Early Riser: A Novel

Early Riser: A Novel by Jasper Fforde

There is a world where it gets very cold during the winter. Humans hibernate. They need to make sure they have enough food. Companies dominate part of it. There are dreams and other conditions. The protagonist thought a character from a painting disappeared. There are some rebels that try to live as "british" in the cold. I got lost in the book. It seems to have some criticism of big business influence and environmental destruction, but it goes on for too long.

The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy

The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy edited by Ryan A. Bourne

Prices are an indication of the marginal value that buyer and seller place on an exchange. They don't explicitly represent the value that went into creating something or even the worth of the object. Water is required to live, but is cheap. Prices help allocate resources to those who are willing to pay for them.

Prices of individual items go up and down to match the desires of buyers and sellers. Inflation is typically caused by changes in money supply and velocity. Price controls may cause mismatches in supply and demand and may not alter inflation. Consumers will respond to artificially low prices by consuming more. Producers will respond by producing less or reducing quality. This can lead to shortages and lead to everyone being worse off. (Though it could possibly lead to alternatives.) Artificial prices may often substitute one cost with anther. Instead of paying in money for something, people may need to pay in time by waiting in a long line or hunting for a hard to find item.

The negative impacts of price controls can be far reaching. During World War II, the US implemented wage controls. To get around these, workers offered fringe benefits, such as health insurance. This became the de facto way that health care is obtained in the US and results in a complicated system that exists today and is very difficult to disentangle.

People also are not stupid. Is there a "pink" tax requiring women to pay more than men for the same products? If it were truly so, women would just buy the men's version. However, the female products are often different in ways that females value more. The "gender wage gap" is also explained by forces. (After all, what company wouldn't want to employ as many people as possible for a fraction of the cost?) Early career men and women in the same profession tend to earn the same. However, women tend to gravitate to less risky and less remunerated careers. They are also more likely to take time off for childbirth and child rearing. They are more likely to value flexible work schedules. (Increasing maternity leave for women can make this even worse, by encouraging them to take more time off, thus limiting experience. Perhaps more paternity leave is the answer?) 

The book looks at many other examples. The general theme is that meddling with prices will impact the economy and will often have unforeseen consequences. People are quick to adapt to find new loopholes in a regulatory environment. The more more friction there is in pricing, the slower the economy will adapt. It reminds me of an interesting analysis of the German industry. Labor has a seat at the board and influences actions of the company. This makes it very friendly to existing workers. However, this also makes it difficult for pivots to electric cars and other significant changes. Will they have much of a role in the future industry?

What is the best way to regulate a market? Is allowing uber-wealthy a necessary cost of doing business? How do we appropriately set markets for externalities (like emissions, deforestation, etc.)? The current regime of regulating the response to regulations doesn't help.

Isles of the Emberdark: A Cosmere Novel Secret Projects, Book 5

Isles of the Emberdark: A Cosmere Novel Secret Projects, Book 5 by Brandon Sanderson

A young dragon leads a crew of misfits. She works to help encourage her crew to work together and be happy. She slowly learns how to be a good leader. There are significant areas of trust that need to be overcome. They have struggles as they encounter various other beings in space. The book is a bit long (but shorter than many other Cosmere books.) It stands along well and has some interesting stories that relies more on science fiction than fantasy.

Red Side Story: Shades of Grey, Book 2

Red Side Story: Shades of Grey, Book 2 by Jasper Fforde

There is a world of different colors. Some colors are "better" than others. There are strong human-rights overtones with a dry British sense of humor. The actual story is very well forgettable.

The Constant Rabbit: A Novel

The Constant Rabbit: A Novel by Jasper Fforde

In an alternate Britain, animals have anthropomorphized and been given rights similar to humans. Things are complicated. Rabbits are treated poorly. They are criticized as indistinguishable sex-crazed beings that rapidly reproduce. The protagonist has a genetic variation that allows him to identify individual rabbits. He works as a "spotter". However, he also had a past friendship with a rabbit. If this were known he would be in trouble with his job (due to the anti-rabbit politics.) Foxes have key roles in government and are part of the force pushing to move rabbits out to an isolated colony. The protagonist rekindles the friendship with the bunny and discovers more about the bunny underground. He sees a fox attempt to kill a rabbit and kills the fox. He is brought to trial. His use of self-defense as rationale is rebuffed because the fox was allowed to act like and animal (rather than a human) when attempting to kill a rabbit. He was able to get off when his attorney said he was justified as being on a fox hunt. 

The book has obvious parallels to race and immigration. The animals are somewhat integrated into the new society, but still treated different from humans. They live split lives as animals and "people". Some organizations want to have nothing to do with some of these animals that are so different.

In the end, the rabbits feel they have had enough. They stop being anthropomorphized and go back to just being animals. The protagonist still sees his rabbit friend as a regular yard bunny.  Does this advocate immigrants going back home? Or just living with their old culture? Or is it just an interesting story?

The Correspondent: A Novel

The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans

Sybil Van Antwerp is a retired womens loves to communicate by writing letters. This novel is a collection of letters she was written and the responses she has received. She had previously worked as an a attorney. During that time, as a woman, she thought it best to continue clerking for a judge for most of her career. Early in the novel, the judge dies and the woman rekindles some relationships. One includes the son of a man that she did not want to show mercy to, despite the man's spouse's appeals. Sybil had just suffered the death of one of her children and was not in a condition to show mercy. (Even worse, the child died in a diving accident where she was present but not paying attention.) After seeing a newspaper article about Sybil, the man wrote some seemingly anonymous negative messages to her and even came to her her house and cut off her flowers. She had guessed who he was, and wrote a letter to him in. They shared stories and she apologized and they became friends.

There are many other anecdotes where she turned seemingly negative communications to positive. Sometimes this would involve switching communication means. (For example, she had some negative letters with the new head of the University English Department. However, they hit it off well after meeting in person.) The book falls in the "feel good" genre. Even the negative things end up turning out good. While the letters are chronological, we learn a lot about her past in the communications she shares. She has struggles with relationship with her children, as well as with various senior suitors. Her eyesight is gradually fading away. The final letters are shorter and partially filled by her new partner. (He had lived nearby and they gradually built up a strong relationship.) Her death feels somewhat sudden, but it fits well in the life of a now blind woman that we know only by her letters.

Travel Talk Korean

Travel Talk Korean by Penton Overseas

I recognized some of the Korean here from other Korean language audiobooks. Alas, this one was lacking. There is little time to repeat the phrases. The organization is lacking. Many sections are just "common phrases" again. The voice and tone are both somewhat muted. There are much better 1 hour introductions to Korean out there.

Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players

Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players by Sam Smith and Phil Jackson 

This book discusses the 75 best basketball players with a back and forth between writer Sam Smith and coach Phil Jackson. The stories discuss the key players as well as tangents related to them. Some of the "not quite the great" make appearances as well as the key players. Some players won multiple championships, while others were great without a championship. The two have seen many of the players in person and have some interesting commentary. Smith had started watching the Nicks as a young kid in New York and spent a long career as a sports writer. Jackson had experience as player coach and executive. They both have intimate knowledge of the came with plenty of first and second hand  commentary.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: A Cosmere Novel

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: A Cosmere Novel by Brandon Sanderson

There is a nightmare painter and a girl from another world. They discover what things are like on this world. One world is more "magical" while the one they are visiting is technology based. They discover some of the odd things like fashion in the tech world. It is an interesting fish out of water story. Then some of the Cosmere and shards parts get brought in. There is also discovery that the lead never made it to the school he wanted it. Book feels like it goes o a bit too long.

Reawakening: The Side Step Trilogy, Book 2

Reawakening: The Side Step Trilogy, Book 2 by Orson Scott Card

A couple (Laz and Ivy) wake up and try to find their purpose. They are clones of an elite scientist and his assistant. They have their past memories and try to discover their purpose of being revived as clones. The scientist has the ability to "sidestep" to different time streams. The assistant has the ability to identify time portals. In their life as clones they have developed a romantic relationship. (However, it is not until the end that the original join together. They had connected, but felt reluctant due to age and business relationship.) 

In the story, they try to figure out their purpose. They meet with some of their other clones. There is also a mysterious message from a portal. One of their attempts to open a portal leads to some people going in and destroying a school. They send an army back in the portal to crush these people.. They also run into their children. They have some bizarre powers to appear and disappear. The son has a habbit of showing up naked and intimidating. Laz punches him as he is materializing which results in all sorts of internal damage. They then find an appropriate time stream that allows him to be healed, but still remember his bad behavior so that he reforms. In the end they discover the original Laz has traveled in time and feels "stuck". He eventually connects with the real Ivy and they can live happily ever after. 

The book has a number of streams that seem only tangentially connected. The premise is a bit like Mickey7, but explores some different areas of time travel and multiverse.

On What Matters: Volume Three

On What Matters: Volume Three by Derek Parfit

The philosophy in the book is interesting, but the writing is tedious. There is a huge summary at the start that goes into great detail. The actual work is only slightly more in depth than the summary. Much of it is in response to responses of other philosophers. I felt like I was eavesdropping on some private conversations. Much of the work discusses ethical situations and the practical applications. People are reluctant to cause harm to somebody even if it reduces harm to more people. However, people tend to be ok performing an action that has a side effect of harm. These ethics can lead to greater overall harm. (As an example, nuking 100,000 people would be considered worse than a demonstration of a powerful nuclear bomb - even if that bomb would result in 300,000 people dying of nuclear fallout.) Similarly a longer episode of military bombing is preferable to direct civilian bombing - even if more civilians die in the military bombing. People end up not being fully rational. 

Other arguments get into the weeds of philosophy, such as what it means to refer to something. There is also discussions of effective altruism and efficient desire to donate to charities. Philosophy proves out some of the strange contradictions in humans.

Malinche: Una Novela

Malinche: Una Novela by Laura Esquivel

Since this was in Spanish, I found I had to listen to at 1.5 speed instead of my usual 3x. The book is ostensibly historical realism. It focuses on Malinche, a native Mexican who served as a guide and spouse of conquistador Hernan Cortes. She was part of a neighboring group that had no love for the Aztec leaders. However, in this story, she feels she is brought along for the ride. She is concerned that Cortes has took things too far as he has conquered Mexico for the Spaniards. This is primarily a vehicle for a tapestry of magical realism. There is plenty of great imagery, but not a lot of historically accurate details.

Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing

Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing by Molly Gebrian

This book applies neuroscience to music. Some of the research experiments cited started with sports, but are applicable to music. Practicing mentally can just be as valuable as practicing physically. Imagining your hands in the proper position can develop your brain just as well as actually practicing. 

Practicing the right way is also important. It is good to practice starting at various points in the piece. It is also important to practice the "hard parts" correctly multiple times. Generally, you should practice doing the right thing multiple times in a row. Playing the right thing 10 times in a row gets it stored properly. Just going through a bunch of easy parts doesn't house. Practicing properly can be more important than practicing a lot.

Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values

Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values by Marshall Rosenberg PhD

How do you communicate without resorting to attacks and various forms of violence? Some parts are straightforward. Instead of making demands, allow for gifts. Don't obligate people to do things they don't want to do. Instead, allow them to give gifts. It is also important to try to understand what somebody is really asking for. People will often express their desires in what they want other people to do. However, the real need is something below that. Why do they want people to act in a certain way? What are the needs they are trying to fulfill? Understanding these underlying needs will help to solve the problems in a nonviolent way. Getting to this place in the communication is the challenge, but also where the reward lies.

Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese

Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese by Zev Handel

For the most part, Chinese characters represent individual things such as objects or actions. In theory this would enable them to be understood across multiple languages. In some sense they can. Japan users Kanji to represent ideas that would be understood by those that know Chinese. Korea and Vietnam had also used Chinese characters for some communication. Ancient Chinese was primarily a literary language that would be used to communicate ideas and not necessarily one spoken by normal people. The pictographs were intelligible, shared ideas. However, they were just part of the language. Everyday speech also has some indication of sounds and grammatical structure. Ancient Chinese was similar to Latin in that it could communicate ideas across languages, but could not display the vernacular spoken language. Modern Chinese has adopted from ancient Chinese to write modern Mandarin. Japanese has incorporated Hirigana (and Katakana) with the characters for Japanese. Vietnamese and Korean have pivoted away from the characters altogether, adopting their own alphabet or a Latin letters for writing. The book has been adapted from an academic work for a general audience and still has some of its academic feel while covering the topic generally.

Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative

Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative by Glenn Loury

This book has a lot to unpack. It includes "Black Conservative" in the subtitle. However, he is far from the typical conservative. His most cited economic paper advocates redistributing money from the rich to the poor. (The societal benefits of the poor having a few extra dollars were found to be much greater than the losses experienced by the wealthy.) However, he also published papers against affirmative action. (A lower standard for certain groups would allow them to get through the door with less skill which would end up setting them back as they are not prepared to achieve.) At times he was embraced by the right. At times he was loved by the left. He didn't blindly adopt the beliefs of either side. Instead, he focussed on what he believed in. His beliefs were also not necessarily reflected in his actions.

He dropped out of school only to come back later. (Hence one possible positive meaning of "late admissions".) He received a PhD from MIT and later served as a tenured professor at multiple Ivy League schools. He advocated for black families to stick together, yet he he was not involved in his first son's life. He was in long term marriages, yet was also a serial philanderer. He is comfortable having erudite academic discussions as he is going to the ghetto and pursuing crack and prostitutes. (The "late admissions" could be all the confessing he does in this book about his bad behaviors and the people he has hurt.) He had been arrested on drug charges and spent time in rehab. He was nowhere near perfect and did not expect other people to be perfect. However, he does want to see people putting forth the effort to improve themselves. The book is an interesting story of the challenges in a life you cannot pigeonhole together with an interesting evolution of economic thought. 

Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist

Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Jason Mendelson and Brad Feld

This book explores the details of venture capital financing. It goes through the process of completing a term sheet, getting financing, and then experiencing the exit. The authors point out areas that they see as important and others that don't really matter. The stress is on what entrepreneurs will need. However, plenty of background on VCs and their challenges are faced. The negotiations should end up with partners rather than adversaries because the VCs and entrepreneurs will be in it for the long haul. To tie it all up, the book includes discussion on negotiation. The book did get a bit technical, but that felt necesary for some of the topic.

Earth Revisited

Earth Revisited by Byron Alden Brooks

A man from the 19th century wakes up in 1992. He is in a different body with a different woman (Helen) that reminds him of his early love, Theresa. Helen tries to nurse him back to health, thinking he is delirious. The world he lives in is a spiritualist socialist Utopia. There is no war. People live by Christian virtues, but there are no churches. There are interesting new technologies like a "tone telegraph". The book got more modern technologies wrong than it got right. It also spent a long time exploring the spirituality of the Utopian world. 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, photos by Russell Munson

This is a very short book of a seagull who tries to fly very fast. He is rejected by other seagulls and hurts himself in some crashes. We wants to give up. After going to heaven, he helps teach another seagull to fly fast. Eventually the other can pass it down. This is a slightly trippy way of saying "follow your dreams regardless of what other people say."

Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain

Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain by David M. Carballo

This academic book explores the histories of Spain and Mexico before and immediately after Cortes conquered the Aztecs. The language is dense, though the primary sources are meager. Both areas had rich cultures that were well developed before they met. The Aztecs had recently come to dominate and tenuously held a domination over other peoples in the area. The Spaniards were able to exploit these rivalries with alliances. The warfare culture was also different. The Aztecs fighters were focussed primarily on their own achievements and preferred prisoners, while the Spaniards would kill. Culturally, the Spaniards were fine killing unbelievers, but were repulsed by the Aztec human sacrifices. Mexicans had sports and ball games as well as language and worship that were interesting to Spaniards while at the same time seen as somewhat heretical. The Spaniards worked on the conversion with the conquering, with Christianity and churches placed over former Mexican pyramids and worship sites. It is also interesting that the Spaniards focussed on areas familiar to them. The Yucatan was a bit too hard for them to manage. Diseases also worked in the Spaniards favor as the Mexicans had little animal culture and the exposure to disease. Could things have turned out differently?

The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain: 1815 - 1945

The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain: 1815 - 1945 by N. A. M. Rodger

This is a long, well annotated history of British Navy up until World War II. It is best targeted to the military buff. As a casual reader, I was lost with the intricate details.

My Effin' Life

My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee

Before jumping into his rock and roll memoir, Geddy starts with a narrative of his parents' experience in the holocaust. They were Polish Jews who survived the experience (unlike many of their family members that were killed.) After their immigration to Canada, Geddy's experience in the Toronto suburbs begin. Geddy Lee is a mangling of the English version of his original Yiddish name. As a Jew he was on the outcast of youth culture. He took to the bass, while also smoking and eventually doing drugs. He was in the same class as Rick Moranis, but they were not super close. He did befriend future Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (who also changed his name from the Serbian original.) After bouncing around a few bands, they formed Rush, only for Geddy to be kicked out and later rejoin. John Rustey, their original drummer left the band shortly after their first album. (He was having trouble and there seemed to be a mixture of him stressing and the other bandmates not liking his behavior.) They auditioned drummers and lined up Neil Peart, and the rest his history. They had plenty of the usual rock and roll things. There were plenty of drugs. (Though Geddy admits enough was enough and he ended up quitting drugs and smoking.) All the band members were married and stayed together, with the only second marriage being after Peart's first wife's death. The touring life while married was challenging, but they were able to get through it after counseling.  There were various challenges on the tour, including roadies that had various personal issues. They also had challenges with recording and the business side of things. Rush is a little different from the typical rock band, and this memoir is a bit different, though much is similar to others.

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu,and Philip Wang

"Asian American" is a huge category. Over half lives in Asia. Pacific Islanders are often included in the group, further expanding the diversity. A Somoan, Pakistani and Vietnamese are all grouped together in what becomes a catch-all group. Though they have little in common, they are often seen as part of this "other" and band together. After events such as 9/11 or coronavirus outbreak, Asians found themselves in an area of shared victimhood.

The book provides some background of Asian history and early pop culture, but the focus is on more modern times. Early pop culture was fairly bleak. There would often be white actors in yellow-face playing to Asian stereotypes. Even when there were Asian actors, they would rarely be the stars. Asian films and TV shows would lose much of the Asian-ness when coming to the US. Things have changed over the past decades. Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon was popular and earned awards despite being subtitled and having an Asian cast. Asian actors have been playing more leading roles. Kpop and Kdrama have become extremely popular. Yet despite this popularity, they still are paid a fraction what white actors would be paid.

Asian-Americans often grew up with the same popular media as their white friends. However, they also had some of their own culture and expected values. The group is diverse on many levels. There are more actors and musicians today with Asian backgrounds. The diversity remains. One recurring part of the book is podcasters that talk about "disgrasians". A group are criticising Asians that disgrace their community - which often means they are behaving in a way that they don't like. (It can be challenging to advocate for identity politics while still being open minded.) The book bounces around among advocacy, history and culture and is quite relatable, if not a little long.

There are also good explanations of the "pop history" of Asian Americans. Many of the "towns" still have old-time ethnic inhabitants. However, newer, well-to-do immigrants often decamp straight to the ethnic suburbs like Cupertino. Will Asian immigrants retain a cultural identity after a few generations? Or will they become subsumed in a new Euro-Asian melting pot? 

The Dating Dare: A Novel

The Dating Dare: A Novel by Jayci Lee

Two Korean-Americans meet at a wedding. They fall for each other immediately, but both are reluctant to enter a relationship. They play a "game" where they will go on four dates without falling for each other. He has to go to Paris for a great photography opportunity in a short time, so they know it will only be temporary. Alas, this is a romance, so of course they will end up together. They also discover that they each have similar backgrounds and have been burned in the past. It is lighthearted without getting too spicy, though language is far from clean. For a romance, it is much better than the romatasy slop out there.

72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee

72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee by Geddy Lee

Rush frontman Geddy Lee is a baseball fan and became hooked on memorabilia collection. In this book he tells 72 baseball stories related to his collection. He also includes a bit of his history and some history of collectors in general. He got the collectors bug and would often be involved in bidding in auctions while on tour with his band. He has bought a few items that are not as authentic as he liked. He also made a donation of many items to the Negro League museum. The stories bring alive many baseball players from the distant past as well as those of today. He does rely heavily on other sources for details, but has them spiced up with his personal experiences. Even though I am not into baseball, I found it to be a great book.