1. Tap Dancing to Work – Warren Buffett on Practically Everything 1955-2012. Collected and expanded by Carol Loomis. Loomis has been a Fortune journalist for many years. She mentioned in 1966 there was a little known hedge fund manager in Omaha. It was Warren Buffett and she had no idea that one day he would become the world’s greatest investor and a good friend. These are articles that she has written about Buffett for Fortune or that he has written himself. Loomis has given the reader her own point of view on many of the stories. Two of the most famous stories are about his friendship with Bill Gates and his ideas on inheritance and philanthropy. His decision to buy certain companies and to bypass others is good reading. His most harrowing experience was buying into Salomen, where he risked losing $700 million of Berkshire-Hathaway stock. Another interesting buy was Coca-Cola. The index is important to the book if you are interested in certain companies and the executives that run them. This is great reading.
2. Fresh Twenty – 20 Ingredients, Five Weeknight Meals and Health and Happiness by Melissa Lanz. Many cookbooks have been reviewed in Check Out Check In but this cookbook is different. The book started as an online web service focused on a whole foods lifestyle. The book shows you how to plan ahead and cook five weeknight dinners using 20 seasonal ingredients. One’s night’s roast becomes another night’s soup or pasta. The fresh 20 pantry includes 20 essentials that most cooks keep on hand. Lanz then lists vegetables that are in season. She plans the menu for the week before shopping. The fresh 20 used in summer are easy and many are cooked on the grill. Fall and winter have their fresh 20 fruits and vegetables to use. The recipes in each season were interesting and not so very different than you may imagine using in your own home. The listing of the vegetables and fruits in each season is a good reminder to try new ones you have not used before. Most recipes are for four, two adults and two children, making it easy to halve for two or fourth for one.
3. Lean In – Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg. This is a new book published in March 2013 and reprinted in March 2013 for the sixth printing. Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, the men still hold a large majority of the leadership positions in government and industry. Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook and ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 most powerful women in the world. This is a story of her business career and the situations she faced. It is written with humor and wisdom. The first chapter talks about the leadership gap and what would you do if you weren’t afraid. When there is a meeting, sit at the table and not in a chair by the wall. Think of your rise in the company not as a ladder but a jungle gym. In other words, try a new position in the company. If mistakes are made, be open to hearing the truth and take responsibility for them. Don’t leave before you have to. Having a baby can be worked out with your partner and it will be best for you both and the baby. Facebook has a sign in big red letters that declares “Done is Better than Perfect.” It reminds employees that we can’t do it all without help. Sandberg believes it is time to cheer on girls and women who want to sit at the table, seek challenges and lean in to their careers. Her last comment is “Let’s Keep Talking.”
Disclaimer: These books were reviewed by a Robson resident and may or may not be available at your local library. Please check with your local branch library for availability.