Conquer Information Chaos

Malachy McCourt: Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland
I know, with a name like Mancini why this book? My grandmother's maiden name was McEvoy from a little town called Clonaslee about 80 km from Dublin. (****)

Jay Winik: The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800
Jay Winik makes history sound like a novel while remaining true to the history. I love his books. If you haven't read April 1865 it's worth a read. (*****)

William Styron: Sophie's Choice
Styron's wordiness and need to describe every single detail of every single situation drives me nuts sometimes, but it is still a powerful book. Went back and downloaded the movie after re-reading; Meryl Streep is just awesome. They say she did the "choice" scene in one take. (****)

Garr Reynolds: Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
Great book. Very humbling when you think about your own presentations. Also reminds you of how truly bad most ppt presentations are. (*****)

Sue Grafton: Sue Grafton: Three Complete Novels; M, N, & O: M is for Malice; N is for Noose; O is for Outlaw
Some alphabet catch-up reading on the Kinsey Milhone series. Always entertaining. (****)

Seth Godin: Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?
I know a lot of people think these kind of short business books just talk about the obvious, but I really like Godin's books and this one is even better than usual. He talks about the disconnect in orgs between "the business" and the desire to use the cool new marketing terms. Worthwhile. (*****)

Pat Conroy: The Lords of Discipline
Also listened to this on my endless loop of commutes to Silver Spring. Good read. The people at the Citadel must hate him. (****)

Pat Conroy: Beach Music
I like Pat Conroy a lot, even though he writes with so many words it makes me want to immediately read Hemingway or somebody like that afterwards. I didn't actually read this -- listened to it in the car. Great book though if you haven't read it. (*****)

Harold S. Kushner: Overcoming Life's Disappointments
Although some of the themes sound a bit familiar when you've read all his books, still a worthwhile read. This one focuses on Moses. I alway's seem to come across Rabbi Kushner's books at times when they are particularly relevant to something going on in my life. (****)