Month: August 2020

Updated November 27, 2021

I picked this up Michael Lewis’ Boomerang at a book sale for 50 cents, so to use a finance reference, I guess this was a good return on investment. Eh? Eh? Or was it?

Against the Grain

This book was hard to finish. It was so boring. I love finance- I was an economics major- so this book was right up my alley. I think Michael Lewis is a great author. I loved Liar’s Poker and The Big Short but I honestly did not like this book. I say “against the grain” here because the feedback on Boomerang is overwhelmingly positive. In my personal opinion though, it was not any good.

What’s it about?

After the Great Recession and credit crisis in 2008, Michael Lewis goes around to world to places that were affected the most from lax lending policies, bad due diligence, carelessness, or just plain bad luck. And he writes stories about each place. Here is where he travels to:

• Iceland
• Greece
• Ireland
• Germany
• United States (California)

That pretty much sums up the whole book.

A Thought Experiment

As I said, I think Michael Lewis is a great author. But I had this thought while reading: If I read these pages and didn’t know who the author was (think “blind taste test”), what would I think? In other words, I believe this book is popular just because it has Michael Lewis’ name on it. But on blind merit, it’s boring and unremarkable.

One Takeaway from Boomerang

Policymakers and politicians are human beings and sometimes they have no idea what they are doing. Also, California is f**cked. 😉

How Many Stars?

2 🙁

There are plenty of other Michael Lewis books to check out before this one.

BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME

Title: Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
Author: Michael Lewis
Publish Date: October 3, 2011
ISBN: 0393081818 | ISBN-13: 978-0393081817

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Amazon Affiliate Disclosure:
Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Comments?

I gave Michael Lewis’ Boomerang a pretty harsh review. I know you disagree with me! Give me your opinion in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Updated November 27, 2021

I read this short book in about 20 minutes. Maybe even less.

Quick Book Summary

A boy goes on a walk and encounters a mole, a fox, and a horse and learns life lessons along the way. These life lessons are great reminders for us. Here are two examples.

Two Takeaways

Both quotes from macksey

“The biggest waste of time is comparing yourself to others.”

“Most of the old moles I know wish they had listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.” – This one REALLY resonated with me.

“If at first you don’t succeed, have some cake” – I said two takeaways, but this was a third, and it’s funny and cute isn’t it? Aw! 😉

In a Nutshell

This cute book can be read by children and adults alike- there are themes and lessons all human beings can learn. It kind of reminded me of The Alchemist and I am probably the only person in the world who just compared The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse to The Alchemist. But what I mean by this is that in both, two boys go on a journey and discover simple yet profound life lessons and find themselves as well.

–>Buy the book here<–

How Many Stars?

5 🙂

This little book packs a powerful punch!

BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME

Title: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Author: Charlie Mackesy 
Publish Date:  October 22, 2019
ISBN: 0062976583  ISBN-13: 978-0062976581

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Amazon Affiliate Disclosure:
Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Discussion

Did you read The Boy, The Mole, the Fox, and the Horse? Did you like it? What were some quotes or lessons that resonated with you? Let me know in the comments.

Updated November 27,2021

I’ve been getting into mediation to reduce stress. Dan Harris’ book on meditation was great for this. Ok, you might think “Wow great review, Ryan. (sarcasm)” This book was really good. Thanks!”

But seriously, there are a bajillion books on mediation. This one is a novel book on mediation (a novel book? that’s a new one ;)) because it goes through Dan Harris’ personal story, with great insights to boot. Harris’ career is on an upward trajectory, but in the high-pressure of working in the media, he suffers a panic attack on live TV, which you can see in the video below:

Harris eventually stumbles upon meditation and seeks out world leaders in the field, and shares with readers what he learns and picks up along the way.

My Biggest Takeaway from 10% Happier

I agree with Dan Harris that mediation has a place in people’s lives. Partly because of this book, I’ve been meditating every day for 8 minutes for 32 days in a row and counting!

–>You heard Dan. Get 10% Happier today!<–

I Never Thought about Mediation That Way

Dan Harris shares that at first he was skeptical about meditating, but gave it a shot and began to love it. When he started sharing his new hobby and lifestyle with people, he’d get skeptical or awkward comments. People began to think he was weird. Then one day he told someone his new habit was making him 10% happier. This stuck, and people’s reactions to mediation shifted from feeling awkward to being intrigued. He even got some of his friends to try meditating.

In his title, he talked about “losing my edge” but I never thought of mediation as “losing an edge.” He claims being “too zen” could cause you to appear like you don’t care about anything and you are not ambitious in your career. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but it was interesting-I’ve never thought of meditation that way.

How Many Stars?

4.5 🙂

I really enjoyed this book, it was part personal story part “how to” book on meditation. The personal story and sharing from Dan definitely made it stand out from normal meditation books, and I appreciated Dan’s vulnerability and honesty in the book. Check it out and start changing your life today!

BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME

Title: 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story
Author: Dan Harris
Publish Date:  April 16, 2019
ISBN: 0062917609  ISBN-13:978-0062917607

Book | Audio | eBook

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure:
Ryan’s Reading Reviewsis a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.