A story about preteen that is basically forced to become a soldier in a very viscous war in Sierra Leone. A very intense and difficult book to read, but also very enlightening in terms of exposure to something way outside my own realm of experiences. It is one of those books that I'm very glad I read, but I am also reluctant to recommend it because it is so disturbing at times. Grade: B
A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
As the titled implies, this book encourages people to ask more questions and ask better questions to help them become more productive and influential. The book is fine, but not very memorable. Grade: C
The Racketeer by John Grisham
A typical Grisham book that includes, of course, a lawyer on the run. Very reminiscent of The Firm. As with most Grisham books, I really enjoyed this book. They highlight is that I thought I had it all figured out about halfway through, but I was wrong and the end was still somewhat surprising. The plot had a few holes, but they were all forgivable. Grade: B
Think like a Freak by Steven Levitt and Stphen J. Dubner
Great book and as good as their first two "freak" books -- maybe even better. This book teaches people how to be skeptical, inquisitive, and basically smarter. I really enjoyed this one. Grade: A-
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
The irony is that this book advocates and teaches us to simplify and edit stuff out of our lives to make them more focused on the truly important things while, at the same time, being a bit repetitive and in need of editing. My criticisms about repetitiveness aside, this is a great book that could benefit almost everyone. I hope that I can learn to cut nonessential stuff out of my life and focus on the essential. Highly suggested for everyone. Grade: A- (this grade could be moved up to an A or down to a B within the next 6 months... we'll see)
