When you find a book that reinforces that you know more than you thought you knew, it can be both confirming and a tiny bit boring. Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors, by Brad Feld and Mahendra Ramsinghani, narrated by Tavia Gilbert is very good, and very useful, but it’s kinda like a required class that I never get really excited about.

While I have not yet been on a legal technology board, I served for 10+ years as the president of a New York City co-op; was president of the Contra Costa (Calif) Choral and on the board of the San Francisco Choral Society. And yes, I’m a lawyer—so somewhere along the line I probably took a class that covered some of the concepts. But I was still pretty surprised that nothing surprised me. And it certainly increased my confidence.

It is a through, smart and helpful book. Startuup Boards is one of a series of “Startup” books, which also includes Starup Life, and Startup CEO. The publisher (Wiley) says it’s “an essential guide to understanding the dynamics of a startup’s board of directors,” and it’s not an overstatement.

But I do have one complaint: I listen to audiobooks when I’m driving, and one minor issue drove me crazy: The book quotes lots of people and in so doing, often quotes excerpts from books or articles—and the authors appropriately give the URL. But when the narrator reads the URLs—that are often very, very, very long—and she spells out every….last….one…of…the…words….in…the…U….R….L …including… all… of …the…. forward…. slashes. Wiley: for heavens sake, haven’t you heard of Bitly.com!

Other than that, absolutely no negatives. It is a very pragmatic book and great for someone who has no experience in law or any kind of boards. I’m glad I read it—but also really glad I’ve finished it.

★★★
Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors
By Brad Feld & Mahendra Ramsinghani
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Publisher: Wiley
Audio book: Unabridged
Published: Dec. 2013
ISBN: 978-1-118-44366-8
Length: 7 hours

JUST RELEASED
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Through Mindfulness and Mediation
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Publisher: American Bar Association Ankerwycke Imprint.
ISBN: 978-1-62722-62409
$29.95

Project Management in Electronic Discovery
Author: Michael Quartararo, Director of Litigation Support Services at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Adjunct Professor and Advisory Board Member, Bryan University.
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Cover by Roberto Jimenez (He is the fantastic art director for ALM’s Legaltech news (née Law Technology News!)

Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX and a freelance journalist and analyst. She is a member of the California bar. Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu. Twitter: @MonicaBay. If you are interested in reviewing a book of interest to the CodeX community, ping me!