If there’s one book that I find myself recommending more than most lately, it’s Thomas Ricks’ survey and analysis of US generals from World War II to the present. With an eye to examining why history has been so kind to the men who led the US Army during that war, but less so to […]
Archives for 2015
Book Review | The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks
2015-09-07 · by ·
Book Review | American Exceptionalism: An Experiment in History by Charles Murray
2015-09-06 · by ·
American Exceptionalism: An Experiment in History weighs in at a little under fifty, four-by-six pages (not including notes and citations). It’s pretty light weight, especially as it goes for books on politics or history. And yet, Charles Murray does not disappoint. He packs in a lot of interesting ideas in a short amount of time. […]
Brief Book Review | Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
2015-09-02 · by ·
Tonight is the Manly Book Club, a neighborhood book club I started for an excuse to hangout and talk ideas with the guys in my neck of the woods. We’re talking about Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. While it’s not the most interesting book we’ve read, reading it has certainly been an […]
Brief Book Review | The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
2015-08-30 · by ·
Do I need to put a summary? Who hasn’t read it? This certainly isn’t the first occasion I’ve had to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but this time I enjoyed it through the eyes of my daughters (7 and 4). It’s almost, but not quite, too old for them, and I’m sure that […]
Book Review | The Fold by Peter Clines
2015-08-25 · by ·
A high school English teacher on the last day of school before summer break, Mike Erikson is looking forward to a quiet summer in his Maine town, where he knows everyone and everyone knows him, and life is pleasantly boring. That is, until an old friend shows up, reminding Erickson of abilities he’s repressed for […]
2015 Hugo Awards Announced
2015-08-22 · by ·
Tonight, the 2015 Hugo Awards were announced from Sasquan in Spokane, Washington. Winners are highlighted below. The awards were presented by David Gerrold and Tananarive Due. In the audience, and called out by name, were the whose who of scifi and fantasy: George R.R. Martin, Connie Willis (‘the Meryl Streep of science fiction”), Robert Silverberg (who […]
Just another manic Margo
2015-08-20 · by ·
Taking into consideration the recent release of Paper Towns, a YA book-turned-film, I thought it an opportune time to take a closer at central character of this story, Margo Roth Spiegelman, and what she says about the representation of women in media – more specifically, if her character is just another iteration of the now-infamous […]
Brief Book Review | Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson
2015-08-11 · by ·
Emperor Kairominas is nearly a god, the master of his realm, nearly unchallenged and…his masters are demanding that he procreate. To do so, he’ll have to condescend to leave his realm to find an equal, but that equal may be far more than he expects. I much enjoy Sanderson’s tomes, er, novels, but I’ve come […]
Brief Book Review | Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
2015-08-10 · by ·
Yes, Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan gets five stars. Because when you laugh from start to finish, you feel happy, and feeling happy is worth five stars. It’s a little unnerving how much Jim Gaffigan seems to get the dad part of me. It’s been a few weeks (okay, a few months. I finished […]
Book Review | Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
2015-08-05 · by ·
It’s funny how books influence you. One minute I’m hyper attentive to everything I’m eating for health’s sake. The next moment (after finishing Food: A Love Story) I’m hyper attentive to everything I’m eating because I LOVE FOOD. And I’m okay with that. Jim Gaffigan is the guy who rocketed to fame on the strength […]
