Books

A list of all I've read, however this list is somewhat incomplete - too many years have passed to recall them all and I read a LOT in my first two decades.

Book Ratings Key: 1=bad ---> 5=great (standouts)

2023

1. Barrel Fever, D. Sedaris, 2, Some fiction and non-fiction. Earlier work, quite dark at times. Not nearly as entertaining as later works.

2. Jailbird, K. Vonnegut, 4, Consistently good turns of phrase, connections to main storyline (antagonist) and just the right amount of plausibility in the odd turns and twists. A bit of Forrest Gump like wildness. One of my Vonnegut favorites.

3. Bruce Lee: Wisdom for the Way, 2, OK, fairly short collection of quotes with pictures.

4. The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck, M. Manson, 3, Lacks cohesion, some good grounded perspectives on life outlook, approach, and focus. Looking forward to a likely second book with more mature and orderly writing. Likely to resonate more with audiences of more complicated and heavier upbringings (baggage) that needs to be addressed and how to move on.

5. Shakespeare - The World as Stage, B. Bryson, 3, Short and enlightening (as there is little factual account of Shakespeare). Happy to have read this one and none of the hundreds of others which apparently are all based upon supposition and personal bias.

6. Neither Here Nor There, B. Bryson, 3, Travels in Europe, with particularly good insights into Italy (places to go and avoid). The usual overabundance of information, interesting to learn but hard to hold in mind.

7. Deadeye Dick, K. Vonnegut, 3, Core characters and their antics are entertaining, circa WWII so does tend towards drier and darker storytelling. Less enjoyable than other Vonnegut books.

8. Me Talk Pretty One Day, D. Sedaris, 4, Elicits a lot of laughter and enjoyment.

9. Atlas Shrugged, A. Rand, 2, While definitely epic in scale, of literary quality, and provides philosophies of varying perspectives/governmental frameworks, it is extremely long-winded at times and entirely too long overall. It grinds on all to many times and is most engaging in the first part and catches fire in the final 100 or so pages. Took me 10 years to work through in two broad periods.

10. Mother Night, K. Vonnegut, 2, Well written, subject and storyline was not very interesting to me. His third novel.

11. Fear that Man, D. Koontz, 2, His third novel. Fairly immature writing overall and SF concept is wildly imaginative and clunky.

12. Hells Angels, H. Thompson, 3

13. Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life, B. Perkins, 4.5

14. The Meaning of Liff, D. Adams, 3, Classic Adams humor, however likely much more enjoyable for someone familiar with all of the place names.

15. Your Music and People, D. Sivers, 3, Good advice for not only music, but any creative careers. As usual, some sound modern philosophy from Mr. Sivers.

16. How to Live: 27 Conflicting Answers and One Weird Conclusion, D. Sivers, 4, Thought-provoking, simple yet profound modern philosophy

17. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, M. Twain, 2, short story

18. AIARE level 1 - Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain, C. Zacharias, 4, The Student Handbook for The AIARE Risk Management Framework

19. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, R. Feynman, 4, Entertaining tales and insight into genius.

20. The Fall of the Dream Machine, D. Koontz, 4, 2nd novel. Holds up quite well, reads much like a modern scifi with current relevance (VR, corporate/social control, etc.) Spooky foresight - predicting 50 years ahead to our current time (written in 1969). Good pace, feels like a downshift in the fourth quarter.

21. Beastchild, D. Koontz, 2, Earlier work (5th novel), immature. Chase story.

22. The Man Who Japed, P. K. Dick, 2, Slow start, mid-story shift, political social future

23. The Defenders. P. K. Dick, 3, Short story. Engaging and fun, robots, post-apocalypse.

24. Trapped, D. Koontz, 3, Short story, familiar trope (genetic experiment gone bad)

25. A Pursuit of Miracles, G. Turner, 4, Collection of short stories, the seeds of many other of his novels. A nice revisit to those worlds.

2022

1. Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk, J. Krakauer, 4, same wonderfully spun tales we're used to from Krakauer.

2. Off to be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 #1), S. Myer, 4, A small premise to accept leads to a world of fun. Highly enjoyable. Reminds a bit of Ready Player One. #1 of 6 in a series.

3. Tales from Watership Down, R. Adams. 3. Very good follow-up to the original.

4. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, O. Burkeman, 5, Zoomed out perspective on time, resets fundamental thinking and philosophy on death, life, time, and existence. High enlightenment. Definitely re-readable. Subtitle is poor (disservice to actual content).

5. The Tao of Pooh, B. Hoff, 1, Convoluted and confusing dialog interspersed with some philosophy that gets lost in the constant shuffle. Feels like a mishandled mash-up. Read only 40%.

6. The Colour out of Space, H.P. Lovecraft, 4, short story

7. Timequake, K. Vonnegut, 1, Jumbled jumping mess. Read only 30%. Semi-autobiographical. His last novel.

8. The Gun, P. Dick, 3, short story

9. The Long Sleep, D. Koontz, 3, as John Hill

10. Beyond Lies the Wub, P. Dick, 3, short story

11. Beyond the Door, P. Dick, 3, short story

12. The Great Simolean Caper, N. Stephenson, 4, short story

13. Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing, D. Sivers, 3

14. The Crystal Crypt, P. Dick, 3, Short story

15. Player Piano, K. Vonnegut, 3, Tale seems timeless, hauntingly familiar to modern times. Began strong and engaging, then felt as if it shifted gears through to the end. As grounded and non-quirky as Vonnegut gets. His first novel.

16. Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long Term World Travel, R. Potts, 5, How to approach, consider, and effectively travel deeply and meaningfully. Practical, psychological, and thought-provoking observations of travel.

17. Lincoln, The Unknown, D. Carnegie, 3, Not a polished author; lacked some congruency. Depressing to learn Lincoln led such a wretched life and his wife was insane.

18. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives , D. Eagleman, 3, Thought-provoking, eight are standouts. fast read.

19. First to a Million: A Teenager’s Guide to Achieving Early Financial Independence, D. Sheeks, 4,

20. Your Money or Your Life, V. Robin, 4, Finding "enough", deriving value of life energy, conscious of cost of all items in terms of life energy, separating meaning of work from paid employment, identifying true values, aligning spending with values.  2008, revised 2018. Summary: www.yourmoneyoryourlife.com/book-summary

21. What Does This Button Do?, B. Dickenson, 5, Fascinating and extremely personal insight into his life as an aviator, rock superstar, fencer, and cancer survivor. Well written.

22. Bagombo Snuff Box, K. Vonnegut, 3, Earlier works, short stories. Not too fantastical.

23. Replay, K. Grimwood, 3, Fun concept. Satisfying ending. Some abrupt time jump transitions throughout.

2021

1. On the Shortness of Life (Essay 10), L. Seneca, 3, Dense but nuggets of great wisdom

2. The 4-hour work week, T. Ferriss, 4,  

3. Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed and the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth, D Seminara, 3,  

4. A Simple Path to Wealth, JL Collins, 4, Simple, practical financial and investing advice

2020

1. A Darkness in My Soul, D. Koontz,  ,  

2. Frozen in Time, M. Zuckoff, 2, Michelle Brinska. Tedious historical and background details.

2019

1. Welcome to the Monkey House, K. Vonnegut, 3, Short stories.  Some OK, some good, some v. good

2. The Curse of Lono, H. Thompson, 2,  

3. The Skull, P. Dick, 2, Short story

2017

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, B. Selznick, 5, Beautifully illustrated, blended media storytelling.

2016

1. Rama II, A. Clark, 3, Book 2 of 4

2015

1. Clockwork Angels, K. Anderson, 3, Neil Peart collaboration

2. Hayduke Lives!, E. Abbey, 2, sequel to Monkey Wrench

2014

1. Cats Cradle, K. Vonnegut, 4, Quirky but entertaining. One of my Vonnegut favorites. His fourth novel.

2. Ready Player One, E. Cline, 4, Very entertaining for 80s culture

3. There's This River, C. Sadler, 4, Great stories for the Colorado rafter

2013

1. Living Large for the Long Haul, C. Howard, 3, Very useful information.

2. Siddhartha, H. Hesse, 5, a classic, enduring philosophical tale.

3. The Stranger, A. Camus, 2, While an "important" work in absurdism, it requires a scholastic approach - be prepared.

4. Martin Eden, J. London, 1, 150 p of frustrating relationship, 150 pages of struggling artist, 20 pages of success, 20 pages of depression. A grind.

5. Stranger in a Strange Land, R. Heinlein, 4

6. The Monkey-Wrench Gang, E. Abbey, 4, Very entertaining and eloquent prose.  A bit drawn out in the last quarter.

7. Made in America (language), B. Bryson, 3, Educational, but frequently exhaustive (with long lists of examples).

8. The Great Gatsby, F. Fitzgerald, 3, Bits of striking prose and strong, tragic story arc lacking redemption component. First 1/3 wasn't very engaging.

9. Snow Crash, N. Stephenson, 3, Strong start then lost cohesion. Prophetic for its time.

10. 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10, N. Montfort, 2, Nice concept, nostalgic, suffers from 10 different authors.

11. A Werewolf Among Us, D. Koontz

2012

1. Time Thieves, D. Koontz, 2

2. The Last Lecture, R. Pausch, 4

3. Weaving the Web, T. Lee, 3

4. The Organization of an Alaskan Expedition, B. Everett, 2

5. Born to Run, C. McDougall, 4

6. Billions and Billions, C. Sagan, 4

7. Naked, D. Sedaris, 3

8. Down There in Darkness, G. Turner, 2

9. The Sea Wolf, J. London, 5

10. Batard, J. London, 2, short story

11. Gulliver's Travels, J. Swift, 3

12. I'm a Stranger Here Myself, B. Bryson, 3, Notes on returning to America after 20 years away. Funny but a bit repetitive.

13. Sirens of Titan, K. Vonnegut, 3, interesting at first, but a bit too bizarre overall.  Writing style gets annoying. His second novel.

14. Tom Sawyer Abroad, M. Twain, 3

15. The Adventures of Huck Finn, M. Twain, 2

16. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, M. Twain, 3

17. The Martian Chronicles, R. Bradbury, 4

18. Starship Troopers, R. Heinlein, 3

19. The Hunger Games, S. Collins, 2

2011

1. I didn't ask to be Born, B. Cosby, 1

2. Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts heled spark the PC revolution, D. & T. Welsh , 2

3. Awake in the Wild, M. Coleman, 2

4. The Diamond Age, N. Stephenson, 2

2010

1. The Lost Symbol, D. Brown, 4

2. The Alchemyst, N. Flamel, 2

3. Ghost Rider, N. Peart, 4

4. I Am Ozzy, O. Osbourne, 4

5. Now or Never, T. Flannery , 2

2009

1. Hannibal Rising, T. Harris, 1

2. The Amber Spyglass, P. Pullman, 2

3. No Shortcuts to the Top, E. Viesturs, 3

4. The Subtle Knife, P. Pullman, 3

5. The Golden Compass, P. Pullman, 3

6. Chewing Gum in Holy Water, M. Valentini, 3

7. Deep Survival, L. Gonzales, 3

8. HTML, XHTML & CSS, E. Castro, 3

2008

1. Time Flies, B. Cosby, 1

2. The World Without Us, A. Weisman, 3

3. Surviving Information Overload, O. Pollar, 2

4. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, D. Sedaris, 3

5. Cradle to Cradle, W. McDonough, 3

6. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, B. Bryson, 3

7. The Paper Doorway, D. Koontz, 3

8. A Walk In the Woods, B. Bryson, 4

9. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles, J. Nerad, 3

10. Working Identity, H. Ibarra, 2

11. In Defense of Food: And Eater’s Manifesto, M. Pollan, 5

12. Better Off – Flipping the Switch on Technology, E. Brende, 3

2007

1. Harry Potter 7 – Deathly Hollows, J. Rowling, 4

2. Harry Potter 6 – Half-Blood Prince, J. Rowling, 3

3. Slaughterhouse-Five, K. Vonnegut, 3, Although considered a "classic" and perhaps his best work, the period and setting is less entertaining than others. Strong main character.

4. A Man Without a Country, K. Vonnegut, 4, One of my Vonnegut favorites. Non-fiction.

5. Harry Potter 5 – Order of the Phoenix, J. Rowling, 3

6. Fountainhead, A. Rand, 4

7. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, L. Carroll, 2

8. Pattern Recognition, W. Gibson, 3

2006

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. Lewis, 4

2. 10 Keys to Climb Everest, P. Ament, 2

3. The Taking, D. Koontz, 3

4. A Princess of Mars, E. Burroughs, 4

5. Gods of Mars, E. Burroughs, 5

6. Warlord of Mars, The, E. Burroughs, 4

7. Thuvia, Maid of Mars, E. Burroughs, 5

2005

1. Deception Point, D. Brown, 3

2. Dark Tower 5 – Wolves of the Calla, S. King, 3

3. 1984, O. Wells, 4

4. All About Mountains and Mountaineering, A. White

5. Starship Titanic, T. Jones, 2

6. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, D. Adams, 5

7. Dark Tower 6 – Song of Susannah, S. King, 2

8. Harry Potter 4 – Goblet of Fire, J. Rowling, 4

9. Wild Animus, R. Shapero, 3

10. Dark Tower 7 – The Dark Tower , S. King, 3

11. What Color is your Parachute? (2000), R. Bolles

12. What Color is your Parachute? (2006), R. Bolles

13. How To Be A Master Climber In Six Easy Lessons, P. Arment

14. The Minority Report and Other Stories (We Can Remember it for You Wholesale, Paycheck, Second Variety, The Eyes Have It), P. Dick

2004

1. Angels & Demons, D. Brown, 4

2. The DaVinci Code, D. Brown, 5

3. Digital Fortress, D. Brown, 3

4. Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, B. Mezrich, 4

5. Under the Banner of Heaven, J. Krakauer, 5

6. The Codex, D. Preston, 2

7. The Face, D. Koontz,

8. Odd Thomas, D. Koontz,

9. Universe in a Nutshell, S. Hawking,

10. Business at the Speed of Thought, B. Gates,

11. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, R. Bach, 4

12. Ender’s Game, O. Card, 5

13. A Short History of Nearly Everything, B. Bryson, 4

14. Einstein’s Dreams, A. Lightman,

15. Dude, Where’s my Country?, M. Moore,

16. Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT, T. F. Peterson, 4

17. Skipping Christmas, J. Grisham, 2

2003

1. Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain, M. Paterniti, 3

2. Touching The Void, J. Simpson, 4.5

3. Prey, M. Crichton, 2

2002 and prior

• Brave New World, A. Huxley,

• Anthem, A. Rand,

• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, D. Adams,

• The Bad Place, D. Koontz,

• Tick Tock, D. Koontz,

• The Door to December, D. Koontz,

• The Key to Midnight, D. Koontz,

• After the Last Race, D. Koontz,

• Anti-Man, D. Koontz,

• Chase, D. Koontz,

• Cold Fire, D. Koontz,

• Darkfall, D. Koontz,

• Dark Rivers of the Heart, D. Koontz,

• A Darkness in My Soule, D. Koontz,

• Dragon Tears, D. Koontz,

• The Eyes of Darkness, D. Koontz,

• The Face of Fear, D. Koontz,

• Fear Nothing, D. Koontz,

• The Funhouse, D. Koontz,

• Hanging On, D. Koontz,

• Hideaway, D. Koontz,

• The House of Thunder, D. Koontz,

• Intensity, D. Koontz,

• Lightning, D. Koontz,

• The Mask, D. Koontz,

• Midnight, D. Koontz,

• Mr. Murder, D. Koontz,

• Night Chills, D. Koontz,

• Nightmare Journey, D. Koontz,

• Oddkins, D. Koontz,

• Phantoms, D. Koontz,

• Prison of Ice, D. Koontz,

• The Servants of Twilight, D. Koontz,

• Shadowfires, D. Koontz,

• Shattered, D. Koontz,

• Santa's Twin, D. Koontz,

• Star Quest, D. Koontz,

• Strangers, D. Koontz,

• Strange Highways, D. Koontz,

• Sole Survivor, D. Koontz,

• Twilight Eyes, D. Koontz,

• The Vision, D. Koontz,

• The Voice of the Night, D. Koontz,

• Watchers, D. Koontz,

• A Werewolf Among Us, D. Koontz,

• Whispers, D. Koontz,

• Winter Moon, D. Koontz,

• Submerged, D. Lenihan, 4

• The Old Man and the Sea, E. Hemingway, 3

• A Farewell to Arms, E. Hemingway, 3

• Ben & Jerry's: the Inside Scoop, F. Lager, 4

• Software Engineering Concepts, H. Ledgard,

• Azazel, I. Asimov,

• Desperate Measures, J. Faust,

• Eiger Dreams, J. Krakauer,

• Into Thin Air, J. Krakauer, 5

• Into the Wild, J. Krakauer, 4

• Call of the Wild, J. London, 5

• White Fang, J. London,

• A Confederacy of Dunces, J. Toole, 5

• (various), M. Crichton,

• Household Equipment in Residential Design, M. Pickett,

• The Masked Rider, N. Peart, 4

• Making Money in Cyberspace, P. & S. Edwards,

• Watership Down, R. Adams, 5

• The Illustrated Man, R. Bradbury,

• The Dilbert Principle, S. Adams,

• The Dilbert Future, S. Adams,

• Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook, S. Adams,

• Always Postpone Meetings with Time-Wasting Morons, S. Adams,

• Fugitive from the cubicle Police, S. Adams,

• Dark Tower 4 – Wizard and Glass, S. King,

• Dark Tower 3 – Wastelands, S. King,

• Dark Tower 2 – Drawing of the Three, S. King,

• Dark Tower 1 – The Gunslinger, S. King,

• The Stand, S. King, 4

• (various), S. King,

• Aku-Aku, T. Heyerdahl,

• Starship Titanic, T. Jones, 2

• Rendezvous with Rama

• Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

• The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien

• Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien

• The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

• Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger 

• Lord of the Flies

• The Warlord, J. Frost

• The Cutthroat, J. Frost

• Badland, J. Frost

• Prisonland, J. Frost

• Terminal Island, J. Frost

• Killers Keep, J. Frost

• The Firm, J. Grisham

• Binary, M. Crichton

• The Great Train Robbery, M. Crichton

• The Time Machine, H.G. Wells

• Animal Farm, G. Orwell

• Fahrenheit 451, R. Bradbury

• A Brief History of Time, S. Hawking

• Treasure, C. Cussler

• Dark Matter, G. Reeves-Stevens

• Casino Royale, I. Fleming

• Hobgoblin, J. Coyne

• Forest Gump, W. Groom

• Six Plays, H. Ibsen

• A Streetcar Named Desired, T. Williams

• A Glass Menagerie, T. Williams

• Of Mice and Men, J. Steinbeck

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, R. Pirsig

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, S. Covey,  5, The perennial standard of thinking on effectiveness

• various, R. Cook

• Hardy Boys (series), various

• A Turbo Prolog Primer, J. Rogers

• Common LISPcraft, R. Wilensky

• C How to Program, H. Deitel

• Programming Language Landscape, M. Marcotty

• VAX-11 Assembly Language Programming, S. Baase

• Data Base Management Systems, A. Cardenas