Liars Poker by Michael Lewis
Liars Poker is Michael Lewis' first book and the story of the first few years of his career, spent as a bond salesman with Solomon Brothers. Lewis has since gone on to write best sellers Moneyball and The Blind Side (yes, the movie is based on it), but this is where it all started for him. He reveals himself to be an extremely entertaining storyteller when discussing his years spent as a star salesman for one of the world's leading bond shops. His self-deprecating tone makes him a very likable character, even when he is confessing his most shameful acts. An excellent book full of stories that are not easy to believe. It certainly won't improve the image of the big wall street banks in anyone's eyes though, even if things have come a long way since the '80's.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
In the years that have passed since I read the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, their author experienced a bit of the backlash which typically comes along with the type of success his books experienced. At one time, the only bad things being said about Dan Brown's books were by the overly religious who couldn't tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction. But as time passed, I started to hear more snide comments about his very simplistic writing style and use of very short chapters and very frequent cliffhangers to artificially amp up the tension. Combine this with the two decidedly sub-par movie adaptations and I was starting to become convinced that the books were not as good as a remembered. That is until I picked up a copy of Brown's brand new book, The Lost Symbol, and was reminded why his books were so popular in the first place. I could hardly put it down (due partially to his short chapter trick that makes it VERY easy to say "just one more chapter"). In fact, I raced through the final 150 pages in one day. Some people will pick on Brown's work because of some iffy science, but these people need to be reminded that Brown writes FICTION. What's important is that his science is close enough to reality that it seems believable, even if it isn't correct. Don't get worked up that the antimatter bomb in Angels & Demons isn't real. Just remember that you found the book in the fiction section of your local bookstore or library.
Dan Brown is the literary equivalent of great "popcorn movie" along the lines of Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones. It's not going to give you a new perspective on life, but it will entertain endlessly. Highly recommended.
I'm already one chapter into my next book, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which is off to a fantastic start
In my pile:
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
SuperFreakonomics by Levitt/Dubner
Baseball Between the Numbers by the Baseball Prospectus team
The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (probably wouldn't have bought this, but it was a gift)
The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman
...and hopefully soon to be added to the pile:
Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
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