Deep Work - Cal Newport - 6/10
The book was okay. I feel like you can pretty much judge exactly what is in the book by it's title. Basically, the idea is to get into a deep state of concentration when working. How 4 hours of deep, uninterrupted work can be more productive than 10 with constant distractions. To me there was nothing groundbreaking about the book as I have always sort of used "deep work" but hadn't put a name behind it. I get into work early in the AM and get more done before the office wakes up at 830 than I do the rest of the day.Â
I have read many books on productivity, this one gets a 6/10.Â
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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Patrick Raden Keefe - 7/10
I picked this one up as I have always wanted to have a better understanding of the IRA, who they are, and what they do. This book did a great job of doing just that. The book is centered around the disappearance of Jean McConville, a mother of ten, who was "disappeared" by the IRA. It tells the story of famous IRA member Delours Price and explains how the IRA operated and details certain events such as the London Bombing and The Troubles.
Good read. I recommend it if you also want to learn more about the IRA like I did. 7/10Â
Last book I finished was Tiamat’s Wrath, the most recent in the expanse series.Â
8/10 - only one book in the series is below an 8. They’re super consistent.Â
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half way through Skunk Works. It talks about skunk works’ history and developing spy planes. Super easy reading, very cool insight and amazing anecdotes on developing spy planesÂ
9/10 so far.Â
Racing to the Finish: My Story - Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 6/10
I bought this one after listening to Jr on a podcast. It was not at all what I expected which is probably a big reason for the low rating. I thought I was going to get an insight into his life, his relationship with his father, growing up as the son of a famous racecar driver, and the story of how he made it to the top. Instead it was all about his concussions. The book should have been named "Concussion: Race Car Edition." The book was a broken record; hit a wall, vision fuzzy, balance bad, didn't tell anyone, finally called doctor, did exercises, felt better. Hit a wall, vision fuzzy, etc." The content was good, and important, and I learned a lot from it, but I guess my disappointment in the book is my own fault for picking up the book and assuming I knew what was going to be inside, and I was wrong. Even with the repetitive content I was able to fly through the book as somehow the writing kept me engaged.
It was well written but I feel it was forced repetitve content over and over again. For that reason, 6/10.
River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey - Candice Millard - 9.5/10
Picked this one up as I wanted to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt and the adventures I always heard he had. I was not disappointed. This book details Teddy's trip down the River of Doubt, an uncharted tributary to the Amazon river. Wild, untouched jungles, native tribes who have never seen a white man before, death, and incredible challenges. This book was fantastic. The story is great and the writing was great as well.
This book is one of my personal favorites and I highly recommend it. 9.5/10
Chickenhawk -Â Robert Mason - 8.5/10
This book was given to my by my uncle who is a CH-53 pilot in the Marines. The book was part of the reason my uncle decided to join the Marines and become a helicopter pilot, and I can see why. The book details the life of a Huey pilot in Vietnam. Learning to fly, losing friends, insterting an exfiltrating troops, taking fire, and what to do when your engine dies. This book is an in depth view of what it was like for a Huey pilot during the helicopter war and was told very well.Â
I high recommend this book, especially to my OG brethen. It is a great read and to the war history buff, a must read. 9/10Â Â
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Phuckles - River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey - Candice Millard - 9.5/10
Picked this one up as I wanted to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt and the adventures I always heard he had. I was not disappointed. This book details Teddy's trip down the River of Doubt, an uncharted tributary to the Amazon river. Wild, untouched jungles, native tribes who have never seen a white man before, death, and incredible challenges. This book was fantastic. The story is great and the writing was great as well.
This book is one of my personal favorites and I highly recommend it. 9.5/10
adding to my amazon list now, thanks! I am a huge fan of Teddy
1 Like
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West - Cormack McCarthy - 10/10
I don't plan on givng out many 10's but this is one of the best books I have ever read. Blood Meridian is a fictional story that in many ways is historically accurate and is based in one of my absolute favorite times and places in history: Texas/Mexico in the 1800's. It is dark, and the writing is as good as it gets. The story is epic, the characters deep. In short, the main character "the kid" is pulled into a world where indians are scalped for thier bounties and many bloody battles ensue.
I won't go any further as I don't want to spoil anything but I cannot recommend this book enough. Get it. 10/10Â
Blood and Thunder - Hampton Sides - 8.5/10
This book delves deeply into the life of Kit Carson. I heard Joe Rogan say "I am reading a great book about Kit Carson right now," searched the web, and this came up. I believe this is the book he was referring to. Either way, this book was fantastic. I really, really enjoy reading about the western expansion of the US. From the plains, to the mountain men, to the indian wars and the general rough and toughness of what it took to live an a time and place with harsh weather and confrontational indians, it is my favorite time in history. That is likely why I have rated this book so highly, Kit Carson did it all. In his life he was a mountain man in the rockies guiding military outfits to Oregon and south to California, then still a part of Mexico. He spent time in the military and fought indians and Mexicans in the deserts of New Mexico, and fought Indians on the plains of the Santa Fe trail. During the time of a completely untamed west Carson spent time in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idago, Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Okalhoma, and Texas, all in a capacity as a soldier or guide. If you had to pack western expansion into one person, it is Kit Carson, he did it all. Â
I could probably give this book a 9.5 or 10, and probably should, but that may be my bias for history of the American west coming out. 9/10
Dear Leader: My Escape from North Korea - Jang Jin-sung - 8.5/10
This book started slowly for me. I picked it up and started to read it and put it back down for probably 6 months. I then threw it in the Jeep as some reading material on a wilderness fishing trip I was taking. I ended up getting stuck overnight in a mud bog in the most remote part of Colorado I have ever been and this was all I had to read. I am glad it happened. This book is a fantastic look into what life is really like in North Korea. The author explains his life as the guy who rewrites histroy in North Korea. He was high ranking and his job was to take news articles from previous days and rewrite them to tell the public what the new truth was. He was a part of the propoganda machine that keeps North Koreans believing what the state controlled news media wants them to believe. The book then goes on to detail his escape from the North and the insane, epic path he had to take.Â
This book inspired me to read many more books on North Korea. The country fascinates me and so far this is the best account I have read. I wish I would have read it sooner. 8.5/10
Fan of Fanboys - Phuckles - River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey - Candice Millard - 9.5/10
Picked this one up as I wanted to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt and the adventures I always heard he had. I was not disappointed. This book details Teddy's trip down the River of Doubt, an uncharted tributary to the Amazon river. Wild, untouched jungles, native tribes who have never seen a white man before, death, and incredible challenges. This book was fantastic. The story is great and the writing was great as well.
This book is one of my personal favorites and I highly recommend it. 9.5/10
adding to my amazon list now, thanks! I am a huge fan of Teddy
If you love Teddy, you won’t be disappointed.Â
clattymine - Last book I finished was Tiamat’s Wrath, the most recent in the expanse series.Â
8/10 - only one book in the series is below an 8. They’re super consistent.Â
Â
half way through Skunk Works. It talks about skunk works’ history and developing spy planes. Super easy reading, very cool insight and amazing anecdotes on developing spy planesÂ
9/10 so far.Â
That Skunk Works book sounds right up my alley. I will add it to the list (the ever-growing list). Science Fiction is one genre I just cannot get into. I have tried. I think the last science fiction series I enjoyed was the Mechwarrior series but that was when I was like 15 and was addicted to the game. I started "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" but it sits there with the bookmark about 1/3 way in and I have no urge to finish it. Maybe one day…
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos - Jordan Peterson - 3/10
Full disclosure, I set the book down somewhere around rule 10 and have no plans on picking it back up. I am a big fan of Jordan Peterson and his tremendous efforts to try to inject some reality into the out of hand political and social happenings over the past few years. The guy is a hero to many, and in many ways a hero of mine for speaking out. But, his book fell flat for me. I realized somewhere around rule 6 that I was forcing my way through the book. I feel that the rules have value but not all required such long, arduous chapters to get across and the book became a boring, almost painful read. So, I did something I rarely do, and made a conscious decision to put the book on the shelf and move on to the next one.Â
For those interested, he refers to scripture a lot. It is almost as if his book is less about rules for life and more about his interpretation of the bible. That isn't all it is about, but most of it. It gets tons of great reviews on Amazon which is curious to me as the book was no bloody fun to read at all, at least not for me.Â
The book gets 3/10 as I do think the rules have value but the fact that I couldn't finish it brought the score way down. Maybe if he'd written a book just on lobsters it would have been a better read? 3/10
10
The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo and the Sacrifice that Forged a Nation - James Donovan - 8.5/10
This book details the most famous battle in Texan history, the battle of the Alamo. Detailed accounts from both sides, the Mexicans, and the Texans, as well as from the volunteers who held the fort to the last man. The stories of names every American knows like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Travis, Sam Houston, and Santa Ana. You will never look at the street names or city names in Texas and San Antonio again after reading this book. A great account of the Alamo and the months leading up to the famous battle.Â
Great read. 8.5/10Â
The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income Through Smart Buy & Hold Real Estate Investing - Brandon Turner 9/10
There are really no flaws in this book. This is sort of an A-to-Z primer on getting into investing in rental properties. How to deal with tenatnts, financing, calculating overhead and actual profits, picking the right house. etc. This book has it all. To anyone thinking about getting into real estate I would say start with this book. I am wanting to start in real estate myself and this book identified many pitfalls I likely would have fallen into had I not read this book. I have also started to listen to the authors podcast "The Bigger Pockets Podcast" as well as have started posting on their forums and Facebook group. It is an excellent community of like-minded beginner investors and 5,000 door owning landlords who have been in the business for a long time.Â
I am no real estate expert but I have read a few books on real estate investing, this one so far is my favorite and the best overall general look at how it works. 9/10
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive/dp/B0195LQU2G/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=brandon+turner&qid=1590511883&sr=8-2
The detective by Don Winslow on audible.com
8 or 9. About a dirty NY detective. Great dialogue throughout the book!!!
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Do Not! - Robert Kiyosaki - 10/10
This book is the legend. It is THE book. If you want wealth, you must read this book. The book is predicated on creating passive income, investing, continuously putting items in the asset column and avoiding anything that goes into the liability column. That is the overview of what is taught. This book changed my outlook as it has changed so many others outlooks. If you want to be wealthy, and only read one book, make it this one. I was skeptical but finally broke down and bought the book. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. This is not a book for dad's only btw. You young guys stand more to gain than anyone from reading this book.Â
This book was a game changer for me and is for so many others. The book doesn't get a perfect ten for the great writing or countless pieces of advice but because of the mindset it promotes on how to move forward and make progress in your financial life. 10/10
https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Dad-Robert-T-Kiyosaki-audio/dp/B008BUHTLE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9V0FULG0HEPK&dchild=1&keywords=rich+dad+poor+dad&qid=1590511967&s=audible&sprefix=rich%2Caudible%2C180&sr=1-1#customerReviews
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The Edge of Evil by Jack Johnston…it’s basically a religious guy that traveled around the country interviewing “satanists” …the ridiculous stories that these satanists talk about are just silly especially considering how people believe it to be true…lesser so now but in the 80s and 90s folks really believed that 50,000 people per year died in Satan worships rituals lol
Phuckles - 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos - Jordan Peterson - 3/10
Full disclosure, I set the book down somewhere around rule 10 and have no plans on picking it back up. I am a big fan of Jordan Peterson and his tremendous efforts to try to inject some reality into the out of hand political and social happenings over the past few years. The guy is a hero to many, and in many ways a hero of mine for speaking out. But, his book fell flat for me. I realized somewhere around rule 6 that I was forcing my way through the book. I feel that the rules have value but not all required such long, arduous chapters to get across and the book became a boring, almost painful read. So, I did something I rarely do, and made a conscious decision to put the book on the shelf and move on to the next one.Â
For those interested, he refers to scripture a lot. It is almost as if his book is less about rules for life and more about his interpretation of the bible. That isn't all it is about, but most of it. It gets tons of great reviews on Amazon which is curious to me as the book was no bloody fun to read at all, at least not for me.Â
The book gets 3/10 as I do think the rules have value but the fact that I couldn't finish it brought the score way down. Maybe if he'd written a book just on lobsters it would have been a better read? 3/10
I commend you as I made slightly past the lengthy “Introduction”. Just garbled thoughts, poorly edited, rushed out to catch the popularity in the moment. Couldn’t do it, poorly written. 2/10.