Adam

Probably my favorite science fiction book (and series) I've ever read. Hyperion is written in a style similar to The Canterbury Tales, in which a series of stories are told by the main characters. Each story is a gem in itself, but alude to the larger storyline. The scope of the story is ambitious - spanning time, planets religion and love.

So I guess that's what a nerdy male focused, time-travel bodice ripper is.

Your Money or Your Life is very much a financial independence classic. This focuses more your life than your money – showing the strong thread that money has on your time, your relationships and your options in life. One area that stands out to me is the idea of understanding the value of your time as it relates to money. When you buy lunch out, or even grab a latte, how many minutes/hours of your time are you paying for that experience – and is it worth it? Knowing that you're spending on what brings you the most happiness for the buck is how you drive your expenses down while driving your happiness-per-dollar up.

If you're looking for a book of highlights around the park, this is a great reference book. It's organized into a collection of “focused days” each revolving around a specific topic: animals, photography, kids, birdwatching, fishing, geothermal features and more. As we drove around the park, we had this book handy and combined various days to create our own schedule.

This one seems to more set the stage for the 3rd book than to be a great 2nd book in a trilogy. As much as I loved the first one, this one left me thinking it was half a book – and not the better half.