Published in 2014, this 94 page book talks about; relativity, quantum mechanics, the architecture of the cosmos, elementary particles, quantum gravity, black holes and how we fit in.
This book went by in a flash. The science part was good but I could have done without the narrative toward the end.
Interesting but I won’t be reading it again
Published in 2007 and at a mere 753 pages, A Feast for Crows is the fourth book in the Game of Thrones series. It was the first of the series to reach number one on the The New York Times Best Seller list and was orignically tied together with the next book in the series A Dance of Dragons. The original manuscript was so long that the publisher asked the author to split it into two books. Rather that split them chronologically, they were split by the character story lines. These two books make up the basis of a few seasons of the HBO series and even touch into season 6.
I didn’t know the narrative was split but it makes sense in retrospect. I’m currently reading the next book at the time of this review and it is filling in a lot of the gaps about the characters who were missing from the last book. I also just learned that the author has been working on book six for the last 8 years and is planning to have book seven come out at some point. Yikes! I’m glad I just found out about it. I don’t know I would have started reading it. Like the Wheel of Time series, I gave up because it didn’t seem like it was ever going to end.
I’m not certain I would read it again. However, I did enjoy it.
Published in 2010, Keys to the Demon Prison is the final book in the Fablehaven series. The Society of the Evening Star has all the artifacts and holds all the cards. Will they open the demon prison and release them all into this world?
This book is almost 600 pages and yet it flew by. I was excited to get to the end and to see what happened.
Great read!
Published in 2008, Grip of the Shadow Plague is the third book in the Fablehaven series. This time around, Fablehaven is being threatened by a plague which turns everyone into a nightmare version of themselves.
This was a great transitional book. It sets the scene for most of the things to come and didn’t quite feel as tacked on as some.
Great read. You have to keep going…
Book four of the Fablehaven series and published in 2009, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary takes our heroes gain another of the artifacts they need to oppose the Society of the Evening Star.
Another fun read. We get to learn about dragons in this book and even meet a very special dragon. The book is set up for young readers so Seth and Kendra are the main characters. They are starting to learn how special they are and people are falling like flies around them. Seriously! The author doesn’t have any problem with bumping folks off in these books. It has sort of a Disney level of disproportion here. Worse than death can happen to folks at any time and the others seem to get over it a little too quickly… But that’s just a thought.
Great books. I will likely read them again at some point.
The 3rd book in the Game of Thrones series, A Storm of Swords is the continuation of plots and characters too numerous to explain in a brief summary. However, at 973 pages, it can fit “much and more”. Published in the US in 2000, the book was only beaten out by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the Hugo Award.
The plot continues to thicken. Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten bored of it as of yet. The narrative is convoluted but compelling. The language can be base and imagery brutal. However, I continue reading. It has sucked me into the story and I just keep listening.
This book is not for children and even I wonder if I’m old enough to read it… However, I did enjoy it.
Published in 2018, Where the Crawdads Sing is the first novel of Delia Owens about an orphaned girl raising herself and the community around her. Known as the “Marsh Girl”, she is used to life on her own but she can’t just go to where the crawdads sing…
This was a very well written book so I can understand the groundswell of support behind it. My wife was surprised I read it as most of her friends had read it as well. I guess a book with a strong female protagonist isn’t normal husband material.
I wasn’t that surprised by the ending but I didn’t want to believe it. The foreshadowing of the praying mantis tipped the scales on the hint. Again though, I didn’t want to think of her as anything but a pure well doer. It does bring up the uncomfortable truth of all people having to set up boundaries and enforcing them. As she was on her own, it was really left to her to defend herself. As the husband and father, I feel this weight and can understand where she was coming from.
I’m mixed on whether to recommend this or not. If folks are talking about it than sure. If not… Well, I wouldn’t be running out to get it.
Ash Carter has been around government since he wrote a review of Ronald Regan’s “Star Wars” program. He rose to be the Secretary of Defense for Barak Obama and has been an influential figure throughout his long career. This book was a review of his thoughts and experiences as he went through all the major events impacting our government.
This was a well written biography but it was a little daunting to get through. At just under 500 pages, it took me a bit more than my usual read. However, I have found myself quoting it at work more than a few times. I didn’t fact check the claims made but they do seem to ring true.
If you have interest in contemporary American history, I would recommend this book.