Hard Pivot by Apolo Ohno

 

Hard Pivot was the last work book club book I read before the book club disintegrated. I read this on vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was a light, easy read, but it still took too long. It was all fluff. I hate these kind of books, particularly when a celebrity is trying to cash in. I didn't know anything about Apolo Ohno's story besides he was an Olympian skater. That part I found interesting. But the rah-rah change/purpose stuff I found lame.

To make matters worse, I missed the book club discussion. So I didn't even need to read this. Ha! But from another perspective, I did not need to nicely criticize the book with coworkers.

My rating for Hard Pivot: 1 star out of 5. Get it here.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

 

I saw this book somewhere a while ago, eventually purchased it, and then it sat on my bookshelf for a while. I suggested this for my work book club at the end of last year and it was chosen. However, it took folks quite a while to read. Don't infer this is a hard read - it's not - people were just busy and slow to read.

Never Split the Difference is about negotiation tactics and strategies. The author, Chris Voss, was a former FBI hostage negotiator who started his own consulting firm on negotiating. In the book, he discusses what he learned over the years. It is interesting to see how he, and the FBI, refined and improved their strategies over the years from real world experiences.

The book provides good tips such as mirroring (repeating a statement as a question), paraphrasing, and labeling. Using phrases like "it seems like", "it sounds like", and starting questions with how and what ("how am I supposed to do that"). Another example stuck with me regarding how sometimes no deal is better than a bad deal or compromising - if debating to where black shoes or brown shoes, you compromise and wear one of each.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The stories were very interesting and there are good lessons learned. There are summaries at the end of each chapter, which I always like. I will wrap up by saying I am sharing this book with my dad next.

My rating for Never Split the Difference: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

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.