Q. What are you reading?

A. I just finished reading "The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing" by Conor O'Clery. Another friend also gave me "Richistan" by Robert Frank, which I finished about the same time. And I also just read Ben Mezrich's "Rigged" about the creation of the NYMEX oil exchange in Dubai. They're interesting bookends on what might be considered the end of an era. Sitting on my nightstand to read next are Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven."

Q. What reflections of the era do they offer?

A. "Richistan" describes the creation of a new class in this country that should be treated as another country — people that populate Richistan are of another socio-economic background who have created their own subculture. But now, probably half of them have been wiped out in the recent financial cleansing. Then Feeney, who was an Island resident and should have been king of Richistan but elected not to -that's a fascinating story about someone who has lived a selfless life.

Q. Does Richistan's fate or Feeney's decisions ignite ideas about how to be smart in business while also helping the community, like Tori Richards' new solar-array project?

A. I think things work best when those interests are aligned. If the economy and the environment can be somehow be synchronized, the problems will take care of themselves. I'm a believer in the efficacy of markets. Every business is different. But Feeney's book does make me look at how can I be a better person. Do I want to emulate everything he has done? No, except maybe the billionaire part. But I have tremendous admiration for the way he's gone about it, and being someone who can live in peace with the way he's conducted himself — I believe in that.