My Reading Log

Here's where I keep track of all the books I have been reading lately. This is mostly for my own personal benefit so that I don't forget what I have read.

2012
Title Author Rating
No, They Can't: Why Government Fails-But Individuals Succeed John Stossel 9/10

John Stossel is awesome. I've been a fan ever since I was in the seventh grade and watched him debunk pro wrestling and, in... Read More...

Sourcery Terry Pratchett 7/10

I enjoyed the first half of the book in which the Discworld is introduced to the first all-powerful sorcerer they have seen... Read More...

Mort Terry Pratchett 8/10

So, I'm now four books into the Discworld series and I think I will keep going with it (only 33 more to go). ... Read More...

How We Decide Jonah Lehrer 7/10

I am not usually a non-fiction reader outside of the occasional political tome, but I bought this after it was recommended... Read More...

Equal Rites Terry Pratchett 9/10

The third Discworld novel starts a completely new storyline with no crossover with the first two books. I actually liked... Read More...

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert Heinlein 2/10

This sci-fi classic starts off interestingly enough: in an authoritarian society on the Moon, an engineer befriends a self-... Read More...

The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett 8/10

The story picks up right where The Colour of Magic... Read More...

The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 8/10

I'm continuously on the lookout for a new fantasy series to fill my Kingkiller Chronicles/Song of Fire and Ice... Read More...

We the Living Ayn Rand 6/10

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm one of those nuts who actually likes The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. It has... Read More...

2011
Title Author Rating
Pictures of the Socialistic Future Eugene Richter 7/10

An incredibly prescient book from the 19th century that basically lays out everything that is wrong with the practical... Read More...

Last Argument of Kings Joe Abercrombie 7/10

The final book of the First Law trilogy was a sort of step backwards from the previous book. In the previous book I grew to... Read More...

The Declaration of Independents Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch 8/10

This was a nice manifesto of sorts that hits all the right marks in terms of what it means to be an "independent" in today's... Read More...

Before They Are Hanged Joe Abercrombie 8/10

Although I was disappointed by The Blade Itself, I decided to continue... Read More...

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 7/10

Sometime during my late teens I started reading a bunch of H. P. Lovecraft books. His style never fully caught on with me.... Read More...

The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane 6/10

Catching up on a classic I missed in high school. I thought it was okay, but not the sort of plot-driven narrative I enjoy... Read More...

The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity Russell Roberts 8/10

This book is really an economics lesson presented in layman's terms. The plot and characters are merely a device to get you... Read More...

The Bible of Unspeakable Truths Greg Gutfeld 7/10

I think I would have liked this book better if I had listened to the audiobook version instead. As it is, it's an enjoyable... Read More...

A Dance with Dragons George R. R. Martin 9/10

I was late to the whole A Game of Thrones thang (but, for the record, I was like totally in to this waaayy before... Read More...

The Future and its Enemies Virginia Postrel 8/10

Postrel makes the case for decentralized, dynamic systems. The obvious application of this is in free-market versus command-... Read More...

Empire of Lies Andrew Klaven 7/10

I like Andrew Klaven. His Klaven on the Culture videos are good natured and entertaining little bits of political... Read More...

The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power Gene Healy 6/10

This book analyzes America's proclivity towards an ever expansive and powerful executive branch—admittedly not the most... Read More...

Wise Man's Fear Patrick Rothfuss 9/10

Book two in this excellent series is just about as good as the first. The story picks up right where we left off last time... Read More...

Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts Hunter Lewis 7/10

That title is quite a mouthful, ain't it? I am continuing my recent excursion into econ-type books that are probably a bit... Read More...

Old Man's War John Scalzi 7/10

This is a science fiction tale based on the premise that, sometime in the distant future, our planetary defense army would... Read More...

The Hero of Ages Brandon Sanderson 9/10

The Hero of Ages picks up a year or so after the events of The Well... Read More...

2010
Title Author Rating
The Well of Ascension Brandon Sanderson 9/10

Book two in the Mistborn series continues this the storyline directly after the climactic events of the... Read More...

Racing the Beam Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost 9/10

Racing the Beam is a fairly accessible look at the technology behind the Atari 2600 video game console. Apparently... Read More...

In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks Adam Carolla 8/10

I decided to try this one out on a whim. I like Adam Carolla and his humor translated pretty well into book form (although I... Read More...

Devil Born Without Horns Michael A. Lucas 9/10

Michael Lucas is best known as the schtick-loving bassist of The Phantom Surfers. This book was self-published under his own... Read More...

The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie 6/10

Once again, I am off in search of fantasy books to match the greatness of the A Song of Fire and Ice series. Amazon... Read More...

Financial Fiasco Johan Norberg 7/10

This book presents a history of the current financial crisis thingy in a way that tries to be as plain-spoken as possible.... Read More...

Mistborn: The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson 9/10

My post-Game of Thrones decent into pure phantasy nerdom continues with the Mistborn trilogy. This first book in... Read More...

Rock Stardom for Dumbshits Phantom Surfers, The 8/10

Leave it to The Phantom Surfers to release an instrumental surf record without any music, singing, talking or audio of any... Read More...

When You Were a Tadpole and I Was a Fish Martin Gardner 5/10

Martin Gardner died around the time this book was released. Like many of his books, it compiles articles and essays that he... Read More...

Orphans of the Sky Robert A. Heinlein 5/10

Another old sci-fi novel by Heinlein that cares more about the concept than the story. Even at 120 some pages, it still felt... Read More...

A Feast for Crows George R. R. Martin 6/10

After the first three rousing volumes of the Song of Fire and Ice series, this book is a huge disappointment. I get... Read More...

A Storm of Swords George R. R. Martin 10/10

I had thought that this was the conclusion of the entire Song of Fire and Ice series, but aparently this is book... Read More...

A Clash of Kings George R. R. Martin 9/10

Not quite as gripping as the first book in the series, but Martin maintains much of the same level of quality throughout... Read More...

A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 10/10

After finishing The Name of the Wind, I wanted to continue my fantasy novel kick. A Game of Thrones is a... Read More...

The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss 10/10

An extremely well written fantasy novel that steers clear of most of your standard fantasy fiction cliches. Sure, there is... Read More...

Lovers and Madmen Barry Devlin 7/10

Above average 50's pulp trash. See my Bent Pages... Read More...

Motherless Brooklyn Jonathan Lethem 10/10

It has been a while since I've read a contemporary novel that I liked this much. Motherless Brooklyn is a pretty... Read More...

Barbarella Jean-Claude Forest 7/10

The French comic upon which the movie was based. Stunning 60's stylized artwork, but the story is just a series of bland sci... Read More...

Aliens Omnibus Various Authors 4/10

This is a collection of the Aliens comics that were released by Dark Horse in the late eighties. These came out... Read More...

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Max Brooks 8/10

A bit of speculative fiction showing how the world would deal with a zombie apocalypse. The book is written as a collection... Read More...

2009
Title Author Rating
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies C. S. Forrester 6/10

I was disappointed when I came to the realization that this was more of a collection of short stories rather than a full... Read More...

Lord Hornblower C. S. Forrester 7/10

Starts out nicely with Hornblower sent off to deal with a mutinous crew and keeps up the pace for about half of the book.... Read More...

Commodore Hornblower C. S. Forrester 6/10

A disappointing follow-up to the last Hornblower novel. This one has Hornblower in Russia helping out during the siege of... Read More...

Time for the Stars Robert A. Heinlein 7/10

A fairly good sci-fi novel about a pair of telepathic twins separated when one goes off to survey new worlds in a near-light... Read More...

Flying Colours C.S. Forester 9/10

Another great Hornblower tale. The action picks up right at the end of the previous book and keeps going all the way to the... Read More...