How to Win Friends & Influence People
This book was first published in 1936, and we certainly have not become a more genteel society since then. I wonder what Carnegie would think of the internet and its trolls. For much of the book I could imagine people hearing the advice and thinking, “Yes! This is how other people should treat me!” But of course that’s not the point. The point is that if you treat other people this way, you will benefit. Sometimes this will be through convincing people to come around to your way of thinking, but more often just by spreading good will. Had this book been written a few decades later, I’m sure karma would have been mentioned more than once.
Though a couple of the techniques described might come off as passive-aggressive today, by and large it’s a good resource – a good reminder for how to deal with other people, to give and receive criticism gracefully, and generally improve your attitude. I hereby recommend it to everyone on the planet. In return, I will attempt to practice its principles in my own life more often. I can’t promise I’ll always be successful – three decades of acerbity do not disappear overnight, after all – but I can try.
Also posted on BookCrossing.
by Robert M. Pirsig: There are several layers to this book. The outermost layer is a cross-country motorcycle trip Pirsig takes with his son, Chris. I probably enjoyed this part of the book the most, traveling vicariously through states I’ve never visited. Pirsig’s occasional descriptions of the scenery and people is refreshingly frank. The next layer is a series of talks Pirsig conducts in his head while riding the motorcycle. Most of this is a discussion of Quality. Since most of the book is spent describing this concept I won’t go into it here. The innermost layer is the life story of Phaedrus, a man whose past continually haunts Pirsig and serves as a backbone for his concept of Quality. Now that I’ve finished it, I don’t feel particularly enlightened. I think I may have gotten more out of this book had I read it when it first came out, or perhaps if I were at all familiar with the existing schools of philosophical thought. Having never read Aristotle or Socrates, I can’t say whether or not Pirsig’s arguments against them have any merit. My favorite parts were when he was less zen and more motorcycle maintenance, especially the course on Gumptionology 101. That made me smile. All in all, this isn’t the sort of book I could read for long stretches at a time, but rather something to dip into now and again. I’m glad to have read it, but I don’t think it’s something I would read again.
by Julia Cameron: I confess, I didn’t do this as a twelve-week course. I tried a couple times, but realized that I was never going to be able to set aside three months for a self-guided class, so I went ahead and read it straight through. I suspect I waited too long, as I am not creatively blocked anymore. The ideas in the book are very good – the morning pages in particular are a useful habit to have. I wish there was a little less God talk, but the cover did warn me that this was a “spiritual journey” so I can’t really complain. The thing is, so many of the things attributed to God don’t have to be – for instance, unblocking your creativity doesn’t necessarily mean that God’s giving you more opportunities, just that you’re more open to spotting and pursuing said chances. But anyway, if you want to be more creative and just can’t seem to get yourself to do it, try this out. It certainly can’t hurt.
by Lawrence Lessig: Copyright law! That’s right, folks, I read a book about copyright law. And a fascinating book, at that. Lessig takes us through the ins and outs of these ever-changing rules, sprinkled liberally with relevant examples. Should students be sued for their life savings for sharing music files? Should copyright automatically be renewed, even if the original holder is disinterested or even dead? Are fanart and fanfic actually a threat to creators of the content on which they are based? How does the internet change the way content is shared, and how should copyright law to reflect this? Lessig goes through this all in great detail. It’s an important book for most netizens, particularly those members of fandom.
by Ayn Rand: It’s a shame that an opinion about this book is taken as a political statement, because the story’s actually really good. In a nutshell: the government decides that competition is unfair and starts regulating trade and production. In response, the producers disappear one by one, abandoning (or destroying) their mines, factories, and mills. Chaos ensues. Our protagonist is Dagny Taggart, head of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad. Objectivist women are evidently hard to find; she had so many admirers I almost wanted to rename the book “Everybody Loves Dagny.” But that’s neither here nor there (though the sex scenes were a touch disturbing); it is she who struggles to keep her railroad running as increasing government regulation and a decreasing population of competent people bar the way. At times I was reminded of Animal Farm, which is no surprise considering Rand grew up in Bolshevik Russia. What starts with good intentions rapidly devolves into a miasma of bribes, favors, and threats. 
by Valerie Solanas: Why are manifestos so often written by crazies? This 50-page anti-male screed by the woman most famous for shooting Andy Warhol is, well, kind of hard to read. I can ignore the man hatred – that’s a matter of opinion – but many of her suggestions for improving the world are simply batty. First, that her notion of communism would work. It’s inconceivable that all the people of the world would work together towards Solanas’s idea of the common good. Second, “automation” does not mean zero work. Machines must be created and maintained. (Of course, I suppose Solanas would expect men to take care of this.) Third, old age is not a disease, and scientists do not hold the secret to immortality. That’s patently absurd. If they did, don’t you think these supposedly selfish and insecure men would have made themselves immortal by now? So in short, while this was a reasonably entertaining read in parts purely for the novelty factor, it’s not something I would recommend. They’re not dangerous ideas, merely nonsensical ones.