### In the Plex

Eh, fairly dry reporting of the events that happened to the company Google. Nothing much revolutionary or revealing about the motivations of the company from my perspective.

Though I may be to far into technology to recognize what isn’t common knowledge about the people at Google and what makes it what it is. Also since this book was written many more privacy issues have come to the front at Google so…maybe I’m jaded by my lack of trust for them now.

I actually didn’t even bother to check out the Facebook one the library had waiting for me because this one was so boring.

Purchase In the Plex: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781416596585?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416596585/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### Why I Read

Stopped part way through I just didn’t get what the author was trying to say at all. She cited lots of books as examples that I had never read so the examples didn’t make sense.

Purchase Why I Read: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250062093?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0374289204/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### Apartment

This is a story about two writers. One helps the other one out, then things get odd after a sexual encounter with two ladies. Then things go downhill. Kind of just ends and everyone goes on their own way.

Purchase Apartment: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781635574005?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1635574005/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### The Tao of Bill Murray

You’re probably mostly looking for the middle bit where they tell stories about crazy stuff Murray has done. That part runs about 150 pages. The rest is filmography which isn’t bad, but the gold is in the stories before.

The author tries to frame the story in some ethos of Bill, but that felt like a stretch.

Just sit back and enjoy the stories.

Purchase The Tao of Bill Murray: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780812998702?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812998707/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### The God Delusion

If you are a person of faith and are worried about reading a book by an atheist, maybe you don’t have such a good handle on your views. That’s why I read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I’ll say that it challenged many of my views about church and God and I’m thinking about the content of the book going forward. Watch for a full review of this book coming up.

Purchase The God Delusion: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780618680009?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618680004/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### BilioTECH

If you’ve been interested in libraries and what they represent in society, this was a good book. It looks at how libraries have evolved and what the challenges are that they face currently.

Purchase BiblioTECH: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781494584726?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0465042996/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### Boys & Sex

Yeah this was a hard one to read, simply because of the content. It’s about how men are socialized, specifically around sex. How the language they use is not about sex, but about showing masculinity and status through control of a woman’s body. If you’ve had tough sex experiences, then maybe don’t read this. If you’re a dude, read it because we need to change how we talk about sex and women.

Purchase Boys & Sex: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062666970?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062666975/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### The Screwtape Letters

I read this after The God Delusion, because it was one of the books recommended by Adam at the Bookman as a follow up to The God Delusion. He also recommended Mere Christianity. It’s been a while since I’ve read the book and there were a few good points in it, not just from a faith perspective but for your relationships in general. It feels like a book to read through every few years and stop to think when you get to a point that impacts what you’re going through. Much in the same way I thought [Stillness is the Key](https://curtismchale.ca/2019/11/27/achieving-stillness-in-the-turmoil-of-life-with-ryan-holiday) is a book to stop and sit with.

Purchase The Screwtape Letters: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780060652937?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062023179/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

### Shorter

Okay I’m not actually done this one yet, but it should be finished by the end of the month so I’m including it. I’ve already read the author’s other book [Rest](https://curtismchale.ca/2017/08/17/long-strong-career-want-marked-rest/), which I very much enjoyed. This is a bit of a follow up to questions that the author had from his first book. If you’re supposed to take more rest, how do you do that in a business where you don’t have as much control of your time? Shorter is all about answering that question through the process of design thinking. Watch for a full review of the book coming in a few weeks.

Purchase Shorter: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781541730717?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1541730712/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)

## TBR Shortlist

– So Good They Can’t Ignore You: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781455509126?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1541730712/?tag=blogcurtismchale-20)
– The Underground Girls of Kabul: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307952493?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/2QNoAFo)
– Quest in Paradise: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780718894849?aff=curtismchale)
– The Inconvienent Indian: [Independent Publisher](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781517904463?aff=curtismchale) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/39irTLv)