Category Archives: Book Reviews

“In Such Good Company” – Book Review

These days the celebrity memoir is usually soething to be avoided. However, Carol Burnett’s In Such Good Company is a breath of fresh air to the category and one not one for fans to miss.

I grew up watching the Carol Burnett Show with my family and there are a still a handful of lines that get mentioned and quoted at various family events. Some of the sketches from the show have achieved iconic status and it was fun to read the stories behind these moments.

The book reads almost as if Carol herself stopped by the house for a visit and is just swapping stories. Because, if you watched the show, you will remember every episode, every character and every actor she brings up.

I’m not sure what the difference is between this show and the funny shows I watch on tv these days. I mean I still laugh at what’s on, but while I was reading In Such Good Company I was smiling so big and laughing at just the memories of laughing. I have to admit, it was a little weird, but so good.

The book was really about the show and stories behind the episodes they did. So there’s no ‘tell all’ or drama or gossip, which is quite refreshing. It’s charming, classy and full of memories.

I don’t think they make television stars and personalities like Carol Burnett anymore, which is a shame. I’m glad there are re-runs and I’m glad to have read this book. I know a few folks in my family that will enjoy it too.

(Please note: this book was sent to me to review.)

 

Book Review “Life on the Edge”

I am very thankful for having read this Life on the Edge. And 100% of that thanks goes to the authors. While I can not say I agree (or even understand) everything they brought forth, they did so in a very “common sense” manner that I appreciated.

life on the edgeAt times, when reading Life on the Edge, it felt more like a conversation than a lecture. Which is not how a lot of science books I pick up often feel. They both must have a natural knack for explaining things. And even though their own certainty and mastery of the subject is apparent (and well researched) their sense of wonder of the biological systems and bodies around them still comes through their writing.

Quantum physics, quantum effects, quantum mechanics seem to be ingrained not only in our physical universe but also through all of nature and biology. The passages about the brain and neurons and the whole system is very fascinating.

I was surprised how much ink was spent on the “why” of the ideas in the book. That is until I fully realized how new and forward thinking their ideas are. Hopefully others will write more in this area as new discoveries are made.

I have a new appreciation for nature and all of the amazing too-small-to-see processes that happen. Processes that labs can’t replicate. Processes that scientists can witness but not explain. All very very cool.

I still have tons of new vocabulary words I need to look up. I give this book three out of five stars and am recommending to every one I know that has read folks like Bill Bryson and Bryan Greene.

(Please note that I received a free copy of this book, from the publisher.)

What I Read in 2015

Well, another year is in the bag. My year finished fast and great. I hope yours did too. Right around the end of the summer life put its foot on the gas and it took off with a roar, but thanks to the folks at work, my family and some wonderful book finds, I’m feeling good heading into 2016.

I just wanted to share a few highlights and recommended reads. If you get the chance, please share something you read this year that you think I’d enjoy. I’m always looking out for something new-to-me.

First, the digits: 15, 265 pages in 55 books. Thanks to the cool folks at LibraryThing.com I know that:

  • if laid end-to-end, these pages stretch 0.0003% of the distance to the moon.
  • I would need 3.1 U-Haul boxes to pack these books;
  • I would need 2.17 IKEA Billy bookcases to store them;
  • and, the value of their weight in gold is currently $203,351,975.

Also, if stacked on top of each other (end-to-end) then my 2015 list would be taller than Stonehenge.

Stonehenge

That’s a pretty good year for me.

I also track where I “first heard of a book”. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and it’s the first time that “Podcasts” came in at #1. “From Friends” dropped to #3 and “Blogs” is #2. I think this means I need to get out more.

I was also a very “current reader” as (when averaged) most of my books were only 2 years old when I read them. This is something I’m going to change in 2016.

Without a doubt the best book I read this year was Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. It impacted me more than anything else I read and it is the book I most recommended last year.

Best Fiction
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey
Fates and Furies: A Novel by Lauren Groff

Best Non-Fiction
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Evenings at Five by Gail Godwin
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel

Anyway, please share any 2015 finds you had. And most importantly – Happy New Year to you and yours!

Armada by Ernest Cline

Title: Armada
Author: Ernest Cline
Publisher: Crown, 2015
Where I heard about this book: I received this book directly from the publisher.

Armada blasts through the haze of the past couple of decades and gives us a look back to the sci-fi stories of the 1980s. Just about every page of Cline’s book drips with tropes, cliches and plot lines of well known movies and stories. You’ll find yourself smiling as characters in Armada quote lines and rally behind battle cries heard first from Activision and Atari games.

Armada_review

Armada follows the plight of a soon-to-be high school graduate to the moon and back as he helps defend the Earth from alien invasion. An invasion that is the result of 40 years of US government secrets and black ops. An invasion that will end life on Earth. An invasion that can only be defeated by the best video gamers on the planet as the military has been secretly training Earth’s population on how to control military drones through video games.

The Last Starfighter was one of my favorite movies growing up, which this book certainly mirrors. The same can be said for Ender’s Game which matches pretty close plot-point to plot-point. So you’ll get a kick out of Armada if you enjoyed those two stories. But if you don’t then there’s not much else here for you.

While I really enjoyed Cline’s first book Ready Player One, this book, while making use of all the same vintage hooks, nods and winks that enjoy, lacks a freshness that RPO has. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but the characters in Armada spend too much time making fun of classic sci-fi plot holes and being aware of how their world mimics it all. It never quite goes all out “meta” but it’s darn close.

I’m giving this book two out of five stars, though if you’ve ever called yourself a sci-fi geek it’s one you’ll want to read just for all of the memories. And it’s also worth picking up, in the book store,  just to check out the cover.

Armada_cover

Will Staehle nailed it. Just like every good video game there is an easter egg even in the cover… open it up for schematics of the drones. Something every hardcore sci-fi fan appreciates. Kudos to Staehle and team.