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What I've Been Reading Lately
1066: The Year of the Conquest
Mr. Howarth does a fantastic job of explaining
not only the events that led up to the conquest
of England, but he also tells you about the
people in that period. Great stuff.
The Cell.
Youch. Bad on many levels. Very Unsatisfying.
King's writing has really taken a dive since he
wrote "On Writing" where he bragged about how
great a writer he is.
The Colorado Kid.
Double Youch. Even worse than the Cell. He even
defends it at the end of book, acknowledging
that many people "might not get it". Right -
we're just not on his level - we couldn't
possibly understand.
Beginning SQL Server 2005 for Developers.
I was enthused to read this book at first, but
it turned out not to be what I thought it was. I
don't recommend it.
Be Skillful
I needed a good resource for wisdom, and this is
it. Always a great writer, always great
material.
Look
Homeward, Angel.
A classic that I'm re-reading when I think I can
appreciate it more. Very rich language, and it
proves you can't go home again.
Blenheim.
I had high hopes for this book. Filled with
interesting information around a "forgotten" war
where France's power was finally checked, the
author tends to "jump" back and forth between a
chronological and a subject-oriented approach.
April 1865.
I found out more about the causes and effects of
the Civil war from this book more than just
about any other. Although the author tends to
introduce a climax and then start back at the
beginning of the topic, it's still a wonderful
read.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by
Douglas R. Hofstadter.
Another seriously over-my-head-at-first book
that I've had to put to the side from time to
time to get
the math down. It's a really quirky book that
covers patterns, computers and program methods.
A strange, wonderfully difficult read. Look for
the little "books within the book" and make sure
you read it cover to cover, including the intros
and prologues.
The
Art of Computer Programming, by D. Knuth.
Easily the most expensive set of books I've ever
bought (get it on E-bay). This is what makes
computer science a science. I've actually
put it aside for a bit, since I have to re-read
a few math books to understand all its concepts.
A
New Kind Of Science by Stephen Wolfram.
While not as paradigm-shifting as he indicates,
this is a fantastic, approachable science book.
Pattern-Oriented
Analysis and Design: Composing Patterns to
Design Software Systems by Sherif M. Yacoub,
Hany Ammar, Hany H. Ammar .
I became interested in Patterns in software
development as they relate to Database
technology. This is a great book that
encompasses a lot of other books on the topic.
Hackers:
Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy
Not the
terrible movie by the same name, this book
is a history of the computer revolution. Read
this and you'll never look at technology the
same way again.
Oracle Essentials: Oracle Database 10g, 3rd
Edition
By Rick Greenwald, Robert Stackowiak, Jonathan
Stern.
This is a great introduction to Oracle concepts.
some have slammed it because there isn't enough
hands-on, but I think that you need to cover the
theory before you dive in. It's got a very
comprehensive view, covering everything from
RAID levels to the way Oracle implements them.
MySQL Tutorial, by Luke Welling and Laura
Thomson.
MySQL has come a long way. What began as a
small, quirky database with few features has
become a well-used system across the globe. I
found this book to be very helpful for my latest
foray into MySQL, with lots of hands-on and
enough theory along to way to understand the
inner workings.
Statistics
the Easy Way by Douglas Downing, Jeffrey Clark.
I recently had to dig back into my statistics
from college to do some regression testing on a
large system where I work. This book is one of
the clearest that I've found on stats, breaking
it into two parts - descriptive and predictive.
Perfect.
Tools for Thought.
Howard Rheingold has one of the most fascinating
treatise on computer history that I've read.
It's all good, and it's free, right here on the
web. Wonderful stuff.
XML Complete.
I've been studying XML implementations recently
and I've found this to be a really good reference.
The
First American by HW Brands.
I've read that at no other time or place have
the like of the American founding fathers ever
been together for a single purpose. After
reading this book, you'll believe it. What
amazing people these men were. Where are these
kinds of politicians today?
Celebration
of Discipline, by Richard Foster
Simply one of the best spiritual works ever
produced. This is one of those books that, if
read in earnest, will change your life. He
covers the basic tenants of prayer, fasting and
the like, but explores them with an intelligent
mind.
Elements
of the Writing Craft, by Robert Olmstead.
A great workbook for writers. Mr. Olmstead
presents this work like you're sitting in class.
He begins each section (they're short) with a
reading, uncovers the element it displays (hence
the title) and then talks about it. He then has
you perform five or six exercises to practice it
yourself. I highly recommend it.
The Dark Tower (The
Dark Tower, Book 7) by Stephen King.
In the final episode of
The Dark tower Series, Father
Callahan and Jake enter the Low Men's hideout as
Mia's time draws near.
This series branches out from his
typical schlock horror routine and is quite
derivative of the Lord of the Rings, which he
freely admits. It's a good, quick, easy read.
I'll not give a synopsis of the book yet - too
early. Don't want to bust the surprise!
Song
of Susannah, by Stephen King
One of the beams that holds the tower snaps,
Mia escapes to old New York, and two of the
gunslingers are thrust back in time to save her.
Meanwhile, dark 13 calls from Maine, and Father
Callahan's story continues.
Wolves of the Calla, by Stephen King
We find the gunslinger (Roland) and the two
abductees from the past (other?) world In a town
called "Calla". This book ties into Salem's Lot
a great deal.
Wastelands, by Stephen King
Wizard and Glass, by Stephen King
The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King.
The Gunslinger, by Stephen King.
The Book of Great Books, by W. John Campbell.
Mind Siege, by Tim Lahaye and David Noebel.
This book covers the slow, methodical attempt of
the humanists to create a state-sponsored
religion.
The
authors use a logical approach to lay out the
case that there has been a concerted effort to
make facts out of fiction. It exposes the
concerted effort to bring a national religion
into place.
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill
Bryson.
The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.
Looking for why you're here? This book covers
it. It's easy to take lightly or serious - it's
short, it works.
The
Golf Instruction Manual, by Steve Newell. I
use this one all the time - not that I'm very
good at it.
In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon.
Ever wonder where the phrase "WWJD" come from?
Read this really old book to find out.
Understanding Physics, by Isaac Asimov.
The best reference for Physics I ever studied.
Learn Latin (Greek and Latin Language) by Peter
Jones.
A great learning tool for Latin. I have to read
it over and over, though. Nowhere to speak it!
Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau.
I don't get it. I mean, he's a great writer of
poetic prose, and I understand the whole
rejection of the group mind-think and all that,
but it just really isn't that interesting. I
wanted it to be, since I'm a big fan of getting
back to a more simple lifestyle, but it just
didn't do it for me. There were flashes of
interest regarding certain paragraphs or
phrases, but then the writing went right back to
the same line and it just turned me off.
Something that I felt was more appealing (but
not exactly the same line of dissertation) is
The
Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, by
Thomas Moore (no, not that
Thomas Moore). It's not a back-to-nature
kind of thing, but it's quite reflective. He
explains how to wonder at the mystery innate in
all things. It's a bit of a Catholic-Buddhist
thing. I think Moore's faith is a bit too
inclusive, but that's my take. All in all it's a
good read. |
Book Corner
