Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good

   I love books like this. Sarah Lacy's description of "The Rebirth Of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0" (as her full title states) is a tale about entrepreneurs mainly, and their quest for multiple startup successes. Because I follow most of the people she focussed on via blogs and the interwebs, there was nothing too surprising to me in the book but it was a fun read nevertheless because of the details she provided about the humans behind the legends (or in some cases legends-in-the-making).

   Good stuff.

The Terror Presidency

   Another relatively quick read, Jack Goldsmith's book was very well-balanced.

   Since it had been sitting on my shelf for over a year, I had forgotten what point-of-view the author was coming from, having read rave reviews about it more than a year prior.

   I was struck by the evenhandedness that pervaded this entire book. It was clear from the beginning that Goldsmith cared a great deal about doing the right thing, not necessarily what the Bush administration wanted him to do, even as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel in Bush's Justice Department.

   Definitely interesting to read five days shy of Bush's departure from the White House and Obama's inauguration.

Teacher Man

   A New Year's resolution of mine is to read more books this year. I've always loved to read, and especially books (fiction, non-fiction, biography, you name it). But this past year has seen me drowning in periodicals and reading tons of blogs and online articles as well.

   So I started off the year by reading Frank McCourt's book about his thirty years in the New York school system.

   I have to admit I laughed out loud several times. His honesty and self-depracation throughout really made me like his character..him.

   I've often said that being a teacher is the most important job one can have and I stand by my criticism of the low rung on the pay scale that our society has placed the profession. If the Obama administration can do something about accelerating the work people like Michelle Rhee (in Washington, D.C.) are doing to bust the teachers unions in public schools, perhaps this will change. We'll see.