Siena Holiday Reads & Films
Part of a holiday is about playing catch up with books and films you should have
read or seen.
I began collecting books to read back in March and brought most of them with me.
Here's a selection I actually managed to finish:
A Delicate Truth ****
by John Le Carre
From the Master maybe his last. I gobbled up the last quarter unsure what would
happen
The New Digital Age **
by Eric Schmidt
Slightly boring
Perfect CV****
by Max Eggert
Excellent guide
Fractured Times**
by Eric Hobsbawm
Disappointing collection of more recent speeches and essays over the past decade
put together posthumously
Return of a King *****
by William Dalrmyple
Outstanding scholarship & writing; wonderful, wonderful read
Stumbling Giant *****
by Timothy Beardson
Stimulating read doubt if there has been a better book on modern China
Predatory Thinking ****
by Dave Trott
Very thoughtful in a predatory way
Networks of Courage and Hope ****
by Manuel Castells
Wonderful analysis of the new forms of world democracy
The Victory Lab ****
by Sasha Issenberg
Fascinating & Brilliant
Istanbul: Memories & The City****
by Orhan Pamuk
Nobel prize winning author on his life and times: you can smell Istanbul on
every page
Change ***
by Richard Gerver
Enjoyable romp through his life's experience as a head teacher and his
subsequent move to self employment as a leadership guru
Future Perfect ***
by Steven Johnson
Strange kind of book which has been popularized by Gladwell et al.
CrowdSourcing**
By Jeff Howe
One of the first of its type when published first in 2008; some of us are just
later to the dance floor
The Wisdom of Crowds****
By James Surowiecki
Fourteen reprints tells you something about the intelligence in this book and
the power of crowds. Very thoughtful indeed
Noise ****
By David Hendy
A human history of sound and listening - fascinating and illuminating read
Success the LoveFilm Way ***
By Simon Calver
Despite a rather dreary design this was a combination of a How to and an
autobiography but it worked. A stimulating read for anyone working with a start
up (like Crowdbnk)
To Save Everything Click Here **
By Evgeny Morozov
A deep thinker about Internet issues but like other American based writers takes
the First Amendment as the starting point. Europeans think differently about the
net.
Big Data****
By Viktor Mayer-Schonberger & Kenneth Cukler
These big players on the data scene have written an exciting book but their
conclusions are flawed. We own our own data and it is time the EU brought
forward legislation to protect us from the likes of Google and Facebook. Also
30-35 of Americans and 20% of Brits have never been online and they have rights
to be considered.
Zero Sum World ****
By Gideon Rachman
Brilliant analysis post 2008 Crash
A Private Sphere: Democracy in a Digital Age **
By Zizi A. Papacharissi
Hard going in places but some interesting pointers
Holiday Films (DVD)
Quartets ***
Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Pauline Collins and Billy Connolly
Directed by Dustin Hoffman
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
No real surprises a bit hammy
Hyde Park on Hudson *
Bill Murray, Samuel West & Olivia Coleman
Directed by
Screenplay by
Amour *****
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva & Isabelle Huppert
Directed by Michael Haneke
Winner Palme D'Or 2012
Screenplay by
Wonderful with a surprising ending
The Spirit of '45 ****
Directed by Ken Loach
Loved it.