Category Archives: Books

Book Log Roundup – July 2025

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Bunch of books I’ve read and haven’t documented…

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (EW March 2025 Book Club)

A dystopian future? past? alternate history? where a society sends girls out into the woods at 16 for a year to burn out their “magic powers”. I thought this was a somewhat ridiculous premise until I recently read a book (Proto) that mentioned a past society that did this with their boys for more like 4 years. Truth/Fiction… stranger.

Boo by Neil Smith [Audiobook, paper] – Grove strongly recommended

Excellent novel about an afterlife for teens that my youngest son hounded me to read for a year. I’m awfully glad he did– funny, interesting and thoughtful with a whodunnit built in– I really enjoyed this.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin – book of the month selection from Nowhere Book Shop.

Spoiler alert, the main character is not a little alien, but rather just someone who feels out of place in the world. So if you ever have, this is a delightful, heartwarming and amusing read.

Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope [EW book club, bookshop.org, abandoned]

Didn’t grab me. Fantasy. My coworker is really enthusiastic about the series, though. May need to give it a second chance.

Actively Reading:

  • The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle [Audible]
  • Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky [bookshop.org]
  • Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni [bookshop.org]
  • The Accidental Alchemist: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery by Gigi Pandian [eBook]
  • All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
  • Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders

Stalled Out But Still Might Finish

  • Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric that Matters by Jeremy Utley, Perry Klebahn [audiobook] rec by coworker
  • Executive Presence by Syvlia Ann Hewlett
  • The Five Disfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
  • Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Emily Gregory [eBook, Audio book]
  • The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud [ebook, audiobook]
  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear [ebook]
  • God: An Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopaulou [ebook] – rec by Data vs. Dogma podcast
  • Marriage in the Bible: What Do the Texts Say? by Jennifer Bird – was a guest on Data Vs. Dogma podcast
  • How to Avoid Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
  • Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules by Steve McConnell
  • Buckaroo Banzai: Against the World Crime League et al., by E.M. Rauch

On Deck

  • Dinosaur Brains by Albert J. Bernstein & Sydney Craft Rozen [bookshop.org]
  • Now is Not The Time to Panic [eBook]
  • Congratulations, the Best is Over!: Essays [Paper, Audiobook] – Stacey recommended
  • Demon Copperhead: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver [audiobook]
  • The New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman (ebook)
  • The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick
  • Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
  • Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker
  • The Madwoman and the Roomba by Sandra Tsing Loh
  • Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
  • Our Biggest Experiment by Alice Bell
  • Ada and the Engine by Lauren Gunderson
  • Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller by Oliver Darkshire

Book Log – The Bible Says So

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The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) about Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues by Dan McClellan

I hate to fanboy, but I really enjoy Dan McClellan’s tiktoks where he sets a lot of biblical nonsense straight, all while sporting comic book t-shirts.

And he and Dan Beacher’s Data Over Dogma podcast is amazingly interesting.

So I definitely was going to buy his book. And I went to a reading. And it was awesome. It breaks down a bunch of misconceptions that have been used to make some really bad decisions in society. I would love it if everyone would read this so we could get on the same page.

They can’t borrow my signed copy, though.

10/10, would recommend.

Dan’s tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maklelan

Book Log – Unreasonable Hospitality

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Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara [Bookshop.org/Audible]

Loved this book. Started reading in visual mode, then switched to Audible to get it done. Too much commute time, not enough sitting on the couch reading time.

I love this philosophy of being over the top in serving customers. I’m looking forward to figuring out how to integrate that into my work.

Book Log – Proto

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Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global by Laura Spinney (Audible)

This came up on Audible as I was listening to The History of the Bible, and given my recent fascination with that history and the languages included along with my recent foray into learning Toki Pona (a book log post to come), I gave this a whirl. And I don’t regret it.

This chronicles what we’ve figured out about the evolution of the proto-Indo-European languages based on the sciences of linguistics, genetcis and anthropology. Laura Spinney does a wonderful job of laying out the interplay between the disciplines and stitching together the stories they tell.

Like The History of the Bible, I should have read the text version, so I’m going to want to go back and re-read some sections visually. ‘Cause I missed bits.

Non-fiction audio just doesn’t play nice with my brain so much.

Book Log – A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths

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A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths by John Barton [Kindle/Audible]

I “read” most of this book listening to Audible, though I wish I had had the opportunity to read it on the Kindle. I don’t absorb as much audibly.

But this is a fascinating book… very clear presentation of the state of the known history of the composition of the bible(s). I may go back and read a few chapters again, to catch some bits I missed.

I have been on a kick to learn about this history for a while, after I started seeing the Data over Dogma guy on Tiktok and then on podcast. They clever ways they can tease out the history through forensic and linguistic analysis is very cool.

Book Log – Boo

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Boo by Neil Smith [paperback, gift]

This was recommended by my youngest kid, and it did not disappoint. Our protagonist is dead at the beginning of the book, and ends up in a heaven-of-sorts for 13 year olds. Kids who end up there stay in that level of heaven for 50 years, and then disappear, presumably to wherever the next stage of the afterlife is.

There is tremendous worldbuilding and unveiling of the story behind the protagonist’s death in a school shooting. The book tackles some serious topics with a somewhat whimsical tone while managing not to be disrespectful.

Heartily recommend.

Book Log – Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England’s Kings and Queens by David Mitchell

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Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England’s Kings and Queens by David Mitchell [Hardback, borrowed from Curt H.]

I know little of English history, but this book by British Comedian David Mitchel (Peep Show), tells a hilarious tale of the monarchy’s eccentricities. Super enjoyable, makes a topic I was lukewarm about at best and draws me in hook, line and sinker.

I read it on and off for several months, only because of time. It’s an amazing read, each page packed full of witty description, making the line of royalty and their exploits very entertaining. Highly recommend.

Book Log – Casket Case

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Casket Case by Lauren Evans [paperback, Little Shop of Stories]

Rom-Com that I picked up at Little Shop of Stories as a Blind Date with a Book (book wrapped in paper to hide what it was). The only info was the excerpted line: “‘Thank you for calling Death,’ a perky voice announces through the car speakers.”

A fine quick read. It had hints of Christopher Moore, but perhaps more grounded. A woman who works in a small town funeral home meets a man who works as sort of a death concierge.

Book Log – The Bee Sting

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The Bee Sting <i>by Paul Murray</i> – Hardback, Little Shop of Stories (via Bookshop.org)

This is a masterpiece. The variety of styles incorporated to capture the various narrator’s voices are pitch perfect. It’s a winding, intriguing tale jumping back and forth in time and between narrators. Heartily recommend.

This is a tale of a prosperous family in a downward spiral in a small town, told from the point of view of each family member, each chapter peeling the onion a little bit more.

If I’m completely honest I did not enjoy the last couple pages. But in this case the journey was worth the destination.