Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben (2012)

I occasionally dip into Harlan Coben thrillers and I was curious about the origins of his Myron Bolitar character so I picked this one off the library shelf on a whim.  It's a typical, fun, Coben thriller; the mystery is a little too complicated but I figured it out early in the story. 4/5 Stars.

Red Ice by William C Dietz (2018)

Some work colleagues recommended this series and lent me the first one; it's ok, but not great.  And recent events make the entire plot line ridiculous. 3/5 Stars.

Death and Faxes (Audio) by Brandon Sanderson

Not good, 2/5 Stars.

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

The characters, settings, and writing craft are fantastic but I am disappointed by the plot, character arcs, and story.  3/5 Stars.

The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

Fantastic book. Prescriptive and useful. Highly recommended for senior leaders in any organization. 4/5 Stars.

Freefall (Expeditionary Force Mavericks) #2 by Craig Alanson

Fun story; next time I start a series I shall read the books in publication order. 4/5 Stars.

The Blue Age by Gregg Easterbrook (2021)

Tuesday Morning Quarterback (TMQ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuesday_Morning_Quarterbackwas my favorite weekly column from 2000 until it ended in 2017.  Along with millions of other fans, I was sorely disappointed when Easterbrook stopped writing the column.  Longing for his wit, insights, and aphorisms,  I read two of Easterbrook's books, Sonic Boom and The Here and Now. I disliked both books.  Blue Age is much better!  I recommend this one.  4/5 Stars.

The Design of Data Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann (2017)

Since this book was published, a large number of people have spoken to me about it, the topics covered, how great the book is, and why we should all read and discuss how it applies to our work. Someone had me help her organize a book club to discuss only this one book and how it applies to our projects.  I am very embarrassed that I did not read it until this year, The book really is as fantastic as everyone said.   Now I understand all those commit messages and code comments such as "DDIA page 132." I cannot recommend this book enough.  5/5 Stars. The book exceeded my high expectations. 5/5 Stars. 

Death Trap by Craig Alanson (2019)

Taking a break from deep, dense fact books that are popping up in my stack, I took a break with some light reading and went back to read the last two Craig Alanson books in his "Expeditionary Force" universe.  I think one should read them in publication order because the last two books in the main "Expeditionary Force" series have some spoilers and assume you have read these two "Mavericks" books.  But this one was still fun; the characters and dialogue are in many ways funnier than the main series. 4/5 Stars. Entertaining.

Where the Ships Die by William C Dietz (2014)

I was looking for the 1996 book and got this one.  This 2014 book is terrible. 1/5 Stars.