Books: What are you reading tonight?

Sure did.

Did it deliver?

Bright Lights, No City by Max Alexander.

Max's brother, Whit, at various times:

• Spent time in West Africa
  
• Was part of the group that created, then sold, the board game Cranium
  
• Was a manager at Microsoft
  

In the late 2000s, Whit decided to try Bill Gates' idea of creative capitalism. His notion was to bring reliable, affordable, rechargeable batteries to the villages of Ghana.

A lot of the country does not have electricity (or 'have light', as the Ghanaians say), and rely on battery power for lights, radio, and other things. Much of the market was cheap Chinese batteries which leaked, thus being an environmental and health hazard and ruined equipment.

I'm not an entrepreneur, so it was interesting to read the story of getting their company off the ground. Also, of course, sometimes there were cultural differences to overcome.

It seems they've been at least somewhat successful; still in business, have a website and an office.

Pretty good read.

Today's the day! My brilliant girlfriend's new novel has been released and is now available for purchase on Amazon!

The Spoil by Maile Chapman

And if you're in Vegas, she's doing a reading this Friday at the Writer's Block.

Congratulations to her!

Congrats!!

Congrats!

Writer's Block is such a cool bookstore

I want to start reading Dostoevsky

Been flicking through Experimenting with Babies - 50 Amazing Science Projects You Can Perform on Your Kid

It was highly recommended Prof. Hannah Fry, who gets it for anyone she knows who's just had a baby.

I'm going to help look after my two new nieces this weekend, so am going to make sure to pack my safety goggles and lab coat!

I was sure this was bogus, but ended up checking it out from my library lol

Hannah Fry is the best (massive crush..)

Will try to record my babysitting e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶

I have a really bad case of poker fever right now and looking forward to a nice WSOP trip this summer. I have a ton of poker books (40+) but I haven't read any of them in years. I am gonna skip the strategy books as we have better tools now (simulators, solvers, youtubes etc.) but I wanna read the "entertaining" books.

I started with the book that got me interested in poker in the first place. The Biggest Game in Town by A. Alvarez. I read it in 2 sittings and couldn't put it down. I had read it 2 or 3 times previously but not in the last 20 years. Basically interviews and stories about the high roller poker crowd (Brunson, Moss, Straus, Pearson etc.) around the 1981 WSOP. Any poker player who hasn't read it should and will love it.

For the time I think it was perfect. It was the book that made me wanna learn poker. Positively Fifth Street is definitely on the short list along with The Professer, The Banker and the Suicide King, Shut Up and Deal, The Theory of Poker and a couple poker mindset/psychology books.

One y'all may not have read is Playing off the Rail, about a guy stakehorsing a pool hustler in the 90s. It has been a while since I read it but I do remember some poker folks like John Hennigan showing up in the book.

Thanks! Will definitely check that out.

This is so up my alley but seems to be out of print. It does look like it’s on the internet archive though, so thanks.

It's this one

https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Off-Rail-...

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

Dawkins is a noted biologist and atheist; this book is his attempt to give an argument for the non-existence of God.

Now, I'm going to tend in that direction anyway, given the complete lack of evidence. In the middle, he tries to explain why he feels, from the standpoint of evolution, why religion became so important to humans. Not having much of an interest in biology, that kind of waned my interest.

However, it's well-written, and I think presents a good, rational, argument. Might be a bit too drawn-out, but overall a good read.

Stoner (1965) by John Williams - an 'academic' novel about an English professor's ordinary, mediocre, small life. The story charts Stoner's entry to university, his unhappy marriage, average career and eventual death. He's a mostly passive figure - things happen to and around him and, except for a couple of notable instances, he accepts them. I think the book's aiming for an examination of the average human condition, but Ishiguro tackles similar topics with greater depth, subtlety and emotional impact. This is no Remains of The Day.

The misogynistic attitude is a real problem, and I'm not even referring to the overlooking of marital rape. Williams barely tries to get into the head of Edith, Stoner's wife. There is one moment where she refers to forfeiting travelling to Europe to marry him, and that being the source of her unhappiness. Apart from that, she's cold, distant and tries to make Stoner's life miserable because... *****es be crazy, right Williams? Because women exist to destroy decent men's lives. Except for the young, attractive co-ed who's hot for teacher. She's also got no inner life, existing only for Stoner's sexual and intellectual gratification. It's odd how so much acclaimed literature written around this period can be more regressive than pre-20th century literature.

Stoner (1965) by John Williams - an 'academic' novel about an English professor's ordinary, mediocre, small life. The story charts Stoner's entry to university, his unhappy marriage, average career and eventual death. He's a mostly passive figure - things happen to and around him and, except for a couple of notable instances, he accepts them. I think the book's aiming for an examination of the average human condition, but Ishiguro tackles similar topics more effectively and with greater emotional impact.

The misogynistic attitude is a real problem, and I'm not even referring to the overlooking of marital rape. Williams barely tries to get into the head of Edith, Stoner's wife. There is one moment where she refers to forfeiting travelling to Europe to marry him, and that being the source of her unhappiness. Apart from that, she's cold, distant and tries to make Stoner's life miserable because... *****es be crazy, right Williams? Because women exist to destroy decent men's lives. Except for the young, attractive co-ed who's hot for teacher. She's also got no inner life, existing only for Stoner's sexual and intellectual gratification. It's odd how so much acclaimed literature written around this period can be more regressive than pre-20th century literature.

My GF had a reading at the NY Public Librar this past week, where she was a Fellow 15 years ago. Here's the link to her talk, if you're interested:

This week, she'll be in Seattle for another reading.

dom you going to be in seattle as well?

Great book