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2017 Books

Here is the list of books that I read in 2017.  Book recommendations for the year 2017 are here. See 10 notable books read in 2016.

Instead of detailed book reviews, I have included short two-paragraph notes which you can access by clicking the notes on the right.  Please feel free to browse the blog, email me your book recommendations, and/or follow me on twitter.

  1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari (notes)
    A Brief History of Humankind is an audacious title. I was indeed skeptical. How does one condense the history of mankind, into 300 pages? How can such a précis be meaningful? I have to say the provocative hook absolutely pays off, and the book deserves every encomium that has come its way.  Harari’s central thesis deals with the role of stories/mythology in how homo sapiens emerged as the superior species.I loved Harari’s distinction between “intelligence” and “consciousness”.  This is a book that everyone should read. I hope to write my long review up sometime. Meanwhile, check out Bill Gates’s review of the book.
  2. Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta (notes)
    Maximum City, very apt to the title, focuses on the extremes in Mumbai (Bollywood, Bar Girls, Encounters, Local right-wing politics, and Migrants among other things). Unfortunately, those apogees are mundanely familiar to readers through news and movies, a fact that reduces the impact of book’s purported gonzo journalism.Much of my fascination with Mumbai does not intersect with the curiosities of focus in the book. Suketu Mehta truly digs Mumbai and all its rawness.  He comes across as observant, and very sympathetic to his interviewees, and there are occasional glimpses of writing brilliance (memories of how the vada pav crumbles in your mouth).  However, the best non-fiction book on Mumbai is (the much shorter) Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo.
  3. Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (notes)
    A brief novel about early German Romantic poet Novalis who fell in love with very young, and barely literate, Sophie von Kuhn, because he believes “nothing is commonplace”.  A strange book.  It is like explaining the indescribable alien sensation associated with one’s dream filled with commonplace events.   The book deals with a considerably obscure topic, coupled with simple writing and enveloped in an intangible “can’t-grab-it” atmosphere.
  4. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (notes)
    Angela Carter is, for a lack of better word, amazing: I felt like I had wasted 30 years in not discovering her writing earlier. Her exquisite control of the English language at once searing and sensual, shines through in her extraordinary retelling of fairy tales, in her own unpredictably wicked knock-your-socks-off imagination, gradual ratcheting of suspense teetering on the verge of reckless abandon. She is Bette Davis on paper.
  5. Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood(notes)
    Clearly a modern classic. Illegitimi non carborundum is an important advice to daughters (and sons).To those folks with live in “blank white spaces at the edge of the print”, it is true that evil and intemperance arrive subtly and in shadows. They may even look like weeping angels.As a famous Doctor said, “Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t blink. Good Luck.”
  6. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky).
  7. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance
  8. All the Light We cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  9. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates(notes)
    I think that folks who find Ta-Nehisi Coates’ style overtly polemical miss the importance of the argument he makes.  The argument calls attention to iniquities in society processing in a slow, crushing momentum of a juggernaut that is fueled entirely by the air of indifference of the passersby.  I have been reading him on the Atlantic for many years now, amazed by his voice and musicality in his diction. Truly, Mr. Coates’s writing is like Heifetz on violin. For whatever smidgen my opinion is worth, he is the best current writer on American Society. Shamefully, I still do not know the full import of the history and the tragedy of African American experience, but I have learned a lot through Mr. Coates’s writings.Between the World and Me is about how a black parent deals with the brutality and deaths of young Americans on the streets. But, it is also easily more than a ledger of personal recounting. The book is a lyrical elegy sung in modern words, but held together by ancient dreams. As the repetitions of tragic pasts weigh down, the book tackles a deep sense of mournfulness about a resigned acceptance of many tragic futures.
  10. Dark Money by Jane Meyer(notes)
    A deep dive by a reputed journalist into the Business of Political “Philanthropy.” This is a topic beset with politics. My main takeaway from the book is  how the definition of a non-profit is now curiously amorphous and broad.
  11. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (notes)
    I learn more each time I read Marcus Aurelius. Pithy, deep and layered. I will let a couple of passages speak for themselves.Aurelius says, “Soon you will have forgotten all things: soon all things will have forgotten you”.  Reminded me of the beautiful short story by Jorge Luis Borges’ 300 word story “The Witness.“”Look at the speed of universal oblivion, the gulf of immeasurable time both before and after, the vacuity of applause, the indiscriminate fickleness of your apparent supporters, the tiny room in which all this is confined.” –  This is Marcus Aurelius, the man who ruled the known world, all subjects and slaves under his command.
  12. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (One of the best books I’ve read. Great research.)
  13. On Shortness of Life by Seneca
  14. The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land In Between by Hisham Matar
  15. Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey (notes)
    Loved the pulpy space operatic nature of the book. Adroitly combines detective noir fiction with Heinleinian love for space adventure. Even with the high-tech Epstein Drive looming around, the blue-collar, low-tech world reminded me of Bob Shaw’s The Wooden Spaceships. The last third of the book felt somewhat hurriedly written.
  16. Saints and Strangers by Angela Carter (notes)
    To my surprise, I found the book at Denver Airport, after a hiking trip to Colorado. Two outstanding stories in this collection, both quintessentially American, but narrated in Angela Carter’s inimitable style. First, “The Fall River Axe Murders” – the story of Lizzie Borden, with its slow-burn in the stifling summer heat of Northeast, told from murderer’s point-of-view. Second, “Mary” – the utterly desperate tale of an English orphan who went to live with the Indians.
  17. The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa (trans. by Archibald Colquhoun) (notes)
    How could one not find interesting, a man in love with the stars? The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, which translates to civet) is a melancholic story of a Sicilian prince — the man who loves astronomy — in the dying days of royalty, during the birth of the Italian Republic.  The book is full of keen observations of human frailty, the weight of the past, and the futility of future plans, as the slow summers under the Sicilian sun sediments under the fast onslaught of the future unknown.As I ambled along the corridors palatial museums of the Vadodara, India, I was struck by the very comparable life of Sayajirao Gaekwaed, a progressive prince (for those times) who saw the princely states of British India, hurtling towards the democratic future of Modern India. (There are also some broad parallels to the story of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, although the conclusion in the Leopard is less dire).Like Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, The Leopard was published posthumously, as Lampedusa had no luck in getting publishers to agree to publish during his lifetime. The book has since gone on to become one of the most remarkable novels of 20th century Italian Literature.
  18. The Outsourced Self  by Arlie Hochschild (notes)
    The role of outsourcing in a firm’s operations is a big component in the Wharton Operations Strategy Class (OIDD 615). The boundary between what a firm should do and what is to be outsourced is porous, shifting and seemingly ever-expanding.In Hochschild’s classic book, one can see compelling parallels between roles of “the firm” and “the self”, as she explores families and people who have outsourced various personal roles such as caring for elderly parents, scheduling dating lives, pregnancy, childcare, and wedding planning. All roles that were originally, like manufacturing and planning in firms, done “in-house”.
  19. How to Live, or A Life of Montaigne: in One Question and Twenty attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell (notes)
    Montaigne was probably the first “modern” blogger. He discussed issues profound and mundane, profane and exalted, in his freewheeling style, covering topics involving stoicism, kidney stones, French politics, wine, travel-writing, how to educate children, role of conflicts, his sex life, etc. He also, from what I glean, did not worry about consistency and “over arching story” in his writings – wrote for writing’s sake. Very much a big influence for this blog.Sarah Bakewell writes beautifully synthesizing the disparate themes in Montaigne’s writings both chronologically and thematically. For an “Essays” amateur like me, the categorization into 20 answers makes Montaigne’s writings accessible and compelling. I would strongly recommend the books for folks with STEM backgrounds (like me) trying to understand philosophy.
  20. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon (notes)
    Summer Novels are one of my favorite Fiction sub-genres. I lived not very far from the “cloud factory” in Pittsburgh, where the novel is set, during my years in Grad School. The novel is very reminiscent of that sentimental time and place. I have always wanted to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and loved watching Wonderboys, but TMP is my first Chabon novel. It is also his first work, evident from the rough edges all over the book. TMP also owes much to Great Gatsby. But, which modern “summer” novel doesn’t? I also loved Chabon’s nod to Homer in the beautiful turn-of-phrase, “sea-dark wine”.
  21. Revenge of the Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax (notes)
    In the Operations Strategy elective (now a semi-core class) at Wharton, I sometimes talk about the value of physical goods in an increasingly digital world.It took relatively little time for streaming videos to replace DVDs and other physical video formats.  Blockbuster had more than 9000 stores in 2004. (Around 2007, I recall that there was even an HBO Entourage episode in a Blockbuster store). Netflix started streaming movies only in 2008. Within 5 years, by 2013, Blockbuster stores were almost all gone. The same fate was argued for e-books replacing physical books. Amazon introduced the first-generation Kindle in 2007. In fact, it has taken longer for e-books to scale, and in 2017, in some markets physical books have made a comeback of sorts.So, how is Analog surviving, or even thriving?  David Sax explores the rising popularity of Analog in specific industries. The writing is sunny and upbeat. David has a genuinely acute sense of American entrepreneurial spirit, and the integrated role of culture in how products are consumed.  As we gain a more nuanced understanding of Tech, smartphones and digital world in the recent days, it appears that Analog — from record players to board games — is here to stay for a while.
  22. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (notes)
    A Christian contemplation of writing and meaning of life, filled with a pervading sense of quiet joy. Reminded me of the gentle rhythm of prose in Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.
  23. Persuasion by Jane Austen (notes)
    Probably the best Jane Austen book that I have read (I haven’t read Northhanger Abbey). I will leave it to the experts to explain Austen’s enduring appeal. If you are a data geek, here is an interesting NYT UpShot article on how distinct Austen’s word choices are compared to all her contemporary authors.
  24. Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand (notes)
    A short, well-researched history of hopes and tragedies behind Kohinoor, India’s most famous diamond. Starting with the legend of the Syamanthaka stone, the book covers a history that is more violent than GoT,  traversing the harsh landscapes of Persia, Afghanistan, erstwhile Punjab, India and Britain, before the diamond lands on the British crown.Vignettes of Indian history always amaze me. In this book, I learned of Garcia da Orto (1501-69), who abandoned his Professor of Medicine position in Portugal and settled in Goa, then a Portuguese Territory. da Orto was in fact a practicing Sephardic Jew by the name Avraham ben Yitzhak, who escaped from the  inquisition in Portugal, to seek the (relative) safety of India. Once his identity came to the light after his death, his remains were disinterred and incinerated by the Portuguese.
  25. Shoe Dog: A memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
  26. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Harari(notes)
    A follow-up to Sapiens. A speculative exploration of humanity’s search to live longer, live happier and live all-knowingly (immortality, bliss and divinity). Thought provoking, but less cohesive than Sapiens.
  27. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder(notes)
    It is well known that Retail sales are highly seasonal, and the staffing for peaks in seasonality is hard (another Operations concept that we cover in core class at Wharton). Where does Amazon get a large proportion of its huge temporary labor that it needs for the holiday season?  Ans.  Camperforce  – A large group retirees roaming the American landscape in their “recreational” vehicles (RVs).  Jessica Bruder does significant legwork working for factories – including a stint at an Amazon factory with Kiva robots. She covers the trials and tribulations in the lives of retirees who never retired in gonzo journalism style. (One of my favorite characters among those Jessica covered in the book rigged up his Toyota Prius in his efforts to live as a camping nomad). In the book, Bruder covers more issues other than Camperforce and offers some insights into how Warehouse labor tasks are like.  The book is a very thoughtgul exploration of what it means to get old in America, and an understanding exploration of a uniquely American subculture of camping travelers.
  28.  Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil.
  29.  Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity by Amartya Sen.
  30.  Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility by James Carse
  31. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
  32. Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
  33. Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley
  34. The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google by Scott Galloway

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