I’ve never considered myself a “book worm”. It’s not that I dislike reading, but it’s a significant time commitment whereas watching a TV show or even a movie can be done in 1-3 hours. You can’t really multitask while reading a book either (which is a good thing). That said, I do find immense value in reading.

The truth is that once you’ve completed your education (high school, college, etc.) you have little exposure to “passively” learning new things. At the very least, a “variety” of new things. No one is making you learn anymore. Yes, you may learn things for your job or a hobby, but you don’t get the wide exposure to ideas or concepts that you once did.

It took me many years to realize that I really wasn’t learning much any more and, therefore, not growing as a person. To combat this issue, I turned to audio books as I would always have time for them while traveling to/from work.  I exhausted the interesting CD-based audio books at my library and stumbled on the app called “OverDrive.” OverDrive provides an extensive, free catalog of ebooks and audiobooks. Go check it out.

In contemplating my top 5 books, I felt a little biased towards books that I have read (or listened to) within the last few years. Probably because they are fresh in my memory. Here’s my list:

(1) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. If you ever feel that life has got you down, read this book. So much more amazing than the movie.

(2) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There is a reason why this book is so prevalent in schools. It is a classic.

(3) The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. I can honestly say that this book changed my outlook on a number of things like work, money and retirement. I wish I read this book 10 years ago when it was first published.

(4) Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Like nothing you’ve ever read, trust me.

(5) Anything about Abraham Lincoln. I’m a sucker for Abe Lincoln books such as Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin and Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.

I was watching various stand-up comedians on Netflix the other day. I could pretty much tell which acts would appeal to me in less than 5 minutes. This caused me to think about the nature of “humor” – why do some people find certain comedians or types of humor appealing while others do not?

I think that sharing common experiences with the comedian dramatically influences if we find them funny, but there is certainly more to it.  For example, I find Jim Gaffigan to be extremely funny, probably in large part due to our similar experiences as parents. However, there are other comedians who are parents, but I don’t find them as funny.

Humor seems to be granular – you may laugh at some jokes by your favorite comedian, but not necessarily all of them, whereas another fan may find those to be funny. Can this be explained?

I plan to look into the science of humor – if it has actually been studied.

In no particular order:

1) One – Released by U2 in 1991 as a track on their popular Achtung Baby album. One was written during a time that the band was considering breaking up and allegedly the song brought them back together.  You can feel the anguish and hopefulness in the song.

2) Let It Be – Written and released by the Beatles in 1970, as a track on the album of the same name. This song predates me by about 10 years, but it immediately registered with me the first time I heard it. I think that it is hard to find a song more timeless than Let It Be.

3) The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Written and released by Bob Dylan in 1964, as the title track of his album of the same name. Dylan intentionally wrote this song as an anthem for the times. I don’t think that he realized how universal it would become.

4) Piano Man – Billy Joel’s first single released in 1973. I don’t think I have heard any other song that tells a story in the same way as this one. When I hear it, I can visualize being in a bar listening to Billy skillfully play the piano and riff on the harmonica.

5) Ashokan Farewell – An instrumental piece composed by folk musician Jay Ungar in 1982. Popularized by the PBS television miniseries The Civil War. Many people mistakenly believe that this song was from the Civil War because it so elegantly captures the spirit of that period.

In my opinion, every generation beginning with the Baby Boomers has had a sense of entitlement. It’s just what each generation has felt entitled to that has changed. For instance, Baby Boomers developed a sense that they were entitled to retire. Gen Xers developed a sense that they were entitled to successful careers. Millennials developed a sense that were entitled to everything on their terms. What is overlooked is that entitlement is rooted in expectations, and each generation is guilty of having those.

Did the “Traditionalist Generation” (a.k.a. Greatest Generation) have expectations? I’m sure to some extent they did, but they also went through the events like the Great Depression and World War II. Until very recently (see Great Recession), I don’t think that anything in the last 100 years has tempered the expectations of Americans as much as those events. Therefore, I think that we would be hard-pressed to call this generation “entitled.”

As for the Baby Boomers, they’ve lived their lives expecting to benefit from pensions, retirement plans and social security. Over time, they developed an expectation that they could spend their golden years traveling or living on a beach somewhere. It was their reward for working hard and paying into the “system”. Pension cuts, bad economies, ageism, longer lifespans and other factors have all contributed to a much different retirement reality for countless Baby Boomers.

As for Gen Xers, we grew up thinking that a college degree was the gateway to long-term careers with plenty of upward mobility. For example, when I started in college in the late 90’s, I knew recent graduates who were getting great tech jobs with significant signing bonuses. I truly expected to be on the same track…and then the dot com bubble burst…then later the Great Recession hit. Based on these events and others, I no longer expect to move up in a company – let alone stay at one for 20+ years.

As for Millennials, they are faulted for being the entitlement generation because they are viewed as being narcissistic and perhaps they are, but it’s rooted in expectations developed in their childhood – a time of economic boon and perhaps “over-sheltering.” If we label them based on their expectations, we must fairly call out our own.

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