Some summer reading

With the end of classes, comes summer reading/ristening. So I figured I would share some of those books either started (I generally have 4 or 5 going at once.)

1. A Guide to Equity Index Construction by Daniel Broby. Good stuff. Will definitely be used in class next semester!
2. A Behavioral Approach to Asset Pricing by Harsh Shefrin. This one has been on by "to-read" list for a while. teaching SIMM in the fall gave me the kick I needed. It is the most technical of the books on the list but definitely have learned quite a bit and it will be useful in class! (Especially read the chapters on prospect theory).
3. Train your Mind, Change your Brain I am almost done with this. Very interesting! It fits perfectly with what I have always thought: namely you can teach an old dog new tricks, and the brain (and body for that matter) is much more flexible then traditional thought has given it credit for. Super short version: brains change based on environment and inputs. Well written and easy/fast to follow. (if you know anyone with who has had a stroke this should be a MUST read!--see pages 102-106ish).
4. Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner- Disciplined, Synthesizing, Creative, Respectful, Creative. I am not very far into it, but so far seems good!
5. Ideas that Stick. By the brothers Heath. First of all, any book with duct tape on cover is a given purchase. But this is awesome. Short version: covers how to get your ideas across and how to get them to "stick". Sure some is common sense, but very well done, interesting, and even fun! And useful not only in teaching, but also writing, managing, and just about everything else!
6. Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier--by Ismael Beah. The story of a 12 year old (yeah 12) boy who gets involved in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Unreal. FTR I almost didn't get it when I saw it was Oprah's list, but I did and it is good (and only sounds like a Dixie Chick song title).
7. I just ordered Pearl Harbor by Newt Gingrich and William Forsctchen. If it is even a fraction as good as the alternate history Civil War Trilogy by the same two co-authors (the best since Fama and French!), it will be great (Grant Comes East, the middle of the trilogy, is one of my favorite books of all time!)