are plenty of leaders who try to do just that and fail.
For pleasure reading, I am about half way through with Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin. It is about real people with real challenges such as a spouse with dementia and middle age angst. It might be hitting a bit too close to home to call enjoyable, but it is definitely well written.
Vermont's Ebenezer Allen: Patriot, Commando and Emancipator by Glenn Fay Jr.
I just finished reading Vermont's Ebenezer Allen: Patriot, Commando and Emancipator by Glenn Fay Jr. While I am a history buff, I only knew about one-fourth of the information in this book. That made it a bit of a slog. The book's frequent departure from chronological order, always a bad thing in historical non-fiction, didn't make it any easier, as did the number of typos.
That being said, the author's attempt to tackle a novel and little-covered subject was ambitious. The literature on Vermont's period as a separate republic, 1777-91 is necessarily meager. Vermont had no apparent ambition to be a permanently independent country. It did have a deep desire not to be part of New York, particularly under its aggressive governor for most of that period. George Clinton, subject of George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic by John P. Kaminski. Vermonters had a slightly lesser dislike for New Hampshire, the other claimant. Basically Vermont's Ebenezer Allen: Patriot, Commando and Emancipator told the story of the political and military travails of this beautiful state. Basically, New York and Great Britain could not resist raiding and attacking the isolated outposts that made up Vermont.
I have a personal interest in Vermont since I have family who have a second home there, and have always been fascinated by obscure historical facts. I do recommend the book for those interested either in U.S. or specifically Vermont history.
Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl
I just finished reading reading Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl. This book must have sat on my parent's shelf since the early-to-mid 1960's. I had heard of Kon-Tiki, which they didn't have. Finally, curiosity got the better of my and I started reading it in late November. I really plunged into it late last month and finished it tonight. What a book!
This book is far outside what I normally read. Thor Heyerdahl admits, at the close of the book, that his theory about east-to-west Southern Hemisphere is not purely scientific. His reasoning is guided in part by by his own "Aku-Aku's" or, roughly translated, speculation or superstition. Spoiler alert; the term Aku-Aku, loosely translated, are good or evil spirits, what we would call in Yiddish "bubbe meise" or old-wives' tales. But it's more than that; there are definite parallels among the peoples and cultures of Inca South America, Easter Island (the subject of the book) and Polynesia that defy easy explanations.
Every one in a while every one should read this kind of book.
Into The Black Nowhere: An UNSUB novel Book 2 by Meg Gardiner. There are lots of FBI thriller, tracking criminal books, although this one was recommended by Stephen King. Well, sometime I like his recommendations, sometimes not. In this case, it’s a well written fast paced book that keeps your interest. She’s a good writer, there are three books in this series so far.
by R. F. Delderfield. I just started it yesterday and am really taken with it. It's a sacrifice for me as it's a hard copy book and I greatly prefer the convenience of ebooks. ( not having to worry about good lighting and sitting anywhere to read. I guess I've gotten spoiled). At least the book is actually in readable fonts. I find that often with so many characters I get a bit confused but this is so well written that I definitely am following who is who.
It's also a bit longer than I typically prefer, but this is a good one. I hope I can maintain my enthusiasm with it. I am at about page 80 out of 560. Progress.
Edited to add, no idea why the author's name came out like that.
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Vermont's Ebenezer Allen: Patriot, Commando and Emancipator by Glenn Fay Jr.
