Category: Books

I listened to this as an audiobook. Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner the unabridged book is a glorious 38 hours and 34 minutes. I have read many of Neal Stephenson’s books and have liked them all, a few of them I have really loved, and this is one of the best.

The story is full of characters, but the time is taken with each one in turn to make them memorable and to draw you into their lives. By then end of the book I cared about the fate of each and every one of them. But this is not some slow moving drama, it is a rip-roaring fast paced action adventure that takes you around the world.

From the author’s website:

Neal Stephenson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Anathem, returns to the terrain of his groundbreaking novels Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon to deliver a high-intensity, highstakes, action-packed adventure thriller in which a tech entrepreneur gets caught in the very real crossfire of his own online war game.

In 1972, Richard Forthrast, the black sheep of an Iowa farming clan, fled to the mountains of British Columbia to avoid the draft. A skilled hunting guide, he eventually amassed a fortune by smuggling marijuana across the border between Canada and Idaho. As the years passed, Richard went straight and returned to the States after the U.S. government granted amnesty to draft dodgers. He parlayed his wealth into an empire and developed a remote resort in which he lives. He also created T’Rain, a multibillion-dollar, massively multiplayer online roleplaying game with millions of fans around the world. But T’Rain’s success has also made it a target. Hackers have struck gold by unleashing REAMDE, a virus that encrypts all of a player’s electronic files and holds them for ransom. They have also unwittingly triggered a deadly war beyond the boundaries of the game’s virtual universe—and Richard is at ground zero.

Racing around the globe from the Pacific Northwest to China to the wilds of northern Idaho and points in between, Reamde is a swift-paced thriller that traverses worlds virtual and real. Filled with unexpected twists and turns in which unforgettable villains and unlikely heroes face off in a battle for survival, it is a brilliant refraction of the twenty-first century, from the global war on terror to social media, computer hackers to mobsters, entrepreneurs to religious fundamentalists. Above all, Reamde is an enthralling human story—an entertaining and epic page—turner from the extraordinary Neal Stephenson.

I rate this book a 10 out of 10. I highly recommend it for any fan of action, cyberpunk, or thriller genres.

I bought the entire Galactic Midway series many years ago to read on my PalmPilot. This is probably my 5th time reading them.

Sideshow is the first book in a series of 4 novels following a most unusual carnival.

From Mike Resnick’s web site:

Carny owner Thaddeus Flint kidnaps a rival carnival’ freak show, only to learn that the “freaks” are alien tourists visiting Earth in the one disguise they thought was safe from discovery. As they fall sick and go into fits of depression, Flint must work to keep them healthy and on display, which leads to a most unlilkely bond between captor and captives.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10 by itself and the “Tales of the Galactic Midway” series as whole a 9 out of 10.

I bought this audiobook from Audible.com.

Boy-oh-boy do I love me some Mike Resnick space bounty hunter goodness and this one does not disappoint. It is the fourth book in the Widowmaker trilogy, which is kind of stretching the bounds of the meaning of trilogy, but it has happened before and will again.

This audio book was created as a part of the Audible Frontiers program and I want to thank them from the depths of my geeky little sci-fi loving heart for creating such great productions.

The narrator Stefan Rudnicki voice requires me to turn the bass down on my car stereo so that I can clearly hear him, but his acting abilities are wonderful creating real depth and breadth to the characters that he portrays.

From the publisher:

There is only one thing that Jefferson Nighthawk, the original Widowmaker, really wanted to do, and that was retire on a far-away planet and raise a garden. There were still two clones of him to keep the peace and carry on his legend. Unfortunately for him, his two clones have come to a disagreement. When a widowmaker takes on a widowmaker, everyone runs for cover. There is only one man who can stand up to the clones of the Widowmaker… the Widowmaker himself.

©2006 Mike Resnick (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and a must read for all Mike Resnick fans.

I read the hard cover version of this book purchased from Amazon.com.

The 39th book in the Discworld series of which I have read them all, most of them multiple times, and loved each and every one. In this novel we follow Commander Vimes on vacation with his wife Lady Sybil in her family’s palatial estate.

Goblin’s, river boats, tobacco, drugs, beautiful music, and a heard of others join together to create a great story as seen from Sam’s hard-boiled point of view as a policeman, as a duke, as a husband, as a father, and as a blackboard monitor.

The words chosen for the telling of this story bothered me a bit though. I do not recall any other Discworld novel having so many “four letter words”. The cussing felt unnecessary and out of place. I consciously now choose to ignore that feature of the book and substitute all of the dialog that I felt objectionable with words and phrases that I find to be more in line with the previous novels of Discworld. And so my review is for my own edited version of this book and not as it was delivered to my door.

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and highly recommend it to any fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, but this is not the book to begin with. I recommend Guards, Guards or The Color of Magic as your first.

I loved listening to this book. It is a collection of short stories about working in space, on the moon, and what it is like on earth in the far future of the mid 1980’s.

With the stories written in the late 1930’s up through the late 1940’s they are very different from most of the current science fiction I read these days.

This book includes the short stories “Delilah and the Space-Rigger,” “Space-Jockey,” “The Long Watch,” “Gentlemen Be Seated,” “The Black Pits of Luna,” “It’s Great to Be Back,” “We Also Walk Dogs,” “Ordeal in Space,” “The Green Hills of Earth,” and “Logic of Empire.”

From Wikipedia:

The Green Hills of Earth is a collection of science fiction short stories http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1951, although it includes short stories published as early as 1941. The stories are part of Heinlein’s Future History. The title story is the tale of an old space mariner reflecting upon his planet of birth. According to an acknowledgement at the beginning of the book, the phrase “the green hills of Earth” is derived from a C.L. Moore story.

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction and classic stories of space.

I read this book on Safari Books Online.

I bought my wife "Canon PowerShot G12: From Snapshots to Great Shots" by Jeff Carlson and decided to read the version for the 7D after flipping through it.

I think I first heard about Nicolesy, the aurthor’s online moniker, while listening to a podcast with Leo Laporte. According to her web site she is lifestyle photographer that sells images through iStockphoto and Getty Images along with being the author of 3 books; Canon 7D: From Snapshots to Great Shots, EOS Canon 60D: From Snapshots to Great Shots and Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots and a "Help Desk Specialist" with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. I remember enjoying her conversations on Leo’s podcasts and thinking that she had an interesting point of view.

Canon 7D: From Snapshots to Great Shots appears to be targeted at the beginner photographer but as an experienced photographer I enjoyed reading it. For the beginner it does a great job of explaining the mechanics of the camera and techniques for capturing photographs as they are envisioned. I really appreciate the quality of the example photographs along with the explanations that point out why they would be considered good pictures, I think such information is vital to all photographers and something we need more of.

From the publisher:

This book has one goal: to teach Canon 7D owners how to make great shots using your camera. Starting with the top ten things you need to know about the 7D — charging your battery, setting your ISO, reviewing your photos, and more — professional photographer Nicole S. Young then carefully guides you through the modes of the camera, offering practical advice on choosing your settings, expert shooting tips, and end-of-chapter "challenges" to get you up and running with your 7D. This book is for anyone who has upgraded from a point-and-shoot, or who wants to jump right into photography with the control and capabilities of a powerful DSLR.

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and recommend it to all 7D owners.

The Compact Field Guide for the Canon^® EOS^® 7D is better than the user manual but not by much. It is written in clearer language and many settings are better explained than in the manual, but it is not very thorough, does not include examples, nor go into details about why you may choose one setting over another. The author has also written a much larger book entitled “David Busch’s Canon EOS 7D: Guide to Digital SLR Photography” which is said to cover the 7D in much greater detail.

From the author:

Just the essentials for your Canon EOS 7D
When a command card doesn’t provide enough information, and a small camera guide has too much padding, pull this Compact Field Guide for your Canon 7D out of your camera bag and get the advice and recommendations you need quickly.

I don’t believe you can have too much of a good thing, but readers who have been using my 500-page in-depth guide to master their Canon 7D have asked me to distill the most essential information into a portable field guide for on-the-go reference. In the approximately 150 pages of this lay-flat, spiral-bound book, you’ll find in-depth descriptions of every control, menu option, and capability of the Canon 7D. Each choice is accompanied by my recommendations and a description of when you should or should not use a particular setting.

I rate this book an 8 out of 10 and useful for Canon 7D users who need a replacement for the user’s manual.

I read this book as a hardcover bought from Borders before they went under.

I love the Bob Lee Swagger books and this one, the 5th, is no exception. I feel that it does not stand well on its own and requires the reader to have read other Bob the Nailer books to keep their interest in this book.

Night of Thunder is a fast paced action movie rolled into a relatively short book, and just like an action movie there is very little character development, just action, action, and more action. It kept my attention throughout the short time it took me to read it.

From the publisher:

Woe unto he who crosses Bob Lee Swagger, especially when his daughter’s life is at stake. Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her in a coma, clinging to life, reporter Nikki Swagger had begun to peel back the onion of a Southernfried conspiracy bubbling with all the angst, resentment, and dysfunction that Dixie gangsters can muster. An ancient, violent crime clan, a possibly corrupt law enforcement structure, gunmen of all stripes and shapes, and deranged evangelicals rear their ugly heads and will live to rue the day they targeted the wrong man’s daughter. It’s what you call your big-time bad career move. All of it is set against the backdrop of excitement and insanity that only a weeklong NASCAR event can bring to the backwoods of a town as seemingly sleepy as Bristol, Tennessee.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10 and a good read for Bob Lee Swagger Fans.

I read this BBC book as a hardcover bought from Amazon.

Sting of the Zygons features the 10th Doctor and Martha Jones as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman. It takes place in a small English village in 1909 with the Doctor and Martha trying to stop the Zygon aliens from taking over the earth.

This is not the fastest paced Doctor who book, but it does have plenty of action. I always enjoy learning more about the different aliens in the Doctor Who universe and this book does not disappoint.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book is just how British it is, many of the new Doctor Who books do not contain a lot of uniquely British words, spellings, and meanings, but this one sure does. I think it partially has to do with the author but also with the time period the story takes place in.

From the publisher

The TARDIS lands the Doctor and Martha in the Lake District in 1909, where a small village has been terrorized by a giant, scaly monster. The search is on for the elusive ‘Beast of Westmorland’, and explorers, naturalists and hunters from across the country are descending on the fells. King Edward VII himself is on his way to join the search, with a knighthood for whoever finds the beast.

But there is a more sinister presence at work in the Lakes than a mere monster on the rampage, and the Doctor is soon embroiled in the plans of an old and terrifying enemy. As the hunters become the hunted, a desperate battle of wits begins – with the future of the entire world at stake…

I rate this book a 7 out of 10.

We had a great time at DragonCon this year. It was the 25th anniversary for the convention and it was done right. See all of my photos at http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2011/

My favorite guest was Ernest Borgnine who regaled us with stories about working with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Lee Marvin. At 94 years old he is now voice acting as Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants and filmed three movies in 2011.

I also enjoyed listening to Jim Steranko who shared stories about the motorcycles of his youth, how he started a career with Stan Lee, and how he helped create Indiana Jones. I walked into the room expecting to take a couple of pictures and leave but ended up staying for the entire panel.

A change was made to this years costume contests, instead of a Dawn costume contest there is now a Comic Book Babes costume contest. There were some great costumes in the inaugural event and I agreed with the judges choice for the winner.

See all of my photos at http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2011/

I listened to this as an audio book.

This book really disturbed me; the serial killer villain was not what I was expecting when I decided to listen to this book. The writing of the story is great, Spider Robinson can really write, but I did not find the subject matter to be appealing.

If you love Callahan’s and don’t like detailed descriptions of what a serial killer who thrives on causing others great mental and physical pain, then this book is not for you! If you like thrillers and books about serial killers then I think you would really like this book, especially if you have not been exposed to Spider Robinson before.

From the Author and Publisher

Aging baby-boomer Russell Walker wants only to retreat from the world and the shattering death of his wife, into the woods of British Columbia. Instead the hermit finds himself thrust into a frightening predicament, as the only possible intermediary between a telepath called Smelly, so sensitive he can’t stand to be near most people, and Constable Nika, a skeptical police officer who needs to hear – and believe – what Smelly knows about a particularly monstrous sadist and serial killer.

"This book is a departure for me," Spider says, "a kind of SF/thriller. The title is meant to cue readers that it’s considerably darker than the Callahan’s Place stories. My intention was to make the hair stand up on the back of the reader’s neck. This is my first (well, maybe second) foray into Stephen King country. Present day setting; just enough sf and mystery content to liven up the thriller genre a little; rated R for massive (but never quite graphic) violence and startling (but never quite explicit) sex.

"I envision it as merely the first in a long and hopefully popular series of sf thrillers about this Odd Couple-Plus-One – this strange and twisted crime-fighting trio who can barely stand one another: the young cop, the old hippie, and the telepath."

I rate this book a 2 out of 10 based only on my distaste for the subject matter. It is a really well written book, just not a story type that I enjoy.

I read this book using Safari Books Online web site and Firefox 5.

In my new position as a user experience designer I have the need to create flows, diagrams, wireframes, and mockups very quickly while keeping them attractive and polished. I have chosen OmniGraffle as my tool to do all of this and have been very happy with my choice.

“OmniGraffle 5 Diagramming Essentials” is a good place to learn the ins and outs of OmniGraffle and includes many of the hidden treasures that make the software easy to use. It includes everything you need to know to create great looking diagrams and wireframes quickly.

I found the coverage of keyboard shortcuts to be very helpful in laying out flows and diagrams very quickly, it is something I think I will use a lot.

From the publisher:

If a picture is worth a thousand words, why settle for anything less? Creating good visualizations to substantiate your ideas is essential in today’s corporate environment. Use OmniGraffle’s remarkably powerful and flexible features to get your diagrams right. Although fun to use, it can get cumbersome to find out exactly how to get what you want.

This book will teach you how to make stunning diagrams without spending much time and energy. No matter if you have never used OmniGraffle, or if you are using it on a daily basis, this book will teach you how to get the most out of this splendid diagramming tool. It will first teach you the basics of the program and then extend your knowledge to a higher level.

The book will teach you to make eye-popping visuals using a lot of useful, step-by-step examples. It begins with covering concepts that beef up your basics of using OmniGraffle. The earlier chapters will teach you to prepare dazzling diagrams from scratch with the many stencils, shapes, and fonts that are included in OmniGraffle. As your understanding of OmniGraffle broadens, the book will go even deeper to explain the less understood features of the software. It also covers some handy time-saving techniques such as workspaces and keyboard shortcuts.

By the time you reach the end of this book, you will have mastered OmniGraffle to turn your ideas into diagrams.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10 and recommend it for anyone using OmniGraffle. If you have been using OmniGraffle for a while you may not get a lot out of it, but I recommend giving it a skim if you get the chance.

This is a collection of short stories published in 1959 that I listened to as an audiobook.

I found these stories to be kind of slow and mediocre. Maybe if I had listened to them in 1959 my opinion would be very different, but listening to them now they do not come across like they were written by a writer as great as Robert Heinlein.

If you are a time travel fan the story “By His Bootstraps” is a must read.

I recommend this book only to Heinlein fans and rate it a 4 out of 10.

Recently a book that I had been eagerly anticipating, “Dresden Files Book 13: Ghost Story” by Jim Butcher, was published and I immediately jumped over to Audible.com to buy the audio book. Just before clicking the “Add to Cart” button I noticed that the customer reviews for the book were really low.

Surprised by this I started reading the reviews and found out that James Marster’s was not the narrator. WOW!!! How could that happen? James Marster’s IS Harry Dresden. I cannot imagine anyone else living up to the incredible job that he has done narrating and acting the first 12 books and “Side Jobs”.

Based on the reviews I decided that I did not want to hear even a sampling of the new guy and decided to buy the book and read it instead of listen to it.

After some thinking I decided to buy it as an ebook from Amazon to be read with the Kindle software on the iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, and various Apple laptops. Even though the price of $14.99 feels REALLY high to me for an ebook especially when the hardback is only a dollar more I bought it anyways. The book was delivered to my iPhone very quickly and I was able to start reading in a matter of minutes.

But, the font on the iPhone Kindle app is a terrible serif font that you cannot change to any other font. Every study ever done on the readability of text on a backlit computer screen has found that a sans-serif font like Helvetica, Arial, or Verdana is much easier and faster to read. I am not sure why, but the font made the book unreadable to me.

Then I noticed that the text was being fully justified so that the spacing between words is different on every line. I am unable to create a rhythm in my reading because my eyes have to jump a different amount between every word. That plus the font issue makes reading a chore.

A co-worker pointed out to me that Amazon has refurbished Kindle’s available for $99 so I decided that owning a Kindle was an experience I needed to have. A few clicks and 24 hours later the ninja UPS guy who never knocks dropped it off.

After an easy setup that required plugging the Kindle into a computer and registering it then leaving the Kindle alone for 3 or more hours to charge I was ready to read with it.

The device itself is nice and solid, the buttons give a decent amount of feedback when pushed, and the screen has enough contrast to be easy on the eyes.

I can choose from multiple fonts which include a sans serif one, I can change the spacing between lines of text, but I still cannot change the justification to be left aligned.
Reading on the Kindle is a decent experience; with its reflective screen it causes noticeably less eyestrain than the iPhone, iPad, or laptop screen, and when dropped into a Ziploc freezer bag it is comfortable to read from in the bathtub. The battery life is great, the selection of books is great, support for Audible is cool, and being able to listen to MP3s while reading is neat.

I find the device to be so thin that it is uncomfortable to hold, that the locations of the back and forward buttons still confuse me after reading a novel, the keyboard is tough to type on when playing word games, the web browser does not handle very many web sites well, and it is yet another device to drag around and worry about losing or breaking.

I doubt I will keep the Kindle; I will be giving it to someone as a gift unless my wife falls in love with it. I will continue to read ebooks using eReader on the iPhone and iPad as it allows a lot more customization than the Kindle app.

I rate the Kindle a 7 out of 10 and thing it is good for someone interested in ebooks and not in gadgets.