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The Poppy war combines a bunch of different popular sci fi/fantasy tropes in one story. There's an orphan plucked from obscurity, a school for special people, political battles, a complicated war in the past and a difficult one in the present. I like how fast paced the story was - setting the stage then advancing forward to keep the story going. I'll definitely pick up the 2nd book when it's released later this year.
As someone who grew up in Pinellas County Florida, watching Hulk Hogan, spending a lot of time online during a time when Gawker Media sites were wildly popular and following Peter Thiel's career (and reading his book), every bit of this book was oddly familiar to me.
Conspiracy is a story about a lawsuit. That lawsuit is a claim by Hulk Hogan against Gawker media after they published a sex tape made without the wrestlers' permission. The lawsuit seemed like David vs Goliath, but in actuality, Hogan had the full backing by a billionaire to keep the lawsuit going.
I read Gawker back when it was running - usually when a scandalous story was linked to on Digg. This book turned that history on its head, causing me to realize just what I was supporting with those pageviews.
Although I don't back Thiel either. As a prominent Trump supporter, he lost all credibility with me as someone fighting against bullies.
Even with a cast of questionable characters, this story reads like a real-life version of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Walking around B&N I noticed this book and thought I'd check it out from the library and give it a read. The “12 Rules” have a much different tone than books I usually read which got me interested. Things like “Don't bother kids when they're skateboarding” and “pet a cat when you encounter one”. What I didn't realize was just how religious it was! In every chapter somehow the story is turned back to The Bible. It was during this book that I realized that using Libby I could skip chapters. That worked great for this book where skipping would just fast forward to the next rule.
All creators want to see their finished products get broad attention. This book investigates that illusive point where things fall in line, momentum begins to build and success is inevitable. Like with other Gladwell books, The Tipping Point is peppered with stories that seem unrelated at first, but are always brought back to the central theme (something I wish I was as good at). It's an entertaining book, and an informative book, but I felt it was missing a way to FIND a tipping point.
Leading up the 2008 and 2012 elections, I learned more than I ever expected about Barack Obama. Somehow in all that time, Michelle Obama played the classic wife role, away from the spotlight unless it intersected her husband. Her story is so much more driven by grit, inspiration and an overwhelming drive to improve things for other people. This was a refreshing look into what public service can and should look like - even when it's split between the public and private sector.
After months hearing my wife talk about this series I finally gave it a shot. I loved the first book as well as the movie and didn't want to wait until the next movie to see what happened next.
While the first book focuses almost entirely on Nick & Rachel, the shift to focusing on different characters in part 2 makes sense in the expanding cast. Kitty Pong's character, as well as Rachel's family, makes sense without being forced while staying entertaining (even if a bit telenovela).
For years I've heard mentions of this book. I can see why! One of the most often quoted parts of this book is the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become highly proficient in anything - from a musical instrument to programming, to writing. Gladwell explains this not from a hypothetical standpoint, but by talking with experts and looking back on how they got there.
These experts share one other trait - they were fortunate to have the opportunity to devote 10,000 hours to their craft. I loved the stories in this one about how different experts (outliers) in their fields achieved greatness. For each, there is a bit of luck in having the chance, but also the immense effort needed. There is something to be said for being in the right place at the right time and having the right opportunity – then working your ass off capitalize on the chance.
I didn't grow up reading comics. I've recently started reading more, but I'm still figuring out what I enjoy (Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, Saga, and Attack on Titan so far).
This book is completely different. It's not about how to read comics, but about how to write comics. While I have no intention of writing comics, it's an insightful overview of how to create a story using a combination of images and words – something I want to get better at.
What impresses me most about this book is that it felt like a conversation between me and the author. The entire comic is written in a format where the author, the main character of the comic, is introducing you to various comic concepts and exploring why they work (or don't). Although I don't plan to create comics, I came out of this with a bunch of ideas that I want to try on mediums I work in.
It's rare to read a story with so many shades of grey. The main characters of Vicious – Victor and Eli – are far from typical protagonists. They are both friends and college roommates who discover a way to become EOs - Extra Ordinary people. Think superheroes.
Rather than being a typical superhero story where the focus is on these two interacting with the world, the story draws these to together as conflict builds.
As the first book in a series, this was a near-perfect introduction to the world. It can be read on its own, or as part of the series. I'll be continuing it without a doubt.
“Head on” is the 2nd book in Scalzi's Lock In series. The series features a world where about 1% of the population have Hadens syndrome, a disease which “locks people in” to their body, although their minds still work. People with Haydens have a oasis/mmorpg-style world to interest with others virtually, or can take control of a robot, called threeps, where they can interact in the real world.
This second book in the series builds on the world in a fun way. Similar to the first book, it plays more like a detective novel in a science fiction world. I mentioned it reminds me of Asimov's “Caves of Steel”, which is true for this one as well.
The story follows the investigation into a death during a football-like game played by threeps (the robots). I'd put Head on fully in the “fun” category of books. It was immensely entertaining, great at world building and overall just a great ride. As a bonus, the audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton!
After seeing Circe as the Goodread readers choice for best fantasy book of 2018, I knew I would need to check it out. The story itself follows Circe, a Greek goddess, nymph, and daughter of Helios. The prose is also striking. Each scene feels epic in nature somehow – partially from prose, but also because they're populated with familiar characters - Charybdis, Odysseus, Daedalus and too many others to name.
If you have an interest in Greek Mythology you will enjoy Circe immensely. Madeline Miller knows here classics and weaves a tale of many different gods and men together into something completely new and original while staying true to the characters. It's a retelling of the same history, but from a new point of view – shedding light on areas often passed over. If you're interested in Greek Mythology, you will likely love this one as much as I did.
With the Olympics in South Korea this year, and us visiting southeast Asia, I wanted to learn more about the history of North Korea and it's people. I've heard the horror stories in the news over the last decade of labor camps, extreme hunger and the systematic approach to lying to the people, but this book goes deeper than that - by focusing on actual stories from North Korean defectors.
Some of the stories they tell are warm, like when talking about family and young love. Most are haunting, talking about the physical effects of extreme hunger or carts of corpses being removed from trains that died of hunger the previous night.
The escape process and the integration back into South Korean life is not easy either, and both have their own drawbacks which are explored in this book.
I'm writing this review at 6:30am, after waking up at 6. I normally never wake up before 7:30am. I think that tells you most of what you need to know about this one.
This is an area I've been curious about for a long time. For some of my most productive years, I woke up promptly in the morning and went to the gym for an hour. That morning workout gave me a lot of strength for the rest of the day - more self-control, more optimism, more sense of accomplishment to start the day.
I'd always presumed that was specific to what I was doing (working out). After reading this book, I believe I was off on that presumption. Instead, doing anything productive to start the day can lead to these benefits. This limiting belief - that I'm a night person and that I can't do it – was quickly shut down, and now I'm hoping to give this early riser thing a try.
How do you deal with coworkers who bring you down? Do you try to “fix” them? Try to work better with them? What if their actions prevent you from being the productive team member you want to be?
This is the idea Liz poses between “Deminisher” and “Multipliers”. Multipliers have the ability to make everyone around them better. Deminishers, on the other hand, hinder other peoples abilities to work.
While many of the examples are presented over and over again (which got somewhat monotonous), a few stuck with me. Working with others when you already have a plan in mind can make for an unhappy relationship. The constant reminder in this book to seek context with others and solve their problems first was a leadership takeaway that I could stand to do a better job at.
I've been reading Caits blog for longer than I can remember. Before the finance community was something I knew about, Cait's approach to heartfelt stories about minimalism and consumption was what drew me to read more. This book dives deeper with a narrative that winds through a difficult year.
Going much deeper into personal stories than I expected, the common thread is a story of growth – both towards having less stuff, but also for better understanding what leads to happiness. Editing down a life to focus on what matters is no small undertaking, and many of these stories have inspired me to look at areas of my life that could use a little editing.
When I started this book, I thought it would be more of a “memoir of the craft”, but was surprised to see it's much more of a memoir of King himself. His own rise an author from nothing to one of the biggest names in writing.
I loved the individual stories of hard work, coupled with a mission to just write. From selling short stories to other kids while in school, to submitting to magazines, Kind wrote and wrote and hustled. It would have been easy for him to give up, but he had so much he wanted to say that he couldn't not write.
Ever since I watched Somm on Netflix, I've been fascinated by sommeliers. The amount of work and dedication needed to become a Master is nothing short of crazy. While the movie Somm focuses mostly on the test for those already experienced, Cork Dork follows a path from pure curiosity to career.
For those who want to “break in” to the wine world, it's no small task. It's painted as completely unrealistic to do it on your own, unless you happen to have a few million extra dollars lying around. Instead, the way to do it is to get a job at a restaurant with a notable wine list and use every chance you have to start tasting wines and learning.
The process that upcoming somms go through is far more painful than I thought. Restaurant work aside (which has it's own issues), trying to do that while ALSO becoming a master in taste, service and knowledge is something I'm good not pursuing – but hats off to people who make it their calling.
If nothing else, I got better tips on how to speak to somms as a drinker to communicate what I'm looking for.
What can I say about this book that hasn't already been covered the media? Between opening the doors to a journalist (Wolff) and then treating him like a confident, it's no surprise what happened: the truth got out.
There have been a number of stories that haven't been shared as widely as others from this book that still stuck with me:
• When alone with a colleagues wife that Trump wanted to sleep with, he called her husband on speakerphone and got him to admit to compromising things so he could pursue her (this happened with multiple women).
• Jared Kushner is painted as the most knowledgeable person in the entire white house - or at least the one that listens to other people before making his own opinion.
• Just how much no one in the campaign wanted to win the election, and that everything they did was to make it seem like less of a blowout so they could all move on to better jobs after the loss.
One of the best books I've ever read. When it comes to science fiction, there's a lot of the same out there. Tchaikovsky writes an entirely original story with amazing characters - not all human.
The premise is this: Earth is in the process of terraforming a new planet to make it habitable. The plan is to contaminate this new world with a genetic virus that will cause the monkies there to become more sentient in the far future. Something goes wrong (we're still in chapter 1 here) and instead a planet of insects are grown.
The most impressive part of this entire story is the focus on insect chemistry and what it would look like for a planet of intelligent spiders to rise. They face many of the same issues we do in our society today - gender rights (although the main issue is to allow males to NOT be eaten after mating), societal structures, trust, communication and math. The approach to solving these issues is entirely insect based, and some of them blew my mind.
Andy Weir hit it out of the park with The Martian - leaving me to wonder if he would be a one-hit wonder. He's not. Artemis sets a tone that's different enough to feel new, but still like Weir. The setting: a future where the Moon is inhabited by 35,000 people - mostly tradesmen and service jobs who support the thriving Moon tourism industry. Like The Martian, what makes this book great is the attention to detail in the science and world building. Ever details makes sense - down to the science behind why coffee sucks in space.
After hearing Tiffany on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, I knew I had to check out her book. That same matter-of-fact honest comedy comes through in her writing and her story. I laughed out loud more than once while listening to her sometimes awkward (and sometimes downright sad) stories told to humor.
Warbreaker was one of the first books written by Sanderson, yet it still feels the same as his most recent works. The magic system revolves around “breath” - which has a similarity to peoples souls. The more “breaths” you have drawn from others (by way of them giving them to you), the more unique and powerful abilities you'll have. The way this concept is expanded on, as well as giving and taking breath to others and physical objects makes for a depth of ways to explore this idea.
After the amazingness of books 1-2 it was going to be hard to match up. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and did gasp at many times at what was going on. At first I wanted more of certain characters, then I started to realize Sanderson was concentrating on the characters with the most areas of growth - which made for a more interesting story.