Duffbert's Random Musings

05/20/2013

Book Review - What I've Learned... So Far Part III: Banjos, Boats And Butt Dialing by Mike Ball

Category Book Review Mike Ball What I've Learned... So Far Part III: Banjos Boats And Butt Dialing

I was recently offered the book What I've Learned... So Far Part III: Banjos, Boats & Butt Dialing by Mike Ball for reading and reviewing. I know I end up turning down most of the offers I get for review copies because I'm so far behind in reading and reviewing, but it's hard to turn down a book that can somehow link banjos, boats, and butt dialing in a title. It also helped in that he delivered on it.

I've never heard of Mike Ball, but it's probably easiest to think of him as a male version of Erma Bombeck. I don't think that's an insult, as he's referred to on the title as the "Erma Bombeck Award-winning humorist Mike Ball." Either way, he has a great "down home" style of writing that looks at common events in life and adds his humorous insights to them. The best part is... I can see myself in nearly all of his vignettes. Like for instance, the time he went to get his first official massage. When the masseuse left the room for him to get ready, it's the age-old question... do you strip naked or leave on the shorts? Keep in mind you run into the person around town on a regular basis, so what would be more embarrassing... being there naked or having to admit to and show off the Curious George Christmas Fun boxers you happened to be wearing that day?

He also gets serious on some pieces, such as whether people doing their job at elite levels are demeaned by labelling their actions as "miracles". Captain Sullenberger did an elite job in landing US Airways flight 1549 onto the Hudson with no power, the flight attendants did an elite job in getting the passengers out safely, and those who were on the river with boats did an elite job in taking the actions necessary to rescue the people off the wings before the plane sank. While it's easy to call it a miracle (as people normally die in those situations), it also takes away from the fact that these professionals practice and train for emergencies, and in this case, their training kicked in and it worked out the way it is written up. Let's hear it for the people who do their jobs at an elite level...

Each chapter is about the length of a syndicated column (three to four pages in the book), so it's easy to pick the book up, read a couple of chapters, and then set it down to get back to whatever you were doing. But be warned... you may not *want* to set it down. I certainly didn't, as I was having too much fun.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 5:41 AM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

05/19/2013

Book Review - Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A. J. Jacobs

Category Book Review A. J. Jacobs Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection

I've always been amused by people who are health fanatics following some particular trend or fad that promises to fix every issue known to medical science. A. J. Jacobs decided to follow all the health advice he could find for a year, and the result is his book Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection. With the type of humor displayed in his prior books, Jacobs shows just how impossible it is to follow all the health advice out there (or even a small part of it). Ultimately, you'll be dead anyway...

You could probably look at Jacobs as being the everyday version of George Plimpton. He sets out to do things that many of us would not have the time, money, or emotional fortitude to stick with. Few people would subject themselves to the ridicule of going everywhere with noise-cancelling headphones to try and live a quieter life (although we do pass plenty of time with earbuds and iPhones). He started running errands... as in actually *running* his errands. He subjected himself to strange food combinations and exercise routines, all in the quest for physical perfection. What he found out at the end of the experiment is what most people need to remember... moderation in all things. He did become more aware of toxins and actions that cause major problems with our health. But he found that not everything that is right/healthy is worth it when you run it through a personal cost/benefit analysis.

I think what was most telling (and perhaps one of the most important messages of the book) was the life of his aunt Marti. She was extreme in her avoidance of all forms of toxins in everyday life... special food, all-natural supplies instead of chemical cleaners, and shielding from electronic radiation. But during Jacobs' experiment, she died after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. All that work and avoidance of life's "bad things", and she dies just like everyone else. It's a good idea to try and live healthy, but at some point you have to live in the real world.

I enjoyed reading Drop Dead Healthy, if nothing more than to see what some people advocate as being the true path to health. Plus, it looked good as the book I was reading while working out on the elliptical at the gym...

Contents:
The Stomach - The Quest to Eat Right; The Heart - The Quest to Get My Blood Pumping; The Ears - The Quest for Quiet; The Butt - The Quest to Avoid Sedentary Life; The Immune System - The Quest to Conquer Germs; The Stomach, Revisited - The Quest for the Perfect Meal; The Genitals - The Quest to Have More Sex; The Nervous System - The Quest to Hurt Less; The Lower Intestine - The Quest to Go to the Bathroom Properly; The Adrenal Gland - The Quest to Lower My Stress Level; The Brain - The Quest to be Smarter; The Endocrine System - The Quest for a Nontoxic Home; The Teeth - The Quest for the Perfect Smile; The Feet - The Quest to Run Right; The Lungs - The Quest to Breathe Better; The Stomach, Revisited - The Continued Quest for the Perfect Diet; The Skin - The Quest to Erase Blemishes; The Heart Revisited - The Quest for the Perfect Workout; The Inside of the Eyelid - The Quest for the Perfect Night's Sleep; The Bladder - The Quest to Figure Out What to Drink; The Gonads - The Quest to Get More Balls; The Nose - The Quest to Smell Better; The Hands - The Quest for Magic Fingers; The Back - The Quest to Stand Up Straight; The Eyes - The Quest to See Better; The Skull - The Quest to Not Be Killed in an Accident; The Finish Line; Epilogue; Appendix A - Guerrilla Exercise; Appendix B - How to Eat Less; Appendix C - Five Tips on Treadmill Desks; Appendix D - My Five Foolproof (for Me, at Least) Methods of Stress Reduction; Appendix E - The Ten Best Pieces of Food Advice I've Gotten All Year; Appendix F - How to Live the Quiet Life; Appendix G - Five Toxins I Now Avoid; Author's Note; Acknowledgments; Index

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 9:05 AM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

05/19/2013

Book Review - The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't by Nate Silver

Category Book Review Nate Silver The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't

Nate Silver is the current rock star of statistics and predictions based on the overwhelming accuracy of his forecasts in the 2012 election results. His book The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't does a good job in explaining the fundamentals of statistics, probability, and predictions. If society understood these concepts, we'd spend far less time arguing from polarized positions "supported by facts"...

Contents:
A Catastrophic Failure of Prediction; Are You Smarter Than a Television Pundit?; All I Care About Is W's and L's; For Yours You've Been Telling Us That Rain Is Green; Desperately Seeking Signal; How To Drown In Three Feet of Water; Role Models; Less and Less and Less Wrong; Rage Against The Machines; The Poker Bubble; If You Can't Beat'em...; A Climate of Healthy Skepticism; What You Don't Know Can Hurt You; Conclusion; Acknowledgments; Notes; Index

Silver seeks to explain how we often mistake noise, an overwhelming flow of information, for signal, the pieces of information that are most important in terms of forming decisions. Because of the high visibility of pundits and "experts" on various media channels, we get led astray by confident predictions as opposed to accurate predictions. You only have to go back to the 2012 election season to watch how experts espoused sure bets, only to be completely wrong when the results were in. You can see the same thing on shows that talk about the stock market or sporting events. The talking heads go from prediction to prediction, and no time is ever spent going back to see how accurate they were. So long as they're confidently wrong, people will listen. Instead, Silver works towards a view of determining the probability of something happening, and then acting on those probabilities.

The Signal and the Noise is a book that you can read at various levels. The first part of his chapter examples can be followed by readers at almost any level. He does go into more depth and detail related to the science of each example, and it's easy to get a bit lost if you don't have the same background as he does. Still, the overall message (and signal) is easy to grasp, and it's one that can change the way you view the world around you. Now, if we can only have someone analyze all the network experts on sports and show them up for the talking heads that they really are...

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 8:00 AM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

05/15/2013

Book Review - Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles: Unexpected Gifts From the Animals of Africa by Melissa Haynes

Category Book Review Melissa Haynes Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles: Unexpected Gifts From the Animals of Africa

This book had me in tears, both by laughter and emotional impact... Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles: Unexpected Gifts From the Animals of Africa by Melissa Haynes. The title was enough to intrigue me into considering it for reading and reviewing. It didn't take long before I knew it was a great decision.

Haynes went to South Africa to volunteer on a wild game reserve, seeking to find some perspective and purpose in her life. What sounded like an adventure quickly turned into a stubborn contest of wills between her and the park ranger, nicknamed the Drill Sergeant, who didn't much care for city volunteers... especially those of the female persuasion. He was determined to send her packing as early as possible into her three-week stint, and she was just as determined to prove herself as something more than a woman who needed babysitting. Along the way, she learned some tough truths about life, death, and self-imposed limitations. While she had gone to help the animals, it ended up being the animals that helped her.

Had the story been nothing more than her experiences on the reserve, it would have been a fun read. Haynes does an excellent job in capturing the humor and bizarreness of life on the plains of Africa. However, there's a serious thread that winds through the pages, one that ties together the lessons of the reserve with the realities of life and death. Her mom had passed away due to cancer, and Haynes was dealing with massive guilt over not being able to handle the final hours. She comes face-to-face with that guilt and fear in a very primal way during her stay, and it's hard to keep a dry eye as the events unfold.

Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles is a 200 page roller-coaster of emotions, and it's a ride that's well worth experiencing. You'll laugh and cry, sometimes both at the same time...

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 7:32 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

05/12/2013

Book Review - Judaism For Dummies by Rabbi Ted Falcon PhD and David Blatner

Category Book Review Rabbi Ted Falcon PhD David Blatner Judaism For Dummies

Judaism For Dummies (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality))

This was a book that I had put on my library "to be read" list, but decided that getting it via Amazon Vine was faster and better... Judaism For Dummies by Rabbi Ted Falcon PhD and David Blatner. I felt this was a *perfect* example of what Dummies titles are good for... context on a complex topic, enough so that you know where to go for more information. Toss in a fair amount of humor along the way, and I had a great time reading this (while learning lots).

Contents:
Introduction
Part 1 - What Jews Generally Believe: That's Funny, You Don't Look Jewish - Who's a Jew and Why; It's All One - Judaism and God; A Never-Ending Torah - The Unfolding of a Tradition; A Path of Blessing - Judaism and a Daily Practice; Jewish Mysticism; Ethical Challenges
Part 2 - From Womb to Tomb - The Life Cycle: In the Beginning - Birth and Bris; Coming of Age - The Bar/Bat Mitzvah; Get Me to the Chuppah On Time - Weddings; Stepping Through the Valleys - The Shadow of Death
Part 3 - An Overview of Jewish History: Let My People Go - From Abraham to Exodus; The Kings of Israel - The First Temple; Bracketed by Exile - The Second Temple; The Exiles Continue - The First Millennium; The Greatest Horror, The Greatest Triumph; Jewish Buddhists and Other Challenges of the New Age; The Problem of Anti-Semitish
Part 4 - Celebrations and Holy Days: A Taste of Paradise - Shabbat; In with the New - Rosh Hashanah; Getting Serious - Yom Kippur; The Great Outdoors - Sukkot; Seeking Light in Dark Times - Chanukkah; Celebrating Renewal - Tu B'Shvat; A Jewish Carnival - Purim; From Groan to Glee - Passover; Spring is Busting Out All Over - Shavuot; A Day of Mourning - Tisha B'Av
Part 5 - The Part of Tens: Ten People Who Helped Shape Judaism; Answers to Ten Common Questions about Judaism
Part 6 - Appendixes: Appendix A - Oy Vey! and Other Words You Should Know; Appendix B - A Sampler of Jewish Prayers and Blessings; Appendix C - Go Now and Learn
Index

To be fair, there's no way to condense thousands of years of Jewish history, teachings, and tradition into 400 pages. I'm not sure that 4000 pages would get you any closer. But for the typical goy like myself, I needed context and structure around the major beliefs, teachings, holidays, and rituals. Blatner and Rabbi Falcon do that job well without getting bogged down in jots and tittles that would be more appropriate for rabbinical studies. They also do a good job in trying to point out differences and similarities between Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism. Much like various Christian denominations, each one of the branches would likely argue about the "truth" as they know and understand it. Still, you have to start with basics, and those are covered nicely.

I have a close friend who is Orthodox (not Hassidic), and I've found it fascinating to learn more about the Jewish faith and how it affects his life. This would have been a perfect book to start with when it came to understanding the basic holidays, what can and can't be done on shabbos, and so forth. I've done OK on my own (well enough to have the title of shabbos goy), but this would have gotten me further along when it came to things like Sukkot and dietary restrictions.

For anyone with an interest in Jewish history, practice, and faith, I'd definitely recommend Judaism for Dummies. I'd also recommend reading it if you have friends or neighbors who are Jewish (especially Orthodox) and observe many of the traditions and holidays. You'll stand a much better chance of knowing the appropriate words and actions for various events, such as births, weddings, and deaths. You'll also understand why they don't seem overly excited to join you when you toss some shrimp on the barbecue...

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 6:28 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (3) |

05/06/2013

Book Review - Tell No Lies by Julie Compton

Category Book Review Julie Compton Tell No Lies

Tell No Lies by Julie Compton is the first of a series (two so far) of novels centered around District Attorney Jack Hilliard and his fellow lawyer and one-time lover Jenny Dodson. That's "one-time" as in "slept with her once", but it happened at a time and under conditions that made the two of them front-page news. Dodson was put on trial for murder, facing the death penalty. Hilliard was her alibi, as the night of the murder was the night he visited her house. He's convinced that she couldn't be guilty of the crime, as he they were together that night and he knows she isn't capable of killing someone. But as things progress, he's not sure he knows anything about her at all...

I inadvertently read Keep No Secrets first, as I picked up the wrong book to get started. Unfortunately, it means I knew what happened in Tell No Lies. Only the details and nuances were left to be discovered. It wasn't quite as bad as I expected, though. Tell No Lies added the character background I was missing, and that's what makes these two books interesting reads. I know I should dislike Hilliard, but there's an element to him that makes it hard to hate him. I know I should be taking the side of his wife, but she's not necessarily a completely likeable person as events in Jack's life starts to unfold. Dodson goes back and forth from likeable to detestable to pitiful to a number of other things. Bottom line... these characters are real and human, and Compton does, in my opinion, a good job in weaving them into a twisting story that doesn't let up until the final page... at which point you *then* need to read Keep No Secrets. It's as if there's no break in the action.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 7:25 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

04/28/2013

Book Review - How Data Science Is Transforming Health Care by Tim O'Reilly, Mike Loukides, Julie Steele, and Colin Hill

Category Book Review Tim O'Reilly Mike Loukides Julie Steele Colin Hill How Data Science Is Transforming Health Care

How Data Science Is Transforming Health Care by Tim O'Reilly, Mike Loukides, Julie Steele, and Colin Hill is not a large book... in fact, it's only 26 pages. But it's a solid 26 pages that makes the case for how health care can (and will) be transformed by the use of massive and detailed data on patients and outcomes. Given that you can download it for free on Amazon, there's no reason *not* to give it a read. It's enough to shift your view of how health care technology can be much more effective than it currently is...

Probably the most significant point made is how the combination of data on patients and outcomes can be combined to make drug therapy more targeted and efficient. Instead of having a drug that is 80% effective in patients, we can move to having a drug that is 100% effective in 80% of the patients, and we know not to travel down that path for the other 20% where it will fail. Learning how drugs interact with certain gene makeups can narrow down the most effective drug usage, and it can also come up with ties to other drugs that may not be considered for one particular condition, but that share certain characteristics that would make it useful in treating that condition.

This ability to make sure drugs are effective also changes the behavior of pharmaceutical companies. We're starting to see costs and charges tied to effectiveness rather than just usage. Same with doctors... they're starting to be paid for outcomes, not standard cookie-cutter treatments that may or may not work for the "average" person.

Granted, at 26 pages, this book(let?) can't go into great depth and detail. But if you have any doubts as to how all the medical data you generate can help you down the road, this will get you thinking in a different direction.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 1:17 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

04/27/2013

Book Review - Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's First Tornado Chasers by Lee Sandlin

Category Book Review Lee Sandlin Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's First Tornado Chasers

Tornados... powerful, fearful, unpredictable... and a source of controversy over the years as people tried to figure out what they are (or if they even existed). Lee Sandlin tells the story of those who first tried to solve the puzzle in his book Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's First Tornado Chasers. I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, but it could well be due to incorrect expectations rather than the fault of the content or quality of the writing. I'll be the first to admit that in this case, your mileage may vary...

Contents:
Introduction - Ghost Riders; Prologue - The Pillar in the Storm
Part I - The Thunder House: The Electricians; A Little More of the Marvelous; To Treat Master Franklin
Part II - The Storm War: The So-Called Tornado; The Philosophy of Storms; Under the Map; One Dead, One Exhausted; One Converted; The Finger of God
Part III - Red Wind and Tornado Green: The Great American Desert; The Night Watch; Premonitory Symptoms; Violent Local Storms; How to Escape; The Desert Is No More; The Book of Failure; An Awful Commotion
Part IV - The Mystery of Severe Storms: Canvas and Cellophane; The Unfriendly Sky; Visible Effects of the Invisible; Epilogue - The Wild Hunt
A Note on Sources; Acknowledgments

When I think of tornado chasers, I conjure up the images of people outfitted with computers and vehicles that look like apocalyptic Road Warrior battle carriages. But Sandlin goes back further in time... to the mid-1700's, when the scientists of the day were trying to figure out what these destructive storms might be. With primitive technology and unreliable eyewitness reports, theories abounded as to whether tornados were just strong storms or something that transcended clouds and wind. The "scientific process" was more of a political one, and the prevailing theories were driven more by personalities and government connections instead of by experimentation and study. Despite large amounts of evidence to the contrary, scientists and institutions continued to downplay or even deny the existence of actual tornados, leading to massive loss of life and property. The destructive nature of tornados also made study difficult, as very few measuring tools could survive actual contact with the funnel clouds. Even as late as 20 to 30 years ago, there was still a lack of hard data to assist with forecasting and early warning.

From a historical perspective, Storm Kings was interesting for seeing how weather science was based less on science and more on bureaucracy. Weather study and forecasting was largely a military concern, and even when it became more mainstream, there was a distinct lack of priority and importance placed on science and learning. It was more reporting the current weather and trying to be general enough to look like you knew what you were doing. Sandlin did a good job in exposing that side of the story.

Where I had problems is that the book spent (in my opinion) far too much time in the politics and personalities that dominated the field in the 1700's and 1800's. At times, I didn't even feel like I was reading a book on tornados as much as a book on warring factions and personalities who studied weather. Once the timeline advanced into the mid-1900's, the stories sped up and were more truncated, with things pretty much ending with Fujita (the person who established the F-scale of tornado sizing) in the late 1970's. Past that point, very little was covered, and I felt that much of what I was hoping for (stories of today's tornado chasing) was largely ignored.

By "incorrect expectations", I admit that I saw "tornado chasers" and expected less "history of weather" and more "adrenline junkies chasing F5 tornados in caravans of vehicles". That was my fault. For those who are very much into meteorology and the history of tornados, Sandlin's book covers that well. I still think things got too bogged down in personalities and vendettas, but the right target audience might well like that more than I did. For me, this was interesting but average. Had I gone in with the proper expectations, I might have given the book a pass. But for what it is and what it covers, I can see how others would think it was well done.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 8:57 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

04/23/2013

Book Review - Six Years by Harlan Coben

Category Book Review Harlan Coben Six Years

I picked up Harlan Coben's latest novel Six Years from the library a week or so ago. I enjoy his books, and I was looking forward to a few days of leisurely enjoyment. What I got instead was a book I had a hard time putting down, as Coben kept me guessing right up to the end. Granted, I read a lot and don't necessarily do a good job of being able to remember plots and story lines of books I read even six months ago. Still, this is one of the best non-Bolivar novels he's written.

The story revolves around Jake Fisher and a lost love. He stayed at an artist retreat a little over six years ago, and while there met and fell in love with a woman named Natalie. He fell hard, and believed that she had done the same. But with little warning, she broke off their relationship. Furthermore, she got married to another guy almost immediately afterwards. Jake was invited (and went) to the wedding, if nothing more than to see who had replaced him in Natalie's life. After the ceremony, she found Jake standing alone on the chapel lawn, looking lost and confused. She confronted him, said what they had was over, she was now happily married, and made Jake promise one thing... that he would never come looking for them. He kept that promise for six years until he found an obituary for her husband, Todd. He showed up at the funeral, unable to stay away now that she was apparently single once again. But that's where the floor dropped out from under Jake's life... the Todd in the obituary was not the Todd Natalie married. The woman who was Todd's wife was not Natalie. And everywhere Jake goes to find Natalie, it's as if nothing that happened and no one he knew ever existed or was who he remembered them to be. But if that's truly the case, why are there people after Jake who also want to know where Natalie is, and are willing to kill anyone they need to in order to find the answer to that question?

Coben starts the action quickly in Six Years by flashing back to the wedding and showing Jake as a torn and confused individual. The six years are skipped over by bringing the obituary into the story, which starts Jake's quest to find his lost love. He strings along the answers to questions that Jake is after, and every time I thought there was a new piece to the puzzle, it usually came bundled with another twist that made the mystery deepen even further. I feel that Coben's use of the first person narration by Jake made everything work perfectly, as I identified and felt for what he was going through, and for what was happening through his eyes.

Six Years was very hard to put down, and it was a great rollercoaster of a ride. It's novels like these that make Harlan Coben one of my favorite authors.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 4:59 AM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

04/13/2013

Book Review - Calculated In Death by J. D. Robb

Category Book Review J. D. Robb Calculated In Death

Yay... another J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) novel... Calculated In Death. This time, Dallas is tagged on a woman's death that looks to be a mugging gone bad. Her body is found on the street at the base of a set of stairs leading up to a building in the midst of remodeling. But Dallas and Peabody find evidence that she was actually killed inside, and the street scene was staged as a diversion. Further investigation reveals that in her job as an auditor, she had just been given three new cases due to an accident with the original auditor. Dallas wonders if perhaps she was killed to cover up fraudulent activity that an audit would reveal. Roarke finds proof of the cover-up, and a couple more deaths related to the audits confirms that Dallas is on the right track. But she needs to figure out who is calling the shots before she becomes the final victim.

Calculated started off slower than I'm used to for an In Death novel. In fact, I was thinking this might be the first non-five star review for a Robb novel I've had. The pace picks up as the story moves on, and by the end it's back on track for the type of writing I've come to expect from Roberts. I like how she's taking some of the edges off of Dallas via her relationship with Roarke, but not so much that she loses the essence of what makes her who she is.

When there are 36 titles in a series, it's not a surprise that one or two don't quite work as well as the rest. Actually, I'm more surprised that Roberts has been able to keep the quality so high for so long. Calculated In Death may not have been one of my favorites, but it's nowhere close to making me reconsider my priorities in wanting to read every new installment as soon as it's available. In fact, I'm already waiting for Thankless In Death due in September. :)

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Posted by Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff At 7:39 PM Location Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (0) |

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05/20/2013

Book Review - What I've Learned... So Far Part III: Banjos, Boats And Butt Dialing by Mike Ball

05/19/2013

Book Review - Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A. J. Jacobs

05/19/2013

Book Review - The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't by Nate Silver

05/15/2013

Book Review - Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles: Unexpected Gifts From the Animals of Africa by Melissa Haynes

05/12/2013

Book Review - Judaism For Dummies by Rabbi Ted Falcon PhD and David Blatner

05/06/2013

Book Review - Tell No Lies by Julie Compton

04/28/2013

Book Review - How Data Science Is Transforming Health Care by Tim O'Reilly, Mike Loukides, Julie Steele, and Colin Hill

04/27/2013

Book Review - Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's First Tornado Chasers by Lee Sandlin

04/23/2013

Book Review - Six Years by Harlan Coben

04/13/2013

Book Review - Calculated In Death by J. D. Robb

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