Brief Candle in the Dark by Richard Dawkins

One of my favorite nieces (definitely the nicest) gave me a signed first edition hardback of:

this new volume of Dawkins' autobiography as he galavants in prose and rants about his contributions to biology.  Dawkins is a fantastic writer and his first book changed my life in 1977.  He has become pedantic, shrill, and pretentious as he goes through his seventh decade. And his atheism activism never interested me that much.  Still, his writing is delicious and fun so I do recommend it, 3/5 stars.

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Site of Proteus by Charles Sheffield

I am rediscovering Charles Sheffield's books.  Fantastic but a little dated 4/5 stars.

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Everybody Lies by Seth Davidowitz

​I head extremely high expectations and loved learning all the counter-intuitive results.  I especially loved the abstractions and catalog of important, relevant areas that better analysis will unlock about the "softer" sciences (psychology, sociology, politics).  I did not like the ending and sometimes the humor fell flat.  4/5 Stars.  Very fun book.

Winter in Maine

Good psychological story, gratuitous violence, 3/5 stars.

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mfw@wyle.org | 1.425.249.3936

Noire by Christopher Moore

Very. very funny!! Laughed out loud every 5 min. 5/5 Stars.

Death's End by Cixin Liu

​This thrilling conclusion is actually amazing with very many plot twists, new stories, and creative explosions of ideas that accelerate until the end.  Each time you think you have it figured it out there is another twist.  You must slog through the (terrible!) first book to get to the (decent) second book to reach this (awesome!) third one.  I speculate the Chinese original is better. 4/5 stars, recommended.

Odysseus Ascendant

Fun! 4/5 stars.

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mfw@wyle.org | 1.425.249.3936

Cygnus Space Opera by Craig Martelle

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Yuck, 1/5 stars.  

Divergence by Charles Sheffield

Fantastic, 5/5 stars!  I am so happy to rediscover Charles Sheffield's books. 
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The Tom Stoppard Collection

I listened to these fantastic radio plays while flying for business.  Recommended, 4/5 stars.  Very funny, high drama, deep psychological insights, great productions.
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