Book Reviews

These are listed in the order I’ve read them, most recent first. My goal is 2 books per month.

2018 Reading List

• The Island of Dr. Moreau (4/5) – This was another book I should have read in school but didn’t. Obviously, this was pretty ahead of its time but still relevant today.
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – (4/5) – This took me a long time to read. I would read a chapter or two and get depressed, then start reading again a few months later. I really liked how honest it was.
• Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (3/5) – I still don’t know if I liked this or not. It just didn’t seem like there was anything groundbreaking.
• Patient Zero (4/5) – This continues my run on zombie books. This one was more of a military thriller than I had expected, but I need more zombies. This does have a great premise though.

2017 Reading List

2016 Reading List

• The Fireman (4/5) – This was a good but not great story about a plague that causes most of the population to catch fire.
• High-Rise (3/5) – Interesting story about a class war in a high rise. This will probably happen soon.
• All the Light We Cannot See (3/5) – There is so much to this story. I think I’ll like it more when/if I read it again.
• Lock In (4/5) – The premise to this book is very interesting, but it kind of faded at the end.
• Spell or High Water (Magic #2) (4/5) – Part 2 of the Magic series. Not as good as the first one, but still a lot of fun to read.
• The Kind Worth Killing (4/5) – This book is twist on “Strangers on a Train”. Lots of twists.
• The Signal and the Noise (5/5) – This book is a must read by anyone that works with data. So much great information here and good examples.
• Hidden Bodies (5/5) – The sequel to You… If you liked the first one, you’ll like this one.

2015 Reading List

• The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (4/5) – Another short story collection from Stephen King. There are some really good ones along with some that are kind of out of place.
• The Fold (4/5)  – I liked this, but it got really confusing after a while. Maybe that was the point. The story deals with time travel and has parallel story lines.
• Purity (3/5) – Freedom is one of my favorite books. Unfortunately this one isn’t close to that.
• The Secret History (3/5) – This has been on my list for about 20 years. I guess nothing can live up to that much hype.
• The Girl with All the Gifts (5/5) – This is a great take on the zombie genre, which I’ve been reading a lot of. The book is well done with a great ending. I don’t see how the movie can live up to the level of the book.
• Off to Be the Wizard (4/5) – This is a pretty funny book that reminds me of Monty Python in a way. Computer geeks find a way to time travel and live as wizards. Pretty much the perfect story that has to be made into a film.
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (3/5) –
• To Kill a Mockingbird (5/5) – I’m glad I read this before the sequel comes out this summer. This is another one that I should have read in school. I had high expectations and it lived up to them. Now I need to see the film.

2014 Reading List

• Revival (3/5) – I wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t that good. This would’ve made a better short story than full novel.
• The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload (4/5) –
• The Martian (5/5) – This story was fun. It’s about an astronaut that gets trapped alone on Mars and how he deals with being alone. I think this is becoming a film this summer.
• Crime and Punishment (4/5) –
• Mr. Mercedes (3/5) – Another of the many Stephen King books I’ve read lately. Meh.
• The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (4/5) – I’m still not sure what this was about. There were two or three different stories that intersected. I think. It was like reading a dream with many different characters coming and going. Crazy, but not in a bad way.
• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (4/5) – This was a really interesting story that I wish could have developed a little more. It’s worth reading and I think there is a television series based on it now.
• Ballad of the Whiskey Robber (4/5) – 100% awesome story. It blew my mind when I found out it was based on a true story.
• The Intern’s Handbook: A Thriller (4/5) – This book is a little hard to explain. It’s the story of a hitman that goes undercover as an intern to get close to his targets. This was a fun book to read.
• A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred (4/5) – I’ve been a Cubs fan my whole life and the stories in this book help explain the draw.
• The Troop (3/5) – Wow, was this story gross. I really liked the story and it became a little like a zombie attack but worse.
• The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way (4/5) – Interesting study of what happens when students from the US go to different countries on foreign exchange programs. Other countries put emphasis on different aspects of school than we do in the US. Good comparison of what works and what does not.
• Influx (4/5) – I’ve read each of Daniel Suarez’s books and this one did not disappoint.
• The Dinner (4/5) – This was a strange book. As a parent it was pretty terrifying but I enjoyed it.
• Agile Data Warehouse Design: Collaborative Dimensional Modeling, from Whiteboard to Star Schema (5/5) – This is an excellent book on the design processes. Highly recommended.
• Shovel Ready (3/5) – Reading this book it was obvious that it could easily be made into a film. It’s a dark and post-apocalyptic story about a garbage man turned hitman with a conscience.
• NOS4A2 (5/5) – I didn’t really know what to expect here, but I am glad I read this. The author does a nice job of keeping the story moving at a risk pace and the characters are truly creepy. Oh, and the author Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son.

2013 Reading List

• Love in the Time of Cholera (2/5) – I have heard great things about this book, but I just couldn’t get into it.
• Ender’s Game (4/5) – Another book I wish I had read earlier in my life. I’m amazed this was written so long ago.
• Doctor Sleep: A Novel (3/5) – This was the fourth King novel I’ve read in the last year and a half. This is not as good as the Joyland or 11-22-63, but still good. He’s back on the top of his game.
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (4/5) – A great book about a painful existence.
• Beautiful ruins (4/5) – I liked this much more than I expected. I’m sure they’ll ruin this by making it into a bad movie.
• Ready Player One (3/5) – This had so much about the 80’s – even Rush references.
• Joyland (4/5) – This was a quick read and fun. Bonus for the carnival characters.
• The History of Love (2/5) – Meh. This was too similar to Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close IMO. I felt like I was reading it again at some points.
• Huckleberry Finn (4/5) – Another I should have read earlier.
• Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 (4/5) – Amazing amount of detail in this book.
• Behind The Beautiful Forevers (3/5) – This changed my perspective on what poverty really means.
• Freedom (TM) (4/5) – Still not sure why these are not on TV or a movie yet. This is a rare situation where it may turn out well.
• Nemesis (3/5) – A book I probably wouldn’t normally read, but it was interesting.
• The Old Man and the Sea (4/5) – Why didn’t I read this in school?
• The Yellow Birds (3/5) – I liked this more than I expected.
• Neuromancer (3/5) – I thought I would like this more. Maybe I had too high of expectations.
• The Corrections (4/5) – I didn’t like this as much as Freedom, but I wish I’d read it first.
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (2/5) – This started off strong and then became too predictable.