The end of February almost snuck up on me. Here’s what I read and enjoyed this month!

 

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance.

 

I was already a little obsessed with Teslas, and let me tell you, this book made it worse. Musk, whose ambitions include warming up and colonizing Mars, is a brilliant and fascinating figure, if somewhat lacking in personal empathy.

Musk never gives up on his goals, even though it may take him longer than he expected to achieve them. I was impressed by his ability to stay focused, rational, and hard-working in the face of failure, heartbreak, and public scorn. Speaking of the latter, whenever I read about technology or business, I’m always struck by how many people desperately want new innovations and new ventures to fail.

 

Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, by Evan Osnos.

 

This was on my list of Books That Might Make Me Smarter, and I think it did. I knew very little about China, and this gave me at least a window into politics, business, and culture in a rapidly changing country. I’ll admit that the writing was a bit dry, but that’s fine.

I was particularly taken with the sections about Han Han, a blogger, author, and race car driver; Ai Weiwei, a provocative conceptual artist; and Zhang Yin, sometimes called “the queen of trash,” who is one of the richest self-made women in the world. As a U.S. citizen, the descriptions of government control and censorship of speech and the media were all too relevant.

 

Cupcakes and Crushes by Keri Ford.

 

This was a fun small-town romance with authentic family drama on the side. The scene where the heroine and hero first meet after many years is out of the ordinary. I liked both Annie and Cade. Cade is almost too nice for his own good, particularly when it comes to dealing with a certain neighbor, but he definitely knows what he wants.

Like the book I read about China, this opened my eyes to another culture, because I didn’t actually know some people liked to drive their pickup trucks through the mud and get all filthy. It wouldn’t be for me, but hey. As light as this story is, the family stuff really got to me at the end. I’d say this one has a medium heat level.

 

 

 

Do you like driving trucks through the mud? Do you want a Tesla? Or is there a book that took your imagination on a fun trip lately? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading!