Books

What Would Google Do?-A delightfully entertaining book that got better as it went along. The latter third really captured my interest. It talked about quantifying everything, giving consumers the power to input information on everything they bought, ordered, liked, disliked, etc. This kind of model can be extraordinarily powerful and simple to operate.

Calculated Risks-Not one of Gerd Gigerenzer's best. The book read a little monotonous. Still interesting, but not highly recommended.

Life of Pi-I don't usually venture into the world of fiction, but this book had been recommended to me by a few people. I enjoyed it, as fiction goes. The plot was original and the writing engaging. I'd recommend it too, especially to fans of fiction.

Wild at Heart-I'd read this many times, but felt like perusing it again. A lot of the feelings evoked in me by the book are pretty personal so this will be short. I think it's a very worthwhile and important book to read.

Books and Movies

I finished the books "Heart of Darkness" and "Good to Great" today. Good to great was your vanilla business book, loaded with buzzwords and buzzphrases and key points. Not a whole lot value there. Also, of the eleven companies profiled, two of them have gone under since: Fannie Mae and Circuit City. Heart of Darkness was exquisitely written, drawing me in with the writing and not with the content.

I've got three more business type books on my radar, but they should be better than most. What Would Google Do?, Calculated Risks by Gerd Gigerenzer, and Global Tax Revolution. I'm really looking forward to the first two books. Like most of these type of books, I should be able to burn through them in around two hours.

I watched the movie "As Good As It Gets" yesterday and really liked it. The moment when Jack Nicholson realizes he forgot to lock the front door was one of the great moments I've seen in movies. Completely unassuming and unaccompanied by fanfare, but supremely powerful. Watch the movie if you want to see what I mean.

I also watched the 1994 movie "The Paper" recently, starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, and Marisa Tomei. I really like it too; funny and simple.

Other movies:

Rachel Getting Married-A very intense, dialogue and character driven drama set around a wedding. Anne Hathaway was absolutely brilliant in the movie. It's not a movie that you "enjoy" throughout, but instead a movie you "appreciate." I'm not super psyched to watch it again, but there's no denying Hathaway's acting brilliance and the captivating relationships and dialogue.

Stranger Than Fiction & The Prestige-both movies I had seen a few times before, but ones that I enjoyed wholeheartedly, even more than I remembered. Stranger Than Fiction is a comedy and The Prestige is a drama/thriller. I recommend both highly.