Value Investing, by James Montier

The contrast between this and the previous book I read on the subject couldn't be more stark: Montier's collection of articles assumes an understanding of finance and investing basics, and rather than explaining what value investing is, he colorfully argues what it is not.

Not for everyone, I found Montier amusing and interesting, but not the go-to guide book for forming your own value investing model.

Value Investing, Bruce Greenwald, et al

Not so great. (Admittedly, I've been out with a bad case of the flu, this is my first read since, and I may be cranky.) The analyses of WD-40 and Intel were interesting. The rest of the book just left me empty.

Last Man Standing, by David Baldacci

The plot is complicated, the ending is weak. For my very long flight, though, it was just fine. Not much more to say about it.

The Last Surgeon, by Michael Palmer

Horrible; please don't waste your time with this !

The End of Wall Street, by Roger Lowenstein

This is almost a great book on the recent economic downturn and its origins. Almost because Lowenstein does a sub-par job explaining CDOs and their structure and role in the crisis. It is other than that well written and engaging, and worth looking at.

The Traffickers, by W. E. B. Griffin

Let me put it in one word: mediocre.

A bit tough to read, not entirely sympathetic characters. A plot movement toward the end that was completely inconsistent with the prior character developments.

Maybe slightly less than mediocre.

Tactical Pistol Shooting, by Lawrence & Pannone

This is a gem, my new favorite book on shooting techniques. There may be some controversy, as the authors suggest both-eyes-open shooting. This takes some practice, it forces a front sight -centric approach, and it feels very different than non-dominant-eye-closed aiming where the sight picture is crisper.

I tried it today with acceptable results, albeit not as good as using my dominant eye only. So I'll keep working on this for a while and see how quickly improvement comes before I make a long-term decision.

Meanwhile, I recommend this book. It covers more than just stance and technique.

The Midnight House, by Alex Berenson

Ahh, what a wonderful thing to read a well crafted spy thriller. Berenson is consistently good; this one has less action and a lot more thoughtfulness than the last one.

Prefabulous + Sustainable, by Sheri Koones

A bit of a let down after reading Johnston & Gibson on this topic: Koones is much more political, less engineering -credible, and then again, less maniacal about minimizing energy footprint. I should have known this when I saw that Robert Redford wrote the introduction: what does an actor / director know about engineering or building construction?

Still, the photos are excellent, some of the layouts are interesting, and there are some good pointers to follow up, such as on insulated concrete form foundations, rubber flooring, the use of native plants for landscaping, and the Fortified program.

Toward a Zero Energy Home, by David Johnston & Scott Gibson

This is a terrific book: interesting, credible, thought-provoking. Reading it made me very interested in building a near-zero energy home, or at least in understanding even more on the topic.