Daily Archives: September 22, 2019

I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak: Leaving High Tech for Greener Pastures by S.A. Molteni

Book 1 of the I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak series.

Have you ever wanted to ditch the nine-to-five job and move as far away as possible from the rat race?

Have you ever just wanted peace and quiet in a rural setting away from the sprawl of suburbia?

Have you found yourself daydreaming about pasture lands and farm animals on a daily basis?

That’s exactly what the author found herself contemplating – more often then not – while working at a high tech job in Seattle.

With her husband 3,000 miles away in Florida and the passing of her father, she knew it was time to make some serious changes in her life. She was ready for an adventure, but little did she know what lay in store for her at the ‘fixer upper’ farmhouse she and her husband would soon become the owners of.

S.A. Molteni has spent over thirty years in the Information Technology field working for various Fortune 500 companies. During those years, she and her husband had always dreamed of living on a farm once they became retired from the rat race.

This collection of essays follows the author in her sometimes humorous transition from “I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak” and depicts the lessons that are learned along the way once farm animals become a large part of her life.

The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return by Mihir A. Desai

“Entertaining and informative. Desai takes us on a journey through the fundamentals of finance, from asset pricing to risk and risk management, via options, mergers, debt, and bankruptcy."- John Lanchester, The New Yorker

"A fascinating new perspective on modern finance," –Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel Laureate in Economics

"Lucid, witty and delightfully erudite…From the French revolution to film noir, from the history of probability to Jane Austen and The Simpsons, this is an astonishing intellectual feast." –Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan

Longlisted for 2017 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year 

A 2017 AMAZON PICK IN BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP

A WealthManagement.com BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2017

In 1688, essayist Josef de la Vega described finance as both “the fairest and most deceitful business . . . the noblest and the most infamous in the world, the finest and most vulgar on earth.”

The characterization of finance as deceitful, infamous, and vulgar still rings true today – particularly in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But, what happened to the fairest, noblest, and finest profession that de la Vega saw? 

De la Vega hit on an essential truth that has been forgotten: finance can be just as principled, life-affirming, and worthy as it can be fraught with questionable practices.  Today, finance is shrouded in mystery for outsiders, while many insiders are uneasy with the disrepute of their profession.  How can finance become more accessible and also recover its nobility?

Harvard Business School professor Mihir Desai, in his “last lecture” to the graduating Harvard MBA class of 2015, took up the cause of restoring humanity to finance. With incisive wit and irony, his lecture drew upon a rich knowledge of literature, film, history, and philosophy to explain the inner workings of finance in a manner that has never been seen before.

This book captures Desai’s lucid exploration of the ideas of finance as seen through the unusual prism of the humanities. Through this novel, creative approach, Desai shows that outsiders can access the underlying ideas easily and insiders can reacquaint themselves with the core humanity of their profession.

The mix of finance and the humanities creates unusual pairings: Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope are guides to risk management; Jeff Koons becomes an advocate of leverage; and Mel Brooks’s The Producers teaches us about fiduciary responsibility. In Desai’s vision, the principles of finance also provide answers to critical questions in our lives. Among many surprising parallels, bankruptcy teaches us how to react to failure, the lessons of mergers apply to marriages, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model demonstrates the true value of relationships.
THE WISDOM OF FINANCE is a wholly unique book, offering a refreshing new perspective on one of the world’s most complex and misunderstood professions.    

The Last Letter from Julietby Melanie Hudson

For fans of Soraya M. Lane, Heather Morris, Lorna Cook and Pam Jenoff.

Me Before You meets The English Patient in this stunning romantic historical novel from award-winning author Melanie Hudson.

A daring WWII pilot who grew up among the clouds, Juliet Caron’s life was one of courage, adventure – and a love torn apart by war. Every nook of her Cornish cottage is alive with memories just waiting to be discovered.

Katherine Henderson has escaped to Cornwall for Christmas, but she soon finds there is more to her holiday cottage than meets the eye. And on the eve of Juliet’s 100th birthday, Katherine is enlisted to make an old lady’s final Christmas wish come true…

Inspired by the brave women of WWII, this is a moving and powerful novel of friendship, love and resilience.

Elle and the Escape:The Hero Chroniclesby Tim Mettey

Elle and the Escape follows Elle Canon’s narrow escape from Valcary Hill during the Thusian Trials. Will she be able to survive the darkness that awaits her on the outside, without Nicholas and The 4 nearby? While she is forced to face her fears, including Xavier and the Seekers, a brutal battle unfolds all around her. Elle has no choice but to stand up and fight for her life–and not just her own.

In this companion novella, fans of The Hero Chronicles get an inside glimpse into the character of Elle.

True Course: Lessons From a Life Aloft by Brigid Johnson

From award-winning, best-selling author Brigid Johnson comes the tale of how one woman’s life in the sky forged an unforgettable destiny. Raised in a small factory town in the 1960s, when aviation was predominantly a male profession, with parents who didn’t support her ambitions, Brigid nevertheless learned to fly. Hers was a busy life of setting limits and learning philosophies of growth and risk well beyond her years, even as she juggled two jobs, college, and a rescue Siberian husky whose wandering spirit put her own to shame. From first solo to an airline career, and finally a decision to hang up her wings for another profession when her elderly father needed her care, Brigid captures with understanding, humor, and grace the moments that change the path of our lives. With lyrical expression of her love for flight, she writes old and new stories of family, adventure, and the thrill of taking to the sky. True Course is more than a memoir or a story of the lure of aviation–it’s a story of learning to let the spirit soar and unfurling the wings of personal freedom, an inspiration to adventurers everywhere.

Pretending To Be Rich by Weston Parker

It was against my will.

But family has a way of forcing you into tight spots, right?

My wealthy father wanted me at his swanky benefit and refused to budge.

Luckily for me, the most beautiful curvy woman happened to come too.

Only one problem: she thinks I’m rich too.

No way in hell I can tell her the truth.

Women like men that can deck them out in jewels, and that ain’t me.

I don’t share in the family inheritance, not yet at least.

Hard work is all I know. It’s who I am.

But will she understand that if the truth comes to light?

I’m just a normal guy in love with a woman far above my paygrade.

And she’s going to freak when she finds out I’ve been pretending to be rich.

Every Good Girl Deserves a Bad Boy. ~ Weston