Evans' Book Reviews for 2022

Last year was possibly the busiest year of my life! We relocated our businesses down to Reidsville, NC (in the process consolidating our three Richmond locations into one 1m square foot facility down here). I and a baker's dozen of our Richmond employees personally moved down to Danville, Greensboro etc. We started/incubated a couple new companies (go figure) two of which are our largest bets yet (stealth), did a ton of hiring, grew our sales tremendously (even with the move) and in general overwhelmed our crew as best we could

However, even during that craziness, I managed to read. Not as much as I would have liked, only got through 33 books in 2022, but I loved it none-the-less. Here is a short (long) read on what I read, in order (kinda) of when I read them in 2022.

Silverview, John Le Carre - I started out 2022 with a throwback. If you know me, and how I read, I tend to pick an author, and work through their entire oeuvre over time. John Le Carre was one of my favorite authors in my early teens, working through works such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, showing a human side to tradecraft. Silverview didn’t disappoint. Sadly, published as a posthumous novel, we will never see Smiley, or others in Le Carre’s writing again, but what a ride he gave us.

The Cigarette: A Political History, Sarah Milov - I realized pretty quickly that for someone who had never smoked a Cigarette in my life, that purchasing a super historic former American Tobacco Company campus was a little out of my “discussion” based wheelhouse. Wanting to up my Tobacciana credentials I perhaps bit off a bit too much. This book was a literal TOME on how Big Tobacco integrated itselves into the lives of every American. I learned a lot on how lobbying and money matters in politics, and a little about Cigarettes.

War Against All Puerto Ricans, Nelson Antonio Denis - A sobering take on American colonial history. An eye opening read about one of our favorite travel destinations, it made me quite more contemplative the next time I visited Ponce.

The Devil’s Highway, Luis Alberto Urrea - Man, another book that doesn’t give you the warm and fuzzies about American policies. Heartbreaking read. No matter what side of the fence you are on regarding immigration policies, reading this book will make you realize that strong reform, both policy wise and actual security implementation wise are needed. Our borders are not secure, criminals are profiting off this, and unfortunate victims are dying as they try to make it this “land of opportunity” that we call home.

Liberty without Anarchy: A History of the Society of the Cincinnati - Minor Myers Jr. - Alright, back to being pretty proud of the US and our heritage here. As a newer member of the Society of the Cincinnati, I wanted to learn more about its history. Some great info here, and a great reminder that our nation exists mainly due to the effort of a few brave men, many of whom perished. Suggested reading by Stephen Mcleod, another fine fellow in the Society.

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, Tim Wu - An illuminating (ha) work recommended to me by Tuan Ho. It’s pretty awesome to see how information goes in and out of vogue.

The Rape of Ma Bell: The Criminal Wrecking of the Best Telephone System in the World, Constantine Raymond Kraus and Alfred Duerig - What a read, wanna talk about a “woman scorned,” try two former Bell Lab engineers scorned. A very decided take on how government actions can lead to unattended and unacceptable consequences in the private sector.

Heretics, G.K. Chesterton - One of my favorite theological writers, Chesterton rarely disappoints. He has a complex yet simple methodology of convincing his readers to listen.

The Blockchain Future, Robert B. Seymour - Eh, shrugs shoulders, didn’t really learn much here. Nothing wrong with the book, but I probably knew far more about the subject matter than I thought I did when starting it.

The Fairie Queen, Edmund Spenser, modernized and adapted for Children by Ben Shealy and illustrated by Anne Shealy. - My friend and advisor Ben Shealy, shares the same love of older literature as I do. Reading this great work as re-imaged by him and his wife, was a great pleasure. Well done Ben!

The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream, Charles Spencer - An interesting take on how a singular, seemingly random instance, can change the entire course of history. A great read, a deep dive into the politics of the time.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book III: Lesser Evil), Timothy Zahn - If you know me/the names of my companies, you know the adoration that I place on both Zahn and Thrawn. Though I appreciated the pre-Disney Legends eras of Thrawn, anytime Zahn writes a word down about the Chiss, I will be reading it

TinTin and the Land of the Soviets, Herge - I think I tried reading this comic in French once when I was much younger, somehow missing the English translation of this and TinTin in the Congo. I tracked this down this past year to finish out Herge’s work, though one of his original ones (still in Black and White) was a great harkening back to my childhood enjoyment of TinTin, Snowy and the crew.

Propaganda, Edward Bernays - A book that has influenced much good, "but much less good than ill." Bernays put together an important work here, sadly, some readers used it for terrible ends. Worth the read, tragic how this work by an American marketing guy, impacted Germany and the course of WW2.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Agatha Christie - I ask this question almost daily, I still haven’t quite figured out the answer yet. Fun little mystery novel to read.

Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana Jr - A great life experience, journalized and expounded upon in this 1840 work. Ben Shealy suggested this one as well.

The Sellout, Paul Beatty - Quite a weird, unique satire on politics, slavery, California, modernization, etc. I read this one on a plane to SDCC, and it was intriguing enough that I think I finished it before landing.

Flashman, Flashman and the Charge, Flashman and the Great Game, Royal Flash, Flashman and the Redskins, etc, George McDonald Fraser - I honestly lost count of how many Flashman books I read in 2022, they are just that fun. For someone raised on Henty, Kipling, Tennyson, reading Fraser’s take on this famous rake has been a satirical blast. And when you really boil it down, who really knows which portrayal is the more accurate take on a “proper English Gentleman” of those times?

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson - I somehow missed this book way back when it was published in 2008. Which is weird, because I’ve been an avid reader of Wired for a long time. This book is fantastic. I learned the precepts that Chris teaches in this book from the “real world” running a collectibles company for around ~20 years with over 50,000 SKUs in its catalog, but y’all can learn it just from reading a book! Highly suggest this book, great take on where the consumer appetite is, and has been.

A Place to Bury Strangers: Justin Kerr - My incredibly talented “da Vinci man” cousin wrote a damn good book! I actually rarely enjoy modern, mystery murder novels, but Justin knocked it out of the park with this one. I’ve suggested it to quite a few friends already, and am suggesting it to y’all now. Don’t sleep on this one!

The Witch’s Heart, Genevieve Gornichec - A beautiful read, a modern interpretation of classic Norse mythology. Brilliantly written, poetic in nature and fulfilling to consume. Who would have thought a CPA would recommend this book?

The Complete McAuslen, George McDonald Fraser - Probably one of the best laugh out loud books of my life. This satire just honestly gets me. Whether laughing at McAuslen himself, or the “generals who danced at dawn,” Fraser gives us a hysterical satirical historical read. Love it.

Red Rising, Pierce Brown - Joe Spisak suggested this book, what a fun read. I’m a harsh critic of most Sci-Fi works, but this one was enough of an entertaining fresh take to be enjoyable and new. I’ll slowly work through the remaining 5 in the series.

Evans Carlson, Marine Raider: The Man who Commanded America’s First Special Forces, Duane Schultz - I rarely criticize authors, however, the cadence and writing style of this book was lacking. Made even sadder because it’s portraying a great man with one of the best and rarest first names in history

Plays Well With Others: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships is (Mostly) Wrong, Eric Barker - A great suggestion from Nick. A relatively new take on how most of what we were “preached” to about the scientific methods of relationships is actually pretty wrong. Excited to read Eric’s other work in 2023.

A Confession, Leo Tolstoy - Rarely do I identify so readily with a perspective of a theological work. Tolstoy nails it on the head here with his evisceration of the “Church” and his acknowledgement of simple faith. I highly suggest this book.

The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan, Michael Hastings - Ugh, back to not feeling great about the US? When your politicians handcuff your ability to fight, you’re working with a corrupt “allied” government, and your own generals can’t keep custody on the chain of command? How are you going to win? Hastings answers that relatively simply, you are not a “rock star” you can’t. I’d love to see a post-script written by Hastings of our subsequent withdrawal and dismal failure there.

Hadji Murat, Leo Tolstoy - This is another Tolstoy work that I somehow failed to read in my youth. I wish I had found this “thistle” earlier on. What a great introduction to the Chechen/Russian conflict that has gone on for generations, and a great view into the incompetence of Imperial Russia.

Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys, Joe Coulombe - Finished 2022 with a bang. I rarely enjoy reading books about businesses. This and Shoedog are two that break that trend. Joe really wrote a book here that resonated with me/how our company has operated. We really do asymmetrically fit in with the “Big Guys” and reading how Trader Joe got their operational start was a blast. Man, do I wish I could get some of the wine they were selling in the 80’s at the prices they were buying for then.

If you made it this far reading my post, perhaps you too should pick up a book instead of scrolling through social media. Cheers to 2022 ~ Evans