Scott Berkun

Free chapters from Confessions

These were up on the amazon.com page as a special promotion, but amazon took them down recently.

Here they are:

Chapter 2 – Attack of the Butterflies
Chapter 3 – $30,000 an hour

So if you’ve seen me speak, and wonder “is his writing as good as his speaking”, now you can find out for free :)

I try very hard to make my books, and presentations, different things so experiencing one doesn’t ruin the experience of the other. I really hate seeing someone speak, buy their book, and then realize I already heard all the good stuff. I try very hard to make each thing stand alone.

Book review: The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

The purpose of a story is to be an axe that breaks up the ice within us

-Franz Kafka

I have a hard time reading fiction because often writers try way too hard to make their fiction seem real, or love their words so much they get in the way of telling the story.  I’m more of a Hemingway fan (particularly Old Man and The Sea) fan than, say, Updike.  I prefer Beckett to Neil Simon. I find potency and empowerment in seemingly dark tales, because when things are really dark, it’s easier to appreciate the little blessings of light in the world (The Seventh Seal is one of my favorite movies and it’s all about the black plague – enough said). And when it comes to stories I’m with Kafka. Real literature shakes me up. And although sometimes I read to be entertained, often I want an experience that will make me see the world differently when I put the book down, and change something inside me that can not be undone. The Road would make Kafka proud. It shook me up more than any book I’ve read this decade.

The story: At its heart, The Road is a simple story told well. It’s about a father and son who are trying to survive in tough times, arguably trying to survive the end of the world.  The book never explains what happened, a nuclear war, an asteroid, an act of god (if there is one in the world of the book), who knows, and this is for the better. If you were starving, struggling to find food and safety, you’d think little about history or politics too. And that’s why the book works so well. In a sense we all believe we have important things to worry about or fear today, but that sense has been so far removed from real survival we understand much less of what it is to be alive.

In all survival stories I’ve read, and I’ve read many, from Shackleton’s Endurance, to McCandless in Into The Wild, the heroes are in exceptional circumstances that are much more dangerous than the rest of the world. In The Road, it’s the opposite, the danger has come to everyone. There is no safety, and this context changes everything. The father and son leave their home in search of survival because they know their chance for survival if they stay is zero. How long would I stay and wait? How would I decide when to take to the Road and bet there is something better somewhere else? These are not adventurers. These are people just trying to live. Just like us.

The power of The Road is how, through the telling of a simple and captivating story (I read it in two sittings), I couldn’t help but ask myself deep questions about my own identity. How unbearable would life have to be before I killed myself? Or my child? And by contrast, how far from that unbearable line of thinking has my entire life, and the life of everyone I’ve ever known, been?And why do we seem not to notice the wonder and good fortune of this gap?

The questions: As the challenges of survival in the road played out, I was confronted emotionally with big questions about who I am. Do I believe people are inherently good or bad, and how much of my own well being would I ever, or have I ever, put at stake in faith of that belief? What can I know about my beliefs if they have never been tested? And perhaps most of all, if I were stripped away from all of the distracting trappings of modern life, the gadgets, the entertainments, what would I have left? And if I don’t have much left, how do I feel about that? The list of things I felt, that rose from the depths of my feelings, at levels so deep I forgot they were there as I’d hidden them away years ago, are too long too list here.

McCarthy achieves all this with great subtlety and mastery of craft. Forget my philosophical introspection – it’s a surprising, horrific, surprising, dramatic and riveting tale. It compels you to keep reading which is the highest praise I can offer any book of any kind.  He writes simply and well and lets the narrative and situations lead you to your own conclusions, which is what the masters of writing throughout history have always done.

Thanks to Bryan Zug (@BryanZug) for recommending the book to me.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Improved images in Confessions

There was a minor issue in the first print run of Confessions. The in-line photographs of the book, of which there were about 25,  looked a bit dim, with not nearly enough contrast.

O’Reilly has fixed this in the 2nd print run, which is what has been selling on amazon for at least the last two weeks (And in fact, as I understand, the book is on it’s third printing).

You can see the difference in photo quality in the picture below:

Just fyi: All of the signed copies Powell’s is currently selling are from the 2nd printing, and have the higher quality photographs.

Best things of 2009

Went through my list of stuff acquired this year. Turns out I read a lot of books.

Here’s the best (purchasable) things I found in 2009:

Thoughtless acts, by Jane Fulton Suri – This is a great book for any design, or creative thinkers out there. Published in 2005, I read it back then, put it a stack of books, and only rediscovered it this year. It’s a collection of photos of objects redesigned by ordinary people to serve purposes beyond what the designer expected. (Nice article with many photo examples here)

Brain Rules – I’ve read many of the ‘neuroscience for general audience’ books out there, and this is hands down the strongest, best written, most applicable and best supported of the bunch. This book was a strong influence on Confessions, as the book emphasizes learning, improving brain function, and how our bodies and brains work best in harmony with each other, all points made in various ways in Confessions.

LogicComix – I have a degree in Logic, which is practically worthless, but studying logic had all sorts of hugely important side effects, including discovering the work of Bertrand Russell, who is likely my favorite philosopher of all time. This unusual telling of his life story in comic book form sounds like a bizzare idea for a book, and it is, but it makes for a surprsingly entertaining and moving read.

The Book of Genesis by Crumb -  I’m not religious in any organized sense, but I do love the study of theology and read various sorts of scripture or scripture like things now and then. Crumb is a famous alternative comic craftsman, and the juxtoposition of his less than traditional history and drawing style, with the unabridged book of Genesis made for a great experience. I read it in two sitings.

The Road, By Cormac McCarthy – This book changed me. Not entirely sure how yet, but definitely in profound ways. I read it in one day, and couldn’t stop thinking about it for a week. I even went to see the movie, which, like the book, was amazing, horrible, life-altering, disturbing, humbling and epic all at once. I plan to write a longer review, but it’s easily the best novel I’ve read in the last few years. Last novel I read that in the same ball park of potency was Life of Pi. The Road puts the E in EPIC. Working on a separate post about The Road. Stay tuned.

Them Crooked Vultures – This is a supergroup effort that doesn’t suck. It’s Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). It’s a straight ahead hard rock effort, but there’s so much attitude, sass, funk, and generally mean, but lovingly mean, music here that I found it full of life, energy and positive vibe.

Woody Guthrie – The best of the war years.  On the other end of the musical spectrum,  I dig folk music, and I never tire of hearing Guthrie sing his stuff. This remastered edition has all sorts of early folk classics I’d heard before (Hey lolly, Going down the road) but never by him.  I’ve written about Guthrie briefly before – definitely one of my heroes for more than one reason.

In other news, two of my favorite films are now available on Netflix streaming: The Seventh Seal and The Seven Samurai.  Apparently  i like moves with sevens in them.

Slashdot reviews Confessions

Yesterday the new book was reviewed on Slashdot – It’s a most excellent and positive review.

The book is loaded with chapter after chapter of practical advice. Berkun also shows what to do when things go terribly wrong; from how to work a tough room, when technology fails, microphones that go bad and more.

You can read the full review here.