Author: Josiah Bancroft

I’m not even sure where I heard about Senlin Ascends (sorry marketers who are trying to pigeonhole strategies they can sell), but to say I loved that book is an understatement.

It changed my sensibilities about how awesome a book can be then smacked me twice in the face with 80s synonyms for awesome because I lack the vocabulary for decent adjectives that show excitement.

Naturally, I purchased the second book and left it on my Kindle for ages, telling myself I’ll get to it soon. While most of the waiting to read this was sheer procrastination, another part of me was afraid the second book in the series (this one) would be a crap-shoot only written in light of the popularity of the first.

I didn’t want my experience of Bancroft’s world ruined.

By the end of the first chapter, there was a smile on my face. I was right back into it and by the end, I will wholeheartedly admit this book lived up to the expectation of the first one. Even if it did leave on a Kill Bill vol. 1 ending, which… Josiah… I’m onto you.

The writing is outstanding, the characters are rich , the world is ridiculously creative and original and the story keeps you hooked.

Naturally, the question that follows is did I buy the third one immediately upon finishing the second? Yes, yes yes – a thousand times, yes.

…

Then I read on the author’s website the series will conclude with the fourth one in 2020. Perhaps I’ll wait until it launches and read them both in one go… or… you’ll see another book review by the end of this year with more nonsensical teenage crushing on how much I loved it.

Yeah, I liked this one a lot.

Author: Cal Newport

My interest in this book stems from being a follower of Newport for many years and being one of his test subjects in part two of this book.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as he’s been speaking about this subject for quite some time on his blog. However, the disparate thoughts and research notes on his blog all crystallized into a coherent message for the book.

For that, it was worth picking up.

Digital minimalism, as he defines, is not the outright rejection of technology. Rather, it’s the purposeful use of technology in a way that provides great benefit rather than a minor convenience.

In other words: use what’s necessary and disregard the rest, which is quite different than a digital detox.

It should be no surprise he disavows any minor benefit social media may offer, especially being a person who has never created an account on any platform (pretty impressive for a computer science professor who also authors mainstream books). What’s interesting is he approaches this subject from a mental health perspective.

While he does offer actionable advice and a strong argument to move towards digital minimalism, his book was a great reminder for me on the benefits of staying away from technological novelty.

As a teacher, I see the warning signs of the detriments of hyper-connectivity in young people. Each year, it becomes more difficult to break students from their devices and the number of young people addicted to them is rising (clinically – I don’t throw the word addiction around lightly).

His voice is one of many who are calling us to re-evaluate our relationship to our devices. I can’t say for certain whether digital minimalism is the solution, but following its path may set a good example of why it needs to be done.

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Sometimes I wonder about Sanderson’s inhuman dedication to producing epic, high quality work on a consistent basis. He is definitely a shining example of someone who sits his butt in the seat and writes without excuse.

What makes him stellar, in my eyes, is he’s also unpredictable. There’s not a clear trajectory of what he’ll produce next (even though there are expectations for him to continue a series) and you’re always left with a pleasant surprise when something new comes along.

Skyward is yet another pleasant surprise.

I suppose you could label it as a young-adult sci-fi book, but it reads so smoothly and at a level that can engage just about anyone. It’s the fun of his Steelheart series, but hooks you like the season finales of Lost (let’s just ignore the finale on that simile).

The characters are deep and feel real, even (spoiler alert) the Knight Rider inspired fighter plane that talks. You want the characters to succeed because you empathize with their cause.

There’s no real downtime in this book either. It keeps pulling you sentence-to-sentence and chapter-to-chapter and before you know it, it’s 2:30am and your partner is yelling at you to turn off the light and get some sleep.

That’s why I never felt intimidated picking this up in the Express section of my library. Although I had significantly less time with the book than a regular checkout, I knew I’d be plowing through it in even less time than was given to me.

Yeah– I guess you could say I liked it.

Author: Mary Pearson

Back when I was in University, I had the opportunity to take a class called Bioethics. At the time, we were wrestling with issues such as:

“If person A donates the sperm, person B donates the egg, person C is the surrogate and persons D and E had this all setup to adopt the baby, who is the parent of this child?”

The obvious answer would be the ones who were setting up to adopt, but the ethical concern is the others involved with the scenario. What if they wanted to claim rights to the child?

What if the parents setting up to adopt, no longer want to go through with the process (which was/is happening)?

If only we could look into the future and see just how far medical research has come in such a short amount of time.

The bioethical concerns of today stretch well beyond custody issues. We are on the cusp of merging our biology with artificial… well… everything!

This is the excitement this book brings to the table in exploring a few of the issues we’re facing, focusing more on the ethical side of things. There’s also a theological discourse running through it, which you don’t need to tug too hard at my arm to appreciate.

Jenna Fox is the centre of this tale with a past she’s trying to piece together, a mystery about her current identity and a coming-of-age with decisions she must ultimately make sans the over-indulging relationship crisis authors can’t help but dwell on in their teenage protagonists.

It’s a slow moving sci-fi book with a heavy discourse on ethics and thought-provoking considerations for our future. In other words – everything I love about sci-fi.

Author: Steven Erikson

Whenever people tell me they really liked a book (or movie, show, game, etc.), I take note but don’t pay particular attention to it. We all have different tastes and their preference may not necessarily coincide with mine.

However, when someone tells me that I would like a particular work, I’m on high alert. I’m an odd duck and easy personality to predict, so when people see something that reminds them of me (in any way), I know I’m going to love it.

Years ago, Erikson’s fantasy series (Malazan) was recommended to me. To my regret, I still haven’t gone through it yet, but it’s back on the burner.

Slow moving sci-fi has always been a preference of mine. Give me Space Odyssey: 2001, the first half of Interstellar (second half was good too), Contact and I’m that guy who liked the first Star Trek movie.

It’s also the reason my wife refuses to watch any movies of my choosing.

Pique my intellect! Make me think and force me to reflect!
That’s the stuff of great science fiction in my world and that’s what this book did for me.

The synopsis of this work, a venture into sci-fi, is a first-contact story… except the aliens don’t directly contact humanity – they intervene. It’s heavy handed with the philosophical, moral and ethical discourses and I love it.

It’s also part fantasy because… well… who hasn’t fantasized that aliens would come down and finally save us from ourselves?

As a Theology major, I really appreciated the careful discourse the characters have about God. Erikson really gets the complexities of answering the God question without reducing it to a simple answer – or any answer really.

While this may not be the best choice of book for those who love action driven plots, it’s an excellent book that paints a clear picture of what would happen to humanity if we were given a real chance to start something new.

Author: Dan Janal
Book Link
Publisher: TCKPublishing

I typically read writing process books as a matter of interest. While I treat writing as a meditative act more than anything, there’s always something to learn from an author who has been in the trenches.

Lately, I’ve strayed away from the genre as it’s flooded with garbage. A few authors with one or two books under their belt who lay claim to a brilliant writing process.

In reality, it’s usually just one re-hashed idea and a lot of fluff.

When I was pitched to do this review, it sparked my interest as this was a book already in publication. Usually a solicitation for reviews happens as a way to generate interest for the release, but a currently published work from an award-winning journalist with several books?

I’m in!

First, the description is entirely accurate for its intended audience:
This is the perfect book to read if you are a thought leader, entrepreneur or business executive who wants to write a business book to build your personal brand, open doors to new opportunities, and leave a legacy of wisdom to future generations.

I would even extend to anyone looking to write a non-fiction book because the process Janal details is so incredibly useful, it takes the guesswork out of writing. And yes, there are some gems for the fiction writer.

This really is a step-by-step, paint-by-numbers guide to putting a book together, writing it and doing it in a way that leads to its own marketing. On top of which, it was also fun to read.

By the end, I was floored with the amount of notes I took for my own personal benefit. Each chapter was detailed with plenty of examples, important tips and exercises for you to complete. For me, the chapters on framing your message and research were brilliant.

The one area I found to be the biggest pearls were his side-tangent comments: use the tool you find easiest to use, not even a ninth draft of a book is perfect (at some point, you need to let it go) and the biggest of all: if you can’t find at least five minutes in your day to write, don’t write a book — hire a ghostwriter.

Needless to say, the next time I decide to write up another non-fiction book, I’ll be better prepared.

Even though the title is an eye-rolling marketing gimmicky one, it delivers.

Author: Michael La Ronn

It’s really hard to get into any kind of urban fantasy after reading Harry Potter, The Dresden Files and the Heartstriker’s Series, but La Ronn’s work piqued my interest enough to dive in.

Overall – a great book and wonderful start to a series. A dream mage for hire who makes coin by entering into other’s dreams and does some deep psychology with magic. It’s as if Freddy Kruger decided to stop being evil and help others out for financial gain. 

Here’s what I appreciate the most:

Back in my high school days, I always enjoyed stories (books, movies and video games) with strong female leads without it drawing attention to itself. Instead of saying, “Hey, look at me for being female and strong!” – they just were and it was an accepted part of the story.

The modern day example of this is the A Song of Fire and Ice series (“Game of Thrones” for those who follow the TV show). All the most powerful characters are women and it’s an accepted part of the world with no further explanation needed.

Our heroine in this book is an African-American woman named Aisha, who is powerful and has an incredible amount of depth. La Ronn did an amazing job at showcasing how kickass women characters can be without breaking the reader from the story.

When you get to the end, which leaves on a cliffhanger, you’re left with no other words but, “Damn…”

This book is fast-paced, draws you in and leaves you excited for more.

I guess this means there’s one more urban fantasy series worth looking into.

Author: Jodi Picoult

Many years ago, my wife tried showing me this book and  recommend I give it a try. It had some graphic novel elements, mixed with a backdrop of The Divine Comedy (Dante’s Inferno to be specific) — how could I not love it?

Like the good partner I am, I promptly ignored her until years later when someone else also recommended this to me even though she hasn’t steered me wrong yet in book choices. I suppose there was a mental block about picking up an author whose books some have dubbed elongated Grey’s Anatomy episodes. 

Let it be known I seriously judged this book by its cover (metaphorically speaking) and am pleased to have endured the roller coaster of emotions it took me through. Given the current climate of brave women speaking out in the #MeToo movement, the story of this book is quite timely and appropriate. 

It felt like it was written in response to the world today, but digging deeper, you realize the initial conflict has been topical for ages.  The difference for today is it’s actually coming out into the open.

A young girl gets sexually assaulted, but the details surrounding the event call into question whether her testimony is actually true. Even the reader is left in a state of uncertainty as each chapter unfolds.

The slow pace at which details were revealed kept me hooked as I dug through each chapter, only to get smacked in the face with some serious plot twists. 

At first I thought, “Okay Ms. Picoult, how are you going to write yourself out of this one?”

Then she did and I suppose my lack of interest in medical dramas to prepare me for such hairpin turns kept my jaw hung open until the very last page.

Yeah, it was great and I’m in for another. 

Yet again, my wife wins.

Author: K.M. Walton

This was the most read and recommended book by my students last year. Since they were so busy passing it along to each other, I didn’t get a chance to touch it until now.

I can’t look down upon a book that sparked that must interest in young readers. Any book that can get students, especially at a middle school age, to read is worth having on the shelf.

I also get why my students were loving this book (and it had little to do with the minor bursts of strong language). There was definitely a more mature content they felt to be relatable – two teens going through a serious bout of depression after being on the receiving end of much abuse. They come at it from very different angles, but their viewpoints felt real.

It also deals with the topic of suicide in a very mature way.

Where I had to suspend my disbelief is how the conflict gets resolved. It does feel like an after school sitcom where conflicts are resolved in half an hour and every body is better for it.

I get it, there needs to be some kind of resolution. For me, it was too quick, too fast and too extreme. That many serious (and permanent) life changes in the course of five days as a teenager? Now we’re in the realm of fantasy… and I get why my students would latch onto it.

Still worth the read at the end of the day.

Author: Yuval Noah Harari

I could honestly listen to and read Harari all day long. If there is an opportunity to fly to Israel and hear him lecture, I’d seriously consider it.

Now that he’s hit the international spotlight and is in high demand through many outlets, there’s no doubt he’ll be getting pitched many publishing deals. This book appears to be one of those and serves as a starting point to a plethora of what he names as conversation starters.

If you’ve never read Sapiens or Homo Deus, this book wouldn’t be a bad starting point to Harari’s work and the way he thinks. Looking at the next hundred years, he pulls on questions that many would fear to tread and suggests alternatives would shy away from.

In essence, humanity could be creating its own disastrous end where technological innovation would turn an elite few to gods and leave the rest behind. To circumvent a dystopian future, we need global cooperation, the dispelling of our myths (religion, nationalism, etc.) and a clear view of the bigger picture.

The last chapter he puts himself under scrutiny for his practice of meditation. While this has worked for him, it may not be the solution for everyone. 

I appreciate he mentions his practice of it (vipassana) is specific to helping him provide clarity. I am inundated daily with people who barrage me with the necessity of getting everyone to meditate, as long as it’s done in one specific way. 

This book is a good entry point into some deeper conversations as long as you’re willing to wrestle with potential answers and outcomes. It’s worth the time to read.