Spring Book Reviews

A few quick reviews of recent reads.

14 by Peter Clines A rare fiction book for me that ended up being pretty good. It would fall into the science fiction genre, another rare area for me. The science was a little too out there for me to call it a great book, but I enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down. Grade: B-

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach Another great book by one of the best main stream science writers alive. This book focuses on eating, digesting, and getting rid of food waste. I found it fascinating and highly recommend it. Grade: A-

Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar by Kelly Oxford I read this because Jimmy Kimmel tweeted that it was incredibly funny. It's not. It was okay. Grade: C-

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina I have read a lot of books about experiments that explore how people think (e.g., Thinking Fast and Slow, Habit, etc.). This book is different in that it is written by a neuroscientist and it explores the biochemistry and cellular biology of the brain, and then discusses the impacts that research on how we learn. In some ways this approach is more interesting, but I don't know if it is more useful. Grade: B-

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Extremely long book that looks at different strategies (i.e., the '48 laws') that individuals from the past 1000 years or so have employed to obtain power. It was very interesting, but I wonder how much or how little it has impacted my actions? Grade: B

Chromebook Review

I have a gadget addiction. However, that addiction makes me a fairly informed reviewer. Here's my musings on some computational gadgets that I've used extensively in the last year.

I started with an iPad (generation 1). I loved how convenient it was for email, reading the news, and playing simple games. I loved how fast it turned on. I hated how expensive it was so I was always really careful with it.

Then, Google came out with the Nexus 7, which I liked much better than the iPad for 3 reasons. First, it had much better integration with the Google services I used like gmail, calendar, and Drive. Second, I loved the much cheaper price, which meant I had to worry much less about how I handled the device. Third, I loved the smaller size, which allowed me to keep the device in reasonable sized coat pocket.

Now, I've moved on to the Chromebook. Like the Nexus 7, it integrates really well with Google services and it is really cheap ($250 in my case for the model with the SSD drive -- a must). It boots in less than 10 seconds, and the full size keyboard is simply wonderful. I also find the larger screen to be really nice. It weighs only 2.4 pounds! The only downside is that it doesn't fit in my pocket. That really doesn't bother me once I realized I take my Timbuk2 bag almost everywhere. I cannot image using the chromebook as my only computer today, but as more stuff moves online, I can image using it exclusively in 3-5 years. That will be awesome.

First Book Review of 2013

I've read a few good books in 2013. Here are the short summaries and grades.

Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet by Andrew Blum An interesting book that takes a look at the history and current layout/infrastructure of the internet. I really enjoyed the book, but wished it had been a little more technical. More information about packet switching and the TCP/IP protocol would have benefited the book -- IMO. Still, worth the read. Grade: B

Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas A very lengthy biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian that was killed near the end of World War 2. It was interesting, but I wish it had been condensed some. I learned a lot about Germany from 1910-1945, however. Grade: B-

Life of Pi by Yann Martel It was good, but I guess I had unrealistic expectations. The real brilliance of the book was the way Martel made it seem, superficially, like non-fiction even though it was fiction. It was a nice way of demonstrating the power of a good story. Grade: B

An Unexpected Twist by Andy Borowitz This is a kindle short that can be read in less than 30 minutes. I loved it. It was funny while communicating the appreciation we should have for each and every day we are given. Grade: A-

Final Book Reviews of 2012

I ended 2012 with a string of really good books. Reviews below.
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough I've read a lot of parenting books, and they all seemed to say the same things and not be as empirically based as I would like. This book was clearly the most research-based book I've read on helping children learn and is the only book that I would recommend to others for help with both parenting and teaching. Very interesting and well written. Grade: A-
The Success Equation by Michael J. Mauboussin A good book about the balance of luck and skill in our lives. The book does a good job of helping us to appreciate that luck plays a bigger role than most of us would like to acknowledge. The book is good, but it covers a lot of the same material as other books that I have read. For example, it covers a lot of the material in Outliers by Gladwell and The Signal and the Noise by Silver, and both of those are better written. Grade: B-
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg Another extremely interesting book that tackles how important habits are to our everyday lives. It does a good job of covering the various aspects of our lives that are largely controlled by habits, how to overcome bad habits, and how to develop good habits. I think most people could benefit from reading this book. Grade: A-
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings trilogy is probably the best fiction book I've ever read so I had unrealistically high expectations here. The book is good, but it did not live up to my impossible expectations (I suspect the movie will be the same). It just didn't have the suspense of LOTR. Grade: B
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline I used to judge the quality of fiction books by how late I was willing to stay up to finish a book. I'd stay up to midnight for a really good book. One or two AM for a great book, and 3 or 4 am for the best books (LOTR by Tolkien or Sphere by Crichton). Ready Play One is forcing me to reconsider that measure. It was so good that I did not want to stay up late because I did not want it ever to end. It was easily one of the 3 best fiction books I've ever read, and maybe the best.
The book is set in the future, but it really focuses on pop culture and video games from the 1980's. Hence, the book is really written for people born in the early 70's that went through childhood in the 80's and were into video games. That's pretty much me, but I am definitely on the younger end of that spectrum and I grew up in a very rural area and it took longer for pop culture to diffuse to me. I think anyone would enjoy this book, but if you grew up in the 80's and played video games -- it is a must read.
Overall, just an incredibly enjoyable and well written book. Please Mr. Cline, write more books! Grade: A+

Book Reviews

Well, my uninterrupted run of reading great books has stopped. The past few months have seen some great and some not so great books. Reviews below.
America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't by Stephen Colbert
The editor's at Amazon called this one of the best 100 books of the year. That's a bad year. The book is somewhat funny at times, but mostly it is just boring. I like sarcasm, but this book is too much sarcasm even for me. Grade: C
John McAfee's Last Stand (Kindle Short) by Joshua Davis
An interesting story about an unstable individual that made a ton of money and become more unstable, probably with the help of bath salts. Grade: B-
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
This is a book about a poem written over 2000 years ago that, the author claims, helped bring about the Enlightenment. I found the book about 10% interesting and 90% widely speculative and unpersuasive. How on earth did this book win the Pulitzer Prize?? Grade: D+
The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz
I love reading anything Steven Strogatz writes. He's both a brilliant writer and a great mathematician. This wasn't my favorite book of his, mostly because it is less targeted at advanced mathematics users. Still interesting, however. Grade: B
The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
Easily the best book I've read in a few months. An incredibly insightful and interesting look at the Supreme Court over the past decade with a particular focus on the Obama Administration. The book makes a compelling case that the recent Supreme Court is fairly radical, and I hope that it moves to the center over the next few years. This book is a must read, but, if you haven't read, "The Nine" by the same author, you might want to read that book first. Grade: A-
Cold Blooded (Kindle Short) by Jere Longman
A nice summary of the case against Lance Armstrong. I've always suspected that Armstrong (and most other professional cyclists) used EPO to help with the first few Tours that he won. After reading this, the evidence is beyond a reasonable doubt, in my mind, that he used a variety of PEDs for virtually every tour he rode. Sad. Grade: B

Book Reviews

My luck with selecting good books has continued. Here's some quick reviews of some great books:
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle This books is the story of Greg Boyle's work with gangs in LA, including the founding of Homeboy Industries. The book is largely a collection of anecdotes from his 20+ years of work. The stories are moving and inspiring. Grade: B+
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver I've been reading Nate's work for over 10 years since he got his start with Baseball Prospectus. I now enjoy reading his 538 blog. Here's what you need to know: it doesn't matter what room Nate is in, he's the smartest guy in the room. This book is extremely interesting and makes a strong case for Bayesian statistics. I found the chapters on global warming, stock market analysis and weather forcasting to be especially interesting. Grade: A-
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker Maybe the best book I've read in the last few years. Here's the main reason: I know that I'm too focused on stuff and personal comfort. But, most of the books that I read that encourage me to simplify my life are written by people that I cannot relate to. Shane Claiborn is an amazing advocate for homeless people and an amazing individual, but I largely cannot relate to him. Jen Hatmaker, on the other hand, is a lot like me and she demonstrate how small pushes in the right direction can make such a huge difference. Grade: A
Good to Great by Jim Collins I very interesting book on the factors that separate companies that transition to greatness compared to companies that remain merely good. My take is that everyone could benefit from some of the ideas in this book -- not just business leaders. Grade: B+

Book Reviews I've read some great books these past couple months! Here's some quick summaries and grades.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain As an introvert myself, I loved this book. It was interesting and insightful, and helped equip me with practical knowledge and advice. Grade: A-
Instanbul by Orhan Pamuk This is a largely autobiographical book about the author's experiences growing up in Instanbul. Some of the early chapters were a little challenging for me because I am unfamiliar with this most famous of cities, but that last 3 chapters were 3 of the best I've read in a year or more. Grade: B-
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer I read this book before learning about the Dillon quotes that the author fabricated. However, I absolutely loved the book even if I discard those quotes. I hope the rest is reliable because I am hoping to use what I learned in this book in everyday life. Very, very good. Grade: A-
Popular Crime by Bill James On the plus side, this book was mostly very interesting and very well written. On the downside, it was really, really long. Still worth reading if only for the Kennedy and Jonbenet chapters. Grade: B
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Good but not great. What's the fuss? Grade: C+
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the Elements by Sam Kean Interesting at times and a little dry at other times. I learned some chemistry, which is remarkable considering that I've taken at least 3+ years of college level chemistry. Grade: B-
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger An entertaining book about high school football and obsession in Texas. In hind sight, this book just makes me sad. Grade: C+