Review: Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) (Tom Vanderbilt)

Read this a while ago but still find myself telling people about it.  In fact, some of you are probably sick of listening to me talk about it, although I’m not one who allows something like that to curb my enthusiasm.  I am a big fan of writers who examine conventional wisdom and then challenge my long-held assumptions with their objective analysis (Freakonomics is one of my all-time favorite non-fiction reads).  Tom Vanderbilt hooked me with his prologue to Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), in which he makes a convincing case that the jerks who charge to the front of a merging lane and then force their way back into the traffic stream have it right when it comes to optimizing traffic efficiencies.  A particularly sobering chapter, “Why You’re Not as Good a Driver as You Think You Are” should be required reading for all of us. (Yes, even you).  Equally compelling is the chapter on “How Our Eyes and Minds Betrays Us on the Road.”  Consider that in our entirely evolutionary history, nothing has prepared us to travel at 80 mph while talking on a cell phone and yelling at kids in the backseat.  I was fascinated by a chapter that makes the case that better roads and more safety signs result in more and deadlier accidents than dangerous roads with limited signage (we drive slower and pay attention).  A favorite fact: one study demonstrated that drivers routinely failed to slow down when cautioned by a deer crossing sign, even when the researchers added flashing lights to the sign.  Drivers did slow down, however, when the researchers placed a deer carcass beneath the sign.

All along this wonderfully detailed journey of the way we drive, Vanderbilt avoids scolding readers for their ignorance and sloppy habits.  He frequently uses himself as the bad example and infuses his sometimes depressing news with humor and wit. If anyone wants to borrow my copy, I’m happy to share.  But please return it, because neither of my kids will be allowed behind a steering wheel until they’ve read it cover to cover.

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It's a book.

Thanks to Brad E. for passing this along.

Review: Too Big To Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System - and Themselves (Andrew Ross Sorkin)

This might be a first: a review that is both late (the book was published by Viking in 2009) and early (a HBO movie based on the book will be released in May).  But I finished the book several weeks ago and I offer this review while it remains relatively fresh in mind. I picked up my copy of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s Too Big To Fail (TBTF) at an airport bookstore after failing to bring enough reading material for my entire trip.  I was looking for Michael Lewis’ The Big Short  as part of an ongoing effort to wrap my head around the world of Wall Street finance. Not that understanding the basics of CDOs, credit default swaps, naked option writing, and assorted other obtuse financial instruments will help me save the world, but at least I’ll be able to follow along the next time it crashes.  Anyway, Lewis’ book was only available in hardcover and in these financial times, I passed on paying hardcover prices.  Sitting on the shelf next to The Big Short, however, was the paperback edition of TBTF.  I’m still looking forward to reading The Big Short (hint: someone has a birthday coming up), but TBTF did not disappoint.

Sorkin is a New York Times columnist and reporter who looks like he’s still in high school (he claims he’s 34).  The book, despite its bulk (the paperback version has 640 pages) was short on technical details about financial instruments and how they work, which was my primary motivation for picking it up.  Rather, TBTF is all about behind-the-scenes drama of the October 2008 implosion of Wall Street and how the Fed, Treasury, and a host of Wall Street characters struck (or in the case of some, failed to strike) deals that avoided complete failure of the Wall Street banking system.  Sorkin’s sources reveal an amazing story.  Greed, hubris, and incompetence are all on display.  Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Richard Fuld, Jamie Dimon, and Warren Buffet are among the primary characters.  (Bonus fact: in the HBO film, Paul Giamatti will play Bernanke and Ed Asner will be Warren Buffet).

While I wish Sorkin had provided more technical background to help wannabe financial nerds like me understand how Wall Street got itself into the mess it did, he more than adequately introduces us to the folks who screwed this up and those who stopped the collapse from becoming more widespread.  In the end, I was left wishing TBTF would have made the case for why all of this even mattered.  Sorkin seems to accept as an article of faith that saving Wall Street was necessary.  Yes, markets would have been disrupted and credit would dry up, at least temporarily.  But why would we not assume that some new system would emerge in its place?  I would have appreciated someone with Sorkin’s insight persuading me that bailing out the billionaires who screwed up the system was worth it. The bottom line, though, is that TBTF is a compelling drama and tells an important story that helps inform the broader picture of the present economic times.

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Reading with Dad

After learning about the Lewis & Clark expedition and watching a video based on the book Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose in class, I told my Dad about it. He proposed that we read Undaunted Courage and I accepted. When Dad and I read, we sit in an oversized leather chair by the fireplace and take turns reading the story. Past books we’ve read include To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Moby Dick by Herman Melville and many more. In Undaunted Courage, I think that Stephen Ambrose does a good job of telling non-fiction in a story-like way. The book is mostly about Meriwether Lewis, and what I love is that is shows Lewis’s childhood, too, and not just what happened on the expedition. We’ve just started the book and I really enjoy it.  We’re already planning a camping trip to Lolo Pass, once of the places Lewis and Clark passed through in Idaho.

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A few of the toddler books we love

Living with a toddler who loves for us to read her books (repeatedly) inspired thoughts of a post about terrible toddler books.  Terrible in the sense that we cringe whenever the two-year-old thrusts one of these noxious volumes in our direction with an expectant look on her face. That post is coming, but so as not to appear to be cranky 100 percent of the time, I determined to deconstruct the genre to note the differences between good toddler books and, well, the less good. Up front you should know I’m looking at this from the perspective of the adult who reads the book to the toddler and my criteria may be highly subjective. I'm OK with that.  And yes, I agree that any book that holds a kids' interest has some redeeming qualities. But a good toddler book should share elements common to any good book: compelling plot, crisp writing, evocative language, suspense, interesting characters. And illustrations that allow pre-readers to follow the story while also causing pointing and delighted squealing.  After consulting with the toddler in the house, here are a few of our favorites (with author and illustrator):

Penny and Pup/Linda Jennings & Jane Chapman. Both toddlers who are passing or have passed through this house have loved this book about Penny and her new stuffed friend, Pup.  When Pup becomes lost while exploring under a shed that smells of mice and old bones, Penny discovers a new group of non-stuffed friends.  Spoiler alert: before the story ends, Penny and her new friends actually find Pup.  Did not see that coming.

Hippos Go Berserk/Sandra Boynton. Short, snappy, and lots of fun.  All Ms. Boynton's books are favorites in our house.

Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss.  We are confused by the title: is it green eggs and green ham, or green eggs and regular ham?  But everybody in the house from toddler to nine-year-old to grumpy old parents love Dr. Seuss.  Green Eggs and Ham just happens to be the Seuss flavor of the moment.

  

The Potty Train/David Hochman.  It helped. Enough said.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt/Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury. It's catchy with lots of silly words that are fun for kids to say, i.e., "squelch squerch" as the intrepid family slogs through the oozy mud.  The family in the story also confronts a bear in its cave and then races for its life.  Spoiler alert: they survive. Barely.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?/Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle. A classic.  The book at our house is tattered at it appears that someone has chewed on one of the corners. 

Chicka Chicka ABC/Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault & Lois Ehlert.  A lively climb through the alphabet jungle with a grand finale.

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Big box book stores heading for the bargain shelf?

Digital movies helped speed Blockbuster's demise and digital books (with help from Amazon.com) are speeding the big box book store demise.  Borders is on a death watch. Obviously it should have adapted to change a lot better.  It will be interesting to watch how bricks-and-mortar booksellers adjust. It will be interesting to watch how readers adjust.   

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Lisa Simpson book club

Wish we had thought of this!(click here for website)

iPad story books and the kids who love them.

I don't have an iPad (yet) but I'm sure that if I had one, my two-year-old would demand that her stories be digital rather than made from wood products.  Perhaps that's because she sees the rest of the family attached to the laptops and smartphones for a good chunk of the day.  To be honest, an NPR tech reviewer testing kiddy lit apps on his three-year-old makes digital story time sound compelling.  Full Story here.

I'm still sorting out how I feel about converting to an e-book.  I've been resistant.  But more and more I find my internal debate is no longer whether to give up the old-fashioned book but when I'll take the plunge and which device I'll plunge with.  I similarly resisted the inevitable conversion to digital music but my iPod is now one of the essential devices in my life (along with a good coffee maker). It's a story in progress but I think I know how it will end.

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Review: I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President. By Josh Lieb

When I read books, I root for heroes like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Matilda, you name them, and I root for them. But in I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be Your Class President, I rooted for the guy who was supposed to be “evil” because Oliver (the self-named evil 7^th grader genius) is secretly the 4^th richest guy in the world! Unspeakable Evil is a great book for those who like to hear about kids who are super-genius (like Matilda) and love to laugh.

However, in this case the kid pretends to be a pathetic, stupid loser to mask his genius from his parents and schoolmates. You should read it because it’s funny with a kid who has a private stash of popcorn in the school’s toilet cubicle and a secret dungeon below his bedroom. 

SFM

Math problem for book nerds

My 4th grade math assignment yesterday was to make up a problem that consisted of "blank % off" of some item. Here it is :

Barnes & Noble is offering 50% off on a package of Christopher Paolini's trilogy of Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr. The original price for Barnes & Noble was $50.00. Hastings is offering 20% off its original price, $60.00. The Rediscovered Bookstore is offering 70% off its original price, $100.00. Which is a better deal? Why?


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Observations from a dentist office waiting room

While sitting in the waiting room at my kids' dentist, I perused the stack of magazines (my smartphone battery was nearly dead) attractively arrayed on the table next to my small, uncomfortable chair. My search for something interesting prompted this conclusion: my kids’ dentist hates me.  No news magazines. No sports magazines. No National Geographic or Consumer Reports.  I have no animosity toward Treasury Valley Family magazine, of which multiple copies were present. But as a general rule I avoid magazines whose covers feature cartoon dinosaurs and/or kids (if they're not my own) painting with water colors.  And while I am generally aware of a family of Kardashians who have managed to become celebrities by, well, being celebrities, it requires more than promised bikini shots on page 46 to entice me to open Us magazine (at least in public).  Bottom line: charge your smartphone before taking kids to the dentist.  Better yet, bring a good book.

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Jail time for library vandal

A 75-year-old woman with apparent anger issues took her revenge on the Boise library system for banning her from the premises after patrons and staff complained about her hostile behavior. In retaliation, under cover of darkness and over the course of a year, she began dumping condiments (you know, ketchup, mayo) into library drop boxes.  She was eventually caught with the assistance of surveillance camera videos and arrested.  She has pleaded guilty and now will spend a month in jail. See story here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/29/1506898/library-vandal-sentenced-to-a.html. Bonus fact: the woman had previously been arrested for kicking another woman at a dog show.

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Reading junk

I confess ambivalence to the kind of books my daughter sometimes selects.  She’s nine and a voracious reader.  She isn’t afraid to tackle “serious” books, but she sometimes turns to the literary equivalent of junk food.  In particular, there is a popular series for kids about clans of feral cats who go to war with one another.  It is written under a pseudonym by a group of writers. Shakespeare they ain’t. Nonetheless, kids (including mine) cherish these books.  But kids also cherish cotton candy and grape-flavored Kool-Aid and Justin Bieber.  This is when I must remind myself of the countless hours I devoted to devouring Louis L’Amour novels during my teenage years.  I still found time for Orwell, Steinbeck, and Dostoyevsky, but mostly because they were assigned by teachers.  In my free time, it was back to Lonely on the Mountain, Mojave Crossing and the rest of the tales of the Sackett clan. Maybe I need to let the kid find her own literary way. Maybe she'll even find the stack of Louis L'Amour novels on the bookshelf in the basement that I continue to hoard.

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Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part -Time Indian. By Sherman Alexie

Can't wait to share this with my daughter (age 9), but will wait a few years due to some mature themes, primarily a recurring, heart-wrenching storyline exposing the tragic results of alcoholism on the family and community of Junior Spirit, the 14-year-old narrator of the story.  There are also a few mildly risque moments involving Junior (masturbation, relationship with quasi-girlfriend).  This is the coming of age tale of Junior, a smart kid from the reservation who leaves his community to attend high school in a nearby farming town where the only other Native American at the school is its mascot.  The novel borrows heavily from the story of its author, Sherman Alexie, and is at turns poignant, feisty, milk-coming-out-your-nose funny, and heartbreaking.  It's hard to put down, as well. It is written for teens or young adults, but not-so-young adults will enjoy it too.

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Scrubbing Huck Finn

An Alabama publisher has edited some of Mark Twain's classics to sanitize them for school administrators and parents who are concerned about the tender sensibilities of students. Here's a more detailed version of the story (http://www.npr.org/2011/01/05/132681463/publisher-edits-twain-classics-to-remove-slurs) .  This is a good idea for school districts and/or parents who fear that their children mights be exposed to reality.  Scrubbing offensive language (primarily the N-word) from Mr. Twain's text will allow schools/parents to keep kids tucked safely in their cocoons for another day.  Yes, these kids will miss the essence of the story about Huck, the illiterate son of an illiterate, abusive bigot, who learns to question conventional wisdom when he is befriended by a runaway slave.  The essence of the book is Huck's discovery that his new friend, Jim, does not comport with with the "truths" about black people that he has grown up accepting.  Perhaps some schools/parents are not looking for a book that would lead to discussions about the dangers of labels, assumptions, and the power of words. Or for books that provide learning opportunities to discuss the historical context of our nation's greatest shame. Perhaps these parents and administrators are correct. Perhaps it is more appropriate that we stick our heads up our collective arses and turn Huck Finn into an adventure story about a white kid and a black guy on a raft on a river.

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