Jason Cox

If you enjoyed the movie Olympus Has Fallen, then this book will be right up your alley. I loved it. Just a fun action romp with fun characters and really interesting situations.

Short audible original book that discusses the benefits of public data. I would have given this higher marks if it had been a little more in depth. I think there is definitely room for a full Michael Lewis-style book on the topic. Another issue is that he took the opportunity to politicize the issue, making it look like conservatives in general are all against public data and mining it for the public good. At the same time, he didn't discuss at all any potential pitfalls of public data mining, such as how it might impact our individual liberties or how it might otherwise be misused.

Interesting topic, not fully explored (very unlike M.L. in that regard)

Bill Bryson's prose is always worth a read. This was a very interesting dive into the origins and development of the English language. I'm sure it's not as deep a dive as other options, but it's a fun read for someone who didn't have a lot of prior knowledge of the subject discussed. And Bryson made it interesting for a layperson to read.

3.4 stars.

This is an important book in Science Fiction. More specifically, hard-SF. Overall, the story is quite interesting with somewhat interesting characters. The events within the story are also interesting.

So why only 3.4 stars?

Revelation Space was slow. Plodding. Really didn't even start to get going until about 3/4 of the way through the book. Stuff happens, but you have no way of knowing the significance. The characters are... not likable. Not a group of individuals I could find myself identifying with. They're all clearly driven, but mostly their drive doesn't make a lot of sense. And later, you find out that their motivation is almost universally driven by factors you don't learn until the final pages of the book, and those external motivations are essentially alien, hence the reason that little of it seems to make sense.

So, while I'm glad I've read this one, I don't find myself eager to get on to the sequel Redempton Ark (or prequel Chasm City). As I get older, I find that there are tons of books out there that are incredibly awesome. All the way through. That are both deep and fun. Or fast and fun. Cryptonomicon, Seveneves, The Martian, Ender's Game, the Bobiverse, etc. Do you have time for plodding? I wish the originality of ideas and the universe descripted here were presented... better.

If you've read them, please let me know what you think about other Revelation Space books. More of the same, or does it get better?

This is a very short, but reasonably good book about raised bed gardening. If you have Kindle Unlimited, I recommend checking this out (literally) and flipping through it. It's well illustrated and to the point.

Chances are, you're not going to come away with much new from the book just due to brevity (hence the 3 star review... really I give this 3.5 stars). That said, I did see a couple of good ideas that I've not seen elsewhere - in-garden trench composting and “garden worm tubes” - I think I'll give these a try with my next garden.

If you're looking into chairmaking as a hobby (or necessity!), this is an excellent place to start. Jeff Miller goes into detail regarding the fundamentals of making chairs from wood. This books is beautifully illustrated throughout, mostly with black-and-while illustrated drawings, but also with greyscale photos and a gallery of color photographs in the front of the book. This book primarily focuses on upright sitting chairs (such as you might use at a table or desk) and doesn't include discussion of lounging chairs or upholstered chairs (like you might find in a living room). Starting off with dimensions and proportions as well as discussion of different styles of chairs. Critical discussions about the forces the chair will encounter during it's life as well as wood movement you'll need to consider in designing and constructing your joinery. He includes excellent discussions and explanations of various jigs that will make the process easier and more repeatable (as rarely does one make a single chair... mostly you're going to be making a set of them, after all) and more successful. He includes detailed design, jig details and construction instruction on 8 different styles of chairs.

This is, in my humble opinion an excellent military science fiction series.

Fields of Fire is the 5th installment of the series, we follow our intrepid heroes as the earth forces engage the Lankies in their first offensive action with the goal to re-take Mars. If you've read the first 4 books in the series, you know what you're getting and you'll definitely want to pick up here and see what happens next.

This is a hard review to write. I found this book to be excellent, and I think I probably need to re-read it at least once more and potentially another couple of times to get the full benefit.

Basically, in this book, Alan Jacobs talks extensively about the way we, as individuals, need to rethink our interactions with people “from the other side.” I believe this would be beneficial for people on either side of the political spectrum, and especially for those people who have an interest in interacting with the other side for any reason. As I'm sure you know, in today's world, it's super easy to live in your own bubble and exclude thought that isn't along the same lines as what you believe. It's evident that there is little respect given from one side to the other in regular discourse and it's become toxic to the point that it is tearing the country apart.

This book won't solve that problem. But it's not for lack of trying. If everyone were forces to read it, it might actually help things. But in reality, that's never going to happen. Instead, people will continue to unfriend their conservative (or liberal) “former friends,” further pushing interaction and honest discourse to the side. Limiting their exposure to other ideas (that might actually benefit them!) so they can continue to hold doggedly to their group's ideology and making the other side seem more and more monstrous as time goes by.

While I feel strongly that the topics discussed were excellent and handled fairly, reading the book made me somewhat melancholy about things in general because I don't see any evidence that people in our current world even want to deal with the other side. People want to get emotionally involved and when groups of people get emotional, the herd mentality takes over, and unfortunately, that is never a good thing in society. Herd mentality almost always pushes things to their ultimate most disastrous outcome and that, unfortunately, is where I see things inevitably headed in Western society currently. God bless us (and save us) all.

Fantastic 6th book in the series. This series started off great, but just keeps getting better.

This one concerns conflict between Holden and his crew and Marco and his Free Navy. There is personal conflict, political intrigue, deception, and combat. Do I need to say more? If you've read the first 5 books in this series and enjoyed them, you're definitely going to want to continue with this one. You will not be disappointed. If you haven't read any of the Expanse books by James S.A. Corey, then you should definitely start with Leviathan Wakes, which is excellent.

This is more or less the technical tour de force of artificial intelligence books currently out there. If you're looking for a light introduction to the concepts of artificial intelligence, this is not the book for you.

Nick Bostrom goes in deep into the hurdles, risks and hazards of artificial intelligence. While I suspect there are academic books that go even deeper into the math and algorithms covered, Bostrom doesn't shy away from that discussion. It feels exhaustive. It feels like a technical textbook in many ways. The material is very dense. In addition to technical discussion of approaches to achieving AI and the challenges involved with them, there is deep discussion of the risks and even the ethics of AI. In my opinion, these were the most interesting parts.

Having read quite a few other books on the subject, I felt familiar with most of the terms used, as well as many of the major concepts. Even with this, this was a much more technical discussion than anything I'd read previously. With this in mind, I'll say I didn't really “enjoy” this book. But I do feel much better educated. I'm not sure how to account for this in “my rating.” I'm going to give it a 4 because this feels like the definitive discussion of the topic.

In Cibola Burn, the crew of the Rocinante spent most of their time on one of the planets opened by the gate constructed by the protomolecule. In this one, they return to space, but due to damage done to the ship in CB, the crew is grounded for repairs in the first half of the book. For differing reasons, all of the crew members take leave in different parts of the solar system, leaving Holden back on Ceres station overseeing repairs. Then all hades breaks loose. There's really not much else I can say without major spoilers.

I will say, if you've enjoyed the series up to this point, this book does not disappoint. There is a ton of action, intrigue, and more than a little mystery.

In my opinion, the key of this series is the masterful way in which the authors mix all of the action and yet fantastically build characters. In this novel in particular, you really see huge character development in all of the major characters you already know.

(As an aside... I've not watched any of the TV show, though I've generally heard good things about it. Anybody care to comment on it based on having read the books? Is it worthwhile?)

Never having been in the military myself, I'm not sure why I love this series so much.

But I do.

The characters are fun and seem well fleshed out to me. The military and SF seem well integrated and the situations are interesting. There is a ton of fast-paced action which is well described throughout. This is book 4 in the series, so if you've read this deep, you know what you're getting into. This book is more of the same. It's not overly derivative. It's the same characters you know and enjoy. The Lankies appear briefly, but the main opponent is different in this one.

All in all, this is good, fun reading.

Very interesting and well written book discussing the benefits and challenges associated with “Deep Work.” In short, Deep Work is when you are able to focus solely on getting something specific accomplished. It's very essential to the concept of “flow” or “being in the zone.” But you don't have to live like a hermit to get there. There are ways to get the benefits in much shorter time chunks than you may suspect.

Going into it, I wasn't honestly expecting a whole lot of new information for someone who has read quite a few books in the “productivity” segment. I was pleasantly surprised. Cal Newport does a great job discussing not only the benefits of uninterrupted work (or focus... it doesn't really even have to be “work,” honestly), but also different ways to implement the principles he discusses and gives interesting real-world examples of people you may have heard of who are living the Deep Work life. Not only that, but he also honestly discusses some of the challenges you can expect to encounter.

Changing your life to a full deep work lifestyle isn't for everyone, but there's a good chance everyone could benefit from implementing deep work segments into their workflow. While this book isn't as beneficial in concept as, say, GTD or Your Best Year Ever, I think it's one I'm going to return to every few years. Also of note, I listened to this on Audible audiobook and it was very well produced. The narrator did a good job with the production and it didn't seem as though there was any important info that I missed (graphs or infographics).

A beautiful book that gives a brief tour of some of the wonders of the universe and explains things at the level of a non-scientist. Excellent photography. With each concept he explains, he tries to tie it with something he has experienced in travels here on earth. (I thought much of that aspect was a bit hokey and felt like an excellent excuse to travel to some pretty exotic locations and deduct the trips... not that there's anything wrong with that!).

If you have an interest in science but don't have a lot of background knowledge, this book will be interesting to you. There is precisely ZERO math discussed or involved. If you are well versed with these scientific principles, I suspect you'll find nothing new here, but the photos are beautiful and it's worth flipping through at Barnes and Noble to see if it would make a nice coffee table book for your living room.

This is a fast-paced techno-thriller type of book set in the near future or maybe more specifically a current “alternate” world. Brilliants are people who start being born with gifts of intelligence and at first they were just a little more frequent than they have been throughout history, but at some point, they became about 1% of births. Some had mild gifts, while others were so talented that they broke the financial system by exploiting the patterns there.

This story follows the struggle of Nick Cooper, agent in an elite force whose goal it is to track down terrorists in the brilliants community and not only to protect regular “humanity” but also hopefully prevent all-out war. He, too, is a brilliant, with the talent of being able to read body language so well that he not only is a human lie detector, but he can see the punch you're about to throw before you even start it.

This one is a fun romp. Somewhat reminiscent of the Jason Bourne novels, with action combined with just a touch of political intrigue. I enjoyed it tremendously. The characters are well-written (given the pacing, there isn't unlimited depth there) and the protagonist is likable as are the supporting cast. The situations are interesting and believable. Overall, this is a great summer read.

* This is also a Kindle Unlimited book with KU Audio included, which makes it a great choice if you subscribe to that service (as I do). Also, it is book 1 of a 3 book series (all are KU titles)

The content of this book isn't bad. But take this as more of a pamphlet than an in-depth workout guide. Sometimes that's all you need.

The concept is pretty simple and I think reasonable as well. There are 3 exercises that you'll do 10 repetitions of each with minimal breaks basically as often as you can in 30 minutes. Of course, you'll have to build up to 30 minutes. And there are examples of “easier” variants for when you are learning the program along with harder versions for when you need more of a challenge.

Rating: 3.5 stars. I wish there were more photos (with better lighting) and maybe more “variations” options to help with muscle confusion, which helps you get more out of your workouts.

*This is a Kindle Unlimited Title, so if you have KU, you might as well “check it out” it is literally a 20 minute read.

So many things about this book are foundational to my belief systems. I originally read it as required reading in 1984 in middle school and have always considered it one of my favorite books. From the concept of constant surveillance to NewSpeak and DoubleThink, this is one heck of a deep read. The illicit affair that centers the story is practically laughable in retrospect.

This book is shockingly prescient. It was intended to be so and specifically targeted the year 1984 as when Orwell thought the things in the book would come to pass. He missed the target by a few years, but certainly hit the bulls-eye regarding outcome. It's truly awe-inspiring that Orwell was able to see this coming in 1948. I remember reading it back in 1984 and thinking, “wow, what a horrible world to live in. I'm so glad America could never end up like that.” What an naive idiot I was. For years, I've been thinking that this will be one of the first books made criminal in various countries as they abandon freedom of speech and implement authoritarian socialism.

I think it should be required reading for everyone in the world, but especially for all members of “Western Civilization.” (I would just leave it every human being, but after reading this, can you even imagine this being allowed in China?) It highlights again and again the truth that no matter which side of the aisle you may consider yourself to sit, the real “us against them” is citizens vs government. No corporation or other entity will ever have the power over you as an individual that government does. And giving any government more power will ONLY end up in ceding more of your liberty to them. And like a glutton, giving it a little power only makes it ravenously hungry for more. And it soon comes to a point that it will take that liberty from you against your will “For Your Own Good.”

This is the world in which we live today. People are Sheeple and they are literally demanding the government be given more power over us all. And both sides of government power are sitting in their offices laughing as they play the citizenry against each other, all the while taking more power for themselves.

Remember this: the farthest person opposite you on the political spectrum has 100% more in common with YOU than ANY professional politician ever has or ever will.

This one has been on my “to read” shelf for a long time. I read Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep decades ago and was planning to re-read it, but based on my “research” this book, though written after AFUtD is actually a chronological prequel, so I decided to start with this one.

Wow. Very very good book. Enjoyable characters. Intricate relationships and twists throughout the book.

This book concerns 2 separate groups of characters: Humans who have come to an unusual planet which orbits a variable start that is “lit” for 30ish years and then is dim for 200ish years. Humans in 2 separate groups arrive within months of each other just prior to the “re-lighting.” The other major group is the “spiders” who are the sentient species from the planet the humans have come to investigate.

Through the novel the narrative switches between the humans and the spiders. There is a ton of intrigue among both groups and I found myself really engaged with several of the characters from both sides.

I really found this one to be enjoyable, and you can tell why it won the Hugo award in 2000 (Vernor Vinge has won 3 Hugos). Vinge also wrote 2 other books (The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime) that I read back in the early 90's and enjoyed tremendously... to the degree that I wish he had continued with the characters and themes. Needless to say, I'm recommending all of his stuff at this point and will be following up with A Fire Upon the Deep in the not too distant future.

Very interesting and worthwhile read given the current sociopolitical climate for those of you who are Christian. Personally, I think this is totally worth the time. This is NOT a politically correct book, and if you adhere to those beliefs, your beliefs will be challenged. Remember that Jesus is God. And He has existed forever and exists in all times simultaneously. His definition of sin does not change and has not changed. Our society cannot understand this and things that are socially acceptable are still dire sin in God's view.

If you're curious about what to expect moving forward in regard the Christian church, this is an excellent place to start. There are so many “churches” that claim to be Christian, but do not teach sound doctrine. This is going to continue to become more and more common, as will the falling away from Christianity of American society.

The continuation of the Frontlines saga. In this 3rd installment, the Lankies start off by attacking the colony on New Svalbard and and up attacking Mars. Of course, the main protagonist, Andrew Grayson, finds himself right in the middle of the conflict.

This series is available for free download and is also free on Kindle unlimited with audiobook versions which are extremely well done. Highly recommended if you like military-tinged Science Fiction. Good stuff.

This is a book I've read at least 4 times, and honestly, every time has been totally worthwhile. I'd recommend this to anyone who feels there is any way at all that they could possibly get more out of their life than they currently are.

Getting Things Done (GTD) is the definitive time management book. There are tons of other options out there, but this is definitely the place to start. Even if you don't feel every part of the GTD system is “for you,” there are still going to be quite a few “nuggets” that will make it well worth your time. Most people will be able to immediately implement some part of the whole system, which focuses on utilizing lists to unload your brain of all the things you should be doing. Nuggets like “the 2 minute rule” and “what is the next step?” can absolutely change your life. Even teenagers would benefit from the knowledge here.

The writing style is very easy to follow and feels very “friendly.” No business knowledge or other specialized knowledge is necessary. This also isn't just for “big business executives” in any way. I honestly feel everyone could significantly improve things in their life from the busiest of doctors to school-age teenagers during their summer months.

It all comes down to a few questions:
1. What do you really want to achieve on a short-term, medium-term, and long-term basis?
2. What things need to happen to help you achieve those things?
3. Is what you're doing right now getting you closer to achieving your goals?
4. What is the very next step you need to take to make progress?
And then make sure you write these things down in a way that you frequently review it, add to it, mark off your steps.

Personally, this is a book I return to every few years and I try to read it early in the year. It helps with not just goal accomplishment, but also with reminders to look not just at the here and now, but also looking at your 1 year, 3 year and even longer-term trajectory of your life.

Temporary review - I'm putting this book to the test and trying to implement it in daily life.

I like that the author gets into the data and refutes a lot of the bad advice that have been circulated extensively since the 70's. There is a lot of discussion of healthy practices and why they're healthy! There are recommendations for specific vitamins/supplements and even initial lab testing a person should consider requesting to see where their body stands at the beginning of their lifestyle change.

The basics appear to be pretty much Paleo/Ketogenic diet. Carb avoidance with the exception of veggies. Avoiding grain-based starches. But there are some quirky things allowed (potato starch, for example). There is really good coverage on things to avoid for pretty much anybody based on up-to-date quality scientific data.

Excellent book! Highly recommended.

I read this after attending Michael Hyatt's Your Best Year Ever, Live conference in early January. It's a great resource for getting yourself to maximize your efficiency to accomplish what is really important to you. It goes into depth about goal setting. Daily evaluation of how you are spending your time. Keeping you focused on those goals.

This is a super choice to read starting right now, as the new year is just around the corner. I'm going to put this on my re-read regularly list.

Nice pictorial of various locations in the Star Wars universe. It's a bit heavy on the prequel episodes, but is still quite interesting. Makes for a nice addition to your Star Wars reference library.

This one is a lot different from the other Vlad books. Maybe that'll mark it as a turning point. Only Brust knows.

That said, for anyone reading this review, I'm going to assume you've read some previous Vlad Taltos novels. I mean, seriously, does anyone pick up a series with #15? With that assumption, you'll know that most Vlad books are extravagant tales of planning various capers on the part of Vlad, and then usually his various powerful friends coming together to pull him out of the midst of disaster in just the nick of time as all the careful planning falls apart. Only then do they all discover some piece of information that snaps things into perspective and Vlad ends up putting it all together and saving the day.

Vallista has some similar elements. It's essentially a mystery. Almost an existential mystery, at that. And this time, it's Devera who gets Vlad into the mess and Vlad who has to figure everything out and determine what needs to be done to save her. Along the way, he does reconnect with one powerful “friend,” the Goddess Verra. I won't spoil the ending, but it does ultimately make the very odd feel of this book worth it to stick through to the end.

The key take away from this book is you learn some more of Vlad and his role in the whole cycle. Remembering his “relationship” to Aliera revealed in an earlier book, this one brings a bit more to that table and also firms up Vlad's relationship to Verra.