Rory

 

Books at my bedside

Here’s what I’ve either recently read, am reading, or intend to read (one of these days).

Dead Man’s Rain
by: Frank Tuttle
publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd., released: June 6, 2008
Only available as a Kindle book — got it for free

How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am
by: Charles Grodin
publisher: Springboard Press, released: April 9, 2009
Father’s day gift.

House of Leaves
by: Mark Z. Danielewski
publisher: Pantheon, released: March 7, 2000
Father’s day gift.

Watchmen
by: Alan Moore
publisher: DC Comics, released: April 1, 1995
Deserves all its accolades. Complex multi-threaded story that ultimately is about how evil corrupts the good. The title is from the famous question posed by Plato: “Quis custōdiet ipsōs custōdēs?”: “Who watches the watchmen?” Plato’s answer to this is that they will guard themselves against themselves. We must tell the guardians a “noble lie.” The noble lie will inform them that they are better than those they serve and it is therefore their responsibility to guard and protect those lesser than themselves. We will instill in them a distaste for power or privilege; they will rule because they believe it right, not because they desire it. For more on Plato’s question, see Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:22, May 11, 2009.

Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook
by: Beth Hensperger, Julie Kaufmann
publisher: Harvard Common Press, released: January 25, 2005

Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor’s Guide to the Creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC
by: Martin Evening
publisher: Focal Press, released: December 15, 2008

Wars of the Ancient Greeks
by: Victor Davis Hanson
publisher: Collins, released: December 1, 2006

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America
by: Ted Floyd
publisher: Collins, released: June 1, 2008

Lavinia
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
publisher: Harcourt, released: April 21, 2008

Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy
by: Douglas A. Anderson
publisher: Del Rey, released: August 26, 2003

Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases
by: Greenville Kleiser
publisher: Echo Library, released: July 10, 2007
Another dirt-cheap Kindle book (80 cents).

The Devil’s Dictionary
by: Ambrose Bierce
publisher: Filiquarian, released: November 7, 2007
Only 80 cents for the Kindle edition. Mencken’s cynicism feels quite at home today, even though he wrote this more than 125 years ago.

Meditations
by: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
publisher: NuVision Publications, LLC, released: February 26, 2008

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007
publisher: Mariner Books, released: October 10, 2007

Euclid in the Rainforest: Discovering Universal Truth in Logic and Math
by: Joseph Mazur
publisher: Plume, released: July 25, 2006

Herodotus: The History
by: Herodotus
publisher: University Of Chicago Press, released: January 15, 1988

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
by: Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter
publisher: Hyperion, released: January 9, 2007

The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World
by: Alan Greenspan
publisher: Penguin Press HC, The, released: September 17, 2007

The Tolkien Reader
by: J.R.R. Tolkien
publisher: Del Rey, released: November 12, 1986

The Philip K. Dick Reader
by: Philip K. Dick
publisher: Citadel, released: April 1, 2001

The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
by: A. J. Jacobs
publisher: Simon & Schuster, released: October 4, 2005

Davis: Radical Changes, Deep Constants
by: John Lofland
publisher: Arcadia Publishing, released: October 11, 2004

Robert’s Rules Of Order Newly Revised In Brief
by: Henry M. III Robert, William J. Evans, Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch
publisher: Da Capo Press, released: April 13, 2004

Machiavelli: The Prince
by: Niccolo Machiavelli
publisher: Cambridge University Press, released: October 28, 1988

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
by: Jeffrey Toobin
publisher: Doubleday, released: September 18, 2007

The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference
by: Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, Brett Johnson
publisher: New Society Publishers, released: February 1, 2007

The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West
by: Mark Lilla
publisher: Knopf, released: September 11, 2007

Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity
by: Karl E. Weick, Kathleen M. Sutcliffe
publisher: Jossey-Bass, released: July 3, 2001

Books that recently left my bedside

All finished with these!

Soul Identity
by: Dennis Batchelder
publisher: NetLeaves, released: July 7, 2007
This time, it’s a 1-cent Kindle book. Entertaining, well worth what I paid for it.

The Widow
by: Carla Neggers
publisher: Mira, released: November 20, 2007
Another free Kindle book. Good time-waster, nothing special.

Succubus Blues
by: Richelle Mead
publisher: Kensington, released: March 1, 2007
This novel has the feel of Sex in the City, but with angels and demons mixed in. Pretty entertaining, if light. Guess it’s in the genre of “Urban Fantasy”. Never heard that term before.

Blood Engines
by: T.A. Pratt
publisher: Spectra, released: September 25, 2007
Free Kindle book. OK, but not worth paying money for.

Monster
by: A. Lee Martinez
publisher: Orbit, released: May 11, 2009
Light-hearted fantasy about a world where mythological beasts are not; they’re just overlooked by most of the populice.

Heart of Darkness
by: Joseph Conrad
publisher: Filiquarian, released: November 7, 2007
Second time I’ve read this book. Apocalypse Now took much of its storyline directly from this century-old novel. A must read.

Assassin’s Quest
by: Robin Hobb
publisher: Spectra, released: January 5, 1998
Final book of the trilogy. Again, not a great book, but the characters’ motivations are realistic. As a result, many will not be satisfied by the ending—it’s a bit of a downer.

Royal Assassin
by: Robin Hobb
publisher: Spectra, released: February 3, 1997
Second of the series, ok timewaster.

Assassin’s Apprentice
by: Robin Hobb
publisher: Spectra, released: March 1, 1996
OK for a free Kindle book.

Persuader: A Reacher Novel
by: Lee Child
publisher: Dell, released: May 19, 2009
Excellent Hemmingway-esque first chapter. Loses much after that. And so many bodies pile up unnoticed that the situation quickly becomes ludicrous.

His Majesty’s Dragon
by: Naomi Novik
publisher: Del Rey, released: March 28, 2006
Free Kindle book, ok timewaster.

Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: February 28, 2006
Book 6 of the series. This is sort of like eating popcorn. Very light reading, easy to polish off a bunch of these books rather quickly. Books 1-3 set the stage, and 4-6 encompass a complete story arc.

Paths Not Taken
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: August 30, 2005
Book 5 of the series.

Hex and the City
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: February 22, 2005
Book 4 of the series.

Nightingale’s Lament
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: April 27, 2004
Book 3 of the series.

Agents of Light and Darkness
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: October 28, 2003
Book 2 of the series.

Something from the Nightside
by: Simon R. Green
publisher: Ace, released: May 27, 2003
Book 1 of the series. Detective noir in which the author is having fun taking everything to extreme. For example, one chapter opens with: “I’d just seen the end of the world, murdered one of my oldest friends, and discovered that the one quest I’d always intended to give my life to was now forever barred to me; so I decided I was owed a break. Luckily there was a really good café close by…”

Viriconium
by: M. John Harrison
publisher: Spectra, released: October 25, 2005
Amazing writer. This is some of his early work, in which he seems to be in love with adjectives — excessively so. Example sentence: “In the water thickets, the path wound tortuously between umber iron bogs, albescent quicksands of aluminum and magnesium oxides, and sumps of cuprous blue or permanganate mauve fed by slow, gelid streams and fringed by silver reeds and tall black grasses.”

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques
by: Ben Willmore
publisher: Adobe Press, released: December 20, 2007
I think I have now spent more on books about Photoshop than on the software itself.

The Graveyard Book
by: Neil Gaiman
publisher: HarperCollins, released: October 1, 2008

Choice Cuts: A Savory Selection of Food Writing from Around the World and Throughout History
by: Mark Kurlansky
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), released: October 26, 2004

Craft of Cooking: Notes and Recipes from a Restaurant Kitchen
by: Tom Colicchio
publisher: Clarkson Potter, released: October 28, 2003

Think Like a Chef
by: Tom Colicchio
publisher: Clarkson Potter, released: November 13, 2007

The Art and Soul of Baking
by: Sur La Table, Cindy Mushet
publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, released: October 21, 2008

The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook
by: King Arthur Flour
publisher: Countryman Press, released: September 25, 2003

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by: Harold McGee
publisher: Scribner, released: November 16, 2004
The science of food. Where else would you learn that pears have a higher respiration rate than apples? He then discusses how to best treat pears. Fascinating information throughout this book.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition
by: J. K. Rowling
publisher: Children's High Level Group, released: December 4, 2008

Use of Weapons
by: Iain M. Banks
publisher: Orbit, released: July 28, 2008
The twist at the end is supposed to be a big deal, but really felt like an unimaginative let-down to me.

Goodnight Bush: A Parody
by: Gan Golan, Erich Origen
publisher: Little, Brown and Company, released: May 27, 2008
If you loved ‘Goodnight Moon’ but didn’t like G. W. Bush, this book’s for you.

When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better And/Or Worse
by: Ben Yagoda
publisher: Broadway, released: December 26, 2007
Launches into complex discussions without any attempt to bring reasonable context. Difficult to follow and not useful.

The Hero of Ages
by: Brandon Sanderson
publisher: Tor Books, released: October 14, 2008

The Well of Ascension
by: Brandon Sanderson
publisher: Tor Fantasy, released: June 3, 2008
Synopsis: things start out bad, then get worse. Volume two of a trilogy.

The Last Colony
by: John Scalzi
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: July 29, 2008
Satisfying ending to the trilogy (Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony), but somehow not as good as the other two books.

The Ghost Brigades
by: John Scalzi
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: May 1, 2007
Sequel to “Old Man’s War”, gets more into the themes of what makes a human human, and self vs. other.

Old Man’s War
by: John Scalzi
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: January 15, 2007
Both thoughtful and entertaining science fiction. Highly recommended. (I got this one for free as part of Amazon’s Kindle promotions.)

The Accidental Time Machine
by: Joe Haldeman
publisher: Ace, released: July 29, 2008
Great set-up: slacker student messes up while building test equipment for professor, starts propelling himself into the future. Unfortunately, goes downhill from there. Still, kind of entertaining. While he encounters many futures, the only one that is reasonably realized in the text is a future eastern US run by a theocracy that’s sort of a cross between Christian fundamentalists and the Taliban.

Light
by: M. John Harrison
publisher: Spectra, released: August 31, 2004
Three independent story lines that eventually converge. Easier to understand than the author’s “Nova Swing,” but popping among the three story lines, while interesting, seems to have little purpose.

Nova Swing
by: M. John Harrison
publisher: Spectra, released: September 25, 2007
Weirdly disorienting book. Would have made slightly more sense if I had read "Light" (by the same author) first, but still a fun ride. Even when you have no idea what is going on, the writing is extraordinary.

Wolf Captured
by: Jane Lindskold
publisher: Tor Fantasy, released: October 4, 2005
Book 4 of the series. Skipped 2 and 3, as reviews were rather mixed.

Through Wolf’s Eyes
by: Jane Lindskold
publisher: Tor Fantasy, released: June 17, 2002
Again, a free Kindle book. Good story, ending rather abrupt, but since this is the first in a series, all those loose ends probably play out in later volumes.

The Final Empire
by: Brandon Sanderson
publisher: Tor Fantasy, released: July 31, 2007
Yet another free book for the Kindle. I normally don’t like full-blown fantasy books, but this one has a logical core and interesting character development. The book opens upon a bleak blighted world 1000 years after a hero went on a quest to save the world—a quest that went tragically awry.

Flash
by: L. E. Modesitt Jr.
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: June 28, 2005
Amazon provided this for free for the Kindle. The action-adventure sci-fi story of a consultant (!) dealing with an evil corporation. I found much of this tedious, although there were good segments. Some interesting tie-ins (e.g., one of the characters is Paula Athene who has storm-grey eyes—echos of Pallas Athena in Homer.) One of a string of sci-fi books that I’ve read recently in which global warming plays a significant part.

Spin
by: Robert Charles Wilson
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: January 1, 2006
Amazon provided this for free for the Kindle. This book is primarily about a troubled family. The science fiction component plays second fiddle. One of a string of sci-fi books that I’ve read recently in which global warming plays a significant part, although the narrator’s viewpoint is so narrow that you barely glimpse this.

Red Moon - A Novel
by: David S. Michaels, Daniel Brenton
publisher: Breakneck Books, released: September 5, 2007
Amazon provided this for free for the Kindle. This book is set in the very near future, and, as its central theme, asks if there are still hidden secrets regarding the Russian efforts in the space race of the ’60s. If you like reading Tom Clancy, you’ll like this. There is a major plot hole — the motive for going back to the moon makes no sense, since the substance they are seeking is plentiful on earth. One of a string of sci-fi books that I’ve read recently in which global warming plays a significant part.

It’s Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America
by: Jack Cafferty
publisher: Wiley, released: September 10, 2007
Jack Cafferty is unhappy. I get it. Enough already!

The Host: A Novel
by: Stephenie Meyer
publisher: Little, Brown and Company, released: May 6, 2008
Invasion of the body snatchers, but this time, the invaders have good intentions. Good page-turner.

Out Of Whack
by: Jeff Strand
publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory, released: February 28, 2004
Started out fine, but became tedious and annoying well before the end.

Practical Demonkeeping
by: Christopher Moore
publisher: Harper Paperbacks, released: June 1, 2004

Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3
by: Bruce Fraser, Jeff Schewe
publisher: Peachpit Press, released: November 17, 2007
Wonderful book. The authors really understand what is going on behind the interface.

A Dirty Job: A Novel
by: Christopher Moore
publisher: HarperCollins, released: April 1, 2007
Odd, static book that does pick up the action late, with a slam-bang finish. He wrote this after both his mother and mother-in-law died, and it includes some eloquent thoughts about death. Unfortunately, the second half of the book would have been unnecessary if the characters had guessed a secret that should have been obvious to them—it certainly was broadly hinted at throughout the text, and I suspect most readers will be annoyed at the characters’ obtuseness.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun
by: Christopher Moore
publisher: Harper Paperbacks, released: June 1, 2004
Lessons I learned from this book: cargo cults are cool, fruit bats can talk, and don’t play cards with Jesus Christ.

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
by: Jasper Fforde
publisher: Viking Adult, released: July 24, 2007
First two books in this series were fine, but the last three (this is the fifth), are forgettable. Call me gullible, for buying three clinkers in a row.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book
by: Adobe Creative Team
publisher: Adobe Press, released: April 26, 2007
Photoshop is extraordinarily complex. Once you get familiar with it, this complexity helps you, because the vast set of tools and settings makes it likely that you will find a tool that makes your task easier. The problem is knowing where that tool is and how to use it!

Something Rotten
by: Jasper Fforde
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), released: July 26, 2005
Book 4 of the Thursday Next series, and one of the weakest.

The Well of Lost Plots
by: Jasper Fforde
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), released: August 3, 2004
Book 3 of the Thursday Next series, and a bit tedious in parts.

Lost in a Good Book
by: Jasper Fforde
publisher: Penguin Books, released: February 24, 2004
Book 2 of the Thursday Next series. Bizarre story that literally travels through the pages of some classic texts.

The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel
by: Jasper Fforde
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), released: February 25, 2003
Book 1 of the Thursday Next series. Excellent twisted fable of an alternative universe where books are more than just words on a page.

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
by: Dan Koeppel
publisher: Hudson Street Press, released: December 27, 2007
Should be retitled “History of banana republics.” Concentrates on the effects of banana production on Latin America.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers
by: Scott Kelby
publisher: New Riders Press, released: August 15, 2007
For people who already know photoshop, this book helps you become skilled with various techniques to improve digital photographs.

Photoshop CS3 Bible
by: Laurie Ulrich Fuller, Robert C. Fuller
publisher: Wiley, released: July 10, 2007

Orphans of Chaos
by: John C. Wright
publisher: Tor Science Fiction, released: October 31, 2006
Picked it up free in a Kindle promotion. Started out promising, but ultimately became a gussied-up version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with a little inappropropriate adult-child sexuality thrown in. Not recommended.

Linux Pocket Guide
by: Daniel J. Barrett
publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc., released: March 1, 2004
Concentrates on Red Hat Linux. For those using a significantly different distro (e.g., Ubuntu), this book omits a lot.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 One-On-One
by: Deke McClelland
publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc., released: June 15, 2007
Great intro to workflow for digital photographers. Good for beginners, but too shallow for anyone else.

The Dispossessed
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
publisher: Eos, released: December 1, 1994
A dystopic utopia. Hard to tell whether she wanted us to admire that world or not. Nice tale, less polemical than her usual.

His Dark Materials Trilogy
by: Philip Pullman
publisher: Laurel Leaf, released: September 23, 2003
I can see why the Catholic Church was upset with the movie—the church is evil in this book. Sort of the anti-Lion Witch and Wardrobe.

Second Foundation
by: Isaac Asimov
publisher: Spectra, released: October 1, 1991

Foundation and Empire
by: Isaac Asimov
publisher: Spectra, released: November 1, 1991

Foundation
by: Isaac Asimov
publisher: Spectra, released: October 1, 1991

Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume—Rocannon’s World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
publisher: Orb Books, released: October 15, 1996

Nonprofit Strategic Planning
by: Shea Smith
publisher: Shea Smith III, released: June 20, 1997

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
by: David Crystal
publisher: Cambridge University Press, released: February 13, 1997

Ubik
by: Philip K. Dick
publisher: Vintage, released: December 3, 1991

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t
by: Robert I. Sutton
publisher: Business Plus, released: February 22, 2007

A Canticle for Leibowitz
by: Walter M. Miller Jr.
publisher: Eos, released: May 1, 2006

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by: Barack Obama
publisher: Crown, released: October 17, 2006

Window Seat: Reading the Landscape from the Air
by: Gregory Dicum
publisher: Chronicle Books, released: March 1, 2004

Sunset Western Garden Book
by: Editors of Sunset Books
publisher: Oxmoor House, released: February 1, 2007
Finally! A new edition. A must-have for a gardener in the western USA.

Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure
by: Joseph Wechsberg
publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers, released: April, 1985

Saturday
by: Ian McEwan
publisher: Nan A. Talese, released: March 22, 2005

The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe
by: Roger Penrose
publisher: Knopf, released: February 22, 2005
Just reading the table of contents (e.g., ‘twistor sheaf cohomology’) gives me a headache. Watch this space to see if I ever finish this book. Latest update: Nope, not finished yet.

A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines
by: Anthony Bourdain
publisher: Harper Perennial, released: November 1, 2002
Hunter S Thompson meets the Galloping Gourmet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by: J. K. Rowling
publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, released: July 21, 2007
Better than I thought it would be. Some of the many puzzles come crashing down around your head as the author tries to juggle too many things.

Gramophone Classical Good CD & DVD Guide 2006
publisher: Gramophone Publications, released: October 1, 2005
Wow! Great guide not only to the recordings but also to the music. This is a must for anyone interested in classical music, especially if you want to go off the beaten path.

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
by: Philip K. Dick
publisher: Vintage, released: December 3, 1991

The Pessimist’s Guide to History: An Irresistible Compendium Of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres And Mayhem From The Big Bang To The New Millennium
by: Doris Flexner, Stuart Berg Flexner
publisher: Harper Paperbacks, released: July 1, 2000

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by: Philip K. Dick
publisher: Del Rey, released: May 28, 1996
Easy reading, but an extraordinary pastiche: detective story, postapocalytic science fiction, philosophical treatise, and sardonic take on humankind’s humanity (or lack thereof). Mind-shattering.

R.U.R.
by: Karel Capek
publisher: Penguin Classics, released: March 30, 2004
This play is the origination of the term: robot. Getting the robots to do mankind’s work (including fighting their wars), does not turn out well. Humans regress quite quickly, and in ten years’ time are almost entirely wiped off the face of the earth.

Unsolved Mysteries of History: An Eye-Opening Investigation into the Most Baffling Events of All Time
by: Paul Aron
publisher: Wiley, released: August 3, 2001

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management with Microsoft Project 2003
by: Ron Black
publisher: Alpha, released: January, 2005
Trying to get my work projects more organized

Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story
by: Kurt Eichenwald
publisher: Broadway, released: December 27, 2005

Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion
by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), released: December 31, 2002

Water Gardens
by: Susan Lang
publisher: Oxmoor House, released: January 1, 2004

Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants
by: Greg Speichert, Sue Speichert
publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated, released: April 1, 2004

Sarbanes-Oxley for Nonprofits: A Guide to Building Competitive Advantage
by: Peggy M. Jackson, Toni E. Fogarty
publisher: Wiley, released: April 21, 2005
I’m on the board of a not-for-profit, so this is pretty much required reading.

Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
by: Edward J. Larson
publisher: Basic Books, released: October 2, 2006
“Inherit the Wind” is not historically accurate. The play even includes a disclaimer stating so. Yet many get all their knowledge of the Scopes trial through that drama. This text, winnner of the Pulitzer Prize, sets the record straight, and is great reading. It also sets the context for today’s creationism vs. evoution debate.

Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by: Anthony Bourdain
publisher: Harper Perennial, released: January 9, 2007
Coke fiend, heroin addict, chef. Quite a volatile mixture. Some of the chapters are great, some are throw-aways.

Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home
by: Mario Batali
publisher: Ecco, released: May 1, 2005
Sophisticated yet simple recipes.

Siddhartha
by: Hermann Hesse
publisher: Shambhala, released: January 11, 2005

Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang
publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, released: September 10, 2004

Dune
by: Frank Herbert
publisher: Ace, released: September 1, 1990

Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook: The Eight Best Practices of Task and E-Mail Management
by: Michael Linenberger
publisher: New Academy Publishers, released: January 1, 2006
Highly recommended. Quick ways to get out of Inbox purgatory without having to dramatically change the way you work.

The Connoisseur’s Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More
by: Dave Lowry
publisher: Harvard Common Press, released: October 5, 2005
Very in-depth look at seafood on sushi. Full of stories about the ingredients—their origin, etc. Concision is not the author’s strength, so be prepared for lots of extraneous stuff.

Twentieth Century Type Designers
by: Sebastian Carter
publisher: W.W. Norton & Co., released: May 17, 1995

The Left Hand of Darkness
by: Ursula K. LeGuin
publisher: Ace, released: March 15, 1987
Science fiction without flash. Virtually all the action takes place in a very low-tech setting. Mainly a musing on what life would be like without gender differences, with a little side trip that takes jabs at communism. The book probably was very daring when written in the ’60s, but now feels a bit dated.

Cat’s Cradle: A Novel
by: Kurt Vonnegut
publisher: Dell Publishing, released: September 8, 1998
a humorous look at the follies of mankind and our unthinking destructiveness

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Windows & Macintosh
by: Katherine Ulrich
publisher: Peachpit Press, released: December 1, 2003
still trying to figure out Flash

Valve Amplifiers, Third Edition
by: Morgan Jones
publisher: Newnes, released: June, 2003
excellent for those who want to understand how to design vacuum tube amps

The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business
by: Don Tapscott, David Ticoll
publisher: Free Press, released: October 7, 2003

Leading Quietly
by: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.
publisher: Harvard Business School Press, released: February 11, 2002

Dreamweaver MX 2004: The Missing Manual
by: David Sawyer McFarland
publisher: Pogue Press, released: December 1, 2003
there are many hidden features in Dreamweaver — this helps you use them

The Lathe of Heaven: A Novel
by: Ursula K. Le Guin
publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, released: September 1, 2003
Short, provocative tale of a man whose dreams change the course of history. A blend of science, science fiction, and Eastern philosophy.

The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind’s Greatest Invention
by: Guy Deutscher
publisher: Metropolitan Books, released: June 1, 2005
A difficult read, but fascinating.

The Tea Companion
by: Jane Pettigrew
publisher: Running Press, released: September 7, 2004
The first part, the history of tea, is useful. The second part, regarding varieties of teas, tends to focus on specific estates instead of specific types — not so useful for me.

Gilgamesh: A New English Version
by: Stephen Mitchell
publisher: Free Press, released: September 28, 2004
The best translation of the oldest extant written story (roughly 4000 years old) — a remarkably modern story about how arrogance and heroism do not mix well.

Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
by: Bruce Schneier
publisher: Wiley, released: January 30, 2004
A sophisticated yet common-sense view of the threats with realistic approaches to dealing with them. A bit marred by some self-promotion near the end.

Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
by: Steve Almond
publisher: Harvest Books, released: April 4, 2005
Fun book about candy manufacturing. The author does get a little self-obsessed at times, and makes a fleeting (unsuccessful) attempt at making this serious literature.

The Rough Guide to Tuscany & Umbria 5
by: Rough Guides
publisher: Rough Guides, released: May 12, 2003
Great reference. Found some of the restaurant recommendations particularly useful.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by: J. K. Rowling
publisher: Scholastic, Inc., released: July 16, 2005
She’s trying too hard to tie all the loose ends together in this volume. Reads more like an attempt to explain the series than a novel.

The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook
by: David Rosengarten, Joel Dean, Giorgio DeLuca
publisher: Random House, released: October 8, 1996

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
by: Steve Krug
publisher: New Riders Press, released: August 28, 2005
Great book about Web site usability.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
publisher: William Morrow, released: May 1, 2005
Easy and interesting read.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by: Gregory Maguire
publisher: Harper Paperbacks, released: November 6, 1996
Picked up a copy at Costco. My god! The strangest book you could imagine. Slow-paced, with big gaps in the narrative. I refuse to finish this book.

The Elements of Typographic Style
by: Robert Bringhurst
publisher: Hartley & Marks, released: December 1, 1996
a wonderful book about typographic design, very readable even for beginners

The Ultimate Tone
by: Kevin O'Connor
publisher: Power Press, released: 1995
a cookbook for tube amp design

The Little Black Book Of Sushi: The Essential Guide to the World of Sushi
by: Day Zschock
publisher: Peter Pauper Press, released: January 31, 2005
Pretty good, as far as it goes. But there’s not a lot of content in this book.

Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe
by: Leon M. Lederman, C. T. Hill
publisher: Prometheus Books, released: October 31, 2004

Shakespeare’s Insults: Educating Your Wit
by: Wayne F. Hill
publisher: Three Rivers Press, released: October 3, 1995
“In his sleep he does little harm, save to his bedclothes about him.” — Quotes like that abound in his writings.

Iliad and Odyssey boxed set
by: Homer
publisher: Penguin Classics, released: November 1, 1999
a lively translation

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life, First Edition
by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, released: October, 2001
iconoclastic view of investing

Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day
by: Albert Jack
publisher: HarperCollins, released: January 1, 2006
Uncritically tells stories about how various idioms arose. In many cases, sounds like author is dead wrong.

Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z
by: David Sacks
publisher: Broadway, released: August 3, 2004
Series of articles on origin of each letter. Overall is very interesting. Does have some repetition as the book is adapted from a series of newspaper columns—seems like author didn’t carefully edit the results.