Josh Bokor

Robert Rosenberg was the CEO for 35 years at Dunkin' Donuts and I was curious about what insights he would share about the company and about his career in this book. This book is a dissection on the company's business strategies and what challenges and accomplishments the company has faced over the different eras from its early days in 1963 to Rosenberg's retirement in 1998. I was hoping for a book that focused more so on the history, culture, and I wanted to learn about how the company became the massive juggernaut it is today. Overall I felt like I learned a lot from this book, but I am clearly not the type of audience that this book is written for. There is a lot of business and marketing jargon, tons of different names and personnel to sift through, and what seems to be endless numbers and statistics thrown at me... much of which is not what I wanted to read about. What I wanted was to learn more about the company's history, culture, and how the products came to be in a storytelling fashion. I certainly got a little bit of that out of this book, especially during the early days, which is what I enjoyed the most out of this. I just wished the book entirely focused on this and not on the in depth business side of things. So all in all, this negative rating is not towards Rosenberg or the book itself. I think it's written very well and he clearly is a very knowledgeable and smart businessman. It's just not for me. If you're in the business industry, if you are a CEO, or if you're in business school, then I think you'd get a lot more out of this book than I would.

It's interesting to read about whiteness in hip-hop and its impact in social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects from Tanz's point of view, since he's a white, obsessive male hip-hop fan. It's not a casual or comforting read, one that is pretty insightful and highlights from different perspectives in the hip-hop community and those who are out of it and instead are in offshoots of the genre. Although much has changed since its initial publication in 2007, “Other People's Property” is a proper telling of race's impact in hip-hop and it's definitely an introduction for a much larger and more in depth book on the topic.

This is a cheeky, silly quick little “guide” to Australia for an American audience. I enjoyed it and although it isn't the most well written or professionally produced book out there, it was still a joy to read. I liked the sarcastic humor and I also liked that Cameron put his own spin and personality into the book, which made it much more fun than most guides are I'm sure.

This is an interesting read on something I never even knew about: harvesting icebergs for freshwater. It is cool to read about the uses, history, culture, ethics, positives and negatives of icebergs and act of towing them. There are some parts that seem to go into the details heavily to where it can be difficult to follow but otherwise it's quite the educational read into how and why we should harvest icebergs for the sake of our planet's water crisis.

This one's for the geeks and I loved it. This book is super immersive, as if you're actually in the world that the author has created. The story is great and I appreciate Cline's massive attention to detail in his writing. It's a great nod to the classic nostalgia from 80's pop culture and a truly fun read for any gamer or sci-fi fan out there.

I remember trying to read this book a couple times over a decade ago and only being able to make it halfway through. For years I was thinking I should just read the whole dang thing and I finally accepted the challenge. Overall there's nothing entirely special about this read. It's light, it's cute, it's cheeky. It's like a sailing rom com you'd see on Hallmark or some cheap Netflix original. The mystery aspect to it is essential to making this read enjoyable, since I could not read an entire book just on the “will they/won't they” romance aspect from the characters. And the humor... let's just say it's as funny as one of those rom coms I mentioned earlier. It's similar to an Emily Giffin novel but the cheese is turned way up to 11 (no disrespect to Giffin; she's the queen of this type of book genre). Also I think the reason why I couldn't finish this book before is that it is way too stretched out. This book could've easily had a third cut out of it and it would still remain the same read. Overall this was a kind of enjoyable and airy read that's as light as the sea breeze. I just read it mainly to finish this mental challenge of mine, not so much to be entertained.

Ken Jennings doesn't simply just recount his time as a contestant on 75 straight games of Jeopardy! He talks about his personal life, stories of the founders or those who popularized trivia in many different formats, and the history, culture and true meaning of trivia itself. He goes out of his way to talk to everyday people who love trivia and it's very wholesome to read how much trivia means to people. It's very insightful, charming, and above all fun to read. I also like the little trivia questions thrown into each chapter too.

“Born Standing Up” is a solid, well written debut memoir from the stand-up comedy legend Steve Martin. It's quite short and to the point at around 200 pages total but Martin does a great job covering his massive rise to fame and decision to step away from performing stand-up and pivoting to film. It could've been a bit meatier, that's my only complaint.

I was introduced to this book out of a recommendation and decided to listen to this one as an audiobook. Ruiz's methodology and the “Four Agreements” themselves are definitely something I agree with for the most part. What I got the most out of this book is the idea of believing and trusting in oneself, not caring about what others think and to live in the present and drop the weight of the past and future. I'm very happy I chose the audiobook version because I'm not sure I could sit through reading this one from start to finish. The writing is too oversimplified and repetitive for me to read a full book on, while even the audiobook was tough to listen to due to the narrator's slowed down approach as if the reader is 5 years old. Despite this, I appreciate the themes and what the author is ultimately getting at towards the reader. A little bit too new agey for me, yes, but if you can take something positive out of this book, such as living to your best and living in the moment while dropping all the weight of self doubt, then that's the only accomplishment you need from this book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading through Graham Coxon's life and musical journey chronologically from his early days to his heydays being in Blur to his solo/other collaborative ventures. I appreciate his ability to be open, humble, and brutally honest when it comes to his perspective on music, Blur, his identity, and his struggles. That being said, Coxon is downplaying himself HARD. He's truly one of the greatest guitarists from the 90's hands down and throughout this entire book he acts like he's an amateur at best. For Christ sake, man! It's very disappointing and also frustrating to read about this, especially his lackluster and grumpy attitude towards Blur and his bandmates. I wanted to rip the pages out when I read his pissy attitude towards having to go record their excellent comeback record ‘The Magic Whip' in Hong Kong instead of relaxing at The Four Seasons. Like what the hell dude?! Anyways... I still enjoyed this book regardless and it's interesting to read about Blur from his perspective since he's the more quiet and subdued member of the group compared to Damon Albarn. Graham's unabashed honesty and introspection, as frustrating as it can be at points, is unlike other musicians memoirs out there.

As a fan of both NPR (he hosts NPR's “All Things Considered”) and Pink Martini (he sings/tours with the band), Ari Shapiro's new book is a must for me. You don't have to be too familiar with his work and involvement with covering news stories but it certainly helps. It's an enjoyable book that looks into Ari as a person as well as going in depth at some of the stories he's covered as well as some fun facts about him. From reading this, he seems to be a genuine and caring soul and I totally recommend it for anyone interested in reading about some good stories, some that will make your eyes watery and some that will make you grin.

Very entertaining and joyful read! Although it's not the best written memoir out there, it's so fun to read about Tom Felton's childhood, acting career and of course his time in the wizarding world. He's full of humor and personality and it's printed all over the pages. I even loved his humility and humbleness throughout the book. He's a genuine soul.

I've been a fan of Margo since her debut album exploded back in 2016 and when I heard about the announcement of her debut memoir last year, I immediately knew I had to read it soon. This is a vivid origin story about her long-winding attempts to make a successful career in music. Already being aware of her hard working grit and rebellious attitude through her traditional songwriting, you get a clear picture of that through her adventures of touring, recording, living in Nashville, and the many challenges she's faced with, resulting in just barely getting by. It's a great read for anyone who is a fan of Margo Price of course but to those who are interested in reading about the struggles, joys, and hardships a folk/rock/country musician will typically go through to be able to possibly make it in the music industry of today. My only complaint is that the middle gets a bit repetitive (moving to a new place, playing shows, writing songs, drinking and doing drugs, repeat) but this is expected considering the repetitious life of a traveling musician and it's not a huge negative in the slightest. If you haven't already listened to Price, all of her albums are stellar including her brand new album “Strays,” which everyone should check out. My personal favorite is “All American Made,” which is one of the past decade's best albums in my opinion.

I absolutely devoured this book, just like the pepperoni/goat cheese pizza I ate last night. For those who don't know Tom Breihan, he's a writer for Stereogum (aka the best music blog/website there is) and has boldly taken on a task five years ago at writing about every single song that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts since its inception in 1958 to the current day. He and his column are still killing it (he's currently at 2007 right now as I'm writing this) and I've been enjoying his column ever since around 2019 or so. He just published his debut book titled “The Number Ones,” where he documents 20 different #1 hits, each at a specific landmark in time starting from Chubby Checker's “The Twist” in 1962 all the way to BTS' “Dynamite” in 2020. How Tom documents each #1 hit in a strong storytelling fashion while connecting the many different songs, trends, and genres throughout pop history is fascinating, brilliant, and super entertaining to read. I could not put this one down. I learned so much about these hits within this book and as I continue to read his internet column, I continue to learn. Tom Breihan is the man and “The Number Ones” is one of my favorite reads, period.

This book rules. I love Chuck's style of writing, perspective, and analysis. This is the third book I've read from Chuck thus far and you definitely get a lot of his personality, charm, and hilarity through this one. Tons of great stories and insights and it's pretty interesting to see how much he has/hasn't changed by reading his takes from ‘03.

As a massive fan of Conan O'Brien and of his personal assistant, Sona, I had a great time reading her stories about her job and the many antics she's been a part of. This isn't the best written book by any means nor is it the most professional. It's appropriately at a relaxed and slacked pace with a causal attempt at gathering her thoughts on things. Like most fan expectations for Sona, you're not exactly here for the best written experience rather a really entertaining one... and this is true. It's an enjoyably light read (I read it in a few days) and a treat for every Conan and Sona superfan.

I love puzzles, but not as much as A.J. Jacobs. Jacobs is primarily a writer and has spent his time in this book delving through all things puzzles: the history of them, how they are beloved, why puzzles, and how Jacobs intertwines his life and challenges himself at tackling the craziest and toughest puzzles ever known. “The Puzzler” ranges all over, from classics like sudoku and crosswords to riddles to mazes all the way to even the most controversial or craziest puzzles. Jacobs not only details them but actually takes part, such as creating the American team in the World Jigsaw Championship, walking through the most challenging corn maze, and even creating his own puzzles and seeing how they work. I love puzzles, so naturally if you do you'll love this book. Even if you don't I think you'll find something to enjoy, whether it's Jacobs' personality and humor, the stories he tells, or even the puzzles themselves. Like “Seven Games” by Oliver Roeder, a fantastic book on games I read last Fall, I want to read even more books about the puzzle and game phenomenon and why humans love them so much and can't seem to stop playing them.

This book's subject matter is very important and essential to read when it comes to the rise of social media and how it has negatively impacted our society and the world at large through hate, addictive tactics, and corporate greed. That being said, much of this book for me I already knew the ins and outs of, so it was pretty redundant and repetitive for me. It's one of the few books I've listened to as an audiobook and the really dull narrator didn't help either. If you don't know much of about the stories and events that this book covers, then this would be a very well detailed and insightful read. If not, then I'd probably skip.

I found Monáe's vision and themes of a futuristic world that heavily focuses on memories, time, and the ability to remember/forget to be pretty interesting, intriguing, and well detailed. I found the majority of the short stories here to be hard to follow and I feel like I'm missing the points entirely in some cases, especially on “Timebox” and “Save Changes.” The only story I found to be entertaining was “Nevermind” because the plot and characters seemed to be interesting and there was a clear progression through the story. I thought watching her “Dirty Computer” short film would help add some context and it only added a little. I feel like if this book was one fully fleshed out story, then it would be much easier and more fun to follow. I would have enjoyed this book much more if the entire book was essentially the second short story but more finalized.

I really wanted to love this book. I really did. Unfortunately the stories, many that feature the rise of famed female country artists, are just way too repetitive, dull, and boring for me to hold interest. I wanted to learn more about the rise of women in country music but the way Moss writes these stories and filters through Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, and Mickey Guyton's stories are just way too repetitive for me to read an entire book on. I got halfway through earlier this year and thought I'd come back to it, but I don't think I see myself going back. There are just other more interesting books I'd rather spend my time with. I think you have to be an ultra fan of these artists and this genre to get more out of it than I did. This most likely should've been a series of short stories or should've been an extended piece on an online music publication to be honest. It's not nearly as fully fleshed out or thought out as I would've hoped.

This was a surprisingly heavy read. Molly Shannon has had quite a lot of hardships throughout her life and it's very insightful to see how she became the incredibly talented SNL alum she is today. There's genuinely funny, insane, and saddening moments to read about. It's really wholesome to read about how thankful, blessed, and humble she is despite all these difficult tragedies happening in her life while growing up. Not all of it is heavy though, there are some really cool details on how her iconic characters came to be on SNL and how she initially became interested in comedy and in performing.

This book was ok for what it is. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of these type of cheesy romance dramas but this one was breezy and Serle's descriptions on the overall nature and environment of Italy was pleasant to envision. That being said, this book is pretty frustrating. It's funny that Serle is putting Katy, the story's lead protagonist, on this pedestal for readers to feel all this sympathy for her because of her mother's passing... and it's funny because Katy sucks. I have no reason to root for her in any way because she can't make a decision on her own without including her mother's opinions and views. Katy worships her mother, Carol, so highly and passionately that it's extremely annoying, irritating, and borderline in a way that's very grossly romantic...? Like as if Katy has a thing for her mother? It's weird. Also Eric, Katy's husband, is just thrown in the trash metaphorically by Katy pretty much the whole time for literally no reason at all. He's kind, loving, and trustworthy and Katy treats him like a villain. It's pretty dumb. And as pleasant as the descriptions are of Italy to read, I could see Italians being offended and grossed out by the surface level and stereotypical descriptions, similar to that of French people seeing “Emily In Paris.” Overall it was decent and I liked the twist but there's too many annoying things to make this redeemable.

I really enjoyed Chuck's personal and unique take on the 90's. He covers so many topics like generations, politics, music, terrorism, sports, television, polarization and even the way humans think, react, and live. His writing style is very entertaining as well as it is informative, retrospective, and insightful. He also connects numerous points and ties everything together in a seamless and satisfying way. There were a ton of things that I didn't even know or thought of, considering I am technically a “90's kid” even though I don't exactly remember much of it since I was so young. I definitely want to read more of his books and essays. Highly recommend!