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Book Review |Salt: A World History

I got what I asked for in, Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. This book is exactly what it says it is. A World History. Much of it bland and boring, but it had its moments.

I downloaded this audio book from my local library. My wife fractured her wrist and she is my usual carpool buddy. We have an hour commute each way. This book was downloaded to fill some of that time. It was on my list of books to read.

I added this book to my to read list, because salt is such an everyday mundane object/food for us, that it is often overlooked. This book embodies the difficulties of being a modern reader of history. If it is not written in an exciting way, then the book is kinda boring. Salt, has some pieces of it’s history that is fascinating, but it is not enough to make the book a page turner.

If I had been reading a paperback of this book, I would not have finished. The fact that I listened to this book on my commutes is the only thing that saved it. However, it did take me a month to listen to this 3.5 hour book.

My GoodReads peers disagreed with me on this book. On the whole they really liked it. 4 stars is what most people gave this book. It just wasn’t from me. I only gave this book 2 stars.

Book Review|The Spy

The Spy by Paulo Coelho is of course about the famous Mata Hari who was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and executed by firing squad in France.

I picked this up because it is history, with a great twist. An exotic dancer who may have also been a spy. I’m convinced she was a spy, but I don’t know if she ever really understood that she was. She seems to have been very caught up in herself.

The book was difficult for me to follow because of those. The author, Coelho, seems to weave a somewhat confusing story about her. She knows what she is doing, she doesn’t. At times she wants to get away from the man she is with, at other times, she wants to meet another.

As you can see from the below graph, other reviews on goodreads were torn too. It wasn’t amazing and it wasn’t terrible, its somwhere in between, a solid 3 star book.

It is very unlike me to not write a GoodReads review, but on this book I did just that. I finished this back in April of 2017 and I think I was baffled by what I just read, with no way of knowing what to write for this book. Like many of my GoodReads peers I also gave the book 3 stars.

2018 in Review | My Year in Reading

In 2018, I read 28 books. My goal for the year was 50 books. How did I miss my goal so badly?

As you can see in November I didn’t read any books and there were 6 months were I only completed one book.

Obviously, we can see where I went wrong here. Pretty plain and simple, I had a few months where I really drove my reading and finished some books. Especially, March, May and June.

I just didn’t do a good job here. But let’s take a look at the data from a different direction. I have been making note of the nationality of the author, in an effort to try to read books from people outside of the US. I did not do well on this either. Only 21% of the books I read this year where from outside the US.

Okay, but how about gender. Did I read more books from female authors? Slightly better here. 32% of the books I read this year were written by a female author. A good improvement over last year at 24%.

What is my binding of choice? What format do I prefer to read in. E-books was the clear winner here with 10 (36%) e-books written. I think this makes sense considering that I was challenged to find time to read this year. By making it easier for me to read anywhere, I was able to squeeze in more reading.

Totals

Now for the big numbers. I read 5,724 pages. I also listened to 2,914 minutes or 48.5 hours (just over 2 days) of audio.

I spent $24.30 on books this year. The library saved me $225.36! Use your local library!

For the last 4 years my reading has taken a plunge! This is a trend that I don’t want to continue. I really need to do better in 2019. That is one of my New Years resolutions. Wish me luck! I will set my Goodreads goal at 45 books in 2019 and do my best to hit that number.

Lastly, I will leave you with a list of the books that earned 5 stars from me in 2018:

Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom by Ken Ilgunas
Take Risks: One Couple’s Journey to Quit Their Jobs and Hit the Open Road by Joe Russo
Ready Player One by Earnest Cline
It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga: 8 Weeks to Strength, Awareness, and Flexibility by Marilynn Wei
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

New York City Library | A Deep Dive

You’re here because you like books. Chances are you like libraries too. If that’s the case then you are going to love this video. Enjoy!

Book Review | Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

I listened to the audio format of Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time in March of this year. It has been some time since I listened to this book but I still remember, how enlightening it was to learn about Scrum. My work has been using this for some time now. Not my department specifically, but the IT departments that we interface with utilize it as well as JIRA.

I like to read business books mixed in with reading for enjoyment whenever I can find a good business book to slip into my to be read list. Which is not hard for me since I have just over 700 books on the Want to Read list on goodreads.

Jeff Sutherland the author of the book is the co-creator of Scrum, so who better to explain how it works and not just that but why Scrum was created in the first place. You not only get a great understanding of Scrum, but in this book you also get a behind the scenes history of its development.

If you are looking for something to get you acquainted with SCRUM this is where to start.

Book Review | Norse Mythology

The first book that I read of Neil Gaiman’s was Ocean at the End of the Lane. It is an original fascinating book filled with adventure and original storytelling. Norse Mythology is also full of excellent storytelling, however, these stories have already been told for centuries.

What Gaiman does here is wonderfully modernize the stories. I’ve always been interested in the Vikings. But this takes things so much further. Thor is very popular now because of all the Marvel movies, but this is a different Thor from the ones in the movies. He is more of a Hulk. Smash, smash and not a lot going on in the top floor.

Loki also takes center stage in a lot of these stories. As does Ragnarok. If you want to take your Norse knowledge to the next step this is a great book. You won’t get lost in dry stories and were written for a different era. This is totally up to date in language and a wonderfully written story that will keep you reading. This book earned 4/5 stars on goodreads from me. I’m sure you will enjoy it as well.

Seed Libraries

San José Public Library - Seed Library — San José Public Library – Seed Library

Read a great article today on seed libraries and why they are so popular at libraries today. The article is from the great folks at Atlas Obscura. They also have a book! The article points out the fact that all our vegetables are coming from factory farms now. Because of this, there are no local varieties available anymore. They want to do what they can to help make these rarer varieties more available.

As plant species reproduce, new generations develop unique adaptations to different environmental conditions, resulting in diverse heirloom varieties. But when large companies control most food production and seed distribution, and work to hybridize and streamline agriculture, those regional differences can disappear.

“I don’t see us as competing against large industrial seed producers, we just want to make sure that biodiversity is still available to people,” Hought says. She also notes that, as climate change alters the environment, she hopes access to more varieties of seeds will prepare food growers to cope with extreme conditions.

I’m sharing this for a couple of reasons. I think it is very sad and in the long term detrimental the human race that we are depending on so few varieties of vegetables. Those that are chosen by the factory farms because they are the most resistant to disease and easiest to grow on a huge scale. Also, I share this because there are very few people out there that really understand that libraries are not just about books. Libraries are changing. Much more is available there than you think. ebooks, emagazines, audiobooks (even available on your smartphone), educational resources like Lynda for free. There is so much more about your local library than books. Not that books are not amazing after all that is the purpose of this blog!

“[Seeds are] cultural documents of what we have saved and found valuable in terms of taste and community,” Newburn says. “When we take the seeds home and plant them and return them we’re actually adding another chapter.”

Book Review | Grain Brain

Grain Brain by David Perlmutter is my second audiobook of the year. As you can imagine this was somewhat similar to the last audiobook I listened to. Both books are focusing on wheat and what repercussions it has for those of us who love it and continue to consume it.

Dr. Perlmutter focuses on the impact of wheat on the brain. Listening to these books at the gym is very purposeful and really makes me push that much harder. It focuses me on getting healthier. And the next time I am presented with an option to eat bread it makes me reflect before taking that choice. Joe Cross, of Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead fame, is famous for saying:

You control the last few inches to your mouth

I’m paraphrasing, but you get it. We are completely in control of what we are putting in our mouth. No one is holding a gun to our head and telling us we have to eat eggplant or Doritos. That choice is ours. We may be tempted with certain foods, but the ‘last mile’ is all up to us. We control that and there are no excuses for what we are choosing to put in our mouths.

The other side of the story. While doing some research for this post I ran across an article by Alex Ruani reviewing the book and warning people not to take everything in the book as literal truth.

Instead, Perlmutter suggests that a low-carb diet is the only way to manage your blood sugar and insulin levels. But, as we know, a high-carbohydrate, low-glycaemic diet can too…
Source: © The Health Sciences Academy ®. All Rights Reserved.
Read more: https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org

I agree that Dr. Perlmutter left some things out of the book. He encourages drinking red wine, but also says that it is easier to get your Restoril from a supplement. He doesn’t warn the reader that too much alcohol consumption can be bad for your brain and body.

While I agree with Alex, that you need to practice some common sense and not take everything from any non-fiction book as the truth. Do some research and use some good common sense.

As a whole, the book is entertaining and educational. There is much you can take away from this book and I would recommend it without reservation. 3 stars for this education non-fiction best-seller.

Book Review | Wheat Belly

My first audiobook of 2018. And I read/listened to this book mostly while at the gym! What a great way to get through your TBR! In Wheat Belly Dr. Davis convinces us all that wheat is not what it used to be and the new altered commercially created wheat is not good for a waistband. I enjoyed reading this book. I have been very focused on my fitness lately. I’ve gone vegetarian, since September of last year. I tried vegan, but I missed breakfast with eggs. So I compromised and I am eating egg whites.

Dr. Davis succeeded in convincing me that I need to reduce the amount of wheat that I am eating. I have eaten far too much. He argues that in fact, it can be addictive. This I very much agree with. I find myself craving a muffin, English muffin or just a slice of bread. Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be very nice. Bread is “ingrained” in us! It is in every meal we have.

My family loves eggs in a basket, many people love to have a bagel or just some toast. Lunch is often a sandwich or a burger with a big fat yummy bun! Dinner always comes with a dinner roll. Its everywhere!

This book and Grain Brain have taught me about the glycemic index and many other ways that wheat negatively impacts our health. Grain Brains extends what I learned in Wheat Belly and speaks about how wheat negatively impacts our cognitive ability.

I liked Wheat Belly and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about eating healthy and being healthy. It is a great listen.

Book Review | Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is the best book I have read in many years. It may be my new favorite book of all time. After reading the book I feel like Wade Watts the main character. I feel like I too have achieved what he did in the book. Like many 30 somethings, this book really spoke to me. I grew up in the 80’s. It was my decade. The characters in the book study that era to be better able to player Oasis an immersive world that they access via fancy virtual reality (VR) rigs.

This book reminded me of so many things all at once. How much I loved growing up watching TV shows like Silver Spoons and Family Ties. Playing the same video games that the characters mastered in the game: Adventure, Joust, Defender, Zaxxon, etc.

Of course, right now there is a ton of buzz about this book because it has been made into a movie. A movie with a trailer that is pretty spectacular. the movie will be released later this month (3/29/18) and the director is none other than Steven Spielberg. Who better to direct a movie about the 80s than the man who helped make the 80s with his amazing movies. The amazingly brilliant mind behind E.T. and Raiders of the Ark, both came out in the 80s.

This book also reminded me of Second Life a lot. That’s the immersive computer simulation where people can make the avatar anyway they want and you can actually make money in the game. Or Lindens, that can be traded in for real cash. Or at least that’s how it was years ago when Second Life was a big deal. I tried Second Life a long time ago, but even after reading this book I have no desire to log back into that virtual world.

Before reading this book I didn’t know anything about Ernest Cline. Now that I have read one of his books, I can’t wait to read more. “I love it when a plan comes together!” 5 Stars!!!