My 2012 Reading List

Books read in 2012. Book title, author, and date completed.

1. Power Plays: Energy Options in the Age of Peak Oil by Robert Rapier (me) 3-14-12

Because I read it at least five times in the course of writing and editing it, I am including my own book as the first book I read in 2012. It was published on March 28, 2012 so now I can read some other books.

2. A Thousand Barrels a Second by Peter Tertzakian 3-24-12

3. Oil: Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century by Tom Bower 6-6-12

4. Reinventing Fire by Amory Lovins 8-10-12

5. Oil's Endless Bid by Daniel Dicker 8-28-12

My 2011 Reading List

Books read in 2011. Book title, author, and date completed. Because I was writing my own book in 2011, the number of books I read fell quite a bit from previous years.

1. Power Trip: The Story of America’s Love Affair with Energy by Amanda Little 5-15-11

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog - Book Review: Power Trip

2. Cracking the Carbon Code by Terry Tamminen 7-3-11 

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Cracking the Carbon Code

3. Energy, Convenient Solutions: How Americans Can Solve the Energy Crisis in Ten Years by Howard Johnson 7-15-11

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Energy, Convenient Solutions

4. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts 7-19-11

You know the Dos Equis commercial about the most interesting man in the world? Gregory David Roberts might actually be fit to hold that title. This is an incredible book, but it is a very big book (933 pages). I have been reading at it for over a year. Not because the book wasn't interesting, just because I generally read when I travel, and the book is so big I didn't always take it with me.

The book is set in Mumbai, a city I have been especially fascinated with since my visit in 2008. When I was there, I often wondered what life must be like in the slums. Roberts takes us there, as he lived there for 10 years after escaping from prison in Australia. The book is described as a novel, but many of the events are clearly from Roberts' life. As with the main character, Roberts' lived in Mumbai's slums, setting up a free medical clinic there, was recruited to Mumbai's mafia, and ultimately went to war in Afghanistan. Unbelievable story.

5. Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen 11-12-11

I am always fascinated by people who have achieved great success. I like to gain some insights into what it was that made them special. In Paul Allen's case, one of the things he said in the book is that he and Bill Gates were working on the right problem at the right time. Five years earlier or five years later and Microsoft wouldn't have happened. Of course it took more than just timing; Paul is obviously a very smart guy with diverse interests. Some of his interests mirror my own; the workings of the human brain for instance. Even if you took Microsoft completely out of the equation, Paul has accomplished a great deal in his life. He details the failures as well; discussing specific investment mistakes he made that results in billions of dollars of losses. He also was quite frank in his comments on the people he came into contact with. Bill Gates, for instance, is portrayed as a genius, a jerk, and Paul's very close friend. All in all, a very engaging autobiography.

My 2010 Reading List

Books read in 2010. Book title, author, and date completed.

1. Big Coal by Jeff Goodell 2-05-10

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog - Book Review: Big Coal

2. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson 3-29-10

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog - Book Review: Julian Comstock

3. The Oil Depletion Protocol by Richard Heinberg June 17, 2010

As I read this book, I kept thinking “Yes, this plan would probably work if you could get government around the world to follow it.” The basics of the plan is to have all countries commit to reduce their oil consumption by a small percentage each year. I think the problem is going to be exactly the same as in getting countries to agree to reduce carbon emissions. Some will, some won’t. The fast-growing developing countries like China and India will never agree to it because of the perceived negative impact on their economic growth. Further, there are great incentives for countries to cheat on the their consumption; that may give them advantages over countries going through economic contraction as a result of reduced oil use. The bottom line is that I just don’t think in the real world it can be executed successfully.

4. Power Hungry by Robert Bryce October 1, 2010

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog.

5. The Impending World Energy Mess by Robert L. Hirsch, Roger H. Bezdek, and Robert M. Wendling. December 4, 2010

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: The Impending World Energy Mess

My 2009 Favorites

Wow, I can't believe I only read 13 books in 2009. The good thing was that most of them were pretty good reads. Here are my Top 5 from 2009:


1. Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems: Benefits and Risks. Edited by David Pimentel, with a chapter by yours truly. Was it my favorite because of my own contribution? Probably. Still a good book, though, if dry in places. Reviewed here.

2. Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil by Peter Maass. Reviewed here.

3. Oil 101 by Morgan Downey. Reviewed here.

4. Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization by Jeff Rubin. Reviewed here.

5. Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli. Reviewed here.

However, I would add one more that has probably had the biggest impact on me personally by changed my eating habits for life. I have become a semi-vegetarian (probably 80% of my meals are now vegetarian, and I cut most sugar out of my diet) after reading this book:

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs by Neal Barnard. Reviewed here (see the 2nd book in the list).

I hope to do a bit better than 13 books in 2010. On the other hand, that may mean that I am spending too much time on airplanes, which is when I find the most time for reading.

My 2009 Reading List

Books read in 2009. Book title, author, and date completed.

1. Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems: Benefits and Risks. edited by David Pimentel, with a chapter by yours truly. 1-10-09

Despite having had this book since last summer, and despite the fact that I wrote one of the chapters in it (you can see a chunk of it here), I just now got around to reading the rest of it. The book is obviously about renewable energy systems, delving into the environmental issues and potential unintended consequences. Because many different people contributed, the material is covered at various levels. There are chapters in there for the laymen, and there are chapters that are written at a much higher level. I personally found some of the material to be a difficult read, and I think most people will most likely pick out some essays they like instead of reading it from cover to cover.

2. Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs by Neal Barnard 1-22-09

I don't have diabetes, but my blood sugar has been trending high in recent years. A doctor told me a couple of years ago if I don't get it under control that I was at risk for developing diabetes. I first became aware of the possibility of reversing diabetes in Ray Kurzweil's Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever. Kurzweil was a diabetic, but by making changes in his diet he was able to rid himself of all symptoms. I figure if the program can reverse diabetes, it should be able to prevent diabetes from ever developing. After reading the book, I will say that this is one of those life-changing books. I have never had a particularly healthy diet, and the scientific studies in this book really make it clear why I have high blood sugar (and high cholesterol). The gist of the diet is that it is a vegan diet: No animal products of any kind. The studies cited show that animal fats (even fish and chicken) promote insulin resistance by interfering with insulin's ability to break down glucose. This results in an increase in blood sugar. The case studies cited in the book showed that by eliminating animal protein and fats, blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycierides all returned to normal levels.

So I decided to give it a shot. Most people who know me could see me as someone who could give up vegetables, but not meat. But I went to the store and picked up soy and rice milk, veggie burgers, hot dogs, and breakfast sausages, and lots of whole wheat breads. It's not that bad, to tell you the truth. The burger was dry, but it tasted pretty much like a regular burger. Once I start adding in things like salsa - which I love - and mix in some Indian food (I spent a week in India last year, and they have some very good vegetarian meals), I think I can pull it off. Giving up seafood will be the hardest part. I plan to do this diet strictly for a month prior to my next physical to see if it works for me.

3. The Lobster Chronicles: Life On a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw 2-01-09

This was not exactly what I expected. I guess I should have been tipped off by the subtitle "Life on a Very Small Island." There was much more about island life and the lives of the people living there than on lobster fishing. I have always been a big fan of Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel, and I thought this would be the same, yet for lobster fishing. Not exactly. There is some of that, but it isn't the main focus. The author - who was also portrayed in The Perfect Storm - was concerned about an increase in visitors based on her description in the book; I don't think she has to worry about that. She made it sound pretty miserable.

4. Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs by Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malarte 3-06-09

I love reading about technology. I love thinking about what the future could be, which is why I like science fiction so much. This book delved into a possible future with cyborgs, robots, and artificial intelligence. As the book points out, robots are all around us even now (an example was an automatic pool cleaner), we just don't call them robots. Ditto for cyborgs; by definition people with artificial limbs, or even contact lenses could be classified as cyborgs. But the book goes much deeper than that and seriously explores a topic that has always fascinated me: The emergence of consciousness. Can a machine ever achieve consciousness? Hard to say when we don't even understand it ourselves. The only thing I found slightly annoying about the book is that it often presented this future as inevitable, instead of a possible future.

5. Oil 101 by Morgan Downey 4-19-09

Reviewed in depth on my energy blog: Oil 101 Book Review.

6. Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization by Jeff Rubin 5-24-09

Reviewed in depth on my energy blog: Book Review: Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller

7. Green Algae Strategy: End Oil Imports And Engineer Sustainable Food And Fuel by Mark Edwards 5-30-09

Reviewed in depth on my energy blog: Book Review: Green Algae Strategy. The author responded, and I published his response as well: Response to Green Algae Strategy Review

8. Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World by Mira Kamdar 7-6-09

I have been interested in India for a long time, and finally got to visit there last year (my trip was described here, here, and here). This book paints a compelling story of an India that is just starting to flex its muscles on the world stage, and which will be formidable on many fronts as the poor begin to gain purchasing power. The only downside to the book is that she occasionally came across as a bit nationalistic (the author is American of Indian descent) and that made the book feel less than entirely objective. One thing I did not realize was that India had such a long history of having suffered major terrorist actions. I was very familiar with the attacks in late 2008, but there were many serious attacks prior to that. She also described a scene that was all too familiar to me when I was there: Look in one direction, and you see a lush golf course for the very rich. Turn around and you see some of the poorest people on earth living under tarps. You see those kinds of contrasts everywhere in India.

9. Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil by Peter Maass 9-21-09

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Crude World

10. Axis by Robert Charles Wilson 10-8-09

I really enjoyed Wilson's previous book Spin. This was more or less a sequel, but not as mind-bending as I found Spin to be. I have been advised that Wilson's book Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America is a much better read, so I put it on my reading list.

11. Power of the People: America's New Electricity Choices by Carol Sue Tombari 10-10-09

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review - Power of the People

12. Outsourcing Energy Management by Steven Fawkes 10-12-09

This book has taken me longer to read than any other book in my life. I started reading it back in April, and I just finished it today. The problem for me is that it is a textbook, and as such it isn't something that you can just sit and read cover to cover. It is a very comprehensive "how-to" guide for managing energy in an organization. The author has a clear grasp of the serious energy issues facing us, and makes a compelling case that by letting professionals manage the energy needs of an organization, savings will be more likely to be achieved. Ultimately, this would be a very important book for someone like an energy coordinator for a company. The book did trigger a number of ideas, but it took a lot to get through it.

13. Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli 10-26-09

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review - Oil on the Brain

My 2008 Favorites

1. Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan

Excellent reading. I almost bit off more than I could chew, having decided to read one more book (by a Scottish author) a week before I was to leave Scotland. It's a pretty long read, and I finished this and dropped it off as I was leaving town. Interestingly, the UK version - which was the version I read - is called "Black Man." I guess the U.S. publishers felt that was politically incorrect. I had previously read and enjoyed Morgan's Altered Carbon, but I didn't know anything about this one. I just thought the cover looked pretty cool. But given that I had enjoyed Morgan before, I decided to give it a read. Very glad I did. The book is about a genetically engineered human (happens to be a black man) who was made to be a "super soldier." Once peace breaks out, these folks are seen as a threat. The U.S. has also split in two in this book, which was an interesting concept. For the most part, Republicans got the middle, and Democrats got "the rim." Good stuff though, and a compelling read.

2. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

It seems like I have been working at this book for years. The 3rd book in the Ender series, and Card still had some tricks up his sleeve. I like his far-out biology concepts; they really stretch the imagination. A lot of people felt like this one fell short of the two in the series that preceded it. To be honest, it's been so long since I read Ender's Game - which is sometimes described as the best science fiction novel ever written, that I really can't compare them. I found Xenocide pretty entertaining; no complaints from me.

3. Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence by Robert Bryce

This was a great book, and I reviewed it in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Gusher of Lies

4. Big Cotton: How A Humble Fiber Created Fortunes, Wrecked Civilizations, and Put America on the Map by Stephen Yafa

Fascinating book. I learned a wealth of information about cotton, and it gave me a whole new respect for it. This book was well-written, humorous, and very informative. I especially enjoyed reading about the history of the battles with various pests, and how technology has evolved to combat these resilient pests.

5. How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible by John Jeavons

This is really a great book to have on your shelf if you are a gardener. I probably learned more about the importance of soil quality (how to maintain it, the need to have it loosened to a greater depth, etc.) than I had learned up to this point in my life. I am actually putting the techniques in this book into practice in my garden.

My 2008 Reading List

Books read in 2008. Book title, author, and date completed.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 1-6-08

I had asked for book recommendations at The Oil Drum, and I got a long list. I shortened it down, and then when I was home for Christmas I went to the local library to see what they had. This was the only one I could find. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It also said that it was an Oprah Book Club book, and I don't think I have ever read one of those. The book is written in a very unusual style - there are no chapters and the dialogue is not quoted. It was a very difficult read.

It played upon some of my worst nightmares - watching one of your children starve, and being unable to do anything about it. Not being able to help other people in distress - including children - because you are barely surviving yourself. Facing conditions so horrible that the main character was constantly thinking of ending his and his young son's lives to end the misery. Worse for me, I have a couple of boys that age, so I of course kept envisioning them with me in that situation. The one thing I kept expecting was some explanation for how things got to that condition. The only thing I can think of that could remotely explain the devastation would be the Yellowstone Super Volcano blowing its top.

2. Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds 1-12-08

Reynolds has become one of my favorite science fiction writers. What an imagination this guy has. This book consisted of a pair of novellas based on worlds/concepts he introduced in previous novels. The stories are very different, and both will stretch your imagination. I have yet to read anything from him that I didn't like, but I have let myself get behind on reading his books. I need to make an effort to catch up on his books this year, because I never regret the time I spend reading them. Books that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed by Reynolds are Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, and Chasm City.

3. Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence by Robert Bryce 1-21-08 (pre-release copy)

This was a great book, and I reviewed it in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Gusher of Lies

4. Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan 2-29-08

Excellent reading. I almost bit off more than I could chew, having decided to read one more book (by a Scottish author) a week before I was to leave Scotland. It's a pretty long read, and I finished this and dropped it off as I was leaving town. Interestingly, the UK version - which was the version I read - is called "Black Man." I guess the U.S. publishers felt that was politically incorrect. I had previously read and enjoyed Morgan's Altered Carbon, but I didn't know anything about this one. I just thought the cover looked pretty cool. But given that I had enjoyed Morgan before, I decided to give it a read. Very glad I did. The book is about a genetically engineered human (happens to be a black man) who was made to be a "super soldier." Once peace breaks out, these folks are seen as a threat. The U.S. has also split in two in this book, which was an interesting concept. For the most part, Republicans got the middle, and Democrats got "the rim." Good stuff though, and a compelling read.

5. Wood Modification by Callum Hill 3-10-08

Not a book for the average reader, just something I read that is related to my new job. But if you are into that kind of thing, this is The Bible.

6. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card 4-15-08

It seems like I have been working at this book for years. The 3rd book in the Ender series, and Card still had some tricks up his sleeve. I like his far-out biology concepts; they really stretch the imagination. A lot of people felt like this one fell short of the two in the series that preceded it. To be honest, it's been so long since I read Ender's Game - which is sometimes described as the best science fiction novel ever written, that I really can't compare them. I found Xenocide pretty entertaining; no complaints from me.

7. World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler 4-23-2008

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: World Made by Hand

8. Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century by Brian Hicks and Chris Nelder 5-11-2008

Reviewed in detail on my energy blog: Book Review: Profit from the Peak

9. Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey 7-18-2008

My reading is really suffering this year as demands from work have sapped all of my spare time. Once upon a time I was always reading through a book at lunch. No longer, as I am usually working through lunch. But, back on topic, I found this to be a difficult read. It was interesting, to be sure, to watch someone over 100 years ago slip into the same kind of drug dependency that is all too familiar to us today. Description of life in 19th century England was also worth the read. The trouble I had was that the language and expressions were different enough that sometimes I had to read a paragraph a few times to understand what he was saying. This really slowed down my reading speed. Some of the build up to his slide into opium addiction was also incredibly tedious.

10. Basic Composting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (Basic How-to Guides) by Eric Ebeling 8-3-08

I didn't learn a whole lot that I didn't already know about composting, but there were a lot of useful building plans in the book.

11. Big Cotton: How A Humble Fiber Created Fortunes, Wrecked Civilizations, and Put America on the Map by Stephen Yafa 8-5-08

Fascinating book. I learned a wealth of information about cotton, and it gave me a whole new respect for it. This book was well-written, humorous, and very informative. I especially enjoyed reading about the history of the battles with various pests, and how technology has evolved to combat these resilient pests.

12. Slash by Slash and Anthony Bozza 8-14-08

If half of what Slash wrote is true, I don't know how he survived. I picked this book up for the insider's story on my favorite band of all time. I love biographies, especially those rags to riches stories of people who persevered and made it big. I find them inspirational. But I had never realized until reading this book just how extreme the drug usage and "appetite for destruction" really was. These guys were really insane. Slash explains in no uncertain terms why – in his view – the band broke up. Given that he has moved on to a successful career with other bands, I tend to believe his version that the band collapsed mostly because of Axl's erratic behavior. Anyway, very interesting book if you are a GNR fan.

13. W.A.R.: The Unauthorized Biography of William Axl Rose by Mick Wall 8-29-08

I have been traveling a lot, and I like to read light when I am traveling. So, following the wake of the previous autobiography by Slash, I decided to read the unauthorized biography of W. Axl Rose. The author is Mick Wall, who Axl ripped into during the song "Get in the Ring" off of Use Your Illusion II. Mick is a Brit, and thus the book is very Brit-oriented. All of Axl's major musical influences were British, yadda, yadda. At times Mick comes off as a scorned lover, and seems to be lashing out in retribution. The picture he paints of Axl is a very disturbing portrait of a guy who apparently has some pretty serious mental issues. I went to see the band play in 1988, and after about half an hour, Axl threw the mike down and walked off the stage. I knew that he pulled this a few times - as well as sometimes coming on stage very late - but I didn't realize until reading these books that it happened all the time. Axl had no problem keeping fans waiting up to four hours until he was ready to perform. A musical genius – at least to me – it is sad to see that he could never get it together again after the band split. He has been working on an album for 15 years, always promising the release is just around the corner. I think he is destined to go down in history as the "Howard Hughes of music."

14. Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge 9-27-08

This book was not at all what I expected. Vernor Vinge has written some of the best science fiction I have ever read. A Fire Upon The Deep and A Deepness in the Sky are two of the best science fiction books I have ever read, but this one was very different. It reminded me more of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. It was a good book; very complex and sometimes hard to follow the layers. It was just a disappointment to me because I was expecting something like one of his earlier books.

15. Gardeners' Questions Answered by Richard Bird 10-11-08

I have got to start paying attention to the books I pick up. This isn't the first I have gotten that was written for British gardens. There was some useful information, but a lot that is specific to the UK climate.

16. The Organic Home Garden by Patrick Lima 10-24-08

Much better than the previous book, but still written from a cold climate perspective. There was quite a bit of useful information here, though. There were especially a lot of practical tips for dealing with garden pests. I also enjoyed the detailed instructions for various vegetables.

17. How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible by John Jeavons 10-31-08

I have been chipping away at this book for months. It is really a great book to have on your shelf if you are a gardener. I probably learned more about the importance of soil quality (how to maintain it, the need to have it loosened to a greater depth, etc.) than I had learned up to this point in my life. I am actually putting the techniques in this book into practice in my garden.

18. The No-Work Garden: Getting the Most Out of Your Garden for the Least Amount of Work by Bob Flowerdew 11-8-08

Lots of good tips in this book, but it occurs to me that I really like working in the garden. People always ask me why I don't have someone else mow my lawn (I have neighbors frequently offering me their lawn guy). I tell them I like to mow my own lawn. It is therapeutic. Having said that, though, there are a lot of really good tips in here on a much wider range of topics than many gardening books I have read.

19. Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds 11-20-08

While Reynolds is one of my favorite authors, I didn't realize that this was a collection of short stories. I don't really care for short stories, because my attention span is short. If I have to learn an entirely new cast of characters every 30 pages, it becomes like work. In his first two chapters, he kept the characters the same, and just changed the time frame. That worked well. But then by Chapter 3 he was on to the typical theme of an entirely new story (albeit it in the same Revelation Space universe) with every chapter. One thing that did strike me as I was reading this book. Reynolds tells a great story, no doubt about that. But people don't really behave in the way that he sometimes has his characters behave. For instance, in his second story, a guy wakes up from a long period of being froze, and has an incredible discovery to share. But he keeps it secret until the climax. Given the nature of that discovery, I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't spill it all out just as soon as he was awake. There was no compelling reason not to.

20. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca 12-6-08

I got this book thinking it might be a good book on leadership. Instead, it is an angry rant against the Bush Administration. That's well and good, if that's what I was looking for. But what I wanted was for Iacocca to share some of his wisdom on leadership. What I read leads me to believe Iacocca is past his 'sell by' date. I did think it was ironic to hear him brag about how well the auto industry does things, when as I was reading it they were before congress looking for a bailout.

21. First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman 12-30-08

I like data, and this book was the result of a massive Gallup survey of 80,000 managers in 400 companies on what works in management. They debunk such myths as "people are capable of almost anything" and put an emphasis on matching up talents and needs. The good thing is that most of what they say works is already the way I manage my group. But it was nice to have some confirmation that this is the style that works best.