I started this blog with the notion that, as a writer, I am an absolute beginner. At the age of 66, I find it useful to see myself as a child, wondering and learning every waking second, and as I think we are well aware, every sleeping second, too, since our brains are grinding constantly no matter our state. For me, the best way to learn is twofold: read a lot and write a lot (I talk a lot, too. That’s a problem for another day and probably not solvable - but that’s not learning, either!).
As usual for me, there’s a little music here, too.
My premise, in today’s society, is that social media, and media of all kinds, in nearly every situation, is sometimes news and primarily opinion. I do engage in multiple media formats (you can find me on Twitter @mjnewfield, on LinkedIn as Mark Newfield, and on YouTube @mjnewfield, and I read the Wall Street Journal, The Richmond Times Dispatch, and The Washington Post every day). Properly throttled (which is my job, not Twitter’s or the US Government’s, for example) and being mindful of their biases, they are sources of news, entertainment, and interesting data and information. In my opinion, the places to really learn are books and other curious people. I’ve read 24 (you will find 23 entries. You get a BOGO in number 23) books and countless other writings this year (my current favorite: “The importance of stupidity in scientific research”). My notion here, for those of you who may be interested, is to cover what I’ve read, why I chose the book, and what I learned.
American Midnight: I chose this one because I am concerned about where we are as a society right now and it seemed to me there are historical parallels between our post-Civil War/Pre-WWI period and now. My conclusion, confirmation bias though it may be, is I am not wrong. We are wired to be fearful of others and to want to control our environment - when we are in a position of personal strength and wealth. There is a substantial amount of cognitive effort required to be accepting, tolerant of those different from me, and open to current and future change.
This caused me to head down the rabbit hole of what happened next, so I read No Ordinary Time. I did skip a little US and Presidential history (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover), to be fair. However, my conclusion after reading this is the New Deal was a pendulum or perhaps whiplash effect (depending on your viewpoint) driven by 1865-1930 events.
Next up was A World of Curiosities. I wanted to take a break from the news of the day and do some of my favorite reading, which is murder mysteries. they provide, and this one certainly did, an escape. Good ones cause me to think about the logic, rationale, and at the same time craziness of the criminal and of the police, too. This one reminded me about the damage that can occur when you are a child and what can happen when damaged children become adults
Exiles, some more mostly pleasure reading, was next. I’ve read other Harper/Aaron Falk series books. She’s just an excellent writer, so I pick up logical thinking and clear writing ideas from her. Tragedies that occur in many of our lives, often silently. We know but a speck of what is going on in someone’s life. I’ve learned not to judge much of anything, anytime.
I’ve been interested in WWII history for quite some time, probably because it was both a cataclysmic event and I have Jewish heritage. The Rose Code, a historical novel, reminded me of just how far we’ve come technically and how little we’ve changed behaviorally.
How I Invest My Money sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years. I feel like I am pretty competent, so I force myself to read professionally if only to reinforce that fact that I really don’t know much of anything. Seeing the different investing styles of some folks I know and respect and some who are pretty prominent in financial services remains and will always be a learning experience. There is clearly little to no right or wrong in this business. Consistency and process, especially consistent saving, are the recurring winners.
“Thirty-five years later, I wonder if the greatest trick the devil ever played on investors is making them think it is the investing part that matters most.”
In the Mouth of the Wolf is perhaps the most frightening thing I’ve read recently. I picked it up to learn about what it’s like to be a journalist in Mexico and because journalism there is so different from here. This reinforced just how good we have it in the United States, how dangerous it is to be a journalist in Mexico, and how important an independent press is to democracy.
The Diamond Eye, also by Kate Quinn, is another historical, WWII novel, this time from the Soviet side of the war. When I read the review, it just seemed so fantastic that I had to read it. Who knew about the snipers, and more importantly for our society, this amazing woman? Mind-blowing.
After all that, time for some (I thought) less taxing reading, so I picked up The Boys from Biloxi (which also has a historical backdrop, of which I was unaware when I started it!). Good from bad, in a way, and bad from good. You never can tell how someone might change over time and also how folks justify their behavior.
Having read Thinking In Bets (highly recommended), I bought Quit as soon as I could. This book provided support (So, confirmation bias? Sure!) for my belief that there is much more to success than grinding it out. Knowing when to quit something that is not working is a really useful skill. That way, you free up resources to try a new and hopefully better approach.
Come To This Court and Cry was a lesson in not everything ending the way you think it should. I just don’t believe we can know or remember too much, painful though it is, about The Holocaust. There is not always justice, often injustice, and depending on your viewpoint what constitutes justice is occasionally or perhaps not often clear.
Happy Money might be my favorite financial planning book of recent memory. The science is clear - the money you enjoy the most is that which you give away/use to help others, be that your family, a charity, or something else. This book was chosen because I am deeply into spending planning as a positive client discipline (in contrast to budgeting and its negative connotations). We plan to send this to our clients next year (we sent “Quit” this year).
And this principle holds in an extraordinary range of circumstances, from a Canadian college student purchasing a scarf for her mother to a Ugandan woman buying lifesaving malaria medication for a friend.
I went back (I always go back!) to murder mysteries with My Father’s House. The courage of people, from all walks of life during WWII continues to amaze me.
Troubled Blood (who knew JK Rowling was writing detective/murder mysteries under a [male!!!] nom de plume?) taught me more about relationships, tragedies, and the challenges we face in love when scarred by our past. I chose this because I’ve been reading the series and it was the next one.
The Davis Dynasty came into my view due to the fact that I’ve known about and in the past had used the Davis mutual funds for years. There are great lessons here about family, with both successes and failures noted.
On the inheritance subject, Davis and Buffett were in full agreement. Both opposed trust funds. Both decried the indolence, drug addiction, and low self-esteem prevalent among trustafarians.
Somewhere I was reminded of Bruce Catton’s Civil War trilogy and decided to re-read Mr. Lincoln’s Army (I read Team of Rivals last year). History is always a wonderful teacher. Strategy and strength matter, but not nearly as much as teamwork.
My son gifted me Born To Run. He knows I enjoy reading about science. Ultrarunners are incredible, and the best of them are pretty much unexplainable.
When it comes to running distances, nothing can beat a Tarahumara runner-not a racehorse, cheetah, not an Olympic marathoner.
John Feinstein is an incredible sports writer, David Feherty is a funny, funny man, and I had to read Feinstein’s book. Artists are often people whose lives are challenging. Uniquely creative people have to be different.
Complications (No, not the Danielle Steele book) was also a gift from my son. There are remarkable parallels between medical diagnoses, surgery, and financial planning. Warning: this book has some gruesome sections.
I’d heard about Tao te Ching (I now read it every day) from many of the more philosophical people I know. I wonder if Meditations (which I also read every day) arose from Marcus Aurelius’ study of the Tao and other philosophies older than the Roman and Greek cultures. This sure seems pretty applicable today.
What the people fear
Must be feared.
O desolation!
Not yet, not yet has it reached its limit.
The Guest came from the Saturday Wall Street Journal’s book recommendations. I think we all know people who justify behavior that we fail to understand.
Watergate: A New History, popped up due to my desire to try and better understand recent political events through political history. It was remarkable to learn that we don’t know who ordered the Watergate break in and equally stunning to learn about the depth of depravity in the Republican Party at that time.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
I’m passing on the Sundry section today. I’m gassed! My musical companion was Underground Garage. What’s playing right now:
epic book (library) review!