Farewell My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine

Doug Fine (frequently heard on NPR) lives a sustainable life style in a remote New Mexican river valley. He buys 2 goats, plants a garden, makes his own gas from used vegetable oil, installs solar panels and generally lives off the grid. I learned a lot from this book - mostly, I will starve, freeze and die if our infrastructure fails! I feel horribly guilty eating, breathing and using my car. But I sure do admire Doug Fine and how he is living. He should be an inspiration and although I found his book humorous he was also wildly depressing. Is there little hope for my grandchildren? And why do people even want children! Forget the USA because China and India have so many people using up the earth's resources they will make us selfish, hoggish Americans look like Amish!

Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson

This is an enjoyable book for general readers. Bryson is very honest about how little we know about the man who influenced the English language. For instance, two of the three images we have of Shakespeare were created after his death and he suggests that we really don't even know how to accurately spell his name. The chapter on the first folio was fascinating as was the chapter on the controversy surrounding if Shakespeare was in fact the author of his works. Bryson's book was a pleasant beginner's biography of Shakespeare. Ann

PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL by Dan Ariely 658.8

This behavioral economist has created some interesting experiments to test theories about choices people make. He shows that context matters, "free" sometimes leads us astray, strong emotions influence our judgement, the effect of "social norms" versus "market norms", discusses proscrastination versus self-control (as in meeting deadlines!), the effect of expectations and what makes us more honest. Whew! Will I ever be able to make a decision without thinking of this book? Janice

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

by Richard H. Thaler. 658.8THA

What is a "nudge"? As used here, it is a way of structuring people's choices to make it easy to choose that which will make their life better, without taking away a person's freedom of choice. "Putting fruit at eye level (in a cafeteria line) counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not." (p.6).
When do we need a nudge? People need nudges for decisions that are difficult and rare, where there are multiple choices, and lack prompt feedback. Examples are: choosing an investment portfolio or signing up for Medicare Part D. The authors don't just complain about the current state of affairs, they offer positive suggestions on how to change procedures to make the outcome the best for all concerned.
My favorite statement was the one regarding signs in a national park: the "positive" statement describing the desired behavior and outcome was more effective than the "negative, informational one" (p. 67).
Janice