Reading list for September

So much to write, so little time. Several good friends have asked me about what interesting books I've read lately. I say "check out my blog", but now I realize that I'm so far behind on my summaries that it'll be hard to get a good glimpse. So rather than do a helpful, thoughtful review, here's a brief look at where I'm getting my new ideas:

Podcasts

I listen to an hour or so of various things each day. My favorite is Econtalk, which comes out every Monday. Every one is good, but in the last few weeks I've particularly enjoyed the interview with Black Swan author Nassim Taleb. The basic idea is that many processes we think of as statistical (like stock markets or insurance) are really much more complicated. It'll be on my short list of books I want to read.

I also listen to the Wall Street Journal This Morning, a daily business news summary, and I follow IT Conversations in case there's anything good. Nothing special lately, except for a nice summary of open source telephony that's relevant to what I do at work.

Books

I'm reading Steven Pinker's new book, of course, and I'll write up something in more detail when I'm done. I also read Tyler Cowen's Discover Your Inner Economist, but I found it disappointing: Cowen's Marginal Revolution may be a nice blog, but in book form he just meanders too much.

There's much more to write, about movies (like the Enron Documentary I just watched) and tons of magazines. But I can't write now -- I have too much reading to finish.