This is the second book in the Leviathan Wakes series by James SA Corey. Just as good as the first, this is a story about how much a father loves his daughter, moral choices, and politics -- just as much as it is the continuation of the story arc around the alien visitor. I haven't seen this far in the Netflix series, but I sure hope they get this right, because its a very good story so far.
Lifehacker kindly pointed out that the Hugo nominees are out for 2018. They are: The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi. I've read this one and liked it. New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've had a difficult time with Kim's work in the past, but perhaps I'll one day read this. Provenance, by Ann Leckie. I liked Ancillary Justice, but failed to fully read the sequel, so I guess we'll wait and see on this one. Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee. I know nothing! Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty. Again, I know nothing about this book or this author. So a few there to consider in the future.
This is a fun fast read, as is everything by Mr Scalzi. The basic premise here is that of a set of interdependent colonies that are about to lose their ability to trade with each other, and are therefore doomed. Oh, except they don't know that and are busy having petty trade wars instead. It isn't a super intellectual read, but it is fun and does leave me wanting to know what happens to the empire...
In this follow-up to Command and Control, Schlosser explores the conscientious objectors and protestors who have sought to highlight not just the immorality of nuclear weapons, but the hilariously insecure state the US government stores them in. In all seriousness, we are talking grannies with heart conditions being able to break in. My only real objection to this book is that is more of a pamphlet than a book, and feels a bit like things that didn't make it into the main book. That said, it is well worth the read.
I found this tale of Bill Bryson walking the Appalachian Trail (rather incompetently I must say) immensely entertaining. Well written, interesting, generally exaggerated, and leaving me with a desire to get out somewhere and walk some more. I'd strongly recommend this book to people who already care about bush walking, but have found other pursuits to occupy most of their spare time.
I read this book based on the recommendation of Richard Jones, and its really really good. A little sci-fi, a little film noir, and very engaging. I also like that bad things happen to good people in the story -- its gritty and unclean enough to be believable. I don't want to ruin the book for anyone, but I really enjoyed this and have already ordered the sequels. Oh, and there's a Netflix series based off these books that I'll now have to watch too.
I bought this book ages ago, on the recommendation of a friend (I don't remember who), but I only just got around to reading it. Its a hard book to read in places -- its not hopeful, or particularly fun, and its confronting in places -- especially the plot that revolves around child exploitation. There's very little to like about the future society that Atwood posits here, but perhaps that's the point. Despite not being a happy fun story, the book made me think about things like genetic engineering in a way I didn't before and I think that's what Atwood was seeking to achieve. So I'd have to describe the book as a success.
A reading group of managers at work has been reading this book, except for the last chapter which we were left to read by ourselves. Overall, the book is interesting and very readable. Its a little dated, being all excited with the invention of email and some unfortunate gender pronouns, but if you can get past those minor things there is a lot of wise advice here. I'm not sure I agree with 100% of it, but I do think the vast majority is of interest. A well written book that I'd recommend to new managers.
Another excellent book by Ben Goldacre. In this book he argues that modern medicine is terribly corrupted by the commercial forces that act largely unchecked in the marketplace -- studies which don't make a new drug look good go missing; new drugs are compared only against placebo and not against the current best treatment; doctors are routinely bribed with travel, training and small perks. Overall I'm left feeling like things haven't improved much since this book was published, given that these behaviors still seem common. The book does offer concrete actions that we could take to fix things, but I don't see many of these happening any time soon, which is a worrying place to be. Overall, a disturbing but important read.
As I write up comments on books I've read in the last little while but left lying around my desk instead of blogging and filing, I find this book sitting there taunting me. I really wanted to like this book, I was quite excited when I bought it. However, Its Cherryh at her worst -- wordy and kind of goes nowhere. There's an interesting idea here, but the book needs to be half its current length. I got half way through and gave up. A disappointment.