Thirteen Problems

By Agatha Christie

The first of the Miss Marple novels. 

Encyclopedia Brown borrows a lot from this book. Each chapter is mystery with clues. Miss Marple solves the mystery at the end.

The time and place where these mysteries were written has changed so much that it's nearly impossible to understand, let alone solve some of the mysteries. 

In one mystery a clue is that someone who is banting would not have eaten trifle and that truffle is served with hundreds and thousands, which are pink and white sugar things. 

In another mystery, a clue is that a gardener was working on Whitmonday-- something normal gardeners never do. You are tipped off that about Whitmonday because at the beginning of the story, the lead character tells you it's Whitsuntide.

Who Get's What-- and Why

By Alvin E. Roth.

The places and ways we procure things-- markets-- can be designed. Their design greatly impacts who get's what and why.

Roth spends much time on Kidney transplant markets (He earned is Nobel prize for that)  covering how thought and care greatly increased the number of kidneys available for transplant.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Another Agatha Christie murder mystery.

I read Christie's books more as a lesson in the anatomy of murder mysteries. Christie invented many of the tropes still used in murder mysteries today... the timings, the liar who is hiding something else, the distractions, the number of accomplices (Taken to extremes in Murder on the Orient Express) It's fun to read their original incantations in these books.

Murder at the Vicarage

By Agatha Christie

The first Miss Marple novel. 

Another fun read by Christie. Perhaps it depends a little too much on people who know exactly where they  were and what they heard at 6:20, not 6:15 and definitely not 6:25. The in habitants of this book are either clock watchers or liars.

Burn Book.

by Kara Swisher

Swisher had had an amazing life, reporting on the growth of  Silicon Valley from the 90s and beyond. This book is crammed with many fascinating anecdotes of how she built relationships, watched startups and technologies grow and die, grew her values and got the scoop.

Along the way, she observed Silicon Valley's elite evolving from wide-eyed people who genuinely wanted to change the world, to more money  focused folks, who just want to grow there power.

The Undoing Project

By Michael Lewis

I've been reading about Prospect Theory and biased thinking for years. It was great to read the bio of two of the great minds behind it...

"People don't choose between things. They choose between the descriptions  things."

Thoughts on Warren Buffett

 

1. Buffet didn't retire. As of 2024 he is 93 years old. Warren Buffett, Oracle of Omaha, didn't occur until he was in his sixties. If he had retired in his fifties, he'd be rich, but not a famous billionaire. 
2. Buffet doesn't just buy and sell stocks. He finds companies that he knows how to run better, invests in them, reorganizes them, and then enjoys the profits. Berkshire Hathaway Real-estate is a great example. Over time he bought ok, but not great regional real estate companies, merged them, gave them a national presence, and earned profit from the result.
3. Read up on Buffett's long bet. Buffett bet that over a period of 10 years, the S&P index would outperform a bundle of hedge funds. And it did.
4. His estate will be passed on to his wife using a 90-10 investment mix-- 90% S&P Index. 10% Treasury bills.