What I've been reading  

At first I thought Tyler Cowen's new book was a self-help book. But what it really is is a pretty straightforward statement of Tyler Cowen's approach to life and the unique ways in which he has shaped his tastes and interests and manners and even his morality. Not surprisingly, given the subtitle of Cowen's blog, the book eschews sweeping, transformational ideas in favor of juicy, incremental ones that tickle your sense of symmetry, order, causality. I don't think the writing is particularly great -- the book lacks the immediacy of the blog and sometimes seems disorganized -- but if you're interested in Tyler Cowen at all, it's just a fascinating read.