Reading

I took the train down to see my girlfriend  and stay with her before we go on holiday to Austria. I find that normally the train ride is quite difficult because you're essentially sitting there and waiting till you arrive. Even with a magazine or a newspaper, it's tedious. I had decided to buy a magazine for the train in the hope of occupying my mind for at least some of the journey. On this occasion however, I passed a discount book store (The Works) and picked up a new copy of Bret Easton Ellis' outspoken 'American Psycho' for £1.99. I thought that this was amazing value considering Amazon don't do as good deals as they used to on even used books as the minimum delivery cost is £2.80 now (14/08/11). This was part of a 3 for £5 deal on books and fiction works.

I started reading from the moment I got on my first train (it's a long journey) and I started to appreaciate the appeal of reading a book over say, a newspaper or a magazine. With a newspaper, one skims the text and can't really get involved unless the subject matter is particularly cultured or concerned with some gripping theme. With a book, the mind is constantly building the environment described in the book and working hard to mould freeform thoughts into a coherent scene. This mental activity pulls you in and immerses you in the book. It is this drawing the reader into the book that makes time fly by. I tend to block out the environment around me when I read as I focus so heavily on the book and what's going on in the story. This makes for some telling offs when the missus tries to talk to me whilst I read. But this induced ignorance is exactly what is required for travelling because then one doesn't notice the other people on the train or the time. This is what makes reading books such a good use of one's time whilst travelling. The pages turn, the mind races and time rushes on. Before you know it, you're at the terminus of your journey and a large portion of your book is read. I'll certainly be reading a book on my return journey.

Review: Freefall by Joseph Stiglitz

I've just finished reading Joseph Stigliz' review of the 2008 financial crash. In his book Freefall, he sets out the context of the financial institutions that were responsible for the downturn and the massive harm to the global ecomony. He gives a critical review of the appraisal and encouragement systems within banks and investment companies that gave their leaders disproportionate bonuses and salary relative to the work that they did.

Stigliz goes on to give a detailed critique of the actions of both the American government and the banks before and during the crisis. He talks about the current down turn whilst contrasting and comparing with past recessions and the Great Depression. This is a useful vehicle for explaining how the banks became so intertwined and how governments became so reliant on banks for growth. The book also touches on the rarely mentioned taboo of insider trading and it's role in the financial crunch.

What is most heartening about the book is that it isn't simply a critique of the governments' failure in safeguarding the taxpayer during a market crash. It also gives potential paths forward for government to follow in the future so it gives hope to the reader. The best part about this is that the solutions to our problem http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifaren't plucked out of thin air, they're tried and tested learnings from recessions and bubble bursts from over the past century. This relevance gives the reader confidence that Stigliz has done his homework, giving a thorough treatment of the matter.

In summary, it's a fantastic read. It's exciting and not packed with obscure jargon so you don't need an economics degree to understand what's going on. I will say however, some parts move so quickly (unexpected in a review of financial history) that going back and reading again is a must so that all the information can be assimilated. The book is available on Amazon :