octothorp – Page 22 – Cannonball Read 17

Make it work

The Natty Professor by Tim Gunn

January 27, 2020 by octothorp 1 Comment

This book was ostensibly about mentorship and what makes a good teacher, but it ended up being about half that and half Tim Gunn’s random thoughts about things. Which, no shade. I love Tim Gunn, and a book of his random thoughts is good enough for me. The book is structured in chapters outlining the traits of a good teacher with the acronym “TEACH.” I, of course, remember none of what it stands for. What I do remember are Gunn’s asides. For instance, his […]

The Beatles of Behavioral Economics

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

January 27, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

As I’m sure has been obvious from my reviews, I’m a behavioral economics fiend. I love economics as the study of human behavior, particularly explaining irrational or unexpected human behaviors. I’ve read dozens of books on the subject, and many of them reference the same studies, so much so that I’ll read half of a sentence and think “oh, this one where people think that a coin flipped ten times as heads will be tails next because it’s “due,” instead of it being the same […]

Leggo your eggo

Decisive by Chip Heath, Dan Heath

January 27, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

I’m a waffler. I waffle like an Eggo. I waffle like an ice cream cone. I am so bad about pulling the trigger on any decision and am constantly evaluating alternatives (thanks, anxiety! Store-bought serotonin can only eliminate so much of my personality). So I was pleased when I found that Chip and Dan Heath – whose Made To Stick put them on my “I’ll buy anything they write” list – wrote a book about making better decisions. The Heaths go through the “WRAP” process […]

Sure didn’t love it

Machines of Loving Grace by John Markoff

January 24, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

I’m kind of convinced that this book was meta-non-fiction. It follows the history of artificial intelligence and the various ways that machines interact with humans, ostensibly with an eye to the future of the relationship humanity will have with robots once they tiptoe closer to sentience. That sounds like a good book. This is not that book. This book, I’m pretty sure, may have been the first full length book put to press written by an automaton. It would explain a lot – why the […]

Diary of a wrinkly kid

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

January 24, 2020 by octothorp 1 Comment

Glad I read this, but glad I read it while waiting to sell back a ton of other books; if I had purchased it the book would’ve ended up in the next resale pile. Nora Ephron writes with her usual humor and cleverness, but this reads like coming across your friend’s diary. It’s warm, and inviting, but in the manner of a broken-in shoe; it’s too familiar to feel like it warrants publication for the most part. It’s interesting enough, but there’s not much of […]

Fun, if insubstantial

It's all your fault by Paul Rudnick

January 21, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

This is a book that was clearly written to be a movie, or at the very least conceptualized as one. So I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the reason I recognized Rudnick’s name on the cover (prompting my “I’ll read this at the library while watching my toddler” easy read choice) was from his work as a screenwriter. This young adult novel follows the goody-two-shoes Caitlyn, hired to keep her famous wild-child actress cousin (who is legally distinct from but awfully similar […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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