Book Reviews

This page is mainly aimed at me, to document and record my reading. I’ll be posting book titles and comments, along with dates.

I do most of my reading on Kindle now, on iPhone (90%), computer, iPad, and Kindle 3. It’s gotten to the point where I won’t buy books if there is no Kindle edition…

A personal project, but feel free to comment or ask any questions you might have.

Apologies: the following books were read sometime between October 2011 and February 2012

35.

34. Sloppy Seconds (?)
This was a free download. Go to Tucker Max’s website and read some of his stories. If you like them, you will enjoy this. If not, then don’t go near it. I find him quite funny.

33. The Alloy of Law (?)
A sequel to the Mistborn trilogy, set hundreds of years in the future. Good read, new characters, and seems to be the first in a series. Recommended if you like Brandon Sanderson’s other books, but definitely read the original Mistborn trilogy first.

32. The Pain of Others (?)
Short horror/thriller by Blake Crouch. Slightly predictable twist, but good pacing. Graphic ending, so not for sensitive types.

31. The Invasion (?)
Standard sci-fi alien invasion via spores type story by William Meikle. Probably worth a read if you like that kind of thing, but nothing special.

30. Lying (October 2011)
This short piece by Sam Harris is a very well-written essay on why for most people in most situations lying is not a good strategy. A good (albeit short, but then again it is billed as a Kindle Single) read.

29. Snuff (October 2011)
Terry Pratchett’s latest work, featuring Sam Vimes from the Ankh-Morpork City Guard. If you like his books, this is more of the same. If you haven’t read Pratchett before, I would go back to his earlier work. Guards Guards would be a good place  to start.

27. and 28. The Well of Ascension (October 2011) and The Hero of Ages (October 2011)
The second and third books in the Mistborn trilogy. Very good stuff. Sanderson ties together the various threads running through his trilogy masterfully. It still reads like a good book and an incredible RPG world setting, but kept me happily engrossed throughout. Well recommended.

26. The Affair (September 2011)
The newest Reacher book by Lee Child. I love Reacher, so was very much looking forward to it. It’s a prequel to most of the books, giving us the protagonists last case working for the Army. Great plot, kept me guessing till the end.

25. Mistborn: the Final Empire (September 2011)
Another Brandon Sanderson fantasy, this time the first of a trilogy. He doesn’t disappoint, creating a fascinating world and yet another unique magic system. Great characters and very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the next two.

24. The Detachment (September 2011)
Barry Eisler’s latest Rain book, much better than the last few, possibly because he ditched Delilah, a character I hated. A good mix of action and suspense, with a huge political agenda overshadowing the whole thing (it’s okay though, as I basically agree with Eisler).

23. The Richest Man in Babylon (September 2011)
One of the inspirations for the Millionaire’s Secret below, this is still very relevant today. I enjoyed it apart from the silly register (‘thou knowest’). Grab it if you like personal finance self-improvement books.

22. The Millionaire’s Secret (September 2011)
A personal finance self-improvement book. Very readable, pretty convincing, offers pretty much the same advice as everyone else (and yet I keep reading these books and not acting on them!). Recommended.

21. Ready, Player One (September 2011)
This is a very nice science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. It focuses on ’80s gamer culture and is highly readable. Probably best enjoyed by the 30-40 crowd.

20. Warbreaker (September 2011)
More Brandon Sanderson (you can probably tell that I tend to OD on certain authors). A stand-alone fantasy novel, including Sanderson’s usual trademarks: a highly original magic system and some kind of meditation on death and mortality. As usual, I really enjoyed it.

19. Firstborn (September 2011)
A short story by Brandon Sanderson, my new favourite fantasy author. This is science fiction though, but it’s just as good as his fantasy stuff. A very effective piece.

18. Becoming Quinn (September 2011)
Another origin story, this time for Brett Battles’ eponymous cleaner Quinn. Again, if you like the series, this sheds more light on the main characters. I’d read the other books first.

17. The Nasty Bits (September 2011)
More Anthony Bourdain, this time a collection of pieces he wrote for magazines, etc. I would recommend reading Kitchen Confidential first, and if you like it grab this for more of the same.

16. Getting Past OK (September 2011)
As you can probably guess from the title, this is a self-help, personal development book. It’s very well written, and worth a look if you are interested in expanding your potential

15. Second Son (August 2011)
This is the Reacher origin story. Jack Reacher is a character created by Lee Child. I love the Reacher series, but this is not for newcomers. It is a short story giving some insight to where the main character came from, so go and read all the other books first, then come back to this if you need more Reacher.
Kindle store

14 Surface Detail (August 2011)
Possibly my favourite SF author, Iain M. Banks continues his Culture series with this book about a war over Hell. Almost as gruesome in parts as  A Dance with Dragons (reviewed below), it seems that there is a bit of a torture theme to this year. Really enjoyed it. As usual, a huge cast, sweeping action, and an ending that pulls everything together. Probably not the best book to start on the series (they are not sequential, but I would read A Player of Games first), this is very recommended to fans of Banks’ science fiction.
Kindle store Amazon.jp

13. Kitchen Confidential (August 2011)
The first Bourdain book, and maybe the best. An incredible read, full of fascinating glimpses into a subculture that is all around us: professional cooks. If you can handle the bad language and occasional gross moment, do yourself a favour and get hold of a copy.
Kindle store Amazon.jp

12. Eyes of the Hammer (August 2011)
This surprised me. It starts off like early Clancy, and the change in pace in the middle annoyed me at first, but the author managed to pull everything together at the end. I was extremely surprised to find myself looking for his other books on Amazon just after finishing this. A fun and very reasonable read.
Kindle store 

11. The Deceived (August 2011)
Another good Quinn book, about the ‘cleaner’ who seems to spend most of his time doing things other than cleaning. Great plot, setting, characters this time. A fun read.
Kindle store

10. Read This Before Our Next Meeting (August 2011)
A short and readable manifesto by someone who really really wants to eliminate/improve the culture of meetings. It’s sensible and well-written, but short.
Kindle store

9. A Dance with Dragons (August 2011)
This is the fifth in a classic series. I devoured the first four books and have been waiting eagerly for this one for a while. If you like gritty, extremely well-written fantasy you can’t beat George R.R. Martin. Much as I enjoyed the book, it didn’t really go anywhere. A lot happened and it was a very enjoyable read, but at the end of the 1040 pages I found myself more or less in the same place as I was in the beginning: waiting for the next one. So far there has not been a drop in quality, but I hope this doesn’t become another Wheel of Time. Definitely recommend the series, but might consider waiting until he finishes writing it.
Kindle store

8. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine (July 2011) Collection of essays on food and cooking
I love Anthony Bourdain. His Kitchen Confidential is a great read, and this collection of essays is more of the same in bite-sized portions. Thoroughly recommend it, unless you are offended by bad language and occasional ‘interesting’ foodstuffs…
Kindle store Amazon.jp

7. Off the Clock (July 2011) Short story: thriller
This is a short story (7000 words!) by Brett Battles, who writes nice thrillers on Kindle. I like his Quinn character, and this story gives some background on him. It works fine as a standalone piece, but you’ll probably get more out of it if you have read one of his other books. Priced at 0.99, it’ll keep you interested for a short (enjoyable) time. Might be a good sampler to see if you like Battles’ writing.
Kindle store

6. The Halo Effect (July 2011) Thriller/romance/pop-psychology
I picked this up as it was mentioned on Joe Konrath’s blog (possibly the best resource on self-publishing ebooks), and it was okay. A fairly standard psychologist/cop/psychopath story, with the twist being that the psychologist is a sex therapist, and the cop is the perfect catch. It has a weird vibe, like it’s not sure if it’s Harlequin or Silence of Lambs. The 0.99 price tag was nice, I managed to finish it, but probably won’t be going back to the series or the author.
Amazon.com

5. The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook (July 2011) Air miles and hotel points
This is a short but very practical guide to travelling cheaply or for free through airline and hotel loyalty programs. Most useful for US residents, it’s still interesting for those of us elsewhere. I knew most of this already, but it’s a great primer.
Amazon.com Amazon.co.jp

4. Elantris (July 2011) Fantasy
This is one of Brandon Sanderson’s earlier works (the author of The Way of Kings below). It’s not as polished and isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a good read and comes together nicely at the end.
Amazon.com

3. Paris is a Bitch (July 2011) Thriller/short story
I loved the first two Rain novels. The characters, the pacing, the Japanese setting made them awesome reads. With the third and subsequent books I think Eisler lost it, and the characters became charicatures. This short story continues that: Rain has become a bit like Steven Seagal, wading through his books destroying the bad guys.
Amazon.com Amazon.co.jp

2. Anything You Want (June 2011) Business/mindset
This is by Derek Sivers, who has a great blog and some great TED talks (google him and see). This book tells the story of how he started, grew, and ultimately sold his company. It’s a great read, and full of useful advice. I really enjoyed it.
Amazon.com Amazon.co.jp

1. The Way of Kings (June 2011) Fantasy
Very impressive first novel of a planned 10-book series (only found out after I finished it, otherwise might not have started… I was stung badly by Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series, which funnily enough this author is finishing for him!). Enjoyed it very much and looking forward to the next.
Amazon.com