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.

My 2007 Reading List

Books read in 2007. Book title, author, and date completed. I read 22 books in 2007, down significantly from the previous two years.

1. Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman 1-2-07

Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near really blew my mind, so I decided to see what else he had to offer. He has some unconventional ideas about diet, but he backed most of it up with scientific studies. His comments about stevia as a natural sweetner intrigued me, but I found out that it isn't without controversy. Regardless, despite his claims that he has the body of a 35-year old, externally he appears his age. I suspect the internal story is pretty similar.

2. Life After Death: The Burden of Proof by Deepak Chopra 1-11-07

This was an OK book for learning just a bit about Eastern religions, but Chopra certainly doesn't meet any burden of proof. Any supernatural claim is readily accepted and hardly challenged: remote viewing, psychic abilities, ghosts, faith-healing. He was pretty careless with some scientific facts that he quoted in the book, so I just don't trust him when he starts talking about the scientific studies that demonstrated that psychic powers are real. A million dollars says they aren't.

3. Winning by Jack Welch 1-16-07

I have always been sort of fascinated with Jack Welch. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest CEOs of all time. After reading this book, it is clear that some of the things that differentiated him - his stunning candor, for instance - are just difficult for many people. Or, a person might find themselves in a job where candor is not appreciated. Reading this book I couldn't help but wonder how many other Jack Welch's there might have been out there, who just didn't rise to the top because the specific characteristics they had were not appreciated by their management.

4. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann 1-25-07

This book came highly recommended, and I was not disappointed. What a paradigm-shifter. Mann details the intricate and complex societies that existed in America prior to Colombus' arrival in 1492. There were long-lasting wars with complex dynamics, and cities to rival those of Europe at that time. Mann was also good about contrasting different viewpoints on many topics, such that the reader can weigh the evidence and make up their own mind about which explanation is more likely. This book is a great companion to Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. It supports Diamond's ideas in some areas, and disagrees in others. But it was nothing if not thought-provoking.

5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson 3-18-2007

Having previously read Neal Stephenson's books Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, I was really looking forward to this one. It came highly recommended by several readers of The Oil Drum, where I am write essays on energy issues. First of all, it's almost an understatement to call this book a tour de force. It was like Tom Clancy on steroids. I didn't know that it wasn't a science fiction book until I was well into the book. It was historical fiction, and it bounced back and forth between WWII and today. It is not for the casual reader. The book has 1,130 pages and took me over a month to finish. But if you are a reader, and you like complex plots and characters - with Stephenson's unique writing style thrown in for good measure - then you will probably enjoy this one.

6. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis 4-7-2007

I had previously read another Connie Willis book, Doomsday Book, and really enjoyed her style. This is another book involving time travel, although there are many elements involved in this story. It is lightly sci-fi, a detective story, a comedy, and a bit of romance in Victorian England. It was a fun read, although toward the end I had the sense of watching an episode of Scoobie Doo where the gang is solving the mystery. But, a book that was worth the time to read.

7. More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement by Ramez Naam 4-22-2007

I thought this book would be more informative on cutting-edge genetic enhancement research than it was. If information on biological enhancement is what you are interested in, better bets are The Singularity is Near, Gregory Stock's Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future, or Lee Silver's Remaking Eden. However, this book did provide a lot of information I did not know about cutting edge mechanical implants. I really had no idea that science was so far along in fields like retinal, cochlear, and brain implants. The book could be a little slow at times, but I ultimately got a lot out of it because it opened up my mind to quite a few things I did not know.

8. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson 5-5-2007

This was a very nice piece of science fiction. It took two premises that I have spent considerable time thinking about and explored them. The first premise involves fast-forwarding the terraforming of Mars. (This concept is also explored in great depth in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy). The second premise explores the future of the earth when the sun is dying and swells to encompass the earth's orbit. Premise 2a is that this causes "end of the world" panic, which is another premise that fascinates me. The book had interesting and complex characters, and the story was engaging. My only criticism is that it did jump back and forth in time, which didn't work for me in this book. I found it distracting. Every time they jumped forward in time, I wanted to skip past so I could find out how they had come to that point.

9. The Viking by Alan Baker 5-20-2007

Most of the books I read are through recommendations, so I don't end up reading too many that I consider a waste of time. This book, however, is one that I picked out because 1). I am very interested in the Vikings, and 2). I had a gift certificate and it just did fit under the limit. While maybe not a waste of time, there are better books on Vikings. The author tended to wander off topic at times, and he quoted liberally from other works, such as Magnus Magnusson's The Vikings and Gwyn Jones' A History of the Vikings. In fact, he borrowed so heavily from them that his extensive quotations probably took up at least a quarter of the book. I would recommend one of the two previously mentioned books over this one, which often read like a book report on those books.

10. Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse by Paul Carter 6-14-2007

Funny at times, and very sobering at times, this book gives a depiction of what it is like to work on the oil rigs. I can say, after reading this book, that I will never work in Nigeria (although I had pretty much already decided that).

11. A Beautiful Mind : A Biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr. by Sylvia Nassar 6-16-2007

This is a great book on so many levels. A history of some of the great mathematicians and unsolved problems in mathematics, a story of genius, mental illness, and triumph. Nash's wife Alicia has a tenacity that just boggles the mind. I often felt sorry for the trials she went through with the schizophrenia of her husband, and later son. She is a strong, strong woman. I also found myself thinking of Nash as someone who was an incredible jerk with one of the biggest egos I have ever seen, to wondering whether the mental illness was connected to these personality quirks. Everyone should read this book.

12. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb 10-30-2007

This was a great book, and a real paradigm-shifter. Taleb is a very good writer, and caused me to think about things I hadn't thought about before. When a book does that, I really appreciate it. But my gosh he is full of himself. That was the only thing that put me off a bit. I work with someone like that, and I can't stand to be in the same room with him. Frequently denigrating other people to lift himself above them. Not necessary. Taleb has no need to do that, and it was very distracting.

13. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card 11-4-2007

Card is just a superb writer. I bought this book 5 years ago, but just got around to reading it. I won't wait so long to read Xenocide, which I purchased at the same time. The creative biological ecosystem that Card creates in this book is very impressive. I am amazed the people can just imagine this kind of stuff.

14. Building High-Performance Teams by Debbie D. DuFrene 11-8-07

This book was a bit different than what I was expecting. It is true to the title, but I guess I expected something more. I was looking for more of a general management book, and this was not it.

15. The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success by Steven Stein 11-18-07

Some useful information, but also a lot of pop-psychology.

16. Mars Plus by Frederik Pohl 11-25-07

Having read Pohl's Gateway, I had high hopes for this book. But I found it disappointing. I was hoping for a sort of cyborgs help colonize Mars. But Mars had very little to do with the actual storyline. I also didn't find the characters all that interesting.

17. Beyond Heaven's River by Greg Bear 12-1-07

Again, I had high hopes for this one based on Bear's previous books. But a year from now, I won't even remember what this one was about. I also thought the ending was very abrupt and left several storylines hanging.

18. Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson 12-6-07

Not a bad book. I found it sort of like Robinson's Mars Trilogy. The writing is excellent and technically detailed, but sometimes I find it losing my attention.

19. Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written edited by Bill Adler 12-15-07

I don't usually like short stories, but I love books about time travel. This one has some classic stories in there, and some of the all-time great authors. It was a good book to read while traveling, because I could just read a story here and there as I had time.

20. Jubal Sackett by Louis Lamour 12-18-07

When I was in the 2nd grade, the first "real" book I ever read was Lamour's The First Fast Draw. I was hooked on his writing, and proceeded to read practically every book he had written (which my Dad had in his bookshelf) by the end of the 3rd grade. When I was home for Christmas, I pulled an old favorite off of the shelf - a book in the Sackett series that I loved so much as a kid. It's a good book if you like Westerns, or tales about the early settlement of the U.S. It helps, though, to have read previous Sackett books so you know who is who.

21. Quantico by Greg Bear 12-26-07

I kept having to remind myself that I wasn't reading Tom Clancy. This reads very much like a Tom Clancy book. While Bear is famous for his science fiction, this was definitely a change of pace for him. I enjoyed the book (as much as you can enjoy a book about biological warfare using anthrax).

22. The Vegetable & Herb Expert by D.G. Hessayon 12-30-07

I got this book for Christmas. I intend to get back into gardening as quickly as I can (it has been hard due to all the moves) and this was a good book, but written entirely from a UK perspective. Some of the specific advice won't be valid when I move back to the U.S. It was also kind of funny to see things like jalapenos, sweet potatoes, and okra, both of which will grow like weeds in the U.S., referred to as "shop vegetables" (i.e., won't grow well in the U.K.)