James Nestor

February 22, 2024

For a book that is jam packed with science, this was a page turner! My biggest take away from this book is the tools which have allowed me to make noticeable improvements in my health. Nestor describes simple breathing techniques aimed towards improving quality of life. I prompted ChatGPT to highlight those techniques in the summary below.

Cal Newport

January 10, 2024

It's been a long time since I've read a book that really made me think like this one. In this book, Cal Newport basically deconstructs the advice of "Follow Your Passion". In fact, he emphatically supports the idea of NOT following your passion. This is an extreme view on the age old adage. It would be pretty demoralizing if that was all this book is about, but luckily Newport offers us some advice. In particular, he addresses what really makes a standout career.

Hugh Howey

May 4, 2024

Wool. I picked up this book after watching Apple TVs dystopian, neo-noir thriller "Silo". A story about inhabitants in a ruined world living in an underground bunker called… The Silo. The story reminds me so much of the video game Fallout. Hours upon hours I dedicated to that game, feeling fully immersed by the world building, characters, and Atom Punk genre. I think this connection was one of the reasons why Wool was able to suck me in.

Malcom Gladwell

January 23, 2024

I began this book at the turn of the new year. 2024 had just arrived, and like many others I wanted to start off the year on a productive note. "Learning some new communication skills might be intriguing" I thought. So after finishing this book, how many new ways did I learn to talk to strangers? None. But that's okay.

Andy Weir

January 16, 2024

This is one that I've been putting off for a while. It's not my first Andy Weir book. We read Project Hail Mary in our book club : (link). That book was a far-fetched scientific thriller with a big infusion of the classic alien encounter. I ate it up. I love that stuff. I could just never bring myself to pick up The Martian. Perhaps because it's too close to reality (I saw the movie I read the book.. rookie mistake). Perhaps because I thought there wouldn't be any surprises (there are).

Steven Pressfield

January 3, 2024

Ok this novel was just badass. It was brutal, beautiful, and satisfying story telling. Steven Pressfield paints a vivid story of ancient Greece during the time of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans. There's a lot of details about this story that the ancient historians left out, and Pressfield takes the artistic liberty of filling in these gaps.