The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty

Lens. Some companies look for growth from places where consumption can be observed. In their book titled, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty, Clayton Christiansen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon, offer a different lens to consider. They provide loads of examples of looking for situations of non-consumption and providing innovative solutions that provide expanded markets and stable growth. Along that path, underdeveloped communities can escape from poverty and become self-sufficient. Few business writers understand innovation as well as Christensen, and this book will help many business leaders ask and answer questions about market engagement. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Prosperity Paradox from amazon.com.

Machines Like Me

Turing. Intelligent and thoughtful readers are those most likely to appreciate Ian McEwan’s novel titled, Machines Like Me. Many of us wonder about how different the world might have been if certain events turned out differently. In the 1980s setting for this novel, among other changes, Great Britain loses the Falklands War, and Alan Turning lives. Protagonist Charlie inherits some money and uses it to purchase Adam, an early automated human life form. McEwan riffs on the Turing test, and allows readers to consider how the full cast of characters measure up to living a good life and being a good human. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Machines Like Me from amazon.com.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Marsh. While I’ve noted that Delia Owens’ debut novel titled, Where the Crawdads Sing, has been on the best seller list for almost a year, I didn’t settle down to read it until a few days ago. Owens offers readers the full life of protagonist Kya Clark, who lived for six decades in the marsh on the coast of North Carolina. The setting is described with such care that most readers will visualize the place where Kya lives. For much of the plot, there’s a mystery to solve, and Owens fills the space around that core with pulling readers deeper into understand all the complexity of this interesting protagonist who battles for survival in a difficult environment. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Where the Crawdads Sing from amazon.com.

Little Faith

Children. After I finished reading Nickolas Butler’s novel titled, Little Faith, I thought a lot about faith and family, and the range of behaviors that take place when there is harmony and when there is discord. Children are at the core of this novel. The death of a son led protagonist Kyle Hovde away from his Lutheran faith in rural Wisconsin. After his adopted daughter, Shiloh, moves in with Kyle and his wife, Peg, Kyle gets a chance to love another child, Shiloh’s son, Isaac. Shiloh is drawn into a religious community and under the influence of a powerful minister. This pastor believes that Isaac has healing powers, and the family enters a period of discord. Butler builds each character with recognizable and relatable complexity and draws readers into this great story of faith and family, centered on the love of children. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Little Faith from amazon.com.

Out of the Dark

Survival. The fourth Orphan X novel by Gregg Hurwitz is titled, Out of the Dark. Someone in government with a lot of power is taking action to eliminate everyone involved in the Orphan Program. Protagonist Evan Smoak, Orphan X, now known as the Nowhere Man, knows exactly who’s behind this effort, and decides to take that person out. This fight involves two opponents with vastly different resources and capabilities. Hurwitz maintains tension throughout a fast-paced plot. Readers who enjoy thrillers are those most likely to enjoy this novel and this series. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Out of the Dark from amazon.com.

The Reservoir Tapes

Connected. The quirky exploration of an ordinary place and a missing girl that Jon McGregor began with his novel titled, Reservoir 13, continues with a new book titled, The Reservoir Tapes. McGregor offers fifteen perspectives of members of this small community. In this second novel, McGregor helps readers see how a tragedy can fade into the background life of any community. The village we met in the first novel seems very different in the second. McGregor first presented this narrative on BBC Radio 4, and some readers may want to receive the text in audio rather than print form. I found that hearing helped me appreciate McGregor’s skill in capturing the cadences of everyday speech, while connecting the pieces to allow us to gain insight into how people reveal their inner selves. While this novel stands on its own, when read in conjunction with the earlier novel, a reader can appreciate the breadth of McGregor’s writing expertise. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Reservoir Tapes from amazon.com.

Halibut on the Moon

Insight. One reason we read fiction is to gain insight into human nature, to understand people just like us, and people who are very different from us. In his novel titled, Halibut on the Moon, David Vann pulls readers into a family for whom mental illness defined their world. Readers become swept up in the swings from depression to euphoria, and in the sensation of being out of control. Vann captures the pain of mental illness with insight and writes with great skill. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Halibut on the Moon from amazon.com.