Reading Log: December 2022

 The books I finished reading in the month of December 2022

December 2022 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions," David Quammen 

"Seven Brief Lessons on Physics," Carlo Rovelli 

"Andrea Hoffman Goes All In," Diane Cohen Schneider 

"The Power of Myth," Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers

"Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living," Nick Offerman 

"When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management," Roger Lowenstein

Cliff's Notes

"Dodo"

A friend and I recently discussed the books that have had an impact on our lives and this one immediately came to my mind. I first read it in 1996 and it shaped my outlook on the world and informed my work as a "nature interpreter" at the botanic garden where I volunteered. So, I decided to reread it to see how I feel about it after all this time.

It is still a great piece of writing combing scientific reporting with travel writing. Sadly,  many of the situations it covers seem to have gotten worse rather have been ameliorated in any fashion. So, it is still highly relevant. 

"Brief Lessons"

This book did not do much for me. This lessons are brief and as such lack much substance. We learn that the theory of general relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics are both true, yet contradict each other.  The author seems to want the reader to accept this on faith; a word he disparages in other contexts.

One reviewer said that this book is a much better read than "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. I don't find that to be the case.

"Andrea Hoffman"

This book came to my daughter's attention because the name is very close to her own and she decided to give me a copy. 

I very much enjoyed it. While, at heart, I guess that it can be called a young woman's coming-of-age story it also provides a very interesting the world of finance in the 1980s. The author has a marvelous way with words. As an example; she describes as looking like ". . . he's been playing on a dusty floor with a toddler and a golden retriever." I very much recommend it.

"Myth"

Some say that this is a book that everybody should read, and now I have done it. Both Campbell and Moyers like to use words and drop names that send a reader such as myself to the dictionary or encyclopedia. That lies on me. Your mileage may be different. 

"Paddle"

While I have still have not watched "Parks and Recreation", I am a fan of Nick Offerman. This is the third book of his that I have read. It is, in my humble opinion the least of them. That may be because it was the first one that he wrote and, dare I say it, it took him sometime to find his voice.

Part memoir and part his advice on how to live a fulfilling life it is immensely interesting. I certainly recommend to anyone aspiring to get into acting. However, while I do not think of myself as a prude, I learned far more about his martial relations with Megan Mullally than I care to know. Though, I am happy for them that their sex life seems to be mutually enjoyable. Also, I am the first to admit that I swear, cuss, or use foul language more than I should, but find these pages to just a bit too full of it.

[Note to self: Figure out the difference between "memoir" and "autobiography".]

"Genius"

Last month I read that this is one of the two books that was required reading for the people on Enron's trading floor, so I wanted to see what it was all about.

This book, originally published in 2000, details the rise and and fall (which nearly took the financial system with it) of LTCM. This 2011edition has an Afterward which shows that lessons were not learned. As James Cramer has noted, "perhaps the term genius should be reserved for Mozart and not for arbitrageurs."

I had already learned from Andrea Hoffman that this business is neither logical nor fair and that the party won't last forever. 

Sunny Southern California

In the land where the oranges grow:

Southern California has long been known for touting our mild Mediterranean climate. This year lends itself to that smugness with yesterday (Christmas Day) and today (Christmas Day Observed) having temperatures in the mid-70s to the 80s.    

Balmy Christmas Afternoon: photo by Cliff Hutson 

So, I been outdoors taking photos of the plants around my house. It is almost cliché to have Orange trees in one's yard where I live. This area was all citrus groves into the 1960s. But, they were among the first things we planted after we moved in.

Pretty Pink Flower: photo by Cliff Hutson

There were two groupings of Camellias that were already here; we left them untouched, and have enjoyed the flowers for over thirty years.

Mister Lincoln Rose: photo by Cliff Hutson

The original owner, who bought in 1955, also planted many rose bushes. The majority of those are no longer with us, but this is one of the ones that has held on through the years. I am not sure when it was established, but it still blooms profusely.

Speaking of Roses

There is a common belief among Southern Californians that vast multitudes of people from the East and Midwest move out here after seeing our beautiful weather when watching the (Pasadena) Rose Parade or the Rose Bowl game. 

That is probably not a thing and, in any event, this year will be less inviting. An approaching storm system is expected to bring cold and wet conditions to Southern California this week. Temperatures will drop to the low to mid 60s and conditions are expected to stay that way through next weekend.

However, compared to the disastrous ‘bomb cyclone’ that has struck much of the nation, SoCal might still seem appealing. 

Sun Camellia (Trois est une foule)

Trois fleurs dans le jardin:

Trois est une foule: photographie de Cliff Hutson

December is Bustin' Out All Over?

 A few plants in bloom:

Vigne en fleurs: photo by Cliff Hutson

December may not be as big a month as June, but there is still quite a bit going on in our little part of the world.  

Soleil Camélia (Numéro 1): photo by Cliff Hutson

Pensée en fleurs: photo by Cliff Hutson

Fleur de cosmos : photographie de Cliff Hutson

But, it is Autumn after all:

Feuilles d'automne : photographie de Cliff Hutson

Reading Log: November 2022

The books that I finished reading in November 2022 

November 2022 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence," Vicki Robin

"The Awkward Black Man," Walter Mosley

"Desert Star," Michael Connelly

"The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron," Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind 

"The World Record Book of Racist Stories," Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar 

Cliff's Notes

This was an interesting month. Two books about money and finance. Two books about race. And, one about both a serial predator and a serial murderer. 

"Money"

I first read this book back in the mid-1990s and thought that, while it had some good points, its basic premise - that work is tantamount to slavery and all of us should retire as soon as possible - was flawed.  It also posited an investment plan that I knew was unsustainable. I decided to read this edition, said to be  "fully revised and updated for 2018", to see what, if anything, had changed. I was not very impressed. 

While it does offer some useful exercises on how to get a handle on one's income and expenses, and the benefits of altering that relationship, it now exalts the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. I still see this as a flaw. Robin's goal for people to live at the peak of fulfillment, always have plenty,  and never be burdened with excess is admirable. But, some of her methods, such as "Money Talks" meetings border on cultism. 

She has updated the advice on how to invest for long-term financial freedom. However, for my money (pun intended) "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" by Andrew Tobias is a far better choice in this regard, as well as for lifestyle choices.  

"Awkward"

This is a collection of short stories by the author of more than fifty critically acclaimed books. Most people probably know him for his Easy Rawlins mysteries. There are no crimes to be solved in these stories, but they offer a captivating collection of different characters who kept me turning the pages.

"Desert" 

Last month I wrote that an author of a long running series had let it run on too long. The same can not be said of Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch novels, of which this is book twenty-four. (It is also the fifth of the Renée Ballard series.) Bosch and Ballard work together to solve two cases in a very neat work of taut storytelling. 

"Smartest Guys"

I decided to read this book after viewing the documentary film "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" for my movie discussion group, thinking that it would provide additional detail or background. Indeed it did. Accounting practices such as "mark-to-market" and "securitization" are ably explained. This updated edition also provides further insight on the debacle and why it still matters. ["Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."--George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.]

It was interesting to have read this in conjunction with "Your Money or Your Life" which examines how much is enough. It boggles my mind that one couple would need an 8,120-square-foot house in Houston, as did Jeff Skilling and his partner must have felt they required. 

However, Skilling and I seemed to be have been likeminded on another issue. He claimed that it was critically important to give people the resources and freedom to let creativity flourish. When asked to describe my job I said that, "I create an environment in which talent can flourish." Yet, it should be pointed out that I was never charged with a crime, convicted, and sentenced to prison.

"Racist Stories"

Only eleven pages in it became clear that I am not in the target demographic for this book. Why? Because more than once some random person in a store has told me that a purchase I was contemplating was "too expensive", knowing nothing about my circumstances other than an assumption about my ethnicity. Though everyone is on their own journey, much the same could be said about the other stories in the book,  Therefore, it was not "eye-opening" to me. 

However, if you are not a person of color this book might provide some insight in to how life can be for those of us who are. My main reservation is that the authors strive to be "cute". While this may be an effort to assuage the oppressiveness, for me it distracts from the seriousness of the subject.