Read Books This will provide a list of the books I've read with a brief review. Users are blocked, contact me for access. I welcome discussions, but I'm tired of spam.

February 22, 2016

Morning Spy, Evening Spy by Colin MacKinnon

Filed under: Mystery — Tags: — Randolph @ 6:26 am

Morning Spy, Evening Spy by Colin MacKinnon

In the months leading up to 9/11, an agent is killed in a targeted shooting. The story is about tracking down his killer. The main character, Paul Patterson, is a middle-aged agent in the CIA. He is tracking down the killer in a methodical, research-oriented process. There is very little action in the story, it is more about the CIA and how it operates. As you meet each character, you get a dossier on him. There were too many for me to remember.

The book wasn’t able to make me care much for the murder victim, nor the main character. It wasn’t bad, but I wanted more.

February 10, 2016

Barefoot Walking by Michael Sandler

Filed under: health and fitness,self-help — Tags: — Randolph @ 11:11 am

Barefoot Walking by Michael Sandler

I was sorely disappointed in this book. Having foot problems, I was hoping for some insights and guidance. The author’s lack of scientific statistical understanding left me wondering what else he might not understand.

For instance, he repeatedly, through anecdote, discusses the advantage of barefoot walking over a sedentary lifestyle. However, he never shows that going barefoot is better than wearing shoes.

He also seems to believe that the ground in electronic devices means there is a wire the is connected to the earth.

The book is more spiritual than it is a solid medical guide. He has some good motivational text and a lot of advice. A lot of this can be validated though other sources. But given the weak buildup of his arguments, I wouldn’t have faith in his advice without backing it up in other sources. So not using this text seems to be a reasonable approach.

If you want the motivation or enjoy the spiritual aspects of the book, it may provide some value for you.

February 9, 2016

The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, Art and Business of Fiction by N. M. Kelby

Filed under: Art,Writing — Tags: — Randolph @ 11:09 am

The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, Art and Business of Fiction by N. M. Kelby

The author, N. M. Kelby, has experience both as a publisher and an author, she is providing her insights and experience to the novice author. This book give the reader a solid foundation of, what I presume are, all the steps toward publishing and selling a book.

The book starts with developing discipline, good writing habits and finding support. It continues through writing, editing, finding an agent, finding a publisher or self-publishing, selling, touring, and even estate planning. If you haven’t actually published a book, this will help you work through steps you haven’t even considered.

The book is an easy read and well-organized. It takes you though the steps pretty much in order of how you will encounter them with lots of advice and tips on the way. She provides lots of URLs for online support, both in writing and editing groups, to authors’ anecdotes of bad experiences.

Even for the non-author, it is interesting and will give you a real appreciation for what these guys go through.

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