Grasping for the Wind

Free Fiction: The Cambist and Lord Iron by Daniel Abraham

Bantam Spectra has made available the 2008 Hugo award nominated story "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham to read for free. Personally, the subtitle is what intrigues me the most, and I plan to read this story in the very near future.

On the Emotional Reaction to Free

Interesting excerpt from a book about how we react when something is free, even when getting the free thing is less in our best interest than paying a slight premium.

$1 Starbucks!

If you are a coffee addict like me, this could become manna straight from heaven if it becomes a worldwide phenomenon. Anybody live in the Seattle area and been able to enjoy one of those bottomless $1 cups of coffee from Starbucks?

A Year of Reading 2008

This is a continually updated list of all the books I have read in the year 2008. Links are to reviews I have written for some of these books. You can also look at my list for 2007.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam Manual by Kaplan Financial
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay
Instant Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
In The Beginning by the editors at mental_floss
Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Dragon Outcast by E. E. Knight

February

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
Blood Ties by Pamela Freeman
Sojourn Volume 6: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Forgotten Realms: Neversfall by Ed Gentry
Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

March

The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Madhouse by Rob Thurman
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Growingold with B. C. by Johnny Hart

April

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
Misspelled edited by Jule E. Czerneda
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Rolling Thunder by John Varley
Empress by Karen Miller
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz

May

Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley
The Martian General's Daughter by Theodore Judson
The Four Forges by Jenna Rhodes
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

June

A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans
Wizards edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

July

August

September

October

November

December

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

A Year of Reading 2007

The Year is Done! I hope you had a great one and have high hopes for 2008. Below is a list of all the books I read in 2007 (I like to keep track because I am just that hyper-organized). The final five have reviews written that I just haven't posted because every review deserves a suitable amount of time at the top of the blog. You will see them in January of 2008.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin
Condensed Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
In the Ruins by Kate Elliott
Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin
Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin
Life@Work by John Maxwell
The Children of Men by P.D. James
Forgotten Realms: Frostfell by Mark Sehestedt
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis

February

The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Forgotten Realms: Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Forgotten Realms: Double Diamond Triangle Saga by Various Authors
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky
Forbidden Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss

March

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Rome 2006 by Rick Steves
Supplement to the Italian Dictionary by Bruno Munari
Keats and Italy by Various Authors
The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Night by Elie Wiesel
Dachshunds for Dummies by Eve Adamson
Legend by David Gemmell
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward

April

Forgotten Realms: Depths of Madness by Erik Scott de Bie
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Black Gate: Issue 10 Spring 2007 by John O'Neill (ed.) and Howard Andrew Jones (ed.)
Forgotten Realms - Unclean: The Haunted Lands, Book I by Richard Lee Byers

May

Dragon Avenger by E. E. Knight
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Scatterbrained by the editors at Mental_Floss
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties by Steve Berges
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Bastard's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Hunter's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Forgotten Realms - The Gossamer Plain: The Empyrean Odyssey Book 1 by Thomas M. Reid
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The King's Buccaneer by Raymond E. Fiest
The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore
A Fate Worse than Dragons by John Moore
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
The Truth by Terry Pratchett
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

June

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Another Fine Myth/Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Father of Dragons by L. B. Graham

July

Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Forgotten Realms: Scream of Stone, The Watercourse Trilogy Book III by Philip Athans
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Widow's Tale by Margaret Frazer
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden, David Eccles (Illustrator)

August

More Than A Hobby by David Green
Real Estate Investment Trusts: Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportunities by Su Han Chan, John Erickson, Ko Wang
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
A Life Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family by Russ Crosson
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin

September

Black Gate Issue #11 by John O'Neill (ed.)
The Surrogates by Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele
Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg
Forgotten Realms: Storm of the Dead by Lisa Smedman
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

October

Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines

November

Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
A Prayer for the Damned by Peter Tremayne
The Blue Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams

December

Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Tales of the Last War edited by Mark Sehestedt
Bad A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Tides by Scott Mackay
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Book Reviews by Title

These are the my book reviews, categorized alphabetically by the title. (Click here for categorization by author.) "The" doesn't count towards the title.

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of my reviews at librarything.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

A

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden (author) and David Eccles (illustrator)
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

B

Bad-A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (et al.)
Badger's Moon by Peter Tremayne
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Beyond the Summerland by L. B. Graham
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Black Gate: Issue #11 edited by John O'Neill
Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Bloodheir by Brain Ruckley
Blood Ties by Pamela Freedman
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour

C

The Children of Men by P. D. James
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
The Crown of Stars Series by Kate Elliott
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Condensed Knowledge by the editors of mental_floss

D

Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Dragon Outcast
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin

E

Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Tales of the Last War by Mark Sehestedt
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
Empress by Karen Miller
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole

F

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Forgotten Realms: The City of Splendors by Elaine Cunningham and Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Forgotten Realms: The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Road of the Patriarch by R. A . Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Unclean by Richard Lee Byers

G

Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Glory Road by Robert Heinlein
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
Growingold with B.C. by Johnny Hart

H

Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Henry V (Classical Comics Edition) by William Shakespeare
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham

I

Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels

J

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
The Junior Books by Dave Ramsey

K

Klasssic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs

L

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Legend by David Gemmell
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Life@Work by John C. Maxwell

M

Madhouse by Rob Thurman
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Moedesitt Jr.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Master of Souls by Peter Tremayne
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward
Misspelled edited by Julie E. Czerneda
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Moon Gate by David Weldon and William Proctor
More Than A Hobby by David Green
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg

N

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Night by Elie Wiesel
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

O

On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky

P

Phantom by Terry Goodkind
The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay

Q

R

Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz
The Rick Steves' Travel Guide Series by Rick Steves
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Rolling Thunder by John Varley

S

The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead
Shadow in the Deep by L. B. Graham
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Smoke in the Wind by Peter Tremayne
Sojourn: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
The Surrogates, Vol. 1 by Robert Venditti

T

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Tides by Scott Mackay
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
The Truth by Terry Pratchett

U

Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe

V

W

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

X

Y

Z

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Book Review: Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton

* Genre: Business
* ISBN: 1576602451
* ISBN-13: 9781576602454
* Format: Hardcover, 224pp
* Publisher: Bloomberg Press
* Pub. Date: November 2007

Hedge Hunters is a collection of interviews of hedge fund managers and their protégés. The author of Hedge Hunters Katherine Burton, sat down with these financial renegades and tried to ascertain what made them tick.

Surprisingly, what she found is that there is no one way to manage a hedge fund. All of the people she interviewed had different backgrounds. Some came from commodities, some from prestigious schools, some were engineers, and some were lawyers. The only thing that really made any of them similar is their drive to succeed, their winning track records, and their desire to seek a profit for their investors.

Each of the Hedge Hunters profiled in this book have different styles of investing, different niche areas, and different goals. What Burton has done in this book is reassure the financial student that no matter their background, if they work at it, seek new skills, and find a good mentor, they too can have successful, billion dollar hedge funds.

This book is a good resource for someone who only knows a little about hedge funds, or who wants to learn more about the personalities behind the success. Those people who enjoy reading Donald Trump’s success books are a likely audience as well. This book also tries to give strategies for succes based in personality, rather than method. Each chapter has the brevity of an article, (Burton is reporter for Bloomberg) and so makes for good plane or lunch hour reading.

Although at times Burton can be a bit repetitious in her phrasing, it will help the initiate to the world of hedge funds better understand the investing process. The reader may also tire of the sheer number of interviews; there are 18 chapters in all, and a lot of overlap in styles and methods. The reader would do well to focus on reading the chapter most relevant to what they would like to do, and then expanding outward into some of the other interviews. And this is not a how-to book of hedge fund investing, but rather a look into the minds of the people who make them successful. Mom and pop investor will not glean much from this, as the "masters" are mostly using institutional investors money and so have little to say to the small investor.

Burton did an excellent job in finding a cross section of managers representing all different styles and methods. There are really careful managers, the mavericks, and the manager of all the managers. She also worked hard to get the guys at the top of their game to name the up and coming newbies. Those people seeking to invest in the hedge fund world would be wise to watch the names of these “Picks” as Burton calls them. They are the 30 something managers who will be rocking the market in the very near future.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to invest in the hedge fund world, anyone desiring a career in this niche, or anyone who manages money for others. There are a lot of good insights, both humble and proud, into what it means to invest other people’s money. There is good discussion of pros and cons in the hedge fund world, and what needs to be done when you make that bad decision that costs a lot of money. It was interesting for me to read, as I work for a small fund manager, to see what the big boys do, and how they made it from million dollar companies to billion dollar companies. Hedge Hunters is an excellent resource and addition to the small library of fund management books.

B&N rolls out new site

Barnes and Noble has rolled out a new site, and it looks good. Click the image below to be taken to this smooth looking site.

Book Review: The Elephant and the Dragon by Robyn Meredith

Genre: Business, Economics, Politics
ISBN: 0393062368
Pub. Date: August 2007
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.

India (back office to the world) and China (factory to the world) have become major players in the world economy seemingly overnight. So what should the Unites States (buyer to the world) do about it? Robyn Meredith, foreign correspondent for Forbes, has detailed the history and effects of India and China’s rise in The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us and what the US should do about it.

In nine chapters, Meredith writes the economic history of China and India in a clear, easily read fashion. Drawing on her journalistic background, the book is filled with quotes, facts, and stories that exemplify the drastic changes within these two countries, and the effects those changes have had on the United States.

Throughout the book, Meredith compares the drastic differences between these two countries. Although both were protectionist states until recently, India was democratic whereas China was communist. India’s rise results from its ability to offer white collar jobs at cheap prices, whereas China is the king of factory production. India’s poor remain largely unaffected by the economic changes, whereas even the most rural farmer in China is seeing a small improvement in his lifestyle. India’s infrastructure has failed to improve, whereas China’s has blossomed, especially in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The first seven chapters detail the meteoric rise of the tow countries in the economic playing field, both how it occurred politically and what the countries did right and wrong economically to move forward. The final two chapters deal particularly with the effect the rapid growth of the countries will have on the United States, and what Americans need to do to stay competitive in the global marketplace that now has two powerhouses poised to challenge America’s hegemony.

Meredith ultimately determines that America need to be wary of the change in geopolitics that will occur with China and India’s need for fuel and resources. Prices will rise, affecting both our economy and theirs. Meredith cautions that if the US does not take this into account, we may find ourselves in an economic battle of resources.

In the final chapter “A Catalyst for Competitiveness” Meredith cautions us against becoming either protectionist or allowing free trade free reign. She believes that the US should embrace the growth of China and India as a good thing for Americans as prices of goods decrease (especially with our recent housing market burst) and become more easily available. However, Meredith also says that in order to stay competitive we will need to improve education, build newer infrastructure, and create stronger economic foundations both at the company and government level. Although she bemoans the loss of jobs due to offshoring, she sets forth a logical and concise reasoning for the greater wealth and different jobs that are created by such offshoring. She claims that the four pillars mentioned before, if completed, will provide work for those whose jobs are removed to India and China. She ultimately concludes that "if inward-facing India and communist China can transform themselves, so can the United States of America."

Ultimately, Meredith provides as fair and balanced account of India and China’s entry onto the economic stage. Not pandering or partisan, the book fairly assesses the effect this has on the US economy and what we can do in order to stay ahead of the game. This is an excellent book both for as a primer in world economics, and for those interested in understanding the changes occurring to the US as a result of offshoring jobs. Highly readable, with clear and logical reasoning, anyone interested in learning more about the economic world we live in, and how it came to be will find The Elephant and the Dragon a worthwhile read.

Book Review: More Than A Hobby by David Green

Author: David Green with Dean Merrill
Pub. Date: July 2005
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Personal Rating 5/5

Generally, I’m not a big fan of those slim little business books that tell the story of how a business got started up. The principles they espouse usually follow the latest trend in business rather than truly being derived from their own experience. Not so in More Than a Hobby, by David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. I was excited when my wife (a frequenter of Hobby Lobby) told me that David Green, a man who rarely takes speaking engagements, had written a book. I knew that Green is a Christian whose growth in faith had led him to run ads at Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus, rather than selling product, and had led him to close on Sunday just like my favorite of restaurants, Chick-fil-A.

In More Than a Hobby, Green tells the story of how he created (with help from his wife and family and $600) Hobby Lobby and grew it into the Arts and Craft Superstore it is today. Although the volume is slim, and can easily be read in a week or less, it was worth the purchase. As the reader follows Green’s story, he will find the biblical principles that govern how Green does business interspersed throughout, but not in a heavy handed way. Green, simply acknowledges that he learned to be a merchant by reading Scripture and applying it in the situations in which he found himself. He freely acknowledges his failure, such as not always being closed on Sundays, or making bad business decisions (such as over diversifying) showing himself to be humble as well as successful.

Many readers will not agree with his philosophy, which can be stated as “keep it simple”. A man with little more than a high school education, Green made Hobby Lobby successful by focusing on the practical and useful, and doing away with fluff. For instance, in defense of his lack of POS systems (i.e. computer checkout and bar codes) in his store Green says, “I’m looking for solid, practical technology that has been proved for years in somebody else’s business....I want to keep things as basic as possible.” Something he has complete control over in this family owned business. The idea of making things simple has led to a streamlined business with little wasted time on dull or useless meetings. Has allowed store managers more freedom to affect their store, and has avoided an entirely top down hierarchy that more often creates problems than solves them as the disconnected head office people make rules that are arbitrary or nonsensical.

Some readers will see the streak of his fundamentalist Christianity throughout the book. He refuses to condone alcohol (something that stems both from his beliefs and a near death experience involving a drunk driver) or risqué greeting cards. But this is an unfair characterization. Yes, he does support a chaplaincy at his headquarters, but requires no one who works for him to be a Christian or become one. He supports America, but is willing to buy product from overseas, if he can get the best price without resulting to bribery or other evils associated with such business.

Of course, he wrote the book, so his self descriptions will be a little glowing, even if humbly so, so I take his assertions with a grain of salt. Yet the principles he espouses have made him very successful (with $1.3 billion in annual sales as of 2005), have not made him dependent on stockholders, and he and the company have been ethical and moral along the way.

I highly recommend More Than A Hobby to any retailer, whether at headquarters or the the store manager, either starting out or an old hat at the job. Christians should, if nothing else, read chapter 12 ‘This is Not a “Secular” Business’. It directly addresses what it means to be a Christian in business, and I found it very helpful. Other than that chapter, God is mentioned rarely, and the non-Christian businessman will find useful principles to apply to his or her business (especially if you are in retail) and the blessings that the application of them can bring.

Masterworks Tours 2008

For those of you who don't know, one of the things I do for a hobby (along with my father) is take home schoolers on trips to Europe every year to experience the culture and history.

We are currently accepting applicants to the trips for 2008. Next year we are planning on heading to Rome, Italy; Paris, France; and the Rhine Valley, Germany (including Munich).

Any home schoolers fifteen years old or older are more than welcome. Our prices include airfare from Atlanta but if you are coming from somewhere else, you will have to find your own transportation to Atlanta. However, if others are coming from your area, we would be happy to assist you connecting with them.

All that to say there are currently, 16 spaces for Paris, 15 spaces for Germany, and 15 spaces for Rome. Check out the website for more information, including a brochure with more detail and prices. Spaces fill up fast, so if you are interested, let us know.

You can contact me through the email me button above or by clicking email me on my blogger profile page.

Top 25 Business as Mission Books

The Business as Mission Network has compiled the top 25 business a mission books. Look no more to figure out which ones actually address business as mission and which are simply about being Christians in the work place. There is a distinction and if you don't know what it is, perhaps you out to read one of the books.

The top ten are as follows, check out this link for the other fifteen.

1. God is at Work :: Ken Eldred
2. Lausanne Forum Papers
3. Business as Mission :: Michael Baer
4. On Kingdom Business :: Eldred and Yamamori
5. Great Commission Companies :: Steven Rundle
6. Kingdom Catalyst :: Johnny Combs
7. Business for the Glory of God :: Wayne Grudem
8. God at Work :: David Miller
9. Tentmaking :: Patrick Lai
10. Kingdom Companies :: Knoblauch and Opprecht

I have personally read numbers 2, 4, 5, and 7. All are great books that I plan to keep on my shelf in the office for regular reference. You can also check out this prior post for some interesting articles on this topic.

Book Review: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Author: Eric Schlosser
Genre: Politics, Health, Business
Pub. Date: July 2005
Format: Paperback, 416pp
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Personal Rating: 4/5

Published in 2001, Fast Food Nation is a volume not for the faint of heart or week of stomach. Eric Schlosser takes on the corporate machine in an expose which has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. While one is nonfiction and the other fiction, both attempt to shed light on poor corporate practices.

Schlosser, an investigative journalist, spent three years researching and studying the fast food industry from the cows and chickens on the farm to the final preparation before it ends up in your Big Mac. Using personal vignettes interspersed with statistics and primary research, Schlosser attempts to build a case for change in the way industrialized agriculture does business, especially in regards to meats.

Some might find this work a little biased. Schlosser lays blame for many of the industry’s problems at the door of Republicans (with good reason I admit) but places little or none at Democrats. In the afterward to the UK Penguin edition, Schlosser addresses these critics, “Fast Food Nation has no hidden partisan agenda; the issues that it addresses transcend party politics. In retrospect, I could have been more critical of the Clinton administration’s ties to agribusiness.” True, but he didn’t, and it is only in this edition that the afterward is found. So the sideways apology rings a little hollow.

The book uses statistics, but at times will use words like “hundreds” or “thousands” instead of real numbers when the statistics don’t suit his purpose. Part of that is an attempt to make the work readable for the average man, but the preponderance of occurrences for the words is not to simplify the stats, but to obscure those stats that don’t fit the conclusion.

I was also disappointed in the small mention of In-and-Out Burgers. Although Schlosser uses it as an exemplar of a good corporate culture, even mentioning the Bible verses on the bottoms of cups, he fails to say why, only to point out the good things they do. If he had been honest, it is not because they are family owned, but that they have a set of moral values that are not flexible but fixed and so cannot be changed at need. The Christian values they have lead it to be a leader in compassionate business, rather than a simple family ownership or small size as Schlosser asserts.

Still, for all its flaws, Fast Food Nation does try to be objective and Schlosser’s final conclusion that, “The great challenge now facing countries throughout the world is how to find a proper balance between the efficiency and the amorality of the market.” is one I think most readers will agree with. The reader will have to slog through some biases, as I mentioned in two (1 and 2)pevious posts, but the challenge to your thinking makes it worth taking the time to read. Schlosser’s call for governmental, civic, and corporate action is one that is rounded and doesn’t lay the blame at anyone’s door.

I recommend the book be read if you are interested in public health issues, corporate America, and politics. Liberals will have many assumptions and biases confirmed, so it is of less use to them ultimately. Conservatives will benefit from a viewpoint that takes into account the value of the free market, but fears allowing it free reign.

I learned a lot from Fast Food Nation, and will probably avoid beef for a while as a result. I did not feel condemned for eating fast food, nor did I feel that I need to become a vegetarian. This is not a philosophical book, only an analytical one that is readable, thorough, and thoughtful.

Booksprice.com

In a surprising little grassroots marketing campaign, I got an email from my blog from a company called booksprice.com (they used the email me feature up above.) The following is the email they sent but for some reason I didn't get all of it.

Hi Otter,

My name is Lucy and I am the co-founder of BooksPrice.com . Recently we released a new version of our site and we thought it might be interesting to you:

Booksprice.com is a free service of finding the best price on books, dvds, and games among the major online stores. Our real time engine can help you save as much as 80% from the retail price on new

Intrigued, I went and checked it out. It seems very professional, and was easy to use from the get go. Ultimately, it is a search engine for books. It takes all the big online sellers, compares their prices and tells you what their asking price is in a list from cheapest to most expensive.

You can also chose new or used books, have preferred stores (like I would with B&N cause I can get 15% off). You can also have your or others wishlists inputted for ease of use.

The design is clean, has no ads as yet, and maintains its "free" status by "[The bookseller] track[ing] all clicks from BooksPrice.com to their site via an affiliate code that enables BooksPrice.com to receive a fee for completed sales without affecting the cost of your purchase."

I also am an affilate bookseller with Barnes and Noble (hence the logo to the right), but don't really expect to make anything, it's kinda just for fun, and to see if I could learn a little css in the process. I have and it is, so I leave it up for the occasional reader who clicks through and buys something. These people have taken the idea and made a real business out of it and provide a useful service, which I think is downright cool.

Kinda neat. I might even use it sometimes. Maybe some of you bargain shoppers might like to use it, which is why I mention it here.

I have not received any compensation for this, nor am I affiliated, nor do I recommend you use this blindly. Check it out for yourself then come back and tell me what you think.

God in the Workplace

At my church, last week's sermon was called The Lordship of Christ in your Work. My father gave his testimony of twenty years of being a Christian businessman and the pastor spoke on the importance of ministry in the place we spend 90% of our time.

You can listen to the sermon here.

Then, on Monday, Spirit of Revival Magazine came. This is a publication I get because I support Life Action Ministries (my brother-in-law is one of their missionaries). The topic was God@Work. It was funny that two such things would happen in one week, especially as this topic has been on my mind of late.

The articles from this issue are posted online for free, and include an article by Andy Stanley and an interview with Dr. Henry Blackaby. I recommend that anyone trying to reconcile their faith and their workplace read the online articles. It's free, and they are relatively short.

Some Useful Real Estate Calculations

This is all just a personal FYI, but maybe someone might find it useful, who knows?

Effective Interest Rate = Purchase Price / (interest paid for term of the loan + Loan origination fee) / turnaround time (in months) times months of year

Debt service coverage ratio = Net operating income / principal + interest

Measures the relationship between available cash after operating expenses have been paid and the cash required to make debt payments.

Price = Net operating income / capitalization rate

Present value = Net operating income/ cap rate

Cap rate = Net operating income / price

Indicator of value that measures the conversion of a single payment or series of payments into a single value. Measures relationship between income generated by the property and the price it is being sold for.

Weighted average cost of capital = (proportion of debt times cost of debt) + (proportion of equity times cost of equity)

OR

WACC = (bonds / bonds + securities) times bond rate + (securities / bonds + securities) times securities rate

Net Income Return on Investment (Net Income ROI) = Gross income – operating expenses – interest – depreciation / owner’s equity

Answers question of how much I will make on my investment.

Cash ROI (cash on cash return) = Remaining cash after debt service / cash investment

Tells how much cash I will earn for cash invested.

Total ROI = Remaining cash after debt service + principal reduction / cash investment

Provides mesurement of the total return on investor’s capital for both cash and non-cash portions of the return.

NOI = Gross income – total operating expenses

Income that remains after all expenses have been paid.

Operating Efficiency Ratio (OER) = Total operating expenses / square feet

Measures operating expenses of a property relative to its size.

Gross Rent Multiplier = Purchase price / gross scheduled income

Ratio of price to income flat out.

Operating Ratio = Total operating expenses / gross income

Break even ratio = Total operating expenses + debt service / gross income

Future Value = Present Value (1 + interest rate) to the nth power (n being the period of time)

Used to calculate the value at a point in the future when interest compounds.

Present Value = Future value 1\(1 + interest rate) to n power (n being the period of time).

More thoughts on Fast Food Nation

I don't think that Schlosser is getting the reaction he expected out of me. Instead of outrage or shock at the business practices of McDonald's and KFC, Burger King and Taco Bell, all I can think is what a smart business plan!

I just finished reading the chapter on the peons who end up working in the fast food industry (in the interest of full disclosure, I worked for Chick-fil-A for FOUR years, so I've done my time) and the horrible conditions under which they labor, according to Schlosser.

I'll agree, they aren't great, the business model is built to withstand, even encourage high turnover. And yes, it is true that high schoolers and immigrants usually work for these companies. And Schlosser wonders why the companies seek to have built in profitability resulting from high turnover? These two groups are some of the most notoriously unstable groups. Kids go off to college or move on to a new job or trade as age allows, and immigrants are transient by the very word used to describe them. Most of the immigrants I worked with were working till they could find a job elsewhere with better pay.

Most of the folks i worked with were white, middle class high school kids looking to either own their own franchise, or earn some spending money for high school. Some few, like myself, were saving for college so Schlosser's contention that the majority of the workers are minorities or poor is probably true, but isn't always as he seems to imply.

Schlosser's contention that unions need to be formed for these folks makes me laugh. Teenagers don't care and retirees only work as much as they can before social security policies stop them. Immigrants are the most stable of the fast food workers and perhaps they might benefit from a union, but from what I know of unions, they are either corrupt or deluded as to their effectiveness. Unions are a big part of the destruction of the auto industry, as has been shown by better minds than mine.

I can't really speak to the commentary on the franchisee/franchisor relationship, a I only ever worked the front. I think it's likely it plays the way he says. One thing I do contend with is the assertion that failed franchises are the fault of the corporation. They are the fault of the franchisee, otherwise why would some be successful and some not? There are a lot of factors that go into that success, but the franchisee must take the majority of the blame in that, not the corporation. I did see in my time as a fast food worker that some franchisees ran their businesses better, period, and they often got way more business, even when the locations were only a mile or two apart!

Be back later with some more thoughts. By the way, I don't think the book is all bad, but it is politically dogmatic so that tends to be what I react to the most. I guess it was a good pick for New Notions 5!

Read more of my thoughts on post 1: The Beginning and post 3: Book Review

First thoughts on Fast Food Nation

So I have begun. I am tackling Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I can't say I'm totally pleased with the direction it is heading. I finished the second chapter last night "Your Trusted Friend" and Schlosser's obvious bias against corporate America makes it difficult to glean relevant facts.

For instance, Ray Kroc and Walt Disney once served in the same unit together during World War II, and even, later on attempted to do business to together (For those who don't know, Ray Kroc is the guy who made McDonald's what it is today.) From this small connection, Schlosser spends half the chapter diatribing on the evils of Walt Disney and his "synergy" marketing plan (which is later used by Kroc). All right, I can see some connection here, but going on about the evils of Disney does not convince me about the evils of the Fast Food industry.

Also, I take issue with his assertion that having corporate America involved in the public school system is a bad thing. I agree, public schools should not become marketing arms of corporate America. It is true that marketing directed at kids is rather uncouth. To this I agree. but Schlosser fails to see the opposite side.

These school districts started selling sponsorships and making agreements with corporate America fo the purpose of making up budget shortfalls. Schlosser asserts this is because of tax cuts and the unwillingness of the voters to increase taxes. Okay, maybe that's true. But as a conservative, I know that if taxes are increased, more of my money goes to the government (something liberals want) which is usually misspent anyway. What I'm getting at is that while Schlosser asserts that the Fast Food companies are undermining education, he implies that he expects the taxpayer and the government to step up to the plate and meet the budget shortfalls that the fast food companies are taking advantage of.

This is not something I agree with. I don't want more money in the hands of a government that spends wantonly and has more programs than necessary (the Department of education being one of them). Liberals do, and its is obvious that Schlosser would like that as well. I don't. So I say, let the corporations purchase ad space in the schools, sell their products in the schools, help the school districts make up revenue shortfalls (which wouldn't be as much of a problem if the bureaucracy wasn't so expensive to maintain, and useless programs - such as teaching kindergarteners about homosexuality - were not using up available funds.)

Anyway, it boils down the fact that while Schlosser implies these corporations - whose true loyalty is to their stockholders, as it should be - are evil, and we should remove them from the school setting, he fails to mention that doing so increases the size of government and allows them more money for programs and education I think is as much marketing and propaganda as what the fast food companies are more openly doing.

I have been rethinking some of my assumptions, and Schlosser is well-researched and his points are valid, I'd like to see what solution he offers up to the problems he sees in our fast food nation. I'll be back with an update in a few chapters.

Read more of my thoughts on post 2: More thoughts and post 3: Book Review

Book Review: On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

Genre: Leadership, Non-fiction, Business

On Friday, I finished reading Warren Bennis’ book On Becoming a Leader. It follows on the heels of some of his other works on leadership (a category he is often credited with creating) but I found the work disappointing in a lot of ways.

Initially, I was turned off by his obvious liberal humanism. For example, Bennis quotes Sonya Freidman on the rising occurrence (in 1989) of women in leadership at corporations, “The truth of the matter is that most emotionally disturbed women are those who are married and into traditional, full time, lifetime homemaker roles. Single women have always been happier than married women. Always. And there isn’t as study that has disproved that.” Say what? What does that have to do with leadership? How is that helpful to women who are in leadership roles? How is bashing housewives relevant to female leaders? This was simple propaganda, and Bennis should have known better.

Or take for example that fact that the majority of the non-profit leaders he interviewed (informally) are for liberal organizations? Or how, after a very nice section on the leadership of Ronald Reagan, Bennis ends with, “Carter depressed us; Reagan, whatever his other flaws, gave us hope.” Is that really a ringing endorsement of Reagan’s leadership? I don’t think so. Reagan did have flaws, but was it necessary to say so in the concluding sentence? I think not.

All right, so I don’t like the liberal humanism of the book. It’s now time to look more closely at the book’s content. Since Bennis is obviously a humanist, much of the book claims that becoming a leader is a process of self-actualization through education, vision, excellence, virtue (a very nebulous term in the book, since it is rooted in the self) and other elements that one can find in a good manager as well. I nearly fell for the spell as well, because I found as I was reading the book I started thinking that I could better myself and become a leader. That’s not wholly a bad thing, but I find it hard to think that I can really be a good leader when I have no absolutes by which to gauge myself.

Bennis’ theme is simply that by expressing yourself, staying outside the box of the good manager, and being innovative and creative that a person will become a good leader. Perhaps that is true. But where does that creativity come from really? Bennis would say it comes from finding yourself, which is really just psychological claptrap backed by “research” and Bennis’ reputation.

I do not recommend reading this book, if you feel that you can appeal to a higher power who gives you absolutes to live by. Doing so will make you just as much of a leader as “expressing yourself”. Bennis ultimately when you dig deep, is arguing that the leader is someone who seeks selfish gain (although he would deny this) through a process of learning yourself and learning all you can. Learning is a good thing, being a leader is a good thing, but it is altruism and selflessness that will ultimately create a good leader.

On Becoming a Leader is interesting and has some good thoughts from Bennis and leaders in various business fields, but it all must be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, you should learn more, yes you should believe in people and teamwork, yes you should have vision and virtue, but these things cannot come wholly from within, or wholly from without.

A Bookaholic Visits Goodwill

Goodwill is a highly underrated store. The wife and I made a trip there a couple of days ago because we needed to pick up some blankets (for cheap) for the new puppy soon to be entering our home.

I rarely visit Goodwill, because A. the rarely have anything I like and B. the stock is so constantly revolving that I feel to get the best deal I would need to go once a week, and I hate leaving the house unless strictly necessary.

Nonetheless, on this visit I walked away with not one, not two, but three books I've wanted to read but refused to pay full price for. Since these were anywhere form $2.50 to $1 in price (depending on hardback or paperback) I'd say that saving an average of $22.50 on a hardback and $13 on a paperback is quite a steal.

I walked away with:

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt in hardback

Night by Elie Wiesel in paperback (Oprah's book Club Edition)

The Telling by Ursula K. LeGuin in hardback

and

The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers in paperback (this one is for the wife an me both.)

The Wife walked away with:

A book by Terri Blackstock in paperback (Christian Fiction author)

A book of literature worksheets for the early grades based on famous books.

And at least two others I didn't look at closely enough to remember.

And yet, we got all this, plus four or five blankets for our dog for $27. Incredible.

No wonder the migrant workers who live nearby shop there. They know a good deal when they see one. I think I'll be following their shopping trends from now on. They know how to get a bargain.

While I was there, I also saw a classic science fiction double book by Jack Vance, which my favorite mag Black Gate, is always raving about. I didn't buy it cause I'm not into pulp books, but my friends who are might strike it rich in this most unlikely place.

At any rate, Goodwill is underrated by us white middle-class, daddy has lots of money folks. Although our children seem to be getting the message. The wife had students in Florida who would shop there and get name-brand clothes with the tags still on them at 80% or better discounts. It's amazing!

I highly recommend that any book lover on a shoestring visit their local Goodwill before hitting the local thrift or used book store. The prices are even cheaper at Goodwill than there, and rather than supporting a profit making business, a charity gets the most benefit. How could you miss?

LTD's Pyramid Scheme

Last night I received my second ever pitch for a pyramid scheme. A young couple we had met "by chance" at a store last Friday presented to us a short 15 minute spiel on LTD or Leadership Team Development.

It's an attempt to play on people's greed. The idea is that, through the Internet and recruitment of others to sell products, you can earn a great deal of money. The couple's spiel was uninformative and secretive. He would drop names without actually using them, like when he said one of the partners owned the Orlando Magic. Perhaps it's true, but how could I tell? I wasn't allowed to keep the brochure the husband showed us, and I was encouraged to commit to attending a one hour class.

All this was familiar to me, as when I was out of work a year or so ago, I attended a similar attempt to join a different pyramid scheme or work from home scheme as I call it. So I was skeptical, as I had heard all this before. I then refused to commit anything to this couple, and took my wife home.

I did a little research this morning. Turns out Quixtar, a company that is or was at one time associated with LTD, is a new version of Amway. NBC did an expose on Quixtar and found it to be a fake and a fraud. Some of my research has people saying LTD is different because it is Christian, but it is still the same scheme even if it is unaffiliated with Quixtar or others of its ilk. It is the same. While it is not really a scam, because you can make some money, you probably end up spending more on the motivational tapes and CD's than you actually make. And it is the people who lead seminars and sell the motivational claptrap that really make the most money.

Well, maybe such a pyramid scheme works for some people, but I have better things to do with my time, and more important goals to meet than wealth or power.

The thing that really got me though was how the couple sold this as first a ministry and then as a team building exercise. To me, it almost sounded like a cult more than anything. Perhaps this greed with a Christian veneer is why Christians get such a bad name.

I found it offensive that this couple tried to bill this as a ministry opportunity. I went, and took the wife with me because I really liked the couple, we need some friends, and they seemed genuine. Now, I wonder. I wanted to do some networking in the Christian world. Since I'm in finance for Christians, that is an important part of what I do. I did not expect to be invited to satiate my greed and carnal laziness. Oh yeah, did mention that one could make enough to take one's child to Costa Rica to study Spanish, and work from there? Or that you could work only a few hours a day and make a quarter million?

They found out as much about us as they could and then hit all the targets. We are former teachers, we support ministries, we love to read, each and everyone one of those, to hear this couple talk, would be better for our joining LTD and selling name brand products.

It's sad that people fall for this, but then it meets our most basic and carnal desires. We are sinfully lazy, lust for power and wealth, and are inherently rebellious towards those in authority. To be self-employed, make a lot of money, and do it in very few hours seems great right? It's too good to be true, and don't be taken in.

Masterworks Tours 2008

I would like to point out a neat Georgia non-profit that no one has ever heard of. Started about five years ago, Masterworks Tours provides tours of Europe for home-schooler's that are cheap, easy and fun. For several years I have volunteered my own time to help design literature, maintain the website, and host various trips. In the years I have been doing this, I have been to Rome, London, Madrid, and Paris. Each time, it cost under $2,000 to go (including room, board and air travel), and we spent 6 days in each place!

Download the 2008 Brochure. I designed it myself!

The tours are actually a part of a larger non-profit called Masterworks Foundation whose sole purpose is the promotion of the arts through plays, the tours, and supporting the fine arts Master's Academy, that caters exclusively to homeschoolers.

Cooper Life

This video is by a company that we have loaned money to for developing this property. It's nice to know that the money of God's people is going towards the health and wellness of people, especially seniors.

iTunes be illegal man

Norway has decided that iTunes is illegal.

Apple was dealt a blow in Europe on Wednesday when Norway’s powerful consumer ombudsman ruled that its iTunes online music store was illegal because it did not allow downloaded songs to be played on rival technology companies’ devices.

I honestly think this is a good thing. My newest Dave Matthews CD has proprietary technology that doesn't conform to iTunes and so I can't upload it to the software. Since I use my iPod for almost all my listening needs, and I love to listen to Dave Matthews especially, this is extremely frustrating. So making their code available for use by other devices will help.

Book Reviews by Author

These are my book reviews, categorized alphabetically by the author's last name. (Categorization by title is available here.)

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of my reviews at librarything.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

A

Abercrombie, Joe The Blade Itself; Before They Are Hanged
Abraham, Daniel Hunter's Run
Ackley-McPhail, Danielle (et al.) Bad-A** Faeries
Adams, John Joseph Shimmer, The Pirate Issue; Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
Aguirre, Ann Grimspace
Alcorn, Randy The Treasure Principle

B

Barnes, Jonathan The Somnambulist
Barwood, Lee Klassic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings
Beah, Ishmael A Long Way Gone
Bennis, Warren On Becoming A Leader
Bolme, Edward Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat; Eberron: Bound by Iron
Brand, Paul The Gift of Pain
Brennan, Marie Midnight Never Come
Britain, Kristen Green Rider
Brooke, Keith Genetopia
Bryson, Bill The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid; The Mother Tongue
Buckell, Tobias Crystal Rain; Ragamuffin
Burton, Katherine Hedge Hunters
Butcher, Jim Small Favor
Byers, Richard Lee Forgotten Realms: Unclean

C

Carpenter, Humphrey J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
Chapman, Gary The Five Love Languages
Civiello, Emmanuel, A Bit of Madness
Cordell, Bruce Forgotten Realms: Stardeep
Cunningham, Elaine Forgotten Realms: The City of Splendors
Czerneda, Julie E. (ed.) Misspelled

D

Delaney, Frank Tipperary: A Novel
Dozois, Gardner Hunter's Run

E

Edelman, David Louis Infoquake
Edgington, Ian Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale; Sojourn: The Bezerker's Tale
Edwards, Kim The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Elliott, Kate The Crown of Stars Series
Ellis, Peter Berresford (see also Peter Tremayne) The Druids
Ellison, Harlan Dangerous Visions
Emery, Clayton Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood

F

Falbe, Tracy Union of Renegades
Feist, Raymond E. Magician; Honored Enemy; Murder in LaMut
Finlay, Charles Coleman The Prodigal Troll
Forstchen, William R. Honored Enemy
Frank, Pat Alas, Babylon
Frazer, Margaret The Clerk's Tale
Freedman, Pamela Blood Ties
Freivald, Jake Falsh Fiction Online, April 2008

G

Gemmell, David Legend
Genesse, Paul The Golden Cord
Goodkind, Terry Phantom; Confessor
Graham, L.B. Shadow in the Deep; Beyond the Summerland
Green, David More Than A Hobby
Greenberg, Martin H. Fellowship Fantastic
Greenwood, Ed Forgotten Realms: The City of Splendors; Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire

H

Hart, Johnny Growingold with B.C.
Heinlein, Robert A. Glory Road
Hinck, Sharon The Restorer
Hines, Jim C. Goblin Quest; Goblin Hero; Goblin War
Horner, W. H. (ed.) Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy; Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the BadGuy
Hughes, Kerrie Fellowship Fantastic
Hunt, Stephen The Court of the Air

I

J

Jacobs, A.J. The Know-It-All
James, P.D. The Children of Men
Johnson, Jaleigh Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve
Jones, Rosemary Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond
Jordan, Robert Knife of Dreams

K

Kemp, Paul S. Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm
Kirkpatrick, Russell Across the Face of the World
Knight, E. E. Dragon Champion; Dragon Outcast

L

Lackey, Mercedes The Phoenix Unchained
Land, Greg Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale; Sojourn: The Bezerker's Tale
Lansky, Aaron Outwitting History
Lawhead, Stephen Hood; Scarlet; The Pendragon Cycle
Lebow, Jess Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness

M

Mackay, Scott Tides; Phytosphere
Mallet, Nathalie The Princes of the Golden Cage
Mallory, James The Phoenix Unchained
Mangels, Andy Iron Man: Beneath the Armor
Martin, Gail Z. The Summoner
Martin, George R.R. Dying of the Light; Hunter's Run
Maxwell, John C. Life@Work
McCarthy, Cormac The Road
McCourt, Frank Teacher Man
McDonnell, Carole Wind Follower
McPhail, Mike (ed.) Breach the Hull
Meluch, R.M. The Sagittarius Command
Mental_floss Condensed Knowledge
Meredith, Robyn The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us
Miller, Karen The Innocent Mage; The Awakened Mage; Empress
Moedesitt Jr., L.E. The Magic of Recluce
Moore, Moira J. Heroes Adrift
Mosdi, Thomas A Bit of Madness
Muirden, James & Eccles, David (Illustrator) A Rhyming History of Britain

N

Norwich, John Julius Shakespeare's Kings

O

O'Neill, John (ed.) Black Gate: Issue #11
Overstreet, Jeffrey Auralia's Colors

P

Paolini, Christopher Eragon
Poole, Robert M. Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made
Pratchett, Terry Thud!; The Truth; Making Money
Priest, Christopher The Prestige
Proctor, William Moon Gate

Q

R

Ramsey, Dave The Junior Books
Reid, Thomas M. Forgotten Realms: The Gossamer Plain
Rivers, Francine Redeeming Love
Rosenberg, Joel Murder in LaMut
Rothfuss, Patrick The Name of the Wind
Ruckley, Brian Winterbirth; Bloodheir

S

Salvatore, R.A. Forgotten Realms: Road of the Patriarch; Forgotten Realms: The Orc King
Sayers, Dorothy Are Women Human?
Schlosser, Eric Fast Food Nation
Sehestedt, Mark (ed.) The Tales of the Last War
Setterfield, Diane The Thirteenth Tale
Seymour, James Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa
Shakespeare, William Henry V (Classical Comics Edition)
Smith, Alexander McCall The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Snyder, Maria V. Poison Study
Steves, Rick The Rick Steves' Travel Guide Series
Stusser, Michael The Dead Guy Interviews

T

Thurman, Rob Madhouse
Tremayne, Peter (see also Peter Ellis) Badger's Moon; Master of Souls; Smoke in the Wind
Twain, Mark The Innocents Abroad

U

V

Varley, John Rolling Thunder
Venditti, Robert The Surrogates, Vol. 1

W

Walley, Chris The Shadow and Night
Waltz, Jason M. (ed.) Return of the Sword
Ward, James M. Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe
Weldon, David Moon Gate
Wells, Martha The Death of the Necromancer
West, Michelle The Hidden City
Wiesel, Elie Night
Williams, Tad Shadowmarch
Winchester, Simon Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire
Withrow, Mindy and Brandon Monks and Mystics

X

Y

Yancey, Philip The Gift of Pain

Z

Zakour, John The Blue-Haired Bombshell

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Book Review: Life@Work by John Maxwell

Author: John Maxwell
Genre: Non-fiction
Topic: Self-Help, Business
Pub. Date: May 2005
Format: Hardcover, 242pp
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

John Maxwell is a recognized authority on leadership and business. His many books detail how each person can be a better employee, boss, or person. Life@Work is no exception. Although the majority of Maxwell’s books focus on executives, or those who wish to be executives, Life@Work is written for any employee.

Using Biblical narratives, personal anecdotes, and Scripture, Maxwell and his colleagues work to show us that the best way for us to be good employees is to use our skill, find our calling, serve wholeheartedly, and have a strong character. These four elements are the core principles taught in Life@Work.

The work itself is poorly written. Like most self-help books, there is a lot of self-actualization with a smattering of Christian Scripture. It is unexceptional in this regard. Additionally, because there are actually three authors, it is never clear who the speaker is at any one moment. Many of the anecdotes are personal, but to whom? I also found the organization of the thoughts hard to follow; things were said twice or more often, and in different sections. Although this was probably meant to add continuity to the book, it actually made it hard to understand how one positive or negative trait was different from another.

The principles taught here are valid, and even useful. I have heard these same thoughts espoused my entire life, so it was not useful to me. But to someone new to Christianity, or someone with no idea how to integrate faith and work, this easy to read work might come in handy.

Aggieland

I'm no Aggie fan (I've only been to Texas twice) but it turns out that Rachel is. One of the senior living facility properties that I work with is smack dab in the middle of Aggie country. I thought that this advertisement was very clever.

New Vocabulary

I have had to learn some pretty strange new words over the past few months. Legal documents just cannot be simple. Everything has to have it's own special terminology. Here are a few:

Inter Alia

[Latin, Among other things.] A phrase used in pleading to designate that a particular statute set out therein is only a part of the statute that is relevant to the facts of the lawsuit and not the entire statute.

Interpleader

Interpleader is a form of action originally developed under equity jurisprudence. It allows a plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit in order to compel two or more other parties to litigate a dispute. An interpleader action originates when the plaintiff holds property on behalf of another, but doesn't know to whom the property should be transferred. It is often used to resolve disputes arising under insurance contracts.

Indemnity

Indemnity is a legal exemption from the penalties or liabilities incurred by any course of action. For example, after wars, the losers have sometimes been required to pay indemnities. An insurance payout is often called an indemnity, or it can be insurance to avoid paying expenses in case of a lawsuit.

Force Majeure

Force majeure (French for "greater force") is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees one or both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as war, strike, riot, crime, act of God (e.g., flood, earthquake, volcano), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. However, Force Majeure is not intended to excuse negligence or other malfeasance of a party, as where non-performance is caused by the usual and natural consequences of external forces (e.g., predicted rain stops an outdoor event), or where the intervening circumstances are specifically contemplated.

Trustee

The word trustee is a legal term that refers to a holder of property on behalf of some other beneficiary.

byFaith Needs Subscribers!

I'm about to write a shameless plug, but only because I truly believe in the magazine.

byFaith Magazine, the magazine of the PCA, is in need of subscribers. In the interest of full disclosure, my wife works as their subscription editor.

byFaith does not have the roster of subscribers that it originally planned to have at this time, and it needs them in order to keep it's doors open.

If you already a subscriber, please promote the magazine in your church and among your Christian friends. Subscribers are not limited to PCA members and the articles are applicable to anyone who is of the Reformed tradition. Your recommendation would go a long way to increasing subscribership.

Please help us keep this magazine going. I enjoyed it for its own sake long before my wife went to work there (in fact, that's why she went to work there) and want to see it continue.

Their are two ways to subscribe. You can do so online for the price of $19.95 for 6 issues (1 year). Follow this link.

The second way you can sign up is to get a group of folks together from your church (as few as 5) and sign up at the church subscription rate of $14 for six issues. Call my wife at (678) 825-1000 or email editor@byfaithonline.com to subscribe your church group.

You can also donate. The Maclellan Foundation has promised to give byFaith $75,000 if byFaith can match that amount in donations of $1,000 or less from individuals. I have already given as much as I can this year, but this money must be raised by the end of the year. They are already over halfway there but still need to raise almost $45,000.

Please consider subscribing. It's cheap (the cost of a pizza night) and a fun and interesting read. Give a gift subscription to a poor college friend or seminary student. It's the subscriptions that count, not the money raised. Click on any of the pictures in this document and you'll be taken right to the website.

Below you will find a description of the magazine and you can see more at byFaith.

ByFaith is the bi-monthly magazine of the Presbyterian Church in America. In every issue readers will find departments and features that are interesting, and applicable to their everyday lives, including:

News reported primarily from PCA churches, presbyteries, and ministries. But also other news of interest to those who view the world from a Christian and Reformed perspective.

In the World brings a Reformed perspective to the social and theological issues that influence our society, business, science, education, law, technology...

Theology for Ordinary Life deals with the ministry of life at home, at work, at church, and in the community discussing how, in our day-to-day tasks, we become a part of God?s redemptive plan.

Art & Culture presents a biblical perspective on art, music, books, television, movies enabling us to engage others naturally, and from a Christian point of view.

In the Church/PCA People provides profiles and stories from our congregations, committees, and agencies. In these areas of the magazine we hope to create connections within the PCA: names, phone numbers, email addresses where readers follow-up and learn more.

If you live in Chattanooga

...you might be interested in this article.
This is a company I work with. It will be a really great little community. You can see the actual news article here.

Artful Accounting

I have discovered, since taking my new job at Cornerstone, that accounting is more of an art than a science. Oh, its true that mathematical equations are a part of it, and that there are absolutes in the numbers, but you can make those numbers say just about anything you want it to, and that many of the calculations are based on assumptions that can change from one day to the next.

I say this because I have had to rework the numbers on a particular project at least six times in the last three days, based on different sets of assumptions. And I am just doing financial analysis! I guess that is how Enron and Worldcom got into trouble. They created a set of assumptions to create the numbers they wanted, even while staying true to GAAP! It’s a wonder what you can make the financial statements with just a little tweaking.

You know, I bet most of what we assume is absolute really isn’t especially when it comes to numbers or science. Perhaps our faith in such absolutes comes from the teaching of our parent’s modern worldview (which they imparted to us) and the humanistic outlook of both modern and postmodern thinking. I bet that the great mathematicians and scientists are the ones who figure this out. Most of us in high school biology or physics always tried to follow the rules and never progressed beyond that basic knowledge to the art beyond the principles.

Certainly there are absolutes, since God created a structured world, but human constructs (allowed by God) seem to be more art than fact. I wonder what this means for education, and how we should teach? Should we stop trying to teach absolutes in the sciences and allow art to flow into them? We wouldn’t reject sets of principles or assumptions, just identify them as such rather than calling them rules that must be followed. It works in accounting and language (especially English, grammar “rules” are crap) why not the “hard” sciences?

Cooper Life

To see an article in the Dallas news about one of the properties that the company I work for is participating in developing and financing, follow the link.

Cooper Life @ Craig Ranch

The Craig Ranch link is here.

Masterworks Tours

I added a new blog link today. Masterworks Tours is a hobby of my father's which is slowly becoming a business. We provide European tours for high-school homeschooling families at a reasonable (some would say cheap) price. So far we have visited Vienna, London, Rome, and Germany. This year we are going to Madrid and Granada, Spain for the first time in addition to providing a London trip. We don't go on every trip every year, as we have a lot of repeat customers (and they don't want to go to the same place twice).

This is not about profit as we don't really profit at all. We wanted to provide opportunities for high-school homeschoolers to see the world they study. We focus on art, architecture, and history in our tours. A traveler only has to pay and attend. We lead and set up all travel arrangements.

Sorry, that's a little promo. Anyway, the new link is to the blog I just set up for participants that allows them to share their thoughts on traveling, provide recommendations for books to read and movies to watch, links to websites, and just keep in touch before, during and after the trip.

If you are a traveler and have the roamer's blood, please keep up with the blog, and make suggestions and show these youngsters how to travel in style at a reasonable price.