Summer Reading 2018

There is a “post 7 book covers of books you love, without comment” campaign sweeping Facebook, and I have been tagged.

I am breaking all the rules.

Below are 8 books, 9 if you count both of the books I read by Mohsin Hamid. I don’t love all the books below, but I did read them all this summer. I am not posting a picture of the covers (but I do provide links to the books), and I couldn’t help including a brief comment on each.

Again to Carthage - John Parker Jr. (Fiction, Novel). Sequel to Once a Runner and not nearly as good. The sequel is more focused on the primary character’s midlife crisis than his running.

Inside the Magic Kingdom - Tom Connellan. (Non-Fiction, Pop-Business). My mother-in-law was reading this for her job at the beach, and I ran out of reading material. Cheesy, pop-business book, but interesting for the way Disney’s C-level executives assist in picking up the trash at the parks, and the parties at the parks they held for the families of the construction crew members. Plus, the books was more interesting to me because we plan to go to Disney World as a family sometime in the next 12 months or so. 

Run Faster - Brad Hudson. (Non-Fiction Wellness/Training). Recommended by my friend Dr. Jeff Edmonds who we profiled on this blog. Less user friendly than Dr. Daniels' Running Formula, but still useful for those looking to self-coach in running.

The Ability to Endure - Michael Chitwood. (Non-Fiction, Autobiography). Received this book for free at the 2018 Q Conference in Nashville. I am a sucker for autobiographies and memoirs, especially of relatively normal people like Michael.

The Ethics of Influence - Cass Sunstein (Non-Fiction, Law & Behavioral Economics). Started this a number of months ago, but finished it this summer. Builds on and refines the thesis in Nudge. Explores the ethical boundaries of nudges (mostly by governments). Claims that nudges should improve or maintain welfare, autonomy, and dignity.

The Collected Short Stories of Eudora Welty. – Eudora Welty (Fiction, Short Stories). Only read a few of the selected stories this summer. Impressive character development in a condensed space.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid. (Fiction, Novel). The novel follows an in-depth conversation between Changez (a Pakistani Princeton Alum) and an American (probably military). Symbolism is a bit overdone, but otherwise it is a tightly-woven and engaging read. I also read Hamid’s more recent book (2017 v. 2007), a fictional/slightly sci-fi take on the lives of two refugees, Exit West.

This Day: Collected & New Sabbath Poems - Wendell Berry. (Poetry). I am not a big poetry buff, but Berry’s poems mirror the beautiful and serene outdoor locations where he writes. I liked to read these poems in the quiet of the early morning before my three children woke up.