Sunday, December 08, 2013

You Can't Be Too Careful, by David Pryce-Jones

You Can't Be Too Careful: Cautionary Tales for the Impetuous, Curious, and Blithely Oblivious, by David Pryce-Jones

When my mother gave me this for Christmas there was a note on it that read, "Darwin Awards, Part 2!" I've often chuckled at the idiocy demonstrated by these awards and looked forward to reading it. The book is a collection of true, very short anecdotes—often a single sentence—that describe the ironic deaths of individuals from all over the globe. Many were funny and shared the appeal of the Darwin Awards, such as the man who shot himself demonstrating how Russian roulette works or the German pensioner that dies of a heart attack after hiring a stripper to perform in his flat. Others were of the just-desserts variety such as the faith-healer that died after tripping over his healing stool or the bank robber crushed by a security screen during a hold-up. A great many were simply sad though, giving a depressing feel to the book that overwhelmed the humorous aspects. The heavy drinker trying to cut back that dies of a heart attack caused by alcohol withdrawal is a good example, or the tragic tale of the python kept as a family pet that escapes and kills the seven-month-old daughter. A quick, light read, but it left me more melancholy than amused.

First Sentence:
A plumber died after jumping naked from his girlfriend's third-floor apartment near Salonika, Greece, to escape from the enraged husband who caught them in bed.

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Jackdaws, by Ken Follett

Jackdaws, by Ken Follett

Set in World War II in the week before D-Day, this is an uneven espionage story about an all-female group of Allied saboteurs. Only two characters—the main heroine, Flick, and the main villain, Dieter—get any degree of depth; the rest are cardboard cutouts that fill a role: the ditzy aristocrat, the gutsy gypsy, the perceptive boyfriend, the sadistic torturer, the dense Gestapo Major, and so on. The action takes place over ten days (minus a short afterward that gives the happy ending), and during that time Flick shows an unbelievable array of traits: loving, faithful wife that suddenly takes a new lover, heartless leader yet compassionate trainer, and stalwart soldier to cold-blooded executioner. A quick read and a rollicking story, but shallow characterization and an over-accelerated plot keep this from being memorable.

First Sentence:
One minute before the explosion, the square at Sainte-Cécile was at peace.

Monday, December 02, 2013

Beer School, by Steve Hindy & Tom Potter

Beer School, by Steve Hindy & Tom Potter

The two founders of the Brooklyn Brewery wrote Beer School so I was expecting a straightforward corporate history describing how a couple of home brewers hit it big. Instead, I found a thoughtful look at entrepreneurship and business partnerships.

The chapters are written by one of the two founders, with the other weighing in at the conclusion often with a different point of view. Neither of these guys had ever started a business before; one was a foreign correspondent for the AP and the other was a middle-tier banker. They cover how they decided to go into partnership, writing their business plan, collecting funding, publicity, managing a staff and performance reviews, and deciding when to cash out among other things. It is an honest portrayal, covering mistakes as well as successes, and refreshingly the pair doesn't always agree.

The writing is uneven, with the styles of Hindy and Potter being quite different. Hindy is the better author (not surprising as he was a reporter); Potter's chapter on raising money was especially repetitive: "venture funding" is defined three times in four pages. Potter also has some odd ideas about management. "People who read lots of resumes, just like people who read lots of resumes, aren't looking for a creative format. They want something familiar and comprehensible." As someone that has been a people manager for over a decade I can't disagree more. I love when I see an original CV; even if it is terrible I appreciate that someone tried something different and the break from monotony it brings. When Potter discusses writing a business plan and mission statement, though, he comes off much more polished. Clearly when the topics skew closer to his comfort zone his writing improves.

The insights into starting a business were enlightening, and being set against the rise of the craft brewing industry in America over the past 25 years made this a surprisingly difficult book to put down. Much like beer itself!

First Sentence:
My head was thumping and I was drenched in sweat when I was jolted awake on a fresh sunny morning in May 1984 by the blasts of two mortar shells in the parking lot outside my second-floor room at the Alexander Hotel in East Beirut.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Imager's Battalion, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Imager's Battalion, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

I am thoroughly enjoying the Imager Portfolio series. This direct sequel to Princeps is more plot based than previous volumes which delved a bit more into politics and religion; this feels more like a position paper setting up the plan to create the full-fledged imager school seen in the original volume of the series which is set centuries later. The story is solid, seeing our hero continue to expand his skills while staying a step ahead of both the opposing army and his more local enemies. The campaign of war occupies the entire novel which gives a repetitive feel to the narrative as there isn't a lot of variety between battles.

Speaking of repetition, one thing I've noticed is the similarity between Modesitt's universe of the Imager Portfolio his universe of the Saga of Recluce. Both have idealistic people that have trouble lying, similar techniques for using magic such as concealment and shields, semi-mystical writings that guide and inspire the protagonist, and one-in-a-generation heroes who accomplish world-changing feats at a huge personal cost. It hasn't hurt my enjoyment of either series, but the high degree of resemblance between the two is surprising—especially with a subtle theme here that says a god "gave us the freedom to be the best we could be, not to strive to be a copy of something."

One quibble I have with my edition of Imager's Battalion was the map provided in the front of the book lacks virtually every city and town where the action occurs. Why bother to show the map at all if it doesn't provide any context? Regardless, a fun read and I look forward to the next one.

First Sentence:
In the early summer afternoon, Quaeryt paced back and forth across the narrow stone stoop outside the main entrance to the hold house at Nordruil, occasionally blotting the sweat off his forehead.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Bitter Java, by Bruce Tate

Bitter Java: The lessons taught by server-side Java antipatterns, by Bruce Tate

It has been a while since I've read a Java book, and this one subtitled "The lessons taught by server-side Java antipatterns" seemed pretty interesting. It is amazingly dated, showing just how fast technology has changed in the last decade: CORBA, Microsoft FrontPage, and dial-up modems all feature in various examples. Most surprising was the authors insistence in using Vectors and Hashtables rather than Collections; Collections were already well-established in 2002 and wouldn't have made the code samples any more complicated. In a book largely concerned with efficiency and scalability I find this fairly surprising and bordering on irresponsible. That said, the writing is readable and engaging, and despite being behind the times the patterns presented are still applicable in today's world. I'd recommend this to a neophyte designer, but a more seasoned architect I suspect will find it pedestrian.

First Sentence:
On a cold day in Eastern Tennessee, my kayak is perched precariously atop a waterfall known as State Line Falls.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

One Lump or Two?, by Darren Couchman

One Lump or Two?: A Humourous Story of One Man's Fight Against Testicular Cancer, by Darren Couchman

Carcinomas are no laughing matter, but Couchman tells his story of battling testicular cancer with a lot of whimsy and warmth. Diagnosed at 27 years old and within a decade of losing both his parents to the disease, he had every right to succumb to despair but instead approaches his diagnosis head on using humor (much of it self-deprecating) as his main weapon. "[Doctors] are professionals and are more concerned about helping you, rather than laughing at your privates. Anyway, that's your partner's job." Couchman is not a professional writer and it often shows—the style is pedestrian leaves a lot to be desired—but his message comes through loud and clear: fighting a serious disease is an incredibly tough campaign, and a positive outlook and the support of friends and family are essential to a successful outcome. As far as patients go Couchman was lucky; one major operation and a limited chemo routine resulted in victory. I still wouldn't call his experience easy, though, and certainly don't want to go through any of that myself. If I am personally faced with such a situation, though, I hope I can approach it with the same forthright manner and joie de vivre.

First Sentence:
It's the year 2000.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Rogue, by Trudi Canavan

The Rogue, by Trudi Canavan

The second book in a trilogy is often weak, but The Rogue is a fairly solid follow-up to The Ambassador's Mission. There are four loosely connected plots which don't intersect until the very end, and all four are fairly strong: a search for a rogue magician, two students caught up in a murder, an ambassadorial trip to a far-flung country, and a man coping in a hostile city unable to leave. The murder is resolved, but the other threads have the intensity ramped up for the final volume, The Traitor Queen. Looking forward to it!

Blah blah blah

First Sentence:
According to a Sachakan tradition so old that nobody remembered where it had begun, summer had a male aspect and winter a female one.

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Path Between the Seas, by David McCullough

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914, by David McCullough

Before reading The Path Between the Seas I knew very little about the Panama Canal other than the location, that the French started the project and failed, and it is the source of one of my favorite jokes in Arsenic and Old Lace: crazy Uncle Teddy "digging the canal" in the basement. I've always wanted to take a trip through the canal and I like reading histories, so I've been looking forward to this book for a while. As usual, McCullough doesn't disappoint.

It took nearly 45 years to build the canal, starting in 1870. There were several competing routes, but the French decided on Panama as the best place to make the cut. They had just successfully completed the Suez Canal and were considered the natural choice for bridging the Americas. Unfortunately as it turns out, digging across a desert at sea level does not take the same skills or technology as bridging a mountainous jungle region in the tropics. The death rate was astonishing in the early days. "Of every one hundred new arrivals at least twenty died, and of those who survived, only about twenty were were physically strong enough to do any real work." In about a decade, the estimates are as many as twenty-two thousand died. Disease was the main killer, as the world had yet to discover that mosquitoes carried malaria and yellow fever; in fact, the cause was so misunderstood that the legs of hospital beds were all placed in shallow bowls of water to protect against ants. If patients didn't have a serious disease when they entered the hospital, the odds were enormous they would before they left. The death toll was only one of several problems the French faced, though; poor engineering plans and irresponsible financing combined to guarantee the failure of the French effort. The only realistic remaining nation that could accomplish the feat was the U.S.A.

America didn't simply come in, pick up where France left off, and finish the canal, though. The US wanted a route across Nicaragua, and instead of a canal had wild plans such as hoisting ships out of the water and hauling them across Mexico on railroad cars. Obviously this isn't what eventually happened, but the story of what did is utterly compelling. Panama declaring independence from Columbia is just one of the momentous events of the era, and even knowing how it all ends I had a hard time putting the book down. As with all of McCullough's books, this is thoroughly researched, well-written, and highly recommended.

First Sentence:
The letter, several pages in length and signed by Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson, was aggressed to Commander Thomas O. Selfridge.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

I loved this book as a kid, and liked several of the sequels as well. With a movie on the way and my sons interested in it, I dug up my old copy from 1986 and we all read it. It holds up surprisingly well, and both boys liked it as much as I did. The plot is in four loose sections: Ender on Earth, Ender at Battle School, Ender on Eros, and after the war. The bulk of the story takes place at the Battle School and is easily the best part of the book. The idea of training child prodigies as military commanders in zero gravity is both farfetched and fascinating at the same time, and the descriptions of the various games are unique and memorable enough that they largely matched what I remembered from nearly 30 years ago. Of course, after seeing previews for the movie I kept picturing Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff and Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham—neither of which matched my previous images. Ender's Game is a great sci-fi book, and if my family is any indication it holds up well through the generations, too.

First Sentence:
"I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one."

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, by Jon Ronson

I don't have much use for psychology or psychiatry. These are the branches of science used by those that seemingly justify such nonsense as curing homosexuality. Psychology experiments often seem to be ethically murky and confirm their initial hypotheses at an unbelievably high rate. On the other hand, I'm not someone that believes mental illness isn't a real disease, either. Like most things, there are good and bad aspects to psychology and clearly it has helped thousands of people live happier lives. So, when my book club chose The Psychopath Test as the monthly selection I was intrigued and looking forward to a closer examination of the industry.

I found this look into psychology and psychopaths in particular fascinating. Ronson examines all sides of the situation, talking with editors of the bible of mental disorders (the DSM-IV-TR), extreme 9/11 Truther and self-proclaimed messiah David Shayler, the author of the most common tool for diagnosing psychopathy (the PCL-R), and a powerful group Scientologists that are trying to stamp out psychology entirely (the CCHR). Written in first person Ronson seems greatly influenced by whichever group he speaks with last, see-sawing between radically different points of view. He doesn't really make any conclusions, but simply walks through the various beliefs and allows the reader to decide on his own. Most compelling to me was the debate about where the line between mentally ill and simply eccentric is drawn; what I learned here makes me a bit scared as to how fast we jump to diagnosing illness and prescribing drugs for behaviors such as hyperactivity and short tempers—especially in children.

The most surprising aspect of the book is the revelation that not all psychopaths are criminal; in fact, they are everywhere and often lead normal lives. A desire to win and a love of power are common sociopathic traits, as is a lack of normal human feelings. "They're the boss or coworker who likes to make other people up just for the pleasure of seeing them jump. They're the spouse who marries to look socially normal but inside the marriage shows no love after the initial charm wears off." Even more disturbing than the psychopath next door is the realization that these behaviors result in a preponderance of such people in leadership positions. "The higher you go up the [corporate or political] ladder, the greater the number of sociopaths you'll find there." From now on I'll be equating politicians with psychopaths, which frankly explains a lot about our government.

First Sentence:
This is a story about madness.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Libriomancer, by Jim C. Hines

Libriomancer, by Jim C. Hines

I really liked Hines' take on fairy tales in his Princess series of novels, so I looked forward to his approach to "magic exists in the real world but is hidden from most people" as made popular by J. K. Rowling and Simon R. Green. Hines' entry into the club is my favorite by far! Libriomancy is a magic that allows people to use a book as a portal, pulling any item described within into our world. This unique concept is used to great effect, such as the hero wearing a Babel fish which allows him to understand any and all languages. Good stuff!

Libriomancy was created by Johannes Gutenberg, who it turns out was a frustrated sorcerer. He believed that there was magic in books, and the more people that read the book, the stronger the magic—and thus invented the printing press to amplify his access to the mystical arts. Fast forward nearly 600 years and there is a secret society of libriomancers dedicated to protecting the world from supernatural threats. Gutenberg is still alive (thanks to the Holy Grail), the head of the organization, and the most powerful person alive. He has also disappeared; cue adventure!

This novel is a literary pop culture smörgåsbord: lightsabers, disruptors, Excalibur are only a few of the weapons pulled from various novels, and the Love Magnet of Oz and Tinkerbell's Pixie Dust are other entertaining tools used along the way. Enemies include many different kinds of vampires (via Charlaine Harris to Anne Rice to Bram Stoker himself), although Professor Moriarty, Hannibal Lecter, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and Norman Bates all make an appearance of sorts.

I loved, loved, loved this book! Since finishing it yesterday I've spent all kinds of time thinking about what I'd conjure up if given the opportunity. The Tarnhelm would be cool, as would a Green Lantern ring. Taking the winning lottery ticket from Paycheck would mean I wouldn't have to launder money somehow...

First Sentence:
Some people would say it's a bad idea to bring a fire-spider into a public library.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Ambassador's Mission, by Trudi Canavan

The Ambassador's Mission, by Trudi Canavan

A return to the world of Canavan's Black Magician series! I loved the first trilogy, and the standalone The Magician's Apprentice added a lot of flavor to the universe. This new adventure is split into two storylines: one follows Sonea from the first books twenty years later and hunting rogue magicians and the other follows Sonea's son and his exploration of a neighboring land. The latter story is more interesting but less satisfying as there isn't a natural conclusion—it just stops, waiting to be picked up in the next book. As with many fantasy novels the plot isn't complicated, but Canavan explores some fairly deep topics such as sexism, homosexuality, and drug use. Being the first of three novels this is mostly setup, but I look forward to see how the themes develop.

First Sentence:
The most successful and quoted piece by the poet Rewin, greatest of the rabble to come out of the New City, was called Citysong.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Locked On, by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney

Locked On, by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney

I loved some of the early Jack Ryan books, but gave up after Red Rabbit and The Teeth Of The Tiger because I thought they were really weak. I spied Locked On on the bargain table and decided to spend a few bucks and see if anything had improved. Surprisingly, there had only been one book between The Teeth Of The Tiger and this one in the last ten years so plot-wise I hadn't missed much.

The story here mainly follows Jack Ryan Jr. and John Clark; the former chasing a terrorist plot through Pakistan and Russia and the latter on the run due to a political witch hunt. Clancy hasn't softened his views towards politics any here; the Democrats are depicted as cartoonish and practically being pro-terrorist. The news outlets are savaged as well ("Liberal bias in the media was a fact of nature.") and shown to eagerly suppress information that shows Democrats in a bad light. While I agree with much of the sentiment here, Clancy takes it to an extreme. The terrorist plot is on nearly a James Bond scale; a Pakistani General steals two nukes from his own country and intends to force a war with India using a Muslim uprising in Russia as a distraction. I don't think this has the depth of The Hunt for Red October or even Debt of Honor, but it was nice to revisit the Jack Ryan Universe once again.

First Sentence:
The Russians call their Kamov-50 helicopter gunship Chernaya Akula—Black Shark.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Live and Let Drood, by Simon R Green

Live and Let Drood, by Simon R Green

I thoroughly enjoy the mind candy of the Secret History novels. The plot here is a lot more straightforward than past entries but still fun: the Drood family save Eddie have vanished and the story details the quest to find them and exact revenge on the perpetrators. The reader has to ignore some fairly large holes in the process (Droods have field agents in every major city across the globe but they all happened to be in the same English manor when it vanished?) but considering the abundance of magical devices and pocket dimensions belief is easy to suspend. The pop culture references are relentless, and I love that Green doesn't stop to explain any of them—either you catch them and smile or you miss out. My favorites this outing were the line delivered teasingly, "Sisters, sisters, such devoted sisters..." and the fact that the heroes find themselves driving a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a mind of its own. If you like your fanstasy adventure heavy on the humorous side, you should check this series out.

First Sentence:
You think you know where your life is going.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Vacation Rental Success, by Joel Rasmussen

Vacation Rental Success: Insider secrets to profitably own, market, and manage vacation rental property; Volume 1 - From Start to Profit, by Joel Rasmussen

I recently started a new job working for HomeAway, a marketplace for the vacation rental industry. Other than staying in a gorgeous rental last year I really don't know much about the business of short term rentals. Asking around the office for books that would help educate me, several people suggested Vacation Rental Success so I picked it up. Turns out the author lives here in Austin as well and is very friendly with HomeAway, mentioning the company several times and having our CEO write the forward. So not too surprising it was recommended, but it was enlightening regardless.

The book is quite readable; I was expecting a dry manual talking about rental agreements, legal documents, and tax ramifications but instead found a thoughtful guide on how to get into the game and become successful. Rasmussen touches on a broad range of topics, but doesn't go into great detail on many of them. Where he lacks in detail, though, he makes up for by mentioning several companies that he uses to run his business, such as HomeAway, FlipKey, VacationRentalDesk.com, CSA Travel Protection, the Short Term Rental Advocacy Center, and (most interesting to me as I'm fascinated by home automation) Nexia Home Intelligence. At just over 100 pages this is a short but sweet introduction to the industry that now employs me. It is clear that I'm not interested in being an owner—Rasmussen makes it clear that to be successful you need to be an extroverted "people person" and that is not me—but I look forward to my next stay as a traveler!

First Sentence:
If you're tossing around the idea of making a go at renting a second property, you might think that money considerations are your top priority.

The Secret Agent, by Joseph Conrad

The Secret Agent, by Joseph Conrad

For a book considered to be one of the first and greatest espionage thrillers, it was murder getting to the end. The writing is stilted and overblown, and I often had to reread passages to make sense of them. "Mrs. Neale was the charwoman of Brett Street. Victim of her marriage with a debaucher joiner, she was oppressed by the needs of many infant children. Red-armed, and aproned in coarse sacking up to the arm-pits, she exhaled the anguish of the poor in a breath of soap-suds and rum, in the uproar of scrubbing, in the clatter of tin pails." Not an easy read.

The plot follows a somewhat incompetent agent provocateur that is playing both sides—talking to the police and working for an anarchist cell. He is forced into an act of insurrection that goes awry and tragedy strikes. I suspect that there are some insightful conclusions that can be drawn with modern terrorism and national security, but frankly I had such a difficult time getting through the superficial story that I was uninterested in looking any deeper. Disappointing.

First Sentence:
Mr. Verloc, going out in the morning, left his shop nominally in charge of his brother-in-law.

Saturday, August 03, 2013

The Borgias and Their Enemies, by Christopher Hibbert

The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431-1519, by Christopher Hibbert

The Borgia family name today is largely synonymous with immorality and nepotism. The rise to power of Rodrigo Borgia culminating in his being elected Pope in 1492 is when this definition was earned and the topic of this book. Rodrigo was described as having "the most obscene manners, hypocrisy, immodesty, mendacity, infidelity, profanity, insatiable greed, unrestrained ambition, a predilection for viciousness that was worse than barbaric, and a fervent hunger to exalt his many children, among whom there were several no less repellent than the father." And this is all after he became Pope Alexander VI. All his children were obviously illegitimate (as apparently marriage is the one rule the Church can't ignore), but two in particular became powerful in their own right: his son Cesare was a general and a ruler and the subject of Machiavelli's The Prince, and his daughter Lucrezia became the Duchess of Ferrara.

I'm not a fan of organized religion, and Catholicism in particular I find morally bankrupt, but I was surprised to learn in the 15th century the Church was even more venal than today. Men weren't made cardinals because of their devotion to God or their piety, but how much money they could pay. One of Lucrezia's sons was named the arch-bishop of Milan when he was nine-years-old. Celebrations at the Vatican were excessive, often including courtesans and even devolving into orgies. Interestingly, in some ways this immoral Church was more progressive than the holier-than-thou organization of today. When traveling, Alexander VI would put his daughter Lucrezia in charge of the Vatican, to the point where she actually moved into the papal apartments. I can't imagine the modern Church—against both contraception and abortion and not allowing women to be ordained—permitting a female to effectively control the Catholic hierarchy.

The writing is a bit dry making it difficult to stay engaged at times, but the topic is entertaining enough to keep going. Not the best book I've ever read, but it covers an interesting period in history.

First Sentence:
"You must have heard of this city from others," wrote a visitor to Rome in the middle of the fifteenth century.

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