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2018

Book Reviews 2018
January 14, 20202018In February, I started on Brandon Sanderson’s “The Way of Kings,” which I quickly finished. That turned into an obsession for the series. So, I turned to “Words of Radiance” which was better then the first. And then was promptly let a little bit down by Oathbringer. One of the things that sticks out right away about Oathbringer is it’s size. Each book has gotten about 100 pages longer then the last. For Oathbringer, it’s almost 200 pages longer. And by the end, you are a little ragged. Kings focuses on Kaladin and his backstory; Words Shallan and her past. Oathbringer’s central flashback character is Dalinar. I thought the first two were more compelling, and while I like Dalinar as a character, the most impressive character, in my opinion, is Kaladin. He still found a large role in this book but it was definitely in the background in favor of other characters. All in all, I feel as if though this book was the most fulfilling because it finally gave us some answers about the world Sanderson has created. There won’t be any spoilers here, but suffice it to say that Oathbringer truly brings it (pun intended) in terms of resolving lingering questions the first two books leaves you hanging with. That to say, this was also a book in which the action lulls and the pace slackens as those answers begin to formulate. That isn’t to say it was a bad book; I enjoyed it immensely. I think I just like Words of Radiance better. 5/5 and still one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read. Here’s to 2020 and book 4! [...]
January 14, 20202018I am a big football fan, so I was aware and following most of the tragic story that followed Aaron Hernandez. For those not familiar, he was this huge man who was a brilliant tight end for the New England Patriots. He played in the second New England Patriot loss against the Giants in 2012, but many believed he was just beginning a Hall of Fame career. A bright start would end in tragedy after Hernandez was investigated in conjunction with a murder. As the case opened up, Hernandez would eventually be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole. But where did things go wrong? How could this kid, a small town Connecticut kid, end up murdering someone in cold blood? James Patterson tells the story of how Hernandez became as troubled child shortly after his father died. What came next would lead Hernandez to many dark places. As a Florida Gator, not even Tim Tebow could keep the young man in line. When he came to the NFL, Patterson tells how many teams were worried because of how troubled he was. After he signed on to New England, he was involved with drugs, women, everything you can imagine; this was not a role model football player trying to make the world better. This was a tyrant who was bound to get into trouble. This book was captivating. I was hooked on the murder-mystery aspect but also shocked at how much Hernandez got away with. I remember watching him on TV, in awe of his length and power. That that person could be involved with so much evil must give you pause. Further, it sheds light on the celebrity culture in America, where people who are given a certain status in society are able to get away with, in some cases literally, murder and the justice system fails. This story is complex, but it was a good read. [...]
January 14, 20202018David McCullough is an important figure in the occupational field of history. He is at the forefront of his craft as a historian, and his biographies and histories are listed among the greatest of their kind. He is the unparalleled (except perhaps my personal favorite, Walter Issacson) king of narrative history and his fame stretches into the imagination of both celebrity and layman, Congress-person and concerned citizen. This book is a collection of essays that Mr. McCullough gave throughout his time as a prodigious historian. They range from commemorations (of the assassination of J.F.K in Daley Plaza to the bicentennial of the completion of the White House) to graduations at various colleges and universities. The common theme behind all of these speeches is the foundational importance of history in the lives of Americans. More than once he says, “History is philosophy taught with examples.” To Mr. McCullough, history binds us together as Americans. He says, “How can we know who we are and where we are headed if we don’t know where we have come from? How can we call ourselves patriots if we know little of our country’s past?” (McCullough, 12). History, therefore, means a great deal to him. And as a history major, I sympathize with much of what he says. While I disagree on a few points (for example, he says, “Samuel Eliot Morison said we ought to read history because it will help us to behave better. It does.” . I’m not sure it always does), for the most part I emphatically agree. He laments at times the ignorance of normal Americans (particularly for being historically illiterate), but also lifts up the ingenuity and creativity, even the goodness, of those same people. His critiques are most often well earned, particularly in the area of history. He also includes many examples of his previous works. When speaking of the Marquis de Lafayette, for example, he cites his voluminous knowledge obviously gained from writing “The Greater Journey“; his extensive knowledge on the Declaration of Independence and those who signed it from “1776“; and much more about John Adams (which I haven’t read yet), who was the subject of his masterful biography. These tidbits are almost like a brief synopsis of his entire catalogue of works, broken down into a bite sized recollection that almost beg you to read his longer books (which I highly recommend anyways). I’ll close with this: as a lover of history, I share the pain of McCullough that our history is being poorly received. History should be exciting because it’s not facts and dates (although that is a part of it), it’s a narrative. Humans cling to stories; and in turn, stories are history. He says, There’s no great secret to teaching history or to making history interesting. Barbara Tuchman said it in two words, “Tell stories.” That’s what history is: story. And what’s a story? E. M. Forster gave a wonderful definition to it: If I say to you the king died and then the queen died, that’s a sequence of events. If I say the king died and the queen died of grief, that’s a story. That’s human. That calls for empathy on the part of the teller of the story and of the reader or listener to the story. And that is one of the most profound definitions of history I have ever read. Bravo to Mr. McCullough, and pick up this book. [...]

A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea

The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For

The Lost City of the Monkey God

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Even If You Don’t: A Love Story

The Martian

Yes, Chef

Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer

The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings

All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

The Remains of the Day

The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance

The Stormlight Archive: Oathbringer

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

Educated

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam (2018)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2)

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Jurassic Park

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Preaching That Changes Lives

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

The Cuban Affair

The Rooster Bar

Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel

When Breath Becomes Air

Only Human (Themis Files #3)

Airframe

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Hell Divers

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

Star Wars: Thrawn: Thrawn (2018)

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace (2018)

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

Redshirts

Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons

Christianity Considered: A Guide for Skeptics and Seekers

Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

The History of Jazz

How to Lose a Marathon: A Starter’s Guide to Finishing in 26.2 Chapters

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve

Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study: 80 Expert Insights, Explained in a Single Minute

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances

The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms

A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America

Star Trek: Captain to Captain

The Darkness and the Glory: His Cup and the Glory from Gethsemane to the Ascension (2018)

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

Michelangelo: His Epic Life

Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2018)

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Grit

What is the Gospel?

The Interdependency: The Collapsing Empire

Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (2018)

On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle

The Interdependency: Consuming Fire

The Reckoners: Steelheart

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Firefight: the Reckoners book 2

Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s guide

Calamity: the Reckoners book 3

Skyward: Skyward

Prey

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (2018)

Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds

Reckoner’s: Mitosis

Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly by Grace Communicated Truthfully & Lovingly

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church… and How to Prepare

Armada

Knowledge of the Holy

Elantris

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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