Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review: The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche – A Book for Disruptors

Book cover for The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book for Disruptors by Brad Feld and Dave Jilk

Part of my daily morning routine involves devotionals and daily readers. Last year, one of those books was a little different. It was a weekly read.

The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche: A Book for Disruptors by Brad Feld and Dave Jilk is a collection of 52 essays on various entrepreneurial topics. The essays are grouped into five sections – Strategy, Culture, Free Spirits, Leadership, and Tactics. Each essay starts with a Nietzsche quote that is used as the starting point for that week’s topic. The majority of the essays also include a narrative by an entrepreneur that reinforces the message in the essay by way of personal experience.

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Book review: Interference

Book cover for Interference by Brad Parks

As much as I joke about Amazon being my arch-nemesis, they offer good services for book readers. One of the services I follow is their First Reads program. The program provides early access to new books. Since I enjoy discovering new authors, the First Reads program provides one such avenue.

What’s the biggest bonus of the program? If you’re a Prime member, you can select at least one and sometimes two books off each month’s list for free. It’s how I discovered the book Interference by Brad Parks, which I doubt I would have otherwise stumbled upon.

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Book review: Why We Sleep

Book cover for Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep And Dreams by Matthew Walker

I’ve spent a lot of time learning about health and nutrition over the last few years in an effort to improve and optimize my well-being. It’s changed what I eat with an increased emphasis on fewer processed foods, less refined carbohydrates, and more natural foods. It’s changed how I eat with intermittent fasting becoming a regular part of my daily routine. It’s made me more aware of how my eating habits affect my bodily functions, particularly my immune system and response.

One item I hadn’t spent a lot of time researching is sleep. I’ve known that getting an adequate, good night’s sleep is important. I’ve experienced the effects of poor sleep first hand, as I’m sure we all have at one time or another. What I didn’t realize is just how important sleep is, which is what researcher Matthew Walker covers in Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep And Dreams.

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Book review: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

Book cover for The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Humans have an infatuation with time travel. How do I know? I’ve read my fair share of time travel stories, and I’m sure that I’ve just scratched the surface.

When I started The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, I didn’t realize I was going to be reading yet another book around time travel. Fortunately, this version of the time travel story had an interesting twist to it.

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Books to read in 2023

Looking for a few books to add to your reading list in 2023? As I did last year, here are ten titles for your consideration. I’ve broken them down into three categories once again – General Recommendations, Personal Development, and Business. There’s also a few bonus reads at the end if my top 10 aren’t enough to fill your reading list.

My reading tends to lean towards science fiction, technology, self-management, and fitness & nutrition. Bear this in mind as you review the list.

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Book review: Code Breakers

Book cover for Code Breakers, The Complete Series, by Colin F. Barnes

For my reading list the last couple of years, I set a goal of reading books that I previously purchased. I discovered and bought most of the books through Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals email, although I’m sure a couple came from the Amazon recommendation engine, which I consider my arch-nemesis.

Code Breakers by Colin F. Barnes, which I purchased in December 2016, was one of the last books on that list.

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Book review: The Intellectual Life

Book cover for The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges

I’ve read my fair share of personal development books over the years. What I’m finding is that the concepts of self management and character development have remained constant over time. You can read a book written 2,000 years ago like Meditations, and read a book written recently, such as Digital Minimalism, and you’ll find that there are a lot of common themes. Time has passed, societies have changed, technology has advanced, but at our core, we are still human beings. The principles that lead to being a person of good character haven’t changed.

It’s why I find it interesting to occasionally read personal development “classics”, and it’s what led me to read The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges.

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Book review: The Cancer Code

Book cover for The Cancer Code: A Revolutionary New Understanding of a Medical Mystery by Dr. Jason Fung

Over the past few years, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn more about health, nutrition, and fitness. I’m not implying that I don’t trust my doctor, or the medical profession in general. However, if the information is out there, why shouldn’t I read it? There’s nothing wrong with a little knowledge, especially when it comes to our own body and health. It also leads to more productive conversations with my doctor during my annual check-up.

As part of my personal health education process, I recently read The Cancer Code: A Revolutionary New Understanding of a Medical Mystery by Dr. Jason Fung. Cancer has been one of the most lethal diseases of my lifetime, and I wanted to understand more about it, how it’s treated, and possibly how to prevent or delay its onset.

When I wanted to learn more about fasting, I read Dr. Fung’s The Complete Guide to Fasting which was very informative and a book I would highly recommend. Based on that experience, I had high expectations for The Cancer Code.

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Book review: Way Station

Book cover for Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

When reading for recreation, I primarily read science fiction for reasons I’ve previously documented. I particularly enjoy near-term, hard science fiction. It fascinates me to see how authors extrapolate current technology trends into believable stories. It’s amazing how many of the trends projected in these stories have come to pass.

I also enjoy classic science fiction. Authors such as Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ray Bradbury wrote books that were well ahead of their time. Some of their writings are just as applicable today, if not more so, than when they were written back in the day. That’s why I like to occasionally slip a classic author into my reading, which is how I happened upon Way Station by Clifford D. Simak.

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Book review: Dream Golf

Book cover for Dream Golf by Stephen Goodwin

For our annual golf trip this year, Brad and I went to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. It was a true once-in-a-lifetime experience, which I documented here. It’s hard to put into words what an amazing trip it was. If you’re considering a golf trip there, my simple advice is to go. Now. You won’t regret it.

While we were there, Our caddie Eddie suggested I read Dream Golf by Stephen Goodwin. It delves into the inspiration for the resort and covers the building of the first four courses – Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, and Old MacDonald. Given how much I enjoyed the experience, Eddie didn’t have to mention it twice. I purchased the book from the gift shop the day we left the resort.

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