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I remember getting a Nintendo for Christmas in the late 80s and it shaping my entire childhood. Later on I'd go onto to get a Super Nintendo, a Genesis and a Playstation before heading to college and eventually buying any system I wanted. The systems that truely shaped my gaming experience were, without a doubt NES, SNES and PSX.

Console Wars goes into the history of Nintendo, Sega and Sony with the rise of the console industry in America. Having been a kid at the time, I did't know show much of an underdog Sega was at the time – and how badly managed Sega was in Japan. Nintendo had it's problems as well. The story behind the creation of Donkey Kong Country was amazing and made me surprised the game even got made – better yet that it was (possibly) the best game for that system.

The final book in the Maze Runner series was easily the worst. The world, which was still mostly unknown to us readers, was simplified perhaps too much with an easy solution out.

More of a memoir of an experience into self help than anything else, this one had me nodding along throughout in agreement as the authors stances on various trendy ways of managing happiness affected his overall health. I didn't end up having any revelations about my own happiness in reading this, but enjoyed the journey.

In an attempt to do some uncluttering, I thought this one would be a good listen, and it was surprisingly helpful. Mellen takes things room by room, looking for ways of making each one cleaner and uncluttered.

The Mistborn trilogy, and the following Wax & Wayne series, are one of the most elaborate and interesting magic worlds I've ever read about. As a hardcore fan of the world, Secret History shows an alternate take from the end of Book 1 up until the end of Book 3. I appreciate that Sanderson had a bit more in mind than we were able to see in those books, but I didn't feel like this added as much to the world as I was hoping for.

In NPR's top 100 Sci-fi/Fantasy list this was one I'd been wanting to read for a while. The ideas presented in it were inventive and elaborate, but my difficulty in following them kept me from fully enjoying the story. After reading the wiki synopsis of the book upon completion, I realized how many small things I'd missed. Vinge doesn't talk down to his readers – he lets them discover things for themselves – but unfortunately I didn't read between the lines on a number of concepts, leaving me confused for far too long. I have a feeling I would enjoy this one a lot more on a second reading.

Most useful takeaways? Give people problems to solve. Show what they'll be building. When students are wrong, ask them questions rather than telling them the answer.

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.

Not a sequel, but the second half of the first book. More conventional storytelling than Hyperion, but in the same tone.

The “last” book in an unfinished series sets things up. It was a fun culmination to a hilarious series.

On an episode of the Think Relevance Podcast, a book was mentioned where monk chants were used to convey and solve mathematical problems. That was the first I'd heard of Neal Stephenson, and knew I had to check it out. The Anathem world is different from our own. It's a world where scientists and mathematicians live in the equivalent of buddhist monasteries with limited access to the outside world — some only interacting with it every 100 years. The abundance of made up terminology takes some getting used to in this book, but it's worth the ride.

Why did Eckerd fail, when Walgreens took over? Collins explains the basics behind why some companies are able to make the leap to becoming great, while some are destined to fail.

I laughed, I was confused, I wanted more from some stories and less from others. This book is actually a series of short stories about colonization of Mars. The stories are mostly funny, usually in a misunderstanding kind of way. Some stories reminded me of Twilight Zone episodes, while others of romantic comedies. Considering when this was written, it's held up amazingly well.

I've never read anything by this author before, but after this introduction, I'm sure I'll be looking for more. This one is young adult through and through, but fun without getting too series. The world has gone downhill and heroes have risen to stabilize cities. They keep the renegades (evil people with powers) in check and maintain order - or at least that's the hope. The first book in this series follows a renegades journey into infiltrating the hero's in order to bring them down. With a tone similar to Sandersons Reckoners series, it's hard not to have fun with this one.

An interesting take on the history of monogamy in humans, our ancestors and our relatives. The important thing to put aside when reading this one is any preconception of ethics or morality. This is a scientific and historical study of how societies have structured societies in different cultures.

It's not often the 2nd one in a series is better than the first one. For me though, I enjoyed this one more than the original. That's not to say it was a great book, but I did enjoy where it took the story. After reading the first in the series, I wasn't sure I would read anymore of it. After re-watching the movie with some friends, I knew I had to see where the story went.

I'm not sure what was scarier about this - that it was based on real events, or that still seems relevant today. Either way, an intriguing read and effective allegory.

As a standalone book, I don't know why anyone would want to read this. Now, I love Tolkien's world – I've read LOR multiple times, same with the hobbit. Seen the movies more times than I can count, including midnight releases for each of them. But even armed with this background, and other information gleaned from videos, Tolkien encyclopedias and other sources I couldn't get into this. It's amazing in what it is – a reference about the world – but it is not a compelling story. I think of this more as a glossary that goes at the end of LOR to help give background to the world.

This is the first book of Brandon Sandersons, The Stormlight Archive series – which at the time of this writing has only 2 books released for it with about 10 total to be written. The story follows a number of characters involved in a world at war with the Parshendi, a mysterious race close by. Like other Sanderson novels, there is a magical element which is slowly revealed. Although I enjoyed Mistborn more, I identified with the characters in Way of Kings more.

One of the top recommendations by Aaron Skonnard, I knew I had to read this one. The premise is that great leaders lead by asking why to get to the bottom of something. I hadn't realized it before, but I'd already seen Simon Sineks TED talk. His talk focuses around working from the outside in, asking questions more tied to emotion than to superficial results.

I never fully understood the movie. There are long scenes without any explanation, chimps jumping up and down, unusual scenes without context. Reading this book added that context in every case. Any places I was confused or had questions have now been answered. The book is actually really good sci fi - a precursor to Interstellar or Contact I'm more ways than one. Great read by itself, or even better if you want to understand more from the movie.

This book is only just about every top list of science fiction I've come across, and with good reason. Charlie journey thoughout the book is presented in a memorable way that sticks with you for how personal it is by making this story Charlies journal.

This is the spiritual successor to Malcolm Gladwells “The Tipping Point”. One concept touched on in that book was the idea of stickiness - the ability for an idea to be memorable.

While there were some parts of the book that stuck with me (give strong leads, people identify with people), many of the concepts I honestly forgot about. It left me thinking this book may have been more sticky if it were shorter and stuck to only the most impactful examples.

Mistborn ends in a good place, but hints at some of the larger problems facing the world as a whole. Book 2 starts down that path letting a little bit more light into the world. The story was slower than part 1, but had good build up.

One of the best fantasy books I've ever read. The concept in this one is a fantasy world that is slightly different from our own with the inclusion of allomancers, people born with a special ability to manipulate the world (or themselves) in some way. These include things like being able to push/pull steel, refine your senses or incease your strength. “Mistborns” can use all of these abilities.

The characters and world drew me in with its mysteries and hints at epic problems rotating around our central players. The magical element for this world was the most memorable I can imagine, and I would highly recommend it. You could go with this one on your own, but books 2 & 3 expand on the world.