Timo

This is basically a compact information package about the history of the Internet - with a strong focus on security, which is quite obvious as the author is a well-known security expert. The current state and the future of Internet is not forgotten either. IoT, cryptocurrencies, data and privacy are discussed in detail. It's a great source of information for anyone who's interested in software and technology in general!

Many biographies fail to tell an interesting story and way too often it's just a third person reporting of events. This book contains a lot of dialogue between the characters and it's all in laid back Northern Savonian dialect. Einari Vidgren was just a young boy when he he started working as a logger with his father. Soon, he built his own forestry machine to make logging more efficient. A few decades later he had built a well known company and earned his place among one of the most notable businessmen in Finland.

I totally forgot that I had started reading this but finished it during my flight. It's a great overview of the tactics of the information war influencers. Even though this written already a few years ago, nothing has really changed. Troll factories and misinformation ambassadors are still there doing their dirty work, being more dangerous than ever before.

I only read this (audiobook) because I wanted to know how the trilogy ends. It's too long, and the plotline is quite weak. Occasionally, it gets very confusing; the story doesn't seem realistic in any way, and the main character, Annika, is still very weak. There are some Dan Brown elements, but the storytelling is not on the same level (which is not really that extraordinary, to be honest).

I have a vague memory of reading this book in Finnish around the early 1990s but my brain may be failing me as the contents of the book didn't quite match my memories. It might have actually been the second book in the series. Anyway, as many others mentioned in their reviews, this book is mostly quite boring and there isn't too much happening. I had trouble staying focused unless there was some proper action going on. I haven't read any Stephen King since 1990s and never before in English so for me this was a fascinating way to actually finally learn to appreciate his writing style, the type of language and the words he likes to use. Special thanks to George Guidall for the awesome reading!

I read this classic for the first time in May, 2002 and Peter Jackson's movie adaptations practically made me cringe on the whole idea of reading this again. I'm glad that I actually decided to give it a go. This BBC dramatised version was absolutely lovely, a somewhat theatrical play adaptation of the beloved story about Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions on a journey to the Lone Mountain.

Quite average mindfulness book. If you've read one of them before, this probably won't doesn't give you any new insights.

This was such a disappointment. I was expecting much more based on the title and description, but it was like watching a B-class horror movie. Somewhat entertaining but leaves you a bit cold. Like a mutilated body in an abandoned London Underground tunnel.

I can't even remember why I've purchased this audiobook but it's quite short so I only lost a couple of hours of my life while listening on 2x speed. Actually I went out for a run and sorted out the laundry while listening so I'm not sure if I really lost those two hours.

It's not an interesting book. It's pretty much a collection of author's experiences on Tinder and how terrible all the profiles she's seen are and how terrible her dates have been. If you've ever used Tinder, you have probably seen or met all of them.

I can't recommend this one, pick something more inspiring and motivating instead.

This book is not just about Simo Häyhä, but technical details about the skills of a sniper and their weapons.

Reading this book completely changed my opinion about Lestat. It's great to give some background to his past and what made him to be the vampire he now is.

For those who don't really know anything about cricket, Shane Warne was one of the greatest cricket players this world has ever seen. If you think of football (soccer), you can compare him to players like Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo and Messi and I believe most of these players wouldn't really get a stadium level memorial service. Shane Warne did. He is unfortunately not with us anymore but his spirit lives on.

This is a very good autobiography. It doesn't fail like many sports book do by listing only scoreboards and end results of matches, although there's a fair share of the game itself too. Its focus is on the star himself. His life, how he became a world class cricket star and what events shaped his life and his path on the way to stardom.

If you don't know much about cricket (like me) it's still an entertaining read and very much recommended to anyone who's interested in all kinds of sports.

If you've ever been to Finland, you might have wondered why there are so many slot machines in many cafes and restaurants and in almost every kiosk and supermarket. Gambling is the national pastime which is controlled by the state owned monopoly, Veikkaus. Monopoly exists because it's supposed to be able to address problems arising from gambling, but Veikkaus does not care about that. This book tells everything what is wrong with the Finnish gambling legislation, Veikkaus and the political connections to the company.

I've seen the movie adaptation a few times and read the Finnish translation of this book over 15 years ago. It was a great pleasure to get back to this story and get reminded about how much deeper in the character development the book actually gets. Now, I want to know more about these characters so I'll have to put the rest of the books in this series on my “To Read” list.

This book has a lot of interesting bits, but overall it's fairly boring and simply too long. That is sad because the two earlier books in the series were great.

It starts a bit slower than the movie but the second half is pretty much identical to the events in the movie. It's easy to visualise everything in your mind just like it happened on the screen.

This book reminded me of all flatmates I've had but none of them matches the characters in this book. It gets a bit repetitive after a few chapters so that's why I decided to give only 3 stars.

Seeing a Foo Fighters concert is an experience that will not leave you disappointed. It's an energetic ritual of singing amazing rock songs together with thousands of other fans. When the concert is over, they'll keep singing. All the way back home. It is an incredible atmosphere and fills your heart with joy.

Reading this book didn't really make me sing, but it left me filled with positive emotions. It's like watching a whole season of Ted Lasso. Sure, there's some drama and sad moments, and hard work which makes the dreams come true if you believe in them. However, the primary themes in this book are optimism, friendship and love. What kind of a father travels to the other side of the world in the middle of a tour, just to be able to go to a daddy-daughter dance? Not my dad, that's for sure. But Dave Grohl did that.

Science! Space! Gravity! Black holes! Galaxies! Supernovae!Great rip! Vacuum decay! Interesting and exciting information package about cosmology and astronomy, particle physics and everything in between, including things that may kill us and destroy our planet in a fraction of a nanosecond. Recommended reading for any space nerds out there.

Everyone should read this book. It presents eye-opening insights about human brain, our ability to focus and how the business models based on engagement and everlasting growth are harming us, our societies and the whole planet.

If you've ever doomscrolled social media in bed, suffered from low productivity due to procrastination, had inability to focus on work or studying, or simply felt tired without obvious reason, you might want to stop to think and change your habits. This book gives some answers what might be the problem and what solutions worked for the author.

I don't think this audiobook adaptation works at all. You cannot simply translate a visual medium into audio by reading it out loud. There is very little description and clues about how characters and the surroundings of the events should look like. The characters don't get introduced too well and it's hard to know who they are based on only their voice. There is an accompanying pdf but it's not that useful. The voice acting is well made though and the dramatic symphonic theme music reminds me of the song intros of the Norwegian black metal band, Dimmu Borgir.

I can't believe I haven't read this classic before! My ex is a sous-chef and I learned a lot about restaurant business and professional cooking from her. Therefore the realities of hard kitchen work and hard afterwork revealed in this book are not surprising at all. It was sad to read about the bits concerning mental wellbeing, suicides and surviving, knowing what happened to Bourdain several years after this book was written. I can recommend this to anyone who wants to work in a restaurant. It might change your mind. For someone who knows the difference between MACs and Globals, it's still a good read and will give you many “yup, I know that stuff” moments.

If you've read The Martian and liked it, you're also going to like this new scifi adventure from Andy Weir. There's some familiar unexpected twists and turns and impossible “That's it, we're going to die” scenarios, but also learnings of friendship and working together to solve the most difficult problems life has ever faced. When brilliant minds put their heads together, incredible things may come true.

Everything you have ever wanted to know about aging and why aging should be treated as a disease that can be cured. No, not in the eternal life kind of way but giving us more years with a high quality of life and stretching our expected lifespan a few years or decades longer. This book is about hard core science, genes, molecular biology and facts, not witch doctors selling you snake oil and supplements.

Who actually is Jussi Halla-aho, the chairman of the populist Finns party? This book tells his story starting from his family history, including childhood in the suburbs of Tampere, short lived career in a speed metal band, his journey in becoming a specialist in Slavic languages, his famous blog Scripta, which paved the way to popularity and a large number of loyal followers, all the way to becoming the leader of the currently largest political party and the opposition in Finland. This is not a fan book but it's not overtly critical either. It navigates in the neutral waters but leaves no doubt what Jussi Halla-aho and his party thinks about immigration. This book doesn't forget to mention their links to far right movements and the historical academic foundations of ethnic nationalism and national socialism, which might anger some of their fans. I'm sure their opponents will probably enjoy reading this book more. The author has done an incredible amount of background work!