Book 40

Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

Type: Nonfiction, Business, Economics

My rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: Although the Amazon price for the hardcover is currently $21.59 and the Kindle version is currently $9.99, I received this version "free" during an introductory period around the time of the book's release. Very appropriate given the title, and premise, of the book.

What I liked about it: This book goes through all the different types of "free" models that businesses use and compares and contrasts the "old" free as in "buy one, get one free," which is nothing more than 50% off the price of the item, to the "new" free in which most digital and internet content is free.

The main theme throughout is that the price of technology drops so fast that the marginal cost of digital content is pretty close to zero and businesses need to think about how to convert that "free" stuff into revenue.

The author spends time illustrating how "free" can be turned into revenue. Some web content is given out free in hopes that you will upgrade to a more robust version. Club Penquin, which is an online site for kids to play games, is used as an example. The site is free unless you want to "upgrade your igloo" with furniture or buy a pet for your penguin and then you pay $6 a month. This has apparently been a successful model for Disney, who now owns Club Penguin. In the case of the Webkinz phenomenon, you first need to purchase a stuffed animal and then you receive the "free" web content.

I get the question every now and then as to where I find the time to read so much. In the book, the author talks in general terms as to how people prioritize their time. He writes:

"And where do people find the time? By not doing something else--abandoning things that don't return the same social and emotional reward."

Well said.

Finally, I could not end this review without pointing out that one of my favorite science fiction and horror authors, Scott Sigler, gives out his books for free, first in podcast-form and then, in many cases, in pdf-form. And I have bought every one of his books in paper-form. Why? Because the content is so great that I want to support him (so he keeps writing more good stuff and giving it away free) as well as have a great book in my library for years to come.

Book 39

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill

Type: Nonfiction

My rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: I grabbed this paperback off my bookshelf and threw it in my backpack while heading off on vacation as a light read on the plane.

What I liked about it: This book has "The New York Times Bestseller" on the cover. I suppose this book was meant to be an inspirational book for those in lousy jobs to get off their butts and do something that they enjoy in life. I just found most of the book to be "woe is me" complaining from a guy who grew up in an affluent family, went to an ivy league school, had a very senior-level position in advertising and then was fired from his job when he likely made too much money and was replaced with a lesser paid person. He then took a job at Starbucks to make ends meet and claims, I think, that this is what he should have been doing all his life. This book came out in September 2007 just before the economy began to tank and well before the unemployment rate began to approach double digits. This guy got a book published because of his story. I think this story will be played out again and again over the next several years as many people will be forced to take jobs well below their skill level just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head.

Book 38

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

Type: Fiction, Love Story

My rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: This is book #3 in my Love Story Trilogy. If Book #1 (Notebook) was the appetizer and Book #2 (Diary) was the entree, then consider this one (Bridges) the dessert.

What I liked about it: A very loyal reader of this blog (hey, at least I have one reader) was overheard thinking recently that certain books that I have read would be considered "girlie" books. Perhaps s/he was referring to this Love Story Trilogy. I don't necessarily disagree with the comment because our society has conditioned us to believe that emotions associated with love and affection are not "manly" feelings.

Concerning this observation, though, I have the following thoughts:

First, you cannot have a traditional love story without both a woman and a man involved. It's not a one-sided arrangement. A love story would not go very far if only the woman contributed and it wasn't equally reciprocated by the man. So somewhere in that equation there must be passion and romance displayed by the human with the Y-chromosome.

Second, all three of the books in my Love Story Trilogy were written by male authors.

And lastly, the other day my daughter asked me if mermaids are real. My response was that I don't think anyone can prove that mermaids aren't real. Recall that the Velveteen Rabbit asked "What is REAL?" And then the rabbit became Real because the little boy REALLY loved him. I believe that there are people who believe that love is not real. They have not experienced sitting in a fancy restaurant for lunch and holding hands across the table, looking at each other in that intense way. And the waiter smiles, just watching you, hoping he would feel that way sometime. To quote Robert Kincaid, one of the last cowboys, "In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once, and never again, no matter how many lifetimes you live."

If you liked this book, you might also like A Thousand Country Roads by Robert James Waller, which is the sequel to The Bridges of Madison County.

Book 37

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

Type: Fiction, Love Story

My rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: This is book #2 in my Love Story Trilogy.

What I liked about it: I was again treated to rough-cut pages, but only in the trade paperback edition. (The hardcover has straight-edge pages.) I also enjoyed that this book was written in the epistolary form. In this case, as the title suggests, most of the book consists of diary entries.

Near the beginning of the book we learn the story of the five balls:

"Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls - family, health, friends, integrity - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life."

This life lesson is a theme that is returned to throughout the book and will stay with you long after.

This book explores many different forms of love, including the love between a man and a woman and the love between a parent and a child. The main character spends most of the book trying to understand how her recent perfect relationship seems to have suddenly come to an end. Hint: The answer is in the diary.

Book 36

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Type: Fiction, Love Story

My rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: After posting back in July about what I refer to as my Love Story Trilogy, I read three other books and the whole time I was reading them all I was thinking about was re-reading the Love Story Trilogy.

What I liked about it: I love rough-cut pages, which this hardcover edition has so you're in for a treat right off the bat. This story of love-lost-and-found-again is so simply told and yet has such a dramatic impact. What amazes me most about this book is the length. This is a very short read by comparison to most books. Sparks uses simple settings and simple conversations to tell the story. Yet nothing is missed. The story is not cluttered with unnecessary descriptions but stays close to what is most important -- the deep, profound and timeless love that Noah and Allie have for each other.

If you love the characters of Noah and Allie, you might also like The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks, which is the sequel to The Notebook.

Book 35

Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut

Type: Fiction

My rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: I happened across this book in my public library's used bookstore where all hard and soft cover books are just $2. Some of the books are ex-library books and others are donations. Most of the books are in like-new condition. The library itself and this bookstore are a real treasure in the community.

What I liked about it: I initially felt like rating this book a 2-star as I really did not like the writing style. It seemed more like random thoughts and anecdotes thrown together than much of a story. However, upon further reflection, I upgraded it to a 3-star because there are some interesting themes throughout the book which are actually quite cleverly woven in.

The basic premise of the book is the timequake, a period of time when the universe stopped expanding and actually shrunk back 10 years requiring everyone to live those 10 years over again. However, everything that happened during the first 10 years happened again during the second 10 years. No one could change a single thing. It was as if everyone was on auto-pilot just going through the motions. For me, this elicited the following two questions: (1) How many people live their lives every day as if they are on auto-pilot? (2) What if we think we are living our lives the way we want to but there actually is no freewill and we cannot change anything that is already suppose to happen?

In chapter 6, there is a question, "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?--every, every minute?" I do not think many people spend the time to realize how precious life is.

In chapter 10, Vonnegut tells us about his Uncle Alex, the Harvard-educated life insurance salesman who said, whenever life was good, "If this isn't nice, what is?" I do not think we remind ourselves how nice life is when it is actually happening.

In chapter 27, Vonnegut's alter-ego Kilgore Trout says, "The main thing about van Gogh and me is that he painted pictures that astonished him with their importance, even though nobody else thought they were worth a damn, and I write stories that astonish me, even though nobody else thinks they're worth a damn." This interested me as it seems that so many people do things based on how others will perceive them and not so much based on whether or not it will make them happy.

Finally, in chapter 57, Vonnegut simple states, "We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different." Nice.