Batched Books Reviews: #2024.5
Non-fiction x 6; Fiction x 6;
Published in
3 min readJun 28, 2024
Non-fiction
- Cybersecurity First Principles (3+/4) — Good general overview of cybersecurity. High-level and not very technical, but that was a good thing for me. Tries to dig into what the actual root principles and strategies of cybersecurity are. Has a bit of a “marketing style” vibe, but decent nonetheless.
- Uniquely Human (3/4) — A book about autism, but not the one I was looking for. It's a great resource on understanding people with that condition, but not the condition itself. I was looking for something more focused on neurology and research. But it’s definitely good for what it is if you approach it with the right expectations.
- It’s Not Luck (3-/4) — Vol. 2 of The Goal (4/4 @ BBRA#3). Interesting look into more traditional industries. Comes with an idea of a more structured approach to solving problems. Couldn’t see how it might be useful for me, but it was a really nice read due to the writing style.
- How to take over the world (3/4) — Random scientific facts around being a super villain. Better than — “How to Invent Everything” (3/4 @ BBR#2024.2) from the same author. The book doesn’t try to be useful and instead is just a mostly funny collection of scientific facts relevant to becoming a supervillain. For example, building a hidden base or persisting your name for thousands, millions or billions of years.
- Revolution for dummies (3+/4) — Satirist view on recent Egypt events. To be honest, that’s how I want my history books served: lightweight, full of humour and targeted at a lay audience. It seems distanced, but I didn’t verify the objectivity of the descriptions. If I had a certainty on that, the rate would be at least 4-, the book is really good.
- The Daily Dad (4-/4) — Inspiration for better parenting. A bit random collection of 365 short advice on raising kids. Nothing life-changing but definitely a great resource on how to be a better parent.
Fiction
- When Swords Fall Silent (3/4) — Assassins-themed anthology. I like reading anthologies now and then to look for new authors. Unfortunately, this one was not great. Not terrible either, I still managed to find three stories I liked (from Andrew Rowe, Philip C. Quaintrell, Bryce O’Connor). But the rest was rather average.
- Grilled Armageddon (3+/4) — Unique LitRPG. Good enough to make me go through the whole series. Unique because of the system, the main character role and the length of the series. Nothing very special but definitely well-written entertaining read.
- Sewer Skewers (3/4) — Grilled Armageddon vol. 2. Good.
- Omlet Endgame (3+/4) — Grilled Armageddon vol. 3. Good. Bonus point for a short series. Most of the books in the genre are going ad infinitum, so it’s refreshing to read something that has an ending.
- Nightlord (-/4) — Unique case of book I didn’t finish. This doesn’t happen often, so I still include it here as a curiosity. Long, not engaging, progressing too fast. Turns out the spin-off (Phoebe’s Tale, 3-/4 @ BBRA#8) was much better.
- Ninefox Gambit (3/4) — Elaborate sci-fi world building but drew in very broad strokes. Unfortunately, not much more there. I really enjoyed discovering the world (without much guidance from the author), but I will not go for for the next one in the series.
Stats:
- Books read this year: ~53 (+12)
- Books on the shelf: 22 (+1)
- Books on the wishlist: 200 (-1)
