Science in the Soul

There are elements of Richard Dawkins' elitism, arrogance, and bravado that I enjoy​; and there are other bits I find a little off-putting.  In general his prose, regardless of the topic is delicious and pleasing.  This collection is not as good as his other books.  3/5 stars.

The Summons

​Still catching up on Grisham, liked this one as well.  4/5 stars, great slice-of-life of Mississippi.

Homo Deus

Life changing, awesome, must-read 5/5 stars

Best book I have read since "Thinking Fast and Slow."  Amazing thoughts and insights into metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, politics.  Amazing speculation and future projection of science trends in biology, computer, and information sciences.  Great insights into implications of intelligence versus consciousness.  Just read it!

Camino Island

We started to read the Grisham books we had not read when they came out and I noticed a new one sitting around.  It is a great story with wonderfully colorful characters.  Very enjoyable 4/5 stars.​

De Oppresso Liber

I love this series and can't wait for the next one. 5/5 stars
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CIA as organized crime

Very long conspiracy theory book with strong research, interesting facts, and bizarre speculations / conclusions. It is important to shine a brighter light on the unethical, immoral, and truly-evil activities, institutions, and individuals Valentine describes.  So I do recommend skimming the book and chasing his references for details.  However the bizarre accusations and conspiracy theories about the motivations, relationships, and higher purposes of the people and institutions is awful.  2/5 stars.​

The Power of Habit

I enjoyed this one and zipped through it quickly.  I understood some of the biology before reading it but it was great to get some more insights.  4/5 stars.
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We are Legion (We are Bob)

After a series of juvenile or weak space opera, I stumbled upon this series of books by Dennis Taylor and really enjoyed the first book.  The characters are fun.  The adventures are interesting and the science is better than usual.  I can't wait to read the next one.
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The Bishop Must Die

I seem to have landed in the middle (or end) of a large series of books by this author and it was entertaining, interesting for the historical context, dramatic, but not spectacular.  Well plotted 4/5 stars.
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eBay's billion-item inventory in the public cloud

If you are in downtown Bellevue on Wednesday 8/16/2017 and want some free food, I am giving a talk about how eBay operates on our 1.1 billion item inventory several hundred thousand times per second in the public Cloud.

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My talk is at the "Big Data Bellevue" meetup at 411 108 AV NE, Bellevue, WA (map).