Let's Go (So We Can Get Back)

I expected Jeff Tweedy (frontman of Wilco) to be an eccentric, out of touch with “normal” life events, living “above” it all. Not sure why I thought that? Maybe because his music feels experimental or his poetry occasionally seems uninterpretable to me?

But, to my surprise, what I learned is that, Jeff Tweedy is a funny, self-deprecating, family man who has had his share of successes and failures, happy times, and sad times.

Like the rest of us, he has watched parents die, seen friendships fall away, been unfairly judged, and judged others unfairly. He treats the breakup of Uncle Tupelo as fate, but he does recognize his actions and his role in creating a dysfunctional relationship. He addresses his drug addiction honestly, with the right amount of detail to make it a good story and a cautionary tale at the same time. He describes his creative process in enough detail to illustrate that it is part genius and part hard work.

After reading this Let's Go, So We Can Get Back, I like Jeff Tweedy as a person, in addition to his music. And, want to dive even more into the later Wilco albums. 

I’d recommend this book to any rock 'n' roll fan looking for an autobiography of how music has been made over the last 20 years. 

I was not particularly motivated or inspired by the book.

This book got published because the word “fuck” is used so many times. There is a market for this kind of provocative language. Honestly, the book felt like reading link bait.

I have not written a book. But, I know it is challenging. So, I give Mark Manson points for doing something I have not done. But, beyond that, the content is not new, nor are the lessons novel.

I wouldn’t recommend this book.

My stepfather and I started making pizza at about the same time in the early 2000s. We have, and continue to make, lots of pizza. We have worked with each other to develop dough recipes, shared starter, and critiqued each other's technique. 

It is a shame he wasn't at my house the night I caught the oven on fire, "We are going out to eat!" He laughs when I tell the story because he has done the same. We love making pizza. I currently live in TX. The land that pizza forgot... 

This book hit the spot. 

The Pizza Bible is a great book about making pizza (and there are many good ones). 

If you are passionate about pizza, read this book! Tony does a great job of explaining the techniques, the science, and the methods of making great pizza (I should hope so from a guy who is the 12-time world pizza champ). I learned a lot from this book about how long to proof the dough (two days!) to how to turn your oven into a wood-fired facsimile.

I will say, that in my own pizza journey, I came to some of the same conclusions Tony does - baking steel is awesome, use "00" flour for Neapolitan pizza, fewer ingredients on the pizza is actually more. But, The Pizza Bible puts it all together  to effectively jumpstart your pizza engine.

For presentation novices (or even masters) this is a must-read book...

The recurring theme of How to Wash a Chicken by Tim Calkins is that presentations can make or break your career. Tim is absolutely right! I've seen this play out in both my career and the careers of many others. In fact, based on that, I'd buy this book for my entire team.

How to Wash a Chicken is full of practical advice that is gold for a novice presenter and a fantastic review for the expert presenter. It is also loaded with resources to help you continue improving your presentation chops.

Just like Tim's first book, Breakthrough Marketing Strategies, this one should be sitting on your desk, written full of notes, Post-It Notes popping out, with dog-eared pages.

Jeff Evans is an amazing guy. His story is exciting and adventurous, as you would hope from a professional adventurer. But, his stories are also poignant and thoughtful. 

He excels at taking his experiences on sides of mountains, many of the them absolutely crazy, and relating them to leadership and life lessons that are deep, meaningful, and helpful as we navigate through the daily challenges big and small.

Not every word of Mountain Vision is masterful, but that is also what makes this book great. Reading Mountain Vision, I can see him learning how to write and find his voice. 

It is honest and authentic, and a helluva lot of fun to read.