Dan's 2018 Books

10. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that pulled me in and I really felt like I could relate to the characters. It's a book about love lost. The book brought back memories of someone I loved years ago. I suppose good writing makes you assess who you are and how you got there, so in that respect it was a good book.
It was informative and interesting to learn about the situation of the WWII Japanese Internment Camps and what they were like. I have been to a couple internment camp sites but knew little about their purpose of thought little of how those imprisoned there must have felt and lived.

9. Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I envisioned this book to be a little more like Shackleton's adventures in the Antarctic. There is really very little known about the Lost Franklin Expedition, and this is the story of those who looked for them. I did not find the book very captivating until the last 1/3 or so when they started making headway toward finding the lost ships. The part I liked the best was hearing about life and survival in the Arctic, which this book contained a good bit of. It did have some political ramblings about Canadian government dealings of Inuit, which although perhaps unjust, I don't have a lot invested in. Overall an informative book, but not a life changer.

8. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. The best book I've read in a long time. Maybe it helps that I'm living in Washington and can relate to the areas these boys came from, but it was interesting to learn about a sport that I'm unfamiliar with (but think I could be good at) and see how it changed the life of these young men. It made me want to go find the Seattle Clipper and see what these shells look like in real life. A thrilling ending helped the book too.

7. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was a lot I didn't know about Steve Jobs. Overall, the book was fantastic. I thought Isaacson did a good job of portraying him fairly and looking at how he was perceived by people in many aspects of his light. I think I liked the book as much as I did because it made me think about how I approach creativity, leadership, and the passion that I put into things. In many ways the simplicity of the products Apple puts out reflect Jobs' black and white view of the world. Note: There are a fair number of direct quotes from Jobs, many of which include pretty coarse language.

6. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite an amazing dude. I liked the book a lot, mostly because I find Elon Musk to be a very fascinating character with an interesting mix of showmanship and smarts that has seemed to pay off for him to date. I hope he can continue to do great things with Tesla and SpaceX and now I feel like I have a much better understanding of who he is and where he comes from. This was a pretty captivating read and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in Musk or his companies.

5. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I've read a book of this caliber. While the story was the life of seemingly average, day to day happenings of normal people, it was at the same time captivating. It made me think about my own life and examine if I'm doing any of the things these characters were, which I think is the sign of a good book.

4. One by One by David A. Bednar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great book. Awesome message. Maybe a bit repetitive in the message that things don't happen by coincidence and that the work of salvation happens one by one, but the point was well made and nicely written.

3. The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although the book was pretty interesting and I learned a lot about the history and development of the computer age, it was pushing the envelope of my geeky self to keep my interest. As an 80's kid, computers and I grew up together. However, I only saw the front end of their application and didn't know how they came to be. The book was reasonably well written and didn't seem to be too biased, except for maybe a little towards Steve Jobs.

2. Origin by Dan Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Obviously Dan Brown is good at this stuff and writes interesting books. Of all of those I've ready, this one is probably my least favorite. It seemed that the climax of the story happened 150 pages before the book got over and the ending really dragged for me. Nonetheless, it was a fun to ready, quick page turner that makes you think a little bit more about where we come from and where we're going. Not a bad read, not a waste of time, but not as good as DaVinci Code either.

1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I liked the book overall because it was interesting to hear about Cheryl's mishaps and learning moments along the Pacific Crest Trail. At the same time, I think she's kind of lucky she didn't get herself killed all alone in the wilderness. In my mind I had assumed she hiked the PCT from Mexico to Canada, so I felt a little cheated when I learned that she skipped all of Washington and some large chunks of the High Sierras because of heavy snow that year. It's understandable, but I hadn't expected that. I should not throw too many darts because I have not backpacked the PCT myself. Easy to armchair coach her follies and mistakes. Overall well written. Somewhat graphic language, drug use, and a few sex scenes make this at PG-13 book, so I would be uncomfortable recommending it to my mom. Take that for what it's worth.