February Books

February was a little bit more normal in terms of reading.  I read four books, including two quick-read "thrillers", one "serious" fiction book, and one non-fiction financial book.  Here's my list and a short review of each.

February

10. (2/6) The Scarecrow (Michael Connelly) - Got this recommendation from the Larry Swedroe 2010 book list.  A very fun, fast-paced thriller.  I stayed up way past my bedtime to read this one in about 24 hours.
11. (2/13) The Lion’s Game (Nelson DeMille) - I seem to be on a streak of thrillers.  I read the sequel to this book sometime last year, and then this one ended up in my house over the holidays.  Another fun one, but I think I would have liked it better if I hadn’t already known what was going to happen...
12. (2/19) Hush (Eishes Chayil) - I got this recommendation from Kristin Cashore’s blog.  This story of a young Orthodox Jew growing up in Brooklyn is both engrossing and a tough read.  I learned a lot about Jewish culture and mindset - useful considering that I work with a lot of Israelis!
13. (2/28) I Will Teach You To Be Rich (Ramit Sethi) - I finished this one just in time to count for February...  I’ve had this on my to-read list for a while.  I’ve been following Ramit’s blog for a few years, and I found his book to be surprisingly good.  I wouldn’t say that I learned much from it, but I thought he did a good job of presenting a framework for putting together a financial plan for people in their 20’s and 30’s.  It has the right priorities and a very reasonable investment philosophy.  This is actually very close to what I recommend to people, although Ramit is much more entertaining than I am on the topic.