Book Review Slide:ology By Nancy Duarte August 30th, 2010 A perfect quote from the back of the book "Slide:ology is a book that's as beautiful as it is educational". This book talks about how to make great slides for presentations. It is written by Nancy Duarte, who's company used to do (and probably still does) the slide decks for Google. How To Start And Run Your Own Corporation By Peter I. Hupalo June 4th, 2010 Covers how to incorporate, as well as lots of issues such as financing, stock and stock options, directors, officers, tax issues, retirement plans, etc. Great resource, but also really intimidating. May have to get some outside help when it comes time. Point of Impact By Stephen Hunter April 26th, 2010 A sniper is asked to help prevent a presidential assassination, but finds himself framed for that same event. Fun, not very mind expanding. Aztec By Gary Jennings April 11th, 2010 A very good fictional tale of an Aztec man circa 1500 who tells of life, love, disaster, and so much more before and after the Spaniards arrive and change their life forever. In reading up a bit about the times, it looks like most of the events are historically accurate, but the main character is of course entirely fictional. It took me a couple hundred pages to get into the book, and it was slow at times, but over all I am very glad I read the novel. I'm becoming more and more a fan of the historical fiction genre it seems. Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air By David JC MacKay March 18th, 2010 I believe I heard about this from a TED talk given by Bill Gates actually. Anyhow, this is a phenomenal resource to understand our energy needs in the decades to come. For me the biggest take away was - renewable energy by itself just won't cut it. With our current energy consumption (not to mention expected increases in energy consumption from emerging markets), we just can't produce enough electricity with solar, wind, geo-thermal etc. You would nee to build a solar array that spans a large portion of Africa to make it work - which is just not going to happen. If we want to kick coal and oil, we are going to have to use nuclear. We need to stop fretting about the "what if"s of nuclear, and start building, and start investing in R&D. Sword of Truth series By Terry Goodkind Feb 27th, 2010 I've been reading this for the last few months, with other books sprinkled in. I figured I would make it all one post so as not to pollute the book blog with the series. It was 8000+ pages of reading about classic fantasy topics. Magic, good, evil, free will, etc. It was fun to loose myself in for the duration of the series. The main characters are a boy turning man who copes with his natural talent for magic, and a girl turned women who marries him and also has her own magic and massive responsibilites she has to deal with. See You in Court: How the Right Made America a Lawsuit Nation By Thomas Geoghegan Feb 24th, 2010 This book was about a topic that interests me (the rise of litigation in the united states), and also lays blame on the Right, which is hard to resist. However, the book was not right for me. It had way too much lawyer-speak, and was often mind-numbing. I wouldn't object if I didn't hear the word Tort for another 12 months. Why pi? By Johnny Ball Feb 11th, 2010 Aimed at kids 9-12 years old, I found this to be a great read for all ages. I had this book as bathroom reading material, which I found to be the perfect way to read the book. In this way, you could read just a page or two at a time, and then have plenty of time between readings to really think about what you had learned. The beginning of the book was excellent - talked about really interesting math history, such as how Egyptians used math to measure their fields, and who came up with different basic mathematical principles, and how they affect us, etc. The last 1/4 or so of the book was anti-climatic - it was just a discussion of the various different measurements out in the world today. If you skip the last 1/4, you won't miss much. The rest of it though is a great read for young and old alike. Perfect Rigor By Masha Gessen Jan 31st, 2010 The true account of a mathematical genius who solved one of the hardest problems of the last 100 years. Much of the book goes into talking about mathematics and antisemitism in cold-war Russia. It then continues on to explain the strange personality of the mathematician - Grigori Perelman. It sounds like he most likely has Asperger syndrome - although it also sounds like many mathematicians do as well. He is due to be awarded a $1,000,000 prize very soon for accomplishing this feat, but mostly likely will not accept the prize - just as he did not accept the prize for the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger Jan 13th, 2010 Unlike most of my generation, I somehow didn't read this during high school, so I made up for that omission. To be honest, the book didn't do much for me. I feel like it probably has a much greater impact on high school students as the main character deals with lots of the feelings and issues that high schoolers deal with. For me, I couldn't relate as much at this point in my life. I also found it to be a strange style of writing, in that there wasn't really any central plot or climax, just more of a rambling play-by-play. City of Thieves By David Benioff Jan 7th, 2010 A very good novel. Takes place during WWII in Russia, featuring a teenager named Lev and his newfound friend Kolya whom he is forced to go on an adventure with through war torn Saint Petersburg and beyond. The author paints a picture of starving Russians, merciless Germans, and dynamic relationships between various characters. Very well told. Startups that Work By Joel Kurtzman Jan 5th, 2010 This turned out to be a bit different than what I expected. It ended up being a more quantitative and data oriented than I had expected, which was great. The book was written around a large longitudinal survey some guys did that examined startups at various stages of their company, to determine what factors early on resulted in success of the startup. This reads as both a helper for people creating their own startup, as well as an informational guide to people investing in startups. Overall, a valuable read. The Age of Ra By James Lovegrove Dec 24th, 2009 I randomly saw this at a bookstore, and decided to get it. I was pleasantly surprised (perhaps because I came in with pretty low expectations). I had been complaining recently that a lot of the more "out there" fiction often had a lot of the same themes - either very sci fi, or very fantasy like. This one seemed to be fairly different, hence the purchase. The overview is that it takes place in present time, but it turns out that all of the gods of every religion (Egyptian, Greek, roman, Christian, Hindu, etc) actually exist. The Egyptian gods though had recently killed off the rest - but even among the Egyptian gods, there was constant feuding. Down on earth, there was also constant wars reflecting the feuds of the gods. The main character is a military commander who joins "The Lightbringer", a man who seems to have it in his mind to fight against the gods. Overall, an entertaining read. The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing By Larimore, Lindauer & LeBoeuf Dec 6th, 2009 I found this to be a really good beginner's guide to investing. It explains all of the basics including inflation, ways to save, taxes, and then talks a lot about why it is foolish to try to beat the odds yourself, or even with a mutual fund. Over any significant amount of time, a very low expense index fund will beat nearly all mutual funds. Another very helpful part for me was that it talked about if you had both a tax deferred account (IRA) and a standard account, which parts of your diversified portfolio to put in each account to minimize taxes. Strongly recommended for those starting to invest their money. Lord of the Flies By William Golding Nov 30th, 2009 One of KJS's favorites, and a book that missed out on reading in high school, so I gave it a read. Highly recommended. A bit more violent/sad than I would have guessed, but a good read. I really liked how at the beginning you could really feel how Utopian life was - you could feel the fun they were having, and the smiles on their faces. Anyhow, for those that haven't read it, the book uses a set of one or two dozen stranded kids on an island to talk about human nature, and different kinds of leadership and societies. Ralph, Jack, Simon, Piggy and others go through different phases of cooperation and competition throughout the book. I'll leave it at that so as not to spoil it. A Dirty Job By Christopher Moore Nov 20th, 2009 Recommended by my brother - and what a good recommendation it was. Very funny, exciting, and just bizarre. Totally my cup of tea. A man becomes a Death Merchant - having to collect souls when people die. But things start going wrong, and strange creatures are showing up, stealing the souls before he can get to him. To add to the strangeness, his daughter seems to be able to kill people by stating the word "Kitty", and she also made friends with two giant hell-hounds. Interview with the Vampire By Anne Rice Nov 15th, 2009 This read was inspired by Kristin H. She has been on a vampire reading binge evidently, so I asked her what one good Vampire book was, so I could at least see what everyone's fascination with vampires was all about. She recommended this one as sort of the foundation for lots of other vampire books. It was indeed a great read. Fascinating, heart felt, intriguing, full of excitement, and more. The whole book is written - as the title implies - as an interview with a vampire. He recounts his long history as a vampire, not just the action and adventure, but also the emotional roller-coaster ride he went on trying to come to grips with what he had become. Good read. The Road By Cormac McCarthy Nov 5th, 2009 Why, oh why do some many people love this book? It's page after page of monotonous misery. What do people see in this book that I don't see? I don't get it. Anyhow, as a summary, it's about a kid and his father starving to death for 200 pages, post Apocalypse. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson Nov 2nd, 2009 I have decided that Jekyll and Hyde is essentially an episode of Scooby Doo. Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins Oct 27th, 2009 This was the sequel to The Hunger Games (see below). This was an ok read, but I felt like way too much of it was just repackaging of the first book. The first book left off with lots of potential (the population is growing restless, the all-powerful government may have finally overreached its limit), but then the second book basically just was another adventure almost identical to the first - another tournament, not much new development. A bit disappointing. The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins Oct 12th, 2009 Even though you'll need to find The Hunger Games in the "Teen" section of your local reading establishment, I still found the book to be highly enjoyable. It was one of those feel good, empowering type reads. Katniss, a young but resourceful girl, lives with her younger sister and mother in extreme poverty under an oppressive regime. The government randomly selects Katniss' younger sister to be in a fight to the death match, with the dual purpose of entertaining the rich and powerful, and making sure the impoverished know their place in the society. Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place in the games, and we the readers follow her trials and tribulations to stay alive for as long as she can. I will warn readers though that this looks like it is just the first book of who knows how many - so if that frustrates some, perhaps you should wait a few years until there are more books in the series. Daniel X: Watch the Skies By Patterson and Rust Oct 11th, 2009 I sat in a book store and just read this in two sittings. I guess I just didn't want to pay for a book that was only a few hours read. Anyhow, it was not good. I'm very glad I didn't buy it. This was the second book in the series, and I'm not sure if it was just far worse than the first, or just way too similar to the first. The writing style is just extremely dull though. It is a kids book, but that is not a valid excuse for such rubbish. Anathem By Neal Stephenson Oct 9th, 2009 This novel is a strange mix of philosophy, action/adventure, and science fiction. The main characters are essentially agnostic monks. They spend all of their time in introspection and studying the world around them. They have almost no possessions and live a very simple life. Outside of their gated walls the world evolves and devolves, religions come and go, and wars eb and flow. When a massive world wide problem emerges though, the Maths/Mathics (monks) and the seculars team up to try to save their planet. I really liked the philisophical aspects of the book, as well as the technical aspects. Definitely not for everyone, but I very much enjoyed it. The Guns of the South By Harry Turtledove Sep 8th, 2009 The general notion of this book is fun - people go back in time from present day to the Civil war to help the south win the war by giving them present day weapons. The book starts out really interesting, in the heat of battle, and all of the intrigue about who these mysterious men are who came with the weapons, but soon the war is over, and the bulk of the book just kind of runs on like this run-on sentence. It is an interesting thought experiment though - how the US and the world would be different if the south had won the war. I think I would give this book perhaps 3 out of 5 stars. It would have gotten 4 out of 5 if the author had removed about 100 pages from the middle of the book. Under the Banner of Heaven By Jon Krakauer Aug 17th, 2009 Katie and I listened to the audio CD version of this book on a road trip to and from Baltimore. It centers on the Mormon faith - both the traditional Mormons, and the more extreme fundamental Mormons. It goes into detail about Joseph Smith and the history of the religion, as well as some more recent violent crimes - the rape and kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in 2002, and the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her infant son in 1984 - both of which were somewhat tied up in the fundamental Mormon beliefs in polygamy. I found the book to be extremely insightful and interesting. It definitely had a rather negative bias towards Mormonism, especially fundamental Mormonism, but it seemed to be a rather well researched and factual book. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X By Patterson and Ledwidge Aug 7th, 2009 This book can be found in the "Young Adult" section of your local bookarie. Daniel X is an alien hunter, who's job it is to... you guessed it, hunt aliens. Very much like Men In Black, but Daniel is a 15 year old kid, and he has mad skills of the non-human sort. This was a fun, but extremely fast read. I had planned on reading it on my 3 hour flight, but ended up finishing less than 2 hours into the flight. So I ended up reading the first half again (not much else to do really). The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat By Oliver Sacks Aug 6th, 2009 Oliver Sacks is one of the most famous neurologists of our times. In this book, he chronicles many different clinical anomalies that he has encountered in his long career. Each chapter documents a different patient of his, each with a different mental abnormality. As he himself notes though, abnormality does not necessarily mean it's a negative trait, as some prove to be very superhuman in a sense. Anyhow, I really enjoyed this read (Thanks Anna!), and will probably end up getting this for my bookshelf at some point as a fun one to reference now and again. Dune By Frank Herbert July 18th, 2009 A re-read of a classic. For those that haven't read it, this is one of the best fiction novels ever - definitely gets into the sci-fi realm, but doesn't feel all sci-fi-ish. This time around I noticed similarities between Dune, and Star Wars, and Lord of the rings. Hm. Anyhow, the premise is a kid gets sent to a desert planet with his royal dad, and finds that he has some interesting abilities and fate awaiting him on this new planet. Spice, Sand Worms... all sorts of good stuff. Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us By Rodney Brooks July 10th, 2009 The author of this book is the head of the robotics lab at MIT. It talks about his personal history with robotics, as well as the lab's history with robotics. In theory, it then talks about what he envisions for the future of robotics, but in reality, he hardly even touches on this which was disappointing. Not a great read in my opinion. Neuromancer By William Gibson June 4th, 2009 Note to self: I need to re-read this someday. For some reason, I had a hard time following the what, who, where of the book for almost the entire time. I felt like I was in a drug induced haze, just trying to grasp what was going on around me. Anyhow, the story is of a hacker in the far future who teams up with others included a woman with Wolverine like talons, to do mysterious jobs for an unknown employer. The book battles humans against mysterious AI entities. The Manga Guide to Databases By Mana Takahashi et al May 31st, 2009 I went to the bookstore to get a refresher Database book, and saw this gem. It just looked too awesome to pass up, so I ended up getting it (as well as a "real" database book). I read it on a flight, and must say, I really enjoyed it. It was a good refresher book for some of the DB basics. Indignation By Philip Roth May 28th, 2009 Set in the early 50's, a New Jersey jewish boy escapes his overbearing father by going to school at a very white Ohio university. He has trouble dealing with others at school (students and administration), as well as dealing with his parents back home. He soon falls madly in love with a girl who has issues of her own to add even more dilemma in his life. It is a very quick read - almost reads like a short story - but is fun and interesting and insightful. This was recommended by JenL. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius By Dave Eggers May 18th, 2009 I'm not sure if there is a name for the genre of this book. It is for the most part non-fiction, based on his life - his parents both dying, and him raising his little brother. The reason the genre is a bit bizarre, is because he just tosses in things that are just not true - but you realize in reading them that they are not true - for example, a few pages in which his 8 year old brother is lecturing him with vocab of a 28 year old writer, or when an MTV producer is interviewing him about things that were obviously not asked my the MTV producer. Anyhow, it is a really nice read, perhaps a bit slow and long-winded at times, but very well written. I Saw You... By Julia Wertz (Editor) May 16th, 2009 This book is a collection of many comics that are each based off of "Missed Connections" from Craigslist. Some are sad, some are funny, some are romantic, etc. I believe that some of them are verbatim Missed Connections from CL that the artists just made up visuals for, and others are comics that were more based loosely on postings. A fun quick read though. Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life By Neil Strauss May 5th, 2009 I very much enjoyed this non-fiction read. It is the author's first hand account of his preparation for the worst. Specifically, he fears that America may collapse economically and/or become a police state, so he prepares himself for the worst. He does this by doing everything from getting a second passport, to learning city survival (how to get out of handcuffs and trunks, how to fight hand to hand), and natural survival (how to find wild plants to eat, how to hunt with natural tools and make your own shelters). Throughout the book he accumulates more and more knowledge, and more and more skills. The end has a nice twist (a bit of a spoiler here) in that he sort of changes his tune from "If shit hits the fan, I'll run away as fast as I can" to "If shit hits the fan, I'll use all of my skills to help out other people". The Rise of Endymion By Dan Simmons Apr 28th, 2009 The last of the Hyperion series. I think I just got tired of it at this point. It just dragged on. There was a nice romance type storyline in there which was a bit of a nice change, but yeah, just more of the same really - nothing very exceptional. Endymion By Dan Simmons Apr 15th, 2009 The third in the hyperion series. It takes place a few hundred years after the previous one leaves off, and the main character of the book is Raul, the boyfriend of "The One Who Teaches". We follow those two, the shrike, and the android as they go planet surfing and avoid caputure. A fun book for a long flight. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable By Nassim Nicholas Taleb Apr 7th, 2009 I made it about a third of the way through this book, and then I sort of stated "OK, I get his point" and decided not to finish the last two thirds. His point, at least from what I could tell, is that what really makes an impact on the world around us are the drastic and unexpected changes - 9/11, market collapses, and so forth. We don't do enough to prepare for them before hand (but... that's sort of the point... they are unexpected), and we overcompensate for them afterwords. Anyhow, interesting to think about - if you read it, and got a lot more out of it than me, let me know. 1984 By George Orwell Apr 1st, 2009 Somehow, I had not yet read this book. It was a great read for the content and lessons of the book (totalitarian state, loss of freedom and rights), but also really interesting to finally see the original sources to a bunch of things that have now become main stream, such as the terms "Big Brother" and "DoubleSpeak". A couple random thoughts from this: 1) Is there a way we can have a "freedom thermometer" that lets us tally from year to year how much freedom we have, so loss of freedom does not creep up on us slowly over time? And 2) Even though the characters totally lost all of their freedom to do anything (including think), were they unhappy? Is it possible that they were perfectly happy with this outcome? That one hurts my brain to think about. What is more important, freedom, or happiness? I don't know. Farenheight 451 By Ray Bradbury Mar 18th, 2009 This was a re-read, for old time's sake. I had forgotten most of it, so it was a nice refresher. The central themes are censorship, loss of freedoms, loss of free thinking, and lost touch with the "real" world. The government doesn't let people read books anymore, and the main character is a Fireman, who's job it is to burn any books found. By the way, random aside, does anyone know of another book that had mechanical dogs in it? I remember a book that had mechanical (nuclear powered?) dogs that ran extremely fast - and part of the book was told from their (scattered / hyper) viewpoint. I thought it was this book, but evidently not. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin By Benjamin Franklin Mar 16th, 2009 Man oh man, that dude had some mad skills. This book is written somewhat sloppily - changing narrative styles throughout, carrying on from time to time, and not even finishing it - but the content is truly amazing. Why didn't I learn in school about how awesome Ben Franklin was? In addition to his kite flying escapade, he invented a better type of wood burning furnace, and a better street lamp. He created the first public university in America (U. Penn), helped create one of the first public hospitals, and came up with the idea for the first fire department, and the first public library. His main profession was a printer and newspaper man (which served him well in marketing many of his projects), but he also served as a colonel, a postmaster general, and an assemblyman. His career is just astounding. Also - it isn't covered in this book, but he was one of the core founding fathers. According to Wikipedia, "He is the only Founding Father who is a signatory of all four of the major documents of the founding of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Alliance with France, and the United States Constitution." Ever wonder why he is on the $100 bill even though he wasn't a president? It's because the dude pretty much single handedly built America :-) The Fall of Hyperion By Dan Simmons Mar 5th, 2009 The sequel to Hyperion (two entries down). In my opinion, this should have been combined with the first book, and should have been a single book. The first book didn't really conclude the storyline, but there was much more of a conclusion at the end of this second book. Anyhow, this book is very sci-fi, and covers some interesting topics including religion, technological singularity, and hard choices that need to be made in war time. It follows a half dozen characters or so as they conclude their pilgrimage that plays a vital role in the future to come. Reflex By Steven Gould Feb 28th, 2009 This is the sequel to Jumper (two entries down). In this episode, our favorite teleporter manages to get kidnapped by some bad people (it takes some ingenuity to figure out how to keep him kidnapped, since he is a teleporter and all). The story follows his trials and tribulations in his kidnapped environment, as well as his wife's trials and tribulations in trying to track down where he was taken to, and how to get him back. Fun easy read. Actually, I didn't go to bed until 6:30am one night because of this book. Sort of lost track of time. Whoops. Hyperion By Dan Simmons Feb 24th, 2009 Very much a scifi book, this gets into topics of empire building across worlds, intelligent computers, and so forth. Actually, the reason I wanted to read it was I saw reference to it when I was reading about a Technological Singularity on wikipedia, and the novel seemed interesting, so I gave it a read. It was a very good read, but I was a bit frustrated with the ending - it was very much a cliff hanger ending with no conclusion to the main storyline. Jumper By Steven Gould Feb 16th, 2009 A movie came out recently by the same name. This is a fun book, based on the premise that a kid learns how to teleport. The story line is a bit different from the movie, but much of it is the same. This special ability gives him a superman / Spiderman type responsibility, and he has to wrestle with using his talent for good, while also trying to maintain a semblance of a normal life. The Faithful Spy By Alex Berenson Feb 16th, 2009 Eh. Another spy book. A CIA agent infiltrates a terrorist cell in Afghanistan. The Cell sends him on a mission in the United States. The CIA wants to know if they can still trust him... The Cell wants to know if they can trust him... Etc. Etc. The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA By Schultz, Cannon and Cannon Feb 9th, 2009 This is a graphic guide (comic basically) of how genetics and DNA works. It was incredibly well done, very informational, but really fun to read. I was astounded by how complex the basic elements of DNA were, specifically, how DNA and RNA are read, and how they replicate. It is basically a computer - it is really bizarre. It actually makes me a tiny bit more religious - I'm not kidding. It makes you think - "OK, there is no way that all of these processes for reading and writing DNA could have just developed through randomness". It's almost as if a Computer Scientist designed the whole system. I'm a bit wierded out by the whole thing to be honest. Cryptonomicon By Neal Stephenson Jan 31st, 2009 One of the best novels I have ever read. It has lots of Math / Computer stuff in it, which really made it even more enjoyable in my mind. The story takes place over two different time periods - one being World War II, focusing in on the Cryptography efforts during the war, and the second being modern day (1999 I think) with the focus being on Silicon Valley, and Asia - with some smart Techy guys trying to set up a new startup company. The book has lots of fun adventure aspects, has some great historical fiction aspects to it (General McCarther, Alan Turing, and others), and then has great details into some of the cryptography methods. Delightful. The Whiskey Rebels By David Liss Jan 12th, 2009 My bro and sister-in-law (such a strange term) gave me this one for the holidays. It is historical fiction taking place during President Washington's years in office, with part of the story taking place in the nations capital (Phili) and NYC, and part taking place "out west" which at this time meant just western Pennsylvania. It was a really fun read, lots of action, interesting insight into the times, fun references to people such as Washington, Hamilton, Burr, and others. The Florians By Brian M. Stableford Dec 15th, 2008 A slow reading month for me. One book only? Yikes. Anyhow, this was a scifi book about some people who settled on this new world, but had become very large in size (height, weight, strength, etc). Scientists came from earth to help them figure out what was going on. eh. Watchmen By Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Nov 25th, 2008 A graphic novel (aka, a comic book) about caped heroes from the 1920s until the 1980s. This was recommended to be by two different people in a span of 24 hours - so I had no choice but to immediately run to the nearest comic book store, and purchase the book. But I must say, I'm glad I did. It was really interesting and fun to read. Now the question is... do I watch the movie? Foundation and Empire By Isaac Asimov Nov 22nd, 2008 The second in the Foundation series. Also a great read. In this book, the blossoming civilization takes on The Mule - a man born with a genetic mutation that help him to conquer worlds. Two characters, along with The Mule's escaped court jester flee and try to figure out how to conquer the mule. Foundation By Isaac Asimov Nov 18th, 2008 For the last few weeks I have had a lot of false starts - I starting reading a book, then lost interest in it - over and over again. So I decided to go back to an oldie but goodie after my SF roommate reminded me of the series. The storyline for this takes place far in the future, and the story itself spans a few hundred years, and therefore has a new set of characters every 1/4 of the book or so. The premise is that mathematicians have forecasted the future of civilization, and it looks grim, so they start up a new civilization that will be the shining light in a dying universe. Every 50 years or so, some new challenge presents itself to this new civilization, and they must confront and overcome these challenges. The Lathe of Heaven By Ursula K. Le Guin Oct 24th, 2008 A great read. The premise is: A man realizes that what he dreams actually comes to happen in real life. Not that he predicts the future, but rather his dreams actually alter the future. Some bad things come of this, so he goes to a doctor to help him get rid of this "ailment", but the doctor realizes the potential that can come of this gift, and takes advantage of poor George (our hero for the novel). This one was recommended by my cousin Adam. Kudos on this one Adam. A Lion Among Men By Gregory Maguire Oct 20th, 2008 The last of the audio CD's - or at least, the last until next time I decide to drive across the country. This was in the same series as Wicked (of which there was a Broadway play made after), and son of a witch. It probably would be a good book, but I didn't find it to be a good audio book. The writing is very literary, with very long sentences, and lots of descriptions that are hard to follow while driving a car. I think it would have been much better if I had read it in a more traditional sense. Anyhow, it follows the Cowardly Lion before and after he meets Dorathy. He lived a hard life. It's got to be tough being a talking lion. The Revolution: A Manifesto By Ron Paul Oct 16th, 2008 Another Audio CD on my trip. This book by Ron Paul (yes, that Ron Paul - presidential candidate) contains his views on how the US government should be run. He is free market to the extreme, as well as a constitutionalist. He has a bunch of good thoughts that make a lot of sense, but there are some other things that I don't agree with him on. It would be really interesting to try out some of his ideas in a controlled experiment of sorts (Did I hear you volunteer Oklahoma?) - such as dropping income tax, removing all social programs, and letting people themselves fund social needs. Would it work? I honestly don't know - it may. It was also interesting to hear him trash Truman a lot, since I had just heard Truman's (very positively spun) biography - so it was interesting to hear the other side on that as well. Chindi By Jack McDevitt Oct 15th, 2008 A "real" book (as apposed to the audio CD's it is surrounded by). This was a sci fi novel that was a pretty decent read. It takes place a couple hundred years in the future, and revolves around the main characters searching out other intelligent life in the galaxy. Not bad, not mind blowing though. Truman By David Baldacci Oct 15th, 2008 Yet another audio CD (although I linked to the book in this case). An excellent biography of Harry S. Truman (turns out "S" didn't stand for anything). I learned a lot from this one, about his humble beginnings, his Abe Lincoln like devotion to honesty, his decisions in regards to dropping the A-bomb, and the war in Korea, etc. Lots of amazing stuff in there - definitely worth the read/listen. Blood Work By Michael Connelly Oct 13th, 2008 Another Audio CD. A thriller - a retired FBI investigator does a pro-bono case to track down a killer, and finds that the killer has actually killed others before. The victim was a heart donor, and the FBI agent happened to be the benefactor of that transplant. Nothing special to say about this one, kind of a fun read. Audacity of Hope By Barack Obama Oct 13th, 2008 I listened to this audio book on a drive across the country. I found it to be very interesting; it had a bit of history of U.S. government, and specifically the Senate, as well as Barack's personal history, and then some history of African American issues in the United States. It was read by Barack himself, which made it more fun. It was also interesting to hear that some of the issues he has been talking about recently are not new ideas for him, but rather were ideas he had about the state of the union back when he wrote this book as well. Stone Cold By David Baldacci Oct 5th, 2008 Bleh. FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Russian spies, American spies, good guy is on the run from the government because he was framed, etc etc. Not much to say about this book. Definitely a cookie cutter story. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it or something. Brisingr By Christopher Paolini Sep 30th, 2008 This is the third book in a Trilogy, the first being "Eragon". It is very fantasy-ish, so if you aren't into that, then this is definitely not the right book for you. Anyhow, upon fishing this book, I found that the series wasn't actually finished ... they added on a 4th (yet to be written) book! Hm - I think they need to look up the definition of "Trilogy" :-) Runaways By Brian K Vaughan et al Sep 11th, 2008 A graphic novel / comic aimed at youth, written by the same author of Y: The last man (see Jan 25th 2008). The story revolves around a group of kids who revolt against their parents who they find to be evil villains. It is a fun, but quick read. Listed on left is book one of a 7+ book series. Not much else to say about this one. Little Brother By Cory Doctorow Sep 8th, 2008 Wow. That one sort of shook me up. I think I was able to relate to this one more than others might, as it took place in SF, citing many places I am very familiar with - and also because there is a lot of technobabble in there that I am able to understand. This is a book I wish every 15 year old in the country got a chance to read. It talks about a near future terrorist attack on San Francisco, and the government clamping down on the citizens. It basically takes a lot of the things we are starting to see in regards to loosing privacy for the sake of security, and amps them up just a bit more to show how shocking our world can become (or has already become) if we let it. The World Without Us By Alan Weisman Sep 7th, 2008 I am sort of cheating by putting this one on the list as I only read a few chapters of the book. The premise was really interesting though, so I figured I would post it. The book is what the author calls a "thought experiment" on what life would be like on this planet if all humans instantly ceased to exist today. How would this affect other animals, plants, the geology? How long would it take cities to revert back to their pre-human state? how long before our garbage disappeared? The author did tons of research in a whole lot of different fields to be able to write the book. It is very interesting premise - I just happened to get a bit bored of it pretty quickly :-) The Winner By David Baldacci Sep 6th, 2008 A mass market thriller. A very poor single mother is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity at being guaranteed to be a massive lotto winner - but at what cost? The book is packed with action, suspense, and a bit of mystery. Recommended by my brother - a good airplane read. A Deepness in the Sky By Vernor Vinge Sep 1st, 2008 SciFi to the extreme. Long read (750 pages or so), but a good one. Human traders come into contact with an alien race of spiders who are starting civilization from scratch. The humans lurk from above to watch as the spider civilization cruises through the various steps of society that humans had gone through - from cities, to wars, to launching satellites. A fun read to loose yourself in when you are in the mood for hard core SciFi. The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho Aug 25th, 2008 This novel was originally written in Portuguese in 1988, and according to wikipedia, has been translated into 56 languages since then. It is told in a style reminiscent of ancient verbal storytelling, with simple words, but an incredibly interesting story that carries meaning and lessons for all of us. The overarching lesson (at least as I interpret it) is that each one of us has the ability to make our own destiny if we just try, and that we should not cave into what is convenient if it means giving up on our dreams. It is really quite a spectacular read - it is very easy, very entertaining, and yet really makes you walk away feeling like you got a privileged sneak peak view of a chapter from "What is the meaning of life". I am definitely going to read this a couple more times in the years to come to see what else I get out of it. Double Take By Catherine Coulter Aug 17th, 2008 A murder attempt foiled, a missing wife apparently turning up across the country, and psychics butting into the lives of the FBI. This novel takes some classic book themes, and ties in a few twists to create a very enjoyable airplane read (as in, it won't make you smarter, but it is a fun way to pass the time). Solar Revolution By Travis Bradford Aug 15th, 2008 Happy two year anniversary, book blog! Oh, yeah, the book. It summarizes the history and current state of energy in the US and worldwide, and builds the case for Solar. My take-away is that while solar may not be cost competitive for utilities yet, in many places it is already cost competitive for end users if they have home installations. Promise Me By Harlan Coben Aug 10th, 2008 A fast fun action/thriller/mystery book. This one was recommended by my brother - thanks bro, good book. In this novel, two different teens go missing in northern jersey, but it is unclear if they ran away or if there was something more sinister involved. Myron, the main character, is a family frind of one of the girls, and takes responsibility for figuring out what happens. I'll have to hit up some more Coben books in the future. Shadow Divers By Robert Kurson Aug 5th, 2008 This is a non-fiction book about... wait, did I just read a non-fiction book? Woh, I did! Amazing! Anyhow, this is about deep sea divers who discovered a German WWII U-Boat (submarine) off the coast of New Jersey. It is a really interesting and exciting story, with great insight into the incredibly risky sport/hobby/profession of diving for wrecks. It also packs in some nice history lessons that are an added bonus. Saturn's Children By Charles Stress July 19th, 2008 Unfortunately the cover of this book is idiotic and not PG-13, so leaving that area blank for this one. The premise of the novel is that all human, plant and animal life has died, and the galaxy is densely populated with Robots. The main character was originally created by the humans to be an escort - of the sexual kind, but after all the humans died, she was out of a job. She then gets tied up in all sorts of shenanigans as various controlling parties of Robots make their power plays on society. I did actually enjoy this book - an entertaining read with a touch of steamy writing now and again. Replay By Ken Grim wood July 12th, 2008 Gripping. Couldn't put it down. Finished it in a day. The novel makes you think about your own life, and the choices you have made, and the choices you will make in life. The basic premises is - a man dies, and upon death, finds himself back in time to when he was still in college, living his life with the knowledge he had up until his death, but the body of his college self, living life over again. It follows him as he re-navigates life, watching what new choices he makes (always making money easily through betting on major future events). He again dies, and again goes back. Each time he goes back he lives life in a pretty different way - sometimes filled with sex, drugs and money, sometimes with love, marriage and kids, sometimes with corporate success, sometimes living a life of a hermit. It very much makes you think about how you would live your life if given the chance to do it over again, and how you should live your life going forward. Rubik By Philip K. Dick June 16th, 2008 Despite the fact that the author - in 1969 at the time of writing this book - gave mankind way too much credit for where civilization would be by the time of this book's setting (1992), it was a very enjoyable read. As mentioned, this book takes place in 1992, at which time mankind has colonized a bunch of planets, and people have taken on some X-men like adaptations... reading minds, pre-cognition, and the sorts. After a deadly accident, the main characters start experiences glitches in reality that they must understand before their time runs out. Lots of fun. Two for Two from Philip K. Dick. Brave New World By Aldous Huxley June 14th, 2008 Written in the early 1930's, this novel takes place in a post Model T Ford era, where life is optimized to the T. Children are no longer born, but rather produced in assembly lines of test tubes. People are not allowed to get emotionally attached to each other, and chemicals cure all sadness. Within this setting the story follows various characters as they question the sanity of this environment, and the book also brings in a couple characters from the "savage" world of native Americans which is used to contrast the civilizations. Anyhow, it is a really interesting and thought provoking novel that makes you think about how our society is progressing (or perhaps regressing). Raising Atlantis By Thomas Greanias June 8th, 2008 This is the first of a three book series that I read after having first read the second book. It was about the discovery of the city of Atlantis in Antarctica, with Indiana Jones type characters causing a ruckus. This book was a quick easy read, but I didn't find it to be very good. Not enough story line, too much ridiculous action. There are better books out there to spend your time on. The Atlantis Prophecy By Thomas Greanias June 1st, 2008 A quick fun read, but of the action thriller genre - not something that is going to expand your mind in any way shape or form. Very similar to the movies Nation Treasure (was that based off of this series?). This novel turns out to be the second in the series of three - I'll have to check out the others if I can get my hands on them. Daemon By Leinad Zeraus May 20th, 2008 A dark but splendid read for the more computer nerdy of you out there who like a good page turner. This book has some similarities with Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Deamon takes place in the near future (or perhaps even present) when a mad programmer decides to create a very sophisticated set of processes that affect the lives of many individuals, and ends up potentially affecting society as a whole. It is fun for me to read because it goes into a lot more of the details about how the program works than a normal book would, but also has some great thoughts about what the potential future could have in store for us. As surreal of a story as it is - from a programmer's standpoint, lots of it does actually seem feasible - which is a scary thought. Anyhow, a great read - but perhaps more so for people who don't mind dark books, and books with a lot of computer related jargon. Plug-in Hybrids: The cars that will recharge America By Sherry Boschert Apr 12th, 2008 There is a lot of overlap between this book and the movie Who killed the electric car (which you should see by the way if you have not already). Anyhow, as for the book - it has tons of great data in it to back up the notion that the government, the auto industry, and the American people should be trying much harder to get plug-in electric cars on the road as they can reduce our dependency on mid-east oil producing countries, save us money, and keep our air cleaner. Here is one bummer piece of data that was in the book that shocked me a bit: as of 2005, the united states energy as a whole comes from 50% coal (ug), 19% nuclear (potential ug), 19% natural gas(ug), 6% hydro (yay! but that's it?), 3% petroleum (ug), and 3% renewable (yay! but that's it?) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick Apr 6th, 2008 The movie Blade Runner was based off of this book. It is about a bounty hunter who's job it is to hunt down and deactivate androids who have gone to the dark side. Very fun read. Winkie By Cliffor Chase Mar 29th, 2008 One of the more bizarre, but awesome books I have read. It can perhaps be best described by some of the press it has gotten... "If Animal Farm were to bump into Monty Python in the dark alley the result might be Winkie." - The Herald Sun. "If your teddy bear were brought to trial under charges of terrorism, what would the verdict be? That's the whimsical premise behind Winkie" - Newsweek. (if those two reviews don't at least peak your interest, then perhaps this book is not right for you) The Master and Margarita By Mikhail Bulgakov Mar 16th, 2008 Multiple friends from high school recommended I read this book. It took me a while to get through - did not grip me as many books do. It was rather interesting and thought provoking though. The story has two threads in it - one is Moscow in 1930, the other is Jerusalem in the time of Christ (specifically, the time of his crucifixion). In the Moscow thread, the city becomes chaotic as a mysterious man named Woland and his crew come to town and cause much mischief. One of the characters in Moscow is an author writing a story about Pontius Pilate - hence the tie in with the Jesus crucifixion. Alternative Energy Demystified By Stan Gibilsco Mar 1st, 2008 The title of the book pretty much tells all. This book covers everything from wind power to solar power, biofuels to fossil fuels, passive solar heating to heat pumps, fission, fusion, and a whole bunch more. It covers each item in enough detail to have a basic understanding of the method, but of course more in depth understanding is not covered. I found it to be a great resource to get a understanding of so many different technologies and methods out there. Y: The Last Man By Brian K. Vaughan et al Jan 25th, 2008 Y (As in the chromosome): The Last Man is a graphic novel about the world when all men on the planet suddenly die, but the women survive. There is one man left - and the novel follows his journeys. This is the first "Graphic Novel" (aka comic) I have read since I was a youngen. They really are quite different in many ways. To me the main differences are that they provide a much richer sense of the scenery, but a much shallower sense of depth with the characters - as you essentially only get dialog. I linked here just to the first one, but last I checked there were 9 or 10 in the series so far. They are very quick to read - you kind of have to slow yourself down to look at the images without breezing past them. Fragile Things By Neil Gaiman Jan 20th, 2008 This is a collection of short stories that seemed like it would be cool. It was not - not cool that is. The first story was very good, I highly recommend it - there is actually an audio version available online. Other than that, the rest are scary camp fire stories that are kind of silly. I made it half way through and then stopped. Blowback By Chalmers Johnson Jan 15th, 2008 I just skimmed this one. I have been curious for a while now of *why* terrorists would want to bomb us. The explanation of "because they envy our freedom" seemed like the most ridiculous statement ever. The excuse of because of our religious ways and consumption etc seemed to make more sense in my mind, but still didn't explain why it was just US that was a target, and not other first world countries. This book talks about how it is almost entirely because we are an imperialist empire - we have military bases all around the world - we help to overthrow governments left and right, and cause havoc everywhere. He raises some really eye opening points. An Inconvenient Truth By Al Gore Jan 11th, 2008 This is the "companion" book to the movie of the same name. The content is nearly identical, but with perhaps a bit more detail in the book. As far as graphical design and layout of the book, I found this to be one of the best put together books I have ever seen - very Tufte-esq. The Once and Future King By T. H. White Dec 31st, 2007 This was required reading in High school english. I ran into it on my bookshelf when I was back home over christmas, so I brought it back with me for another reading. The book is historical fiction, about King Arthur, Lancelot, Guenever and the knights of the roundtable. T. H. White takes that historical set of characters, and tosses in some magic, a whole lot of humor, and some interesting story lines to create this book. I found it to be a great book in high school, and I stick with that finding. The one downfall is that it seems to be a very different story at the beginning as it is at the end - the first quarter of the book is incredibly light hearted, fun, magical, and the last quarter is very dark and sad. Lost Horizon By James Hilton Dec 24th, 2007 Recommended by the Samantha Crow Reading Club, this book claims to be the "first novel published as a paperback". It was published (as well as takes place) in 1933... my copy is of course a bit newer :-). Anyhow, the story is of adventure and mystery deep in Tibet, spefically in a mystical place called shangri-la. It follows a british man as he and three others find themselves in a new land, trying to unravel the mysteries of what makes this place so secluded and so special. I found it very fun and very quick to read. Winning Our Energy Independence By David Freeman Dec 24th, 2007 I purchased this book on a whim - I saw it on the shelf at a bookstore. I am very happy that I purchased and read this one, as it had a pretty profound impact on my environmental thinking. Specifically it talked a lot about what must be done by the government to get off of coal and oil, and instead to use renewable and clean resources. It also talked about what we as individuals can do - the biggest item being purchasing a hybrid, or preferably a plug-in hybrid. Also installing home solar panels is a plus, and being efficient with your energy use (CFL light bulbs, energy star appliances, etc). I'm pretty sure that after reading this book, my next car is going to be a plug-in hybrid. The dark Tower By Stephen King Dec 17th, 2007 The seventh and final book in the Dark Tower series. This is the last leg of the journey for Roland and his band of travelers. In this book, tragedy comes to the Ka-tet of travelers, but also closure and interesting new characters including a comedian life sucking bug, and a tongueless masterful artist. We also find out just how cyclical the world of the Tower is. All in all it was a great series, lots of fun to read - sometimes slightly scary at times, but in general an interesting fun story. Song of Susannah By Stephen King Dec 2nd, 2007 The sixth of the Dark Tower series. This book in the series follows Susannah as she tries to deal with her pregnancy, and Mia - a woman who has somewhat taken over her body. The book also takes place in new england as Roland and Eddie meet Stephen King, and have bizarre conversations with him. At the very end of the book there is a diary by stephen king in which he dies - which is really odd considering there is still a seventh book. Wolves of the Calla By Stephen King Nov 25th, 2007 The fifth of the Dark Tower series. The posse of gunslingers find themselves in a town that is sort of a cross between a Mexican town and a mid western town. Here they are tasked with fighting off a band of invaders that has stormed the town once every generation for hundreds of years. The Underdogs By Mariano Azueka Nov 17th, 2007 Supposedly a classic, this novel takes place during the Mexican revolution. I had a hard time making it through the book - it just could not keep my attention. I guess not all stories are timeless. Actually, I didn't even finish - I made it about 4/5 the way through and decided to surrender. Wizard and Glass By Stephen King Nov 7th, 2007 The fourth of the Dark Tower series. Roland and his comrades step foot in Topeka Kansas (but perhaps from a slightly different universe). Here he tells the story of his childhood, his friends, his love of his life, and the beginning of the quest for the tower. The Waste Lands By Stephen King Oct 28th, 2007 The third of the Dark Tower series. Roland (The gunslinger) journeys with others through rough patches of wilderness, and encounters trails against both men and machines. Zoom By Vaitheeswaran & Carson Oct 21st, 2007 Written by two staff members of the Economist, Zoom looks a bit into the history of the Car and Oil companies, and talks about what the future holds in regard to powering cars. It critically analyzes multiple different viewpoints - the US Government, Green movements, Big us Corporations, etc. They argue that the US Government needs to get a clue and make some policy changes to help green energy along, and also US green organizations need to step up to the plate to help out the government instead of battle the government. They argue that Japanese car companies have had a lot better long term planning when it comes to non gasoline powered cars, but US car companies can catch up if they put money and energy into it. In addition, the book argues that neither ethanol, nor hydrogen, nor electric cars alone are the silver bullet - but rather that the US needs to diversify its car energy portfolio so to speak. The Drawing of the Three By Stephen King Oct 11th, 2007 The second in the Dark Tower series. This one follows the gunslinger through three different periods of time as he follows his destiny to get to the dark tower. The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger By Stephen King Oct 9th, 2007 This is the first in a somewhat long series called "The Dark Tower" by Stephen King. Even though it is stephen king, the books are not horror books at all, they are closer to fantasy I guess. This first book introduces us to the main character - "The Gunslinger" and flashes back a bit into his childhood as he slowly follows "The man in black". Animal Farm By George Orwell Oct 7th, 2007 It turns out that George Orwell was just a pen name for Eric Blair. Anyhow, Animal Farm is a classic that hopefully you have already read. It is super fast and fun to read again and again. The story is about some animals that take over a farm from their human owner, and experiment with different forms of government before they end up right back where they started with pigs taking over the role of the dictator humans. Most of the book is a commentary on government, totalitarianism, etc. The Messenger By Daniel Silva Sept 30th, 2007 Another airport reading book. A thriller about terrorism, espionage, religion, art, and who knows what else. A fun book, but not something I would highly recommend by any means - just a way to pass time. The plot is that there is a mastermind behind most world terrorist activities, and the Israeli and American secret services work together to try to infiltrate his organization and take out some of his people. The Wheel of Darkness By Preston and Child Sept 16th, 2007 I picked up this book at the airport because of the cover art. As I was visually scanning books, I saw an image that looked very much Tibetan - so I checked out the book and ended up buying it. The story is about two Americans who are tasked with recovering a stolen Tibetan secret treasure, and find themselves up to their necks in adventure out at sea. Its a fun book for passing the hours. You do not come out of it a more enlightened person by any means though. On a Pale Horse By Piers Anthony Sept 10th, 2007 This is the first book in a series called "Incarnations of Immortality". I do not think I will be reading the rest of the series, at least not at the moment. The book was not bad, it just didn't knock my socks off by any means. Is it possible that I have finally read enough science fiction that I am starting to get picky? Perhaps that is the case. As for the review - this book is about a regular guy who ends up killing Death (you know, the dude with the scythe), and therefore ends up taking Death's place. He drive's a kickin' vehicle and has some great gadgets, but not much else to say about the book other than that. The Sirens of Titan By Kurt Vonnegut Sept 3rd, 2007 The bookstore I purchased this at claimed it was Vonnegut's best scifi book ever. This seems a bit far fetched to me. It was a good book, but by no means knocked my socks off. The story revolves around a man who experiences a space accident which enables him to tell the future. He uses this to start his own religion that feels somewhat like scientology, but turns out to be true (as opposed to the before mentioned cult). The book concludes with an interesting take on the meaning of life which you will have to read to get the details on. Seven Years in Tibet By Heinrich Harrer Aug 23rd, 2007 A fantastic non-fiction story - one of the best non-fiction stories I have ever read actually. Perhaps it helped that I have a fascination with the Dalai Lama, and am about to go to Tibet - but regardless, the story is incredible. The main character and author is an Austrian adventurer during WWII who makes Indiana Jones look like a wuss. He goes incredible places, takes incredible risks, works the system, and eventually finds himself where almost no white men have ever been - Lhasa Tibet, the home of the Dalai Lama. He then even gets to know the Dalai Lama (who was just a child at that time) and seems to have a large influence on the Dalai Lama's life. Pretty incredible. This is one of those books you really need to read at some point in your life to understand the world better - and luckily it is so fun and interesting to read, that time absolutely flies by. Good Omens By Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Aug 10th, 2007 I silly/fun story that is somewhat of a mix between the story/characters from the movie Dogma, and humor ala Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The story is about the apocalypse, and an angel and a demon who live on earth who don't really want the end of the world to take place, even though it is their duty to help bring it about. The Book of Illusions By Paul Auster Aug 5th, 2007 I am still trying to determine what I think of this book - at times I think it is one of the better books I have ever read, and sometimes I think it is just boring nonsense. I'm not sure how a book can have such a stark contrast in my mind. Anyhow - a review: The book starts out slow, and is a bit overly literary. Near the middle the story starts to develop, and by the end the story is incredibly rich with layer upon layer of story overlapping itself. It's a metastory - a story about other stories about other stories. It is definitely not a feel good story - multiple times you encounter sadness and hardship, often with no light at the end of the tunnel. The Brooklyn Follies By Paul Auster Aug 1st, 2007 A great book that takes place in Park Slope Brooklyn, which is where my brother lives. It is an endearing story about a retired man and his adventures, trials and tribulations mostly revolving around his extended family. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By J.K. Rowling July 26th, 2007 This is a pretty obscure series, but one you may like. It may be hard to find in a traditional book store, you may have to look around for it. This is the 7th and (maybe?) last book in the series. It is about a young man's struggle dealing with a scar he received as a young child, and putting up with other children and even adults ridiculing him for the scar. I took a month long reading break, and this got me back into the flow. Brothers By Da Chen June 13th, 2007 I believe they call this historical fiction. It takes place in china from 1960 through 1998, including historical events such as the Tiananmen square protests. The tale tells of two brothers who do not know of each other's existence until later in life, and their growing up from childhood through adulthood. I found it really interesting how one brother is brought up in an elite family, while the other brother is brought up in a very poor family... and seeing how this affects their personality and development. Anyhow, it is a bit gruesome and sexual at times - if you are into that, then I give it two thumbs up. His Dark Materials trilogy By Philip Pullman Jun 2nd, 2007 I took a long break from reading to enjoy the natural beauties of the world... or something like that. Anyhow, I saw a movie preview for a film called Golden Compass coming out in christmas that looked interesting, and I noticed it was based off a book - so I decided to make that my next victim. The series was a pleasurable read - it definitely falls into the fantasy realm, but has a nice original set of characters, and talks a lot about religion and a few other interesting topics. A good read for folks who like fantasy type books, but perhaps are tired of the traditional cast of characters. Blow the House Down By Robert Baer May 6th, 2007 A fictional tale about how the events that led up to the September 11th, 2001 occurred. The author of this book is a former CIA agent who is able to bring really great details to the story. It definitely makes you wonder how much of this novel actually is fiction, and how much he feels is the actual truth of the event. A fun read, although at times I found myself being overwhelmed by all of the names that were thrown at me - forgetting who was who. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon Apr 30th, 2007 The third recommendation from the Samantha Crow Reading Club was another hit. That was a very unique and different book. It is a fictitious account written first person by an autistic teenager. The writing was by far the best part of the reading experience - really seeing the thought process of the autistic kid on his journey. It is unclear how accurate this is to an actual autistic person's thought process, but since it is my only point of reference, I will conclude that is perfectly accurate :-) Bel Canto By Ann Patchett Apr 28th, 2007 This novel is the second to come recommended by the Samantha Crow Reading Club. It was a gem of a story - incredibly written and really interesting story line. I must say, I would have preferred to have not read the Epilogue though - I found it to be very out of place, unnecessary, and ruined some of the pizzazz of the rest of the book. Anyhow - go read this one, but feel free to not read the epilogue (I give you permission). The Giver By Lois Lowry Apr 25th, 2007 I believe this is required reading for some middle schoolers these days - but I guess I must have missed it. It is a super fast read, but really interesting and touching. It takes place in some time or place where society has decided to make "sameness" the national pastime. Everyone is made to be the same and think the same - or in most cases, not think at all in any meaningful way. It follows the story of a 12 year old boy who starts to question the system. This came recommended by the Samantha Crow Reading Club. Digital Nature Photography By Jim Miotke Apr 24th, 2007 I used this as my introduction to photography, and I was extremely satisfied with the experience. The book went over all of the basics of photography, helped me understand my new camera that I just purchased, and related the learnings to nature photography which is of great interest to me. The book also had some great photos that really inspired me to go out and try to create my own. The book would definitely be too rudimentary for folks who are already in the know about photography though. HTML Mastery By Paul Hine Apr 15th, 2007 This is a fantastic resource for all you HTML haxors out there. Goes into some great detail about various peculiarities with html. The author is definitely opinionated about what is and is not correct usage of HTML vs CSS etc which is interesting to see. Ptolemy's gate By Jonathan Stroud Mar 20th, 2007 The last in "The Bartimaeus Trilogy" - still fun, and still a quick read. The Golem's Eye By Jonathan Stroud Mar 10th, 2007 Second book in the series in "The Bartimaeus Trilogy" - with The Amulaet of Samrkand being the first. Again a good fun quick read. American Shaolin By Matthew Polly Feb 16th, 2007 A surprisingly good read. The book follows Polly on his quest from Princeton to rural china in his attempt to learn martial arts. The topic of martial arts is something that would not normally interest me, but I found this book to be very fun to read, and laugh out loud funny at multiple points. I recommend this book for anyone, regardless of their interest in martial arts. The Amulet of Samarkand By Jonathan Stroud Feb 10th, 2007 I saw someone on the train reading this book, so I figured I would give it a try - turns out it is a fun read. As I was nearing the end of the book I went to the book store to try to find the second and third books in the three book series. I could not find it in the normal section, so on a whim I looked in the "young persons" section, and it wasn't there either. I finally looked in the -kids- section, and sure enough, there it was. Oh well. The Ambler Warning By Robert Ludlum Jan 21st, 2007 Not a very good read. It was an interesting and exciting story line, but it was just poorly written. The book is about a government agent who is locked away in a psych word unjustly, his escape, and the events that follow. Mirror Mirror By Gregory Maguire Jan 1st, 2007 This is by the same author who wrote Wicked. It is about Snow white and the 7 (+1) dwarves from a very different view point. A lot of fun to read. The prestige By Christopher Priest Dec 28th, 2006 I'm told there was a movie based off of this book recently. It is about two stage magicians in the early 1900s who are at odds with each other - to the point of trying to mess up each other's presentations. The story details these events, as well as the grandchildren in current day trying to piece together what happened. The only criticism I have about this book is that it gets somewhat strange at the end, and even somewhat scary. Eragon By Christopher Paolini Dec 23rd, 2006 I went on a bit of a reading haitus as I couldn't find a book that would hold my attention. Eragon was a book that I had read a year or two ago, and had really enjoyed, so I re-read this one in celebration of the movie coming out. I very much enjoyed the book once again, as I had last time. A boy finds a dragon egg, and grows into his new found responsibility. I'm told the movie kind of tanked, so I am trying to decide if I want to see it or not. Snow Crash By Neal Stephenson Nov 25th, 2006 This was recommended by a couple different people. I would give it two thumbs up. It was written in 1992, at the dawn of the internet age, and it is really amazing how insightful the author is on how a plugged in society may function. A fun read for a gloomy day. The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre Dumas Nov 24th, 2006 1,400 pages of fun. About half way through, I realized there is an abridged version as well. Oh well. Anyhow, this was a very fun read that captured my attention for the duration of the book. I definitely recommend it to pretty much anyone. A Man in full By Tom Wolfe Nov 8th, 2006 I didn't finish this one. It came highly recommended, but I was just strugling to keep my interest in this one, so eventually gave up. The story takes place in ATL (and a bit in Cali), and talks about some of the old south, as well as new south, etc. Taltos By Anne Rice Oct 16th, 2006 I was half way through this before I found out that it was the third book in a series. woops. Anyhow, it was a fun read. I'm told that Anne Rice is into vampires and such. This was somewhat in the same vein - about this offshoot of humans called Taltos that lived secretly interspersed with the human population. Each one lives for thousands of years though, and they essentially have kids that instantly are full grown. Other than that, they are pretty normal :-) Billy Bathgate By E. L. Doctorow Oct 8th, 2006 This was a pretty interesting read, entirely fiction, about a young boy who gets pulled in (or rather who chooses to jump into) a mafia gang, and it describes the mentality of the mafia in the 20s, with all of its corruption and scandal as seen through the eyes of this bronx boy, with his ridiculously long run-on sentences. Prey By Michael Crichton Oct 4th, 2006 So so. I had read most of Michael Crichton's books as a kid and loved them, but I guess as an adult it just isn't quite the same. At the beginning of the book though it starts out in Mountain View and Palo Alto which is rather cool. The Time Traveler's Wife By Audrey Niffenegger Oct 1st, 2006 This was a really great book. Somewhat of a chick book so to speak, but really a great read. The story is of a man who time travels often without having any control over when he travels, or where he ends up. The story is from his point of view, as well as his girlfriend/wife's point of view. The Obsidian Trilogy By Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory Sep 15th, 2006 These are a bit more fantasy'ish than what I am used to, but they were a fun entertaining read. They go really quickly as well. A Song of Ice and Fire By George R. R. Martin Aug 15th, 2006 If you have a few months to set aside, this is a good read. There are tons of characters involved, and sometimes you wish that they would just stick with a few less characters, but none the less it is a good read. It is a bit graphic at times, and sometimes the good guys do in fact die. The genre is roughly fantasy, but you could almost call it more medieval than fantasy, as there is very little in the way of magic and the likes. The series is rumored to have 7 books, so there are a still a couple more on the way.