The Pandemic Book Club
Alfred Hitchcock knew there’s nothing like a good book
We’re one month into the COVID-19 lockdown and an interesting phenomenon is beginning to emerge: many people, myself included, are finding it difficult to finish a book. This comes as quite a surprise, considering that the lockdown has abruptly cleared our calendars of all appointments and social gatherings. One would think that those of us without parental responsibilities have more time to read now. And yet my Twitter feed is awash with people admitting they find it hard to concentrate on anything longer than short form articles.
What’s going on here? The simple answer is that it’s hard to focus when you’re stressed out and distracted. The pandemic has dramatically upended our daily habits and cast a cloud of uncertainty over our lives. We don’t know when and how this is going to end. There’s a lot that even expert virologists don’t understand about the coronavirus yet. Add to this our collective anxiety about the economic fallout and the fact that we’ve just witnessed the fastest stock market crash ever. Viewed from this angle, it’s not at all surprising that my “tsundoku pile” has been collecting dust lately.
To find my way back to books, I’ve decided to hold myself accountable to a public reading discipline. Over the next months, I’m going to share tweet-length reviews of books that I bought during pre-pandemic times but never quite got around to reading. If you’re reading this in a couple of weeks and I have posted less books than you have fingers on two hands, I’m falling short. Enjoy and stay tuned!
April 13
Medallion Status by John Hodgman: A collection of personal stories that examine status, fame and identity, built around the author’s addiction to the loyalty program of Delta Airlines. Also includes a hilarious meditation on Donald Trump (“He’s a performance artist who never breaks character”).
April 19
The Shapeless Unease by Samantha Harvey: An introspective, stream-of-conscious memoir about the author’s year-long struggle with insomnia. Harvey’s fragmented prose mimics the wandering of the sleepless mind perfectly. Profound and deeply insightful; not at all soporific!
April 22
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener: A candid look at Silicon Valley from the perspective of a low-level, non-engineering employee. Wiener is a rock-solid writer and her opening sentence reads like an instant classic. After a strong start, the book sadly falls off in the second half.
April 26
Good Things Happen Slowly by Fred Hersch: A revelatory memoir by one of the finest jazz pianists of our time. Hersch was diagnosed HIV-positive in the 1980s and later fell into a two-month, near-death coma. His artistic rebirth was nothing short of a miracle. Gripping narrative!
May 3
Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier: A technophile’s manifesto for a fair and sustainable data economy. Lanier laments that the ‘Siren Servers’ (tech giants) treat data as free land and proposes a micropayment scheme that pays users for their data contributions. Thought-provoking!
May 6
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre: The true story of Kim Philby, the infamous British double agent and cold war traitor who defected to Moscow in 1963. A spellbinding tale of espionage and deep treason, framed through Philby’s betrayal of his closest friends. Page turner!
May 12
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre: The life of Oleg Gordievsky who, as a Soviet MI6 double agent, made the same journey as Kim Philby but in the opposite direction. One side’s hero is another’s traitor. Another exceptionally rewarding spy thriller by the great Macintyre!
May 17
Dark Towers by David Enrich: The rise and fall of Deutsche Bank, from once-proud institution to reckless casino. The book has all the drama of John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood but not much of its depth and pacing. Fun fact: Softbank Vision Fund is now led by the same executives who ran DB into the ground.
May 24
The Only Story by Julian Barnes: Heʼs 19. Sheʼs 48 and married. They meet at the local tennis club and begin an affair. In typical Barnesian fashion, the story is told by an aging, male narrator with slippery memory and emotional detachment. A bleak tale of love gone wrong.
June 1
Eight Days at Yalta by Diana Preston: Negotiations, like poker games, hinge on the quality of your hand and how you play it. At Yalta, Stalin had the best hand and played it ruthlessly. Preston’s prose is crisp yet doesn’t offer much depth or new insight. But what a great cover!
June 7
Strokes of Genius by Jon Wertheim: A riveting, superbly insightful recap of the legendary 2008 Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final. Wertheim skillfully enriches the match details with biographical portraits and ruminations on every aspect of modern tennis. David Foster Wallace quality of tennis writing.
June 14
Facebook by Steven Levy: An up-to-date, largely sympathetic portrait of the social network that chronicles how relentless growth planted the seeds for an epic reputational meltdown. At 550 pages, Levy’s “inside story” is richly detailed but far less groundbreaking than expected.
June 21
The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger: An unexpectedly thoughtful and engaging leadership memoir that chronicles how “Hollywood’s nicest CEO” rejuvenated Disney by doubling down on high-quality branded content (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm) and embracing disruption (Disney+). Terrific read!
June 25
Blindness by José Saramago: A catastrophic epidemic of blindness sweeps the nation. The government panics and locks up the infected in a mental asylum. That fails to halt the contagion. A complete social breakdown follows as the blind go to war with one another. Soul-wrenching!
June 28
Seeing by José Saramago: It’s election day in the country that was recently ravaged by a blindness plague. The population starts a silent backlash by casting blank votes. The government panics and responds with oppressive measures. Democracy turns against itself. Dark and absurd!
July 5
Maestros and Their Music by John Mauceri: What do conductors actually do? How do they establish authority with the orchestra? What defines greatness? Mauceri’s answers are insightful and entertaining, although he gives his peers an uneven treatment (no mention of the legendary Carlos Kleiber?)
July 16
Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan: A new age of American isolationism dawns. Sea lanes are no longer safe, global trade breaks down, old geopolitical conflicts re-emerge. Zeihan presents an oversimplified, deterministic view of the world, but he offers tons of food for thought!
July 25
The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith: How do dictators gain and retain political power? They loot the treasury, keep the coalition of key supporters small, and pay them just enough to keep them loyal. Part Machiavelli, part Freakonomics with a heavy dose of cynicism.
August 2
Hedge by Nicolas Colin: A socio-institutional framework for how to fix the welfare state for the digital age. Colin argues that the safety net of the postwar era is outdated and crumbling. We must adapt it if we want to provide economic security for the many. Thought-provoking!
August 10
What’s The Future? by Tim O’Reilly: I’m a huge fan of Tim’s writings but this is a strange book––a combination of self-aggrandizing memoir and techno-utopian manifesto. The problem is not that it lacks great ideas or insights; it’s that they’re buried in almost 400 pages of meandering verbiage.
August 16
After Europe by Ivan Krastev: Wow! This is the most comprehensive essay on the future challenges of the EU that I’ve encountered to date. Krastev provides an excellent analysis of the multiple crises that are washing over Europe. His perceptiveness and wit make Slavoj Žižek look like a dilettante.
August 28
Rocket Billionaires by Tim Fernholz: A solid introduction to the new space age and the rivalry between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on how SpaceX took on the military-industrial complex and broke ULA’s monopoly of U.S. government launches.
September 8
Wernher von Braun by Michael Neufeld: This exhaustive biography brilliantly captures von Braun’s profound moral complexities as well as his genius for managing complex engineering projects. It’s an endlessly fascinating portrait of a complicated, two-sided man. Highly recommended!
September 13
The Long Space Age by Alex MacDonald: This book challenges the dominant narrative of space exploration as an inherently governmental activity. The American observatories (19th century) and Robert Goddard’s rockets (1920s) were primarily funded by private individuals. Refreshingly contrarian!
September 17
Ignition! by John Clark: An informal history of the “Wild West” days of rocket propellant development (1940-60s). Clark offers a fascinating view into the technical challenges and social dynamics of the rocket world. Surprisingly funny for a book with tons of chemical equations.
September 22
The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine: The heartfelt story of a French teenage girl who is the product of a secret affair between a famous stage actress and a married politician. Things begin to unravel when she reveals her father’s identity to a journalist. Solid debut novel.
September 27
Normal People by Sally Rooney: The twisting tale of Marianne and Connell, two hapless teenagers who have a comical talent for screwing things up and breaking each other’s hearts. One misunderstanding follows another. They belong together but just can’t make it work. Depressing.
October 11
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid: A social satire about a woke influencer mom and her black babysitter. Reid’s depiction of race and privilege feels clear-eyed and empathetic, though the plot doesn’t add up to much. How did this book make it on the longlist for the Booker Prize?
October 19
Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig: This eye-popping portrait of Lucian Freud does justice to both his artistic genius and his spectacularly messy life (hundreds of lovers, as many as 30 children). Greig provides a perfect mixture of intelligent perception and juicy gossip!
October 25
Man with a Blue Scarf by Martin Gayford: This is quite possibly one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! For seven months, the reader gets to be a fly on the wall in Lucian Freud’s studio. The experience changes the way you think about portraiture. Lucid and engrossing!
November 2
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by John Richardson: A triple portrait of the author (best known for writing the definitive biography of Picasso), Douglas Cooper (one of the most important early collectors of cubist art), and Picasso. Every page bursts with art-world gossip and anecdotes!
November 8
Modernists and Mavericks by Martin Gayford: A superb group biography of post-war British painters, with emphasis placed on Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Gayford, who sat for portraits by Freud and Hockney, draws on extensive interviews with the artists. He’s a marvelous writer!
November 17
Is It Tomorrow Yet? by Ivan Krastev: In just 75 pages of crisp prose, Krastev looks at the geopolitical stakes of the pandemic and ponders how the post-coronavirus world will look like. A brilliant and very thought-provoking essay, especially considering the economy of the prose.
November 23
Apollo’s Arrow by Nicholas Christakis: One of several books this year that examine the history, psychology, and economic impact of the pandemic. Having followed the author’s exceptional Twitter feed since February, I expected the book to be more insightful and less programmatic.
December 2
Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen: A mixed bag. The book opens strongly, with laughs on almost every page. Then, about midway through, Mia Farrow enters and the story falls off a cliff. The book also fails to provide new insights into Allen’s filmmaking. La-dee-da, la-dee-da, la la!
December 6
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey: A diary-turned-memoir that is punctuated with self-help tidbits. The stories and anecdotes range from the slightly cringe-inducing to the outright cheesy. A disappointing book, especially considering the rave reviews. Alright, alright, alright.
December 13
Invent and Wander by Jeff Bezos: The collected writings by one of the best capital allocators in history. It’s astounding how clearly Bezos outlined his decision-making principles right from the first shareholder letter in 1997. The introduction by Walter Isaacson is excellent!
December 22
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel: This is quite possibly the best personal finance book I’ve read to date. In twenty short chapters, Housel explores our relationship with money and draws life lessons that are timeless and broadly applicable. He’s an incredible writer!
December 27
Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper: A wildly entertaining chronicle of the early ‘Wild West’ days of Bitcoin. Popper traces the cryptocurrency from its invention in 2008 to the collapse of Mt. Gox and BitInstant in 2014. Not up to date on recent events but still highly relevant!
December 29
Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich: What a disappointing book! It reads like a PR puff piece for the Winklevoss twins who used their Facebook settlement money to acquire 1% of all the bitcoin in circulation. Mezrich has a knack for purple prose that is truly cringe-worthy.
December 31
The Power Broker by Robert Caro: I’m finishing off the pandemic book club with one of my all-time favorites—Caro’s 1974 masterpiece about the urban planner Robert Moses. Books don’t change, but their readers do. This book captivated me even more now than as a 21-year old student!
Encore
Robert Moses and the Modern City by Hilary Ballon & Kenneth Jackson: Two Columbia University professors revisit the legacy of ‘Big Bob the Builder’––with mixed results. Reading the essays felt a little like going to an art exhibition that offers a wholly unconvincing re-evaluation of an artist’s oeuvre.
And that’s a wrap, everybody! It’s a new year and that means new projects! If you enjoyed these book reviews, you can follow me on Goodreads for more.
Happy New Year! 🎊