November Reading List

Just last night I finished reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and decided it was high time to update My Bookshelf with what I’ve been reading lately.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is not a breezy read, nor, sadly, does it have much to do with motorcycles or Zen.  I should have paid more attention to the authors note, which I’ve included here:

What follows is based on actual occurrences.  Although much has been changed for rhetorical purposes, it must be regarded in its essence as fact.  However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice.  It’s not very factual on motorcycles either.

That being said you will not be disappointed if you pick this book up.


Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
by Robert M. PirsigI've tried to summarize this book for a couple of people, and have come up woefully short in every attempt. A few of the key points that I did extract from Zen are:
  • Where do ideas come from?
  • What is Quality? Is it subjective, objective, or something else?
  • Does our system of education really teach people anything, or are people rewarded for actually not learning and regurgitating?
However, the one idea that I’ve run into a few different times, in a few different texts can best be summed up by a webcomic from xkcd: Dad, where is Grandpa now?

Deadeye Dick: A Novel
by Kurt ConnegutI have thoroughly enjoyed every Vonnegut book I have picked up thus far, and Deadeye Dick did not disappoint. I enjoy Vonnegut’s pacing, sense of humor, and overall style. In true Vonnegut style, around 50 pages in he tells you how the book is going to end...I always may know the destination, but I never know how he is going to take me there. If you are also working your way through Vonnegut’s collective works do not skip past Deadeye Dick.

Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai
by Ben Mezrich
I have a thing with people named ‘Ben’...I’m sure its mostly me and not them, but I have a thing. I have yet to met another person named 'Ben' that I liked. It begs to be asked, if I ran into myself would I like me? Think about the recursive loop that little meeting could spin into... Or, or pickup Rigged by Ben Mezrich. This Ben might be one of the few I might enjoy if I were to ever meet him in real life. You may or may not know Mezrich from his more widely known book 21: Bringing Down the House - Movie Tie-In: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. ::...if you haven’t had the chance to enjoy Bringing Down the House, Mezrich’s first widely known outing, skip the movie they based off his book and grab yourself an excellent Vegas thriller.:: Mezrich brings his signature storytelling style to his latest outing. Mezrich starts with an Ivy league grad seeking direction in his life and places him in the middle of dark underground world full of colorful people and larger than life events. When I pickup a Mezrich book by this point I know the formula, I just don’t know what he will plug in for characters, locations, and main ‘event’. In Rigged we start with a recent Harvard Business School graduate, graduating into one of the worst job market for MBAs, the fall 2002. Take said graduate and introduce him to a powerful person, head of the NYMEX, inject a little oil trading, and let the fun commence! Its not a bad formula...I’ve grown to enjoy it.