Rants and Raves

Zero Cool – ****

Another pulp romp. A dangerous dame in Spain. A doctor in over his head. Treasure and treachery…

Turns out this was written by Michael Crichton. I didn’t know Michael Crichton wrote pulp under a pseudonym. It doesn’t surprise me, but I didn’t know.

Decent fun.

So Nude, So Dead – ***

So Nude, So DeadSo Nude, So Dead by Ed McBain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Every time I finish a Hard Case Crime book I wonder how and when I got in to pulp. I guess it’s officially my guilty pleasure. I have a bunch of them on my e-reader and if I’m on the bus and can’t balance my paper book then I tend to churn through these. Can I recommend them all? Probably not- the women are usually props- sometimes they’re the main character but not all the time. And then there’s the race angle from the period. That said – jazz, drugs, murder, dames, revenge… what’s not to like with that?

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Closing out the 2019 Books

Radical Candor – ****

Had heard about this book for a while but when I got promoted a direct report recommended that I read it. There’s some decent advice in here.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You – ***

There were some interesting chapters and studies in there, but it felt like a really long blog post at times instead of a full book. I’m not sure why I get that vibe, but it stuck with me.

Slow Horses – ***

I enjoyed this quite a bit. The author has published more now, so there’s a series. I may try the second one soon.

My Struggle: Book 1 – ****

Ooof- pretty serious, but well written. I’m not sure I’ll read more in the series unless friends recommend particular volumes.

Anansi Boys – ****

Another enjoyable read. This may have been my first Gaiman novel to read (can that be right?).

Follow up links / further reading

Shadow Divers – ****

Shadow Divers

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this on the recommendation of a friend who dives. This is a really intense book that explains the perils of deep diving. Mostly the story about the discovery of a U Boat and the men who explored it, but a good overview of this type of diving and about the teams’ work above water too. It made me feel claustrophobic when describing the insides of wrecks.



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Left of Boom – **

Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda

Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda by Douglas Laux

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Certain parts were interesting. Overall it’s predictable. I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone unless they’re really interested in the plight of adventure junkies who return to sedate lives and try to adjust.

The book is also really uneven. It could have used more editing. As other commenters on Goodreads have posted, the “redacted” sections are a nuisance. They’re cute at first an then just get more and more annoying.



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