Ice Cream and Me by Steve Herrell

 

This is a local and quirky book. Ice Cream and Me, written by Steve Herrell, tells the story of ice cream, mixing candy & ice cream, and Herrell's. The book feels like a cheap textbook. It is not laid out well - the spacing is off in places, there are mis-mash of drawings and graphics, he goes off on random tangents, and there are references to other pages (almost like a Goosebumps book). With all that said, I really liked this book.

The history of ice cream, and how it is made, was very interesting to read. Steve has a deep appreciation to the skill required to make good ice cream. He was the first - literally - to mix candy in with ice cream. What we take for granted today - cookies & cream, etc. - he invented. His shop started in Boston and pretty quickly had lines out the door. He quickly sold as it seemed like he burnt out, but it didn't seem like he made a fortune.

Soon thereafter, he started Herrell's Ice Cream, based out of Northampton, MA. This became a very successful endeavor. He dedication to quality - special freezers, refusing to ship to stores, and more - is impressive. We also have him to thank for brands like Ben & Jerry's (who were spying on him for a while) and Coldstone (who replicated exactly what he was doing in his first store in Boston).

There is also the entrepreneur angle to his story. A guy at the end of the road. He is retired and this was a big project for him. It is a really cool reflection.

My rating for Ice Cream and Me: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

P.S. I gave this book to my dad right after I finished it - an ice cream lover and business owner.

2021 Year in Review

Another one that I started drafting in January of 2022, but never got around to actually posting (this post is back-dated). Anyway, here is what I recall...

Top books of 2021:

Red Notice by Bill Browder

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

The Power of Moments by Dan & Chip Heath

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

I also gave away 7 books during the 2021 Christmas season!

Noise by Daniel Kahneman

 

Noise caught my eye because of my favorable impression from Daniel Kahneman on Thinking, Fast and Slow. I was excited to read Noise, but also mentally prepared that this would be a tough one. And it was.

I started reading this in the summer of 2021 and got about halfway through. I actually started the blog in the fall thinking I would finish the book soon...but I never did. I did read a few more chapters in the summer of 2022, but I'm still not done. While I have not given up yet, I also don't know that I am going to finish it.

Noise is the term for variability in judgements and decisions; the little and unthought of things that can impact how people make come to conclusions. There are some fascinating examples: judges who give sentences in the morning versus the afternoon. This applies to all sorts of fields.

While the topic is interesting, the writing is dry. I also found there was a lot of overlap with Thinking, Fast and Slow. My work book club wanted to read this at one point, but I steered them away as this is a difficult book to read. Good topic, poor delivery.

My rating for Noise: 2 stars out of 5. Get it here!