Dmitrii Calzago

Good, ultra-contemporary first novel

The most contemporary novel I've read in a while: an exploration of the always-online culture and the tech startup world. Jack's writing in this one has the ineffable first-novel self-consciousness, which isn't bad. I probably would have given one more star for a more graceful ending.

This is a well written and comprehensive account of Lance Armstrong's cycling career and its aftermath, through about 2013. I knew some of this information from USADA's online documents and from Tyler Hamilton's excellent book (The Secret Race), but there was a lot of new information here for me. I especially liked the background on the cycling scene in USA in the 70's and 80's, as well as the dramatic highlights of each of the Tours that Lance won.

This graphic novel is a collection of vignettes (comic strips 2-4 pages in length) that cover the experiences during author's one year in Israel. He resides in East Jerusalem, but makes an effort to visit different parts of Israel/Palestine, with different companions. Many of the frames are not part of a specific story, but are scenes he sketched on site. A few are wonderful, typically grayscale landscapes. I found this to be a good overview of the region from an outsider's perspective.

Any advice that one finds useful not only has to be good or actionable, but it has to come at the right time and the right angle. All I can say is that the author succeeded at that for me, changing how I view and approach creative acts. Showing the parallels between engineering and art is one of this book's strengths.