Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault Newman

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is mostly Omarosa’s memoir with a focus on her business and personal relationship with Donald Trump over the years.

The first half the book was well-written and compelling. The second half was basically a laundry list of the things that we all know Trump did. In general, it didn’t contain a lot of new information, but it seemed as neutral as anyone could possibly be on the topic of the 2016 Election and subsequent Trump administration. Omarosa was also on the Ready for Hilary campaign- and Trump himself was fairly recently a Democrat. At the same time, Omarosa was really game on for the Trump campaign (more on that later) so she's as neutral a reporter as we could hope for.

The biggest complaint a lot of readers have that I agree with is that Omarosa didn’t take enough responsibility for her role in the campaign. I'm not an Apprentice-watcher so I'm not familiar with her television alter-ego. I am familiar with her political leanings and volunteer work. I met her a few times in person. I have little doubt that she is basically a good religious person but with a big healthy dose of ambition. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious regardless of whether you're a man or woman. The problem is when ambition causes you to do things contrary to ethics/the golden rule for the sake of that ambition. I'm an attorney, don't tell me you have to sometimes to get ahead. There's nowhere worth getting that badly. It is possible, as she claims, that she was a little gaslighted into her position due to her long-term friendly and professional relationship with Trump, but even so, she should really take responsibility for her (albeit small) role in reaping destruction on the country. Absolutely everyone on his campaign should take responsibility. Absolutely everyone that voted for him should. Absolutely everyone that didn't vote should take responsibility. Absolutely everyone in his family that didn't try to steer him to a retirement home instead should take responsibility. But what I didn't enjoy reading was how it wasn't really Omarosa's fault because she didn't really do anything wrong. I mean, for one thing, I already read that one- the Comey book.

Don’t read this if you’re looking for new information. Don’t read it if you have some irrational hatred for Omarosa because then nothing will sink in anyway. Read it if you’re curious how an intelligent person with a relatively neutral political stance viewed the events in real time.

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The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would have given this at least 4 stars if it had been edited to a reasonable length, with less repetition. Despite what many of the reviewers suggested, it wasn't a fully one-sided account of free trade. Though Friedman's position was mostly pro-free-trade (most economists are pro), he did discuss problems and inequalities that arise and acknowledged the complexities of free trade. The book was also pretty thorough, discussing not just government policy, but also technology, education, cultural attitudes, and even terrorism. I'd recommend it but only if you're prepared to do the hard hard work of slogging through.

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The Starr Report by Kenneth W. Starr

The Starr Report: The Findings Of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr On President Clinton And The Lewinsky Affair by Kenneth W. Starr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought I wrote a review of this but I can't find it anywhere. Probably I was just too horrified after reading (horrified by both Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr). First of all, this reads like a smutty romance turned crime thriller so prepare yourself for that. It's dirty but definitely not hot, so I don't think Starr has a future as a romance writer.

Second, I was disappointed to realize, in retrospect, that Bill Clinton probably should have been impeached because he clearly broke the law. The issue isn't that he was cheating on his wife, nor was it the power dynamics with Monica Lewinsky, whatever you may think about that (3rd-wave-feminist-consenting-adult-view versus the concept that she was a low-level intern and her job was negatively impacted). The issue is that he was being deposed in one of his many sexual harassment lawsuits and he lied about related and relevant questions regarding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. On top of lying in a sworn deposition, he almost definitely committed the relevant sexual harassment (Gennifer Flowers I think?). Though isn't it almost charming in retrospect that Clinton let himself be deposed and allowed an impeachment to proceed against him? History is definitely going in the wrong direction.

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Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Henry Cloud has been writing about this since the 1990s so it's not new or shocking information. I found that it was written better than Cloud's books though and therefore more interesting and inspiring.

Could have been a little shorter though! Ha!

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Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The beginning of the book bills itself as an inspiring tale that will bring you closer to God, but I found it to quite the opposite. There's a lot of ambiguity as to what happened but in the version at the end, humanity and life are revealed to brutish and cruel and the idea of God just an inspiring story. The overall impression I got is of an atheist trying to write a story about how great the idea of God is.

PS. If that's what you're looking for, I prefer The End of the Affair and Gilead for inspiring fictional books about God.

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The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I like the psychology of this book. Right away you know the wife thinks her husband is an asshole, but you're not certain of all the dimensions of her distaste for him. By the end, I'd come to see it as more of a dance between the two of them. She is far from blameless in their arrangement, she gets something from it too, even if she chooses to blame her husband for it completely and not take much responsibility for what she chooses to do and what she chooses to allow.

Bit of a spoiler alert- don't read if you haven't read the book!:
I noticed one of the reviews said that the book leaves things somewhat unresolved but to me it seems the opposite. Everything is completely resolved. The main character- the wife, Joan Castleman - is also the author of the tale. (I am not saying that Meg Wolitzer is Joan Castleman, I'm saying that the internal fiction is that you are reading Joan's finished novel.)

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Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam M. Grant

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam M. Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the more interesting "business books" I've read, though some of the information is contradictory, and the topics are not as cohesive as suggested by the theme of recognizing investment winners or being a successful innovator. I'd still recommend this book to a manager for ideas. I read this as part of the new GW Alum Book Club and it's probably their best pick so far.

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The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really unique and interesting account of a woman from her early childhood through her maturation and the accomplishment of her career goals. Not the sort of thing you'd expect from a 1910's frontier novel.

The main character is Thea Kronborg, a musician and singer. Everyone else in the book is in her orbit. Her family, her teachers, supporters, and men who love her in different ways. One thing that was difficult in reading the book is that Thea didn't have female friendships outside of her mother and aunt.

The book could have been edited down a lot. The adult portion, especially, seemed to meander. But overall, well worth reading. I've been reading Willa Cather's books in order so now it's on to My Ántonia!

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How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics by Michael Pollan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really interesting book. Though it's central theme is psychedelics, it's topic is really consciousness, the experience of being, the fear of death, willpower, and mental illness. The book was well-written as Pollan never disappoints. I definitely found new information and the book definitely challenged some of my assumptions about the world.

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No Baggage by Clara Bensen

No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale of Love and Wandering by Clara Bensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I heard about this book back when it came out because it got a lot of media attention for the gimmick of the book which is that two people that just started dating travel Europe together with no luggage. A minimalism book meets travelogue. In reality, the book is more about her existentialism, her strange romance with her travel companion, and a little bit about mental illness. She a very good writer so the existentialism is especially fun to read. The romance was a little difficult to read as her romantic companion is in turns withholding and teasing, and that is totally not my scene.

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Get the Truth by Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, Susan Carnicero, Don Tennant

Get the Truth: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Persuade Anyone to Tell All by Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, Susan Carnicero, Don Tennant, Peter Romary (Commentary)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The main premise is that the best way to extract true information is to do so in a friendly non-combative and nonjudgmental way. Useful and interesting as long as you DO NOT SKIP THE APPENDIX. (Except, you can skip the transcript of the real OJ interview though- interesting but not necessary.) I worry that anyone who reads this would be more resistant to interrogation though.

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The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Started off promisingly, but then all the numerous examples got boring. In addition, the guy who walked and took a vow of silence was inscrutable. Was he mentally ill?

Finally, the author did not examine any contrary point of view, such as the Buddhist belief that desire is the root of suffering. This, despite the author acknowledging that many of the quests felt like a bit of a letdown once they were completed.

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Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner

Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey Off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The author has a really interesting life, and after the beginning of the book I thought she’d have corresponding interesting views. Unfortunately, the book was mostly platitudes and verbiage. She sounds like a wonderful person, but she has just begun to scratch the surface of the promise of her book: the significance of how we choose to live in the face of our mortality.

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The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author is an expert in neuroscience and statistics so the book was clearly going to be the kind that engages me. Tons of interesting and new information. My main problem was that chapter to chapter the topics didn’t feel cohesive. I felt like I was reading a series of essays about human neurology and psychology in the current era. There was not a driving thesis in the book, and even the self-help aspect ebbed and waned.

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