What2no

Things you shouldn't try at home, or anywhere really.

Reading-room

Welcome! Here is a living collection of books I’m currently chewing on, along with a few worth mentioning from the past.

If you have comments on anything below or recommendations of your own, ping me.

📖 Current Reads

Books on the nightstand right now.

  • James Bond Series – Ian Fleming
    • Status: On Book 3 (Moonraker).
    • Verdict: Watching the movie after each one. Read them all in my teens; they feel like new again.
  • The Void Trilogy – Peter F. Hamilton
  • First Law World (Standalones) – Joe Abercrombie
    • Status: Reading the three standalone books before his latest trilogy.
    • Verdict: Read all works up to here. All great.
  • El Borak Stories – Robert E. Howard (Creator of Conan)
    • Status: On story #2.
  • Conan Series – Robert E. Howard
    • Status: Finished story #1.
  • Charlie Chan Series – Earl Derr Biggers
    • Status: On Book 2 (only 5 written before he died).
  • 11/22/63 – Stephen King
    • Verdict: Not loving it.
  • Mistborn Era 1 – Brandon Sanderson
    • Verdict: Didn’t love it at first, but then couldn’t stop.
  • Mistborn Era 2 – Brandon Sanderson
    • Status: On Book 1 (The Alloy of Law).
    • Verdict: Not loving it yet. I said the same of the first series and that changed, so I’m pushing through.
  • Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
  • Childe Cycle (Dorsai) – Gordon R. Dickson
    • Verdict: Think I read it before. Seems all new again though. I liked his Final Encyclopedia, so whatever.
  • The Will of the Many – James Islington
    • Verdict: New. OK so far, but seems predictable. (Young dude plucked out of obscurity + magic).
  • Jade City – Fonda Lee
    • Verdict: Not loving it, though I heard great things.
  • A Fire Upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge
    • Verdict: Heard great things, but only OK so far. Early building is slow.
  • Jules Verne Collection
    • Status: Reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Michel Strogoff.
    • Verdict: All fun.
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs Collection
    • Status: Reading The Land That Time Forgot, The Mucker (Man Eater), and others.
    • Verdict: All fun. Completed.
  • Neuromancer – William Gibson
    • Status: Just started. No opinion yet.
  • Termination Shock – Neal Stephenson
    • Status: Just started.
    • Verdict: Not sure yet. Was reading it’s more of a log book w/ a message on climate change rather than a story. I have read several of his and liked all.
  • Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

📚 Past Reads: Fiction

Favorites, classics, and thrillers I’ve finished.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

  • The Stormlight Archive (Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Edgedancer, Oathbringer) – Brandon Sanderson
  • Cosmere Standalones (Tress, Yumi, Frugal Wizard) – Brandon Sanderson – Verdict: All fun, lightweight.
  • Dune Series – Frank Herbert (and Brian Herbert)
  • The Sword of Truth Series – Terry Goodkind – Read all.
  • Wheel of Time (Books 1-4) – Robert Jordan – Verdict: Tried book 5 years later and it jumped in fast without any back catchup. Need to read a summary first before returning.
  • Foundation – Isaac Asimov – Verdict: Didn’t really hate it, just didn’t have the desire to go past book one.
  • Ender’s Game & Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card
  • Three-Body Problem Series – Liu Cixin
  • Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
  • The Martian – Andy Weir
  • Culture Series (Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Use of Weapons) – Iain M. Banks
  • Commonwealth Saga (Pandora’s Star / Judas Unchained) – Peter F. Hamilton
  • Hyperion Cantos – Dan Simmons
  • Dark Tower Series – Stephen King
  • First Law Trilogy – Joe Abercrombie
  • Game of Thrones (Book 1) – George R. R. Martin
  • The Witcher (Book 1) – Andrzej Sapkowski – Verdict: Enjoyed seasons 1 & 2 of the Netflix series.
  • Harry Potter (Book 1) – J.K. Rowling – Verdict: Fun but YA for sure.
  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams – Verdict: Had enough after 2nd book. Fun for two.
  • Snow Crash & Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
  • Jurassic Park & The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton
  • Ready Player One / Armada – Ernest Cline
  • Red Rising – Pierce Brown – Verdict: OK, but found it to be too YA.
  • John Carter of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs – Read at least 4 books.
  • Discworld (Various) – Terry Pratchett
  • Riftwar Cycle (Magician, Silverthorn, Darkness at Sethanon, etc.) – Raymond E. Feist
  • Xanth, Blue Adept, Incarnations of Immortality – Piers Anthony
  • Elric of Melniboné – Michael Moorcock
  • Ringworld Series & The Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
  • Space Odyssey Series / Childhood’s End / The City and the Stars – Arthur C. Clarke
  • Thomas Covenant / Mirror of Her Dreams – Stephen R. Donaldson
  • Uplift Saga (Sundiver, Startide Rising) – David Brin
  • Eon – Greg Bear
  • The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
  • Starship Troopers / Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
  • Frankenstein – Mary Shelley (1818)
  • The Time Machine / War of the Worlds / Invisible Man – H.G. Wells
  • Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  • 1984 – George Orwell
  • Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
  • Slaughterhouse-Five / Mother Night – Kurt Vonnegut
  • I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
  • Dark Matter – Blake Crouch – Verdict: Multi-universes. Lightweight fast read.
  • Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Damien Lewis – Verdict: Finished. Those guys were so brave.
  • House of Suns – Alastair Reynolds
  • Ancillary Justice – Ann Leckie
  • Prince of Nothing Series – R. Scott Bakker
  • Dresden Files – Jim Butcher
  • Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Stainless Steel Rat – Harry Harrison
  • Hammer and the Cross Series – Harry Harrison

Thrillers, Mystery & Adventure

  • Jack Reacher Series – Lee Child – Read all.
  • Harry Bosch & Lincoln Lawyer Series – Michael Connelly
  • Bourne Identity Series – Robert Ludlum
  • Spenser & Jesse Stone Series – Robert B. Parker
  • Jack Ryan Universe (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, etc.) – Tom Clancy
  • Alex Delaware Series – Jonathan Kellerman
  • Prey & Virgil Flowers Series – John Sandford
  • Hannibal Lecter Series (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs) – Thomas Harris
  • Legal Thrillers (The Firm, Pelican Brief, etc.) – John Grisham
  • Presumed Innocent / Burden of Proof – Scott Turow
  • Kay Scarpetta Series – Patricia Cornwell
  • Sigma Force Series (Map of Bones, Black Order, etc.) – James Rollins – Verdict: Fun techno-thrillers.
  • Lincoln Rhyme (The Bone Collector) – Jeffery Deaver
  • Inspector Rebus Series – Ian Rankin
  • Harry Hole Series (First 2) – Jo Nesbø
  • Dexter Series – Jeff Lindsay
  • Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series – Stieg Larsson
  • Sherlock Holmes Stories – Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Classic Detectives: Mickey Spillane, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett.
  • Matthew Scudder Series – Lawrence Block
  • Dick Francis Collection – All material.
  • Kingsbridge Series (Pillars of the Earth) & Century Trilogy – Ken Follett
  • Eye of the Needle / Key to Rebecca – Ken Follett
  • Dan Brown Collection (Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, etc.)
  • Robin Cook Medical Thrillers (Coma, Outbreak, Fever)
  • Dean Koontz Thrillers (Odd Thomas, Demon Seed)
  • The Godfather – Mario Puzo
  • Jaws / The Island – Peter Benchley
  • Get Shorty – Elmore Leonard
  • The Corps Series – W.E.B. Griffin
  • Black Hawk Down – Mark Bowden
  • Westerns: Louis L’Amour (Most books) & Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry).
  • Three Musketeers / Man in the Iron Mask – Alexandre Dumas
  • James Michener Epics (Centennial, Space, Texas) – Verdict: Each was soooo loooonnnggg.
  • Leon Uris Epics (The Haj, Exodus, Topaz)
  • Arthur Hailey Epics (The Moneychangers, Airport, Wheels)
  • Lawrence Sanders Collection (Deadly Sins, McNally, The Tomorrow File) – Verdict: Oldies but good.
  • Joseph Wambaugh Collection (The Choirboys, The Blue Knight)
  • Carl Hiaasen Collection (Skin Tight, Star Island)
  • Wrong Place Wrong Time – Gillian McAllister
  • The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave
  • The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
  • Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
  • The Alienist – Caleb Carr

General Fiction & Classics

  • Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus – Verdict: Fun.
  • All Creatures Great and Small – James Herriot
  • Call of the Wild – Jack London
  • Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
  • What Dreams May Come – Richard Matheson
  • Nicholas Sparks & Danielle Steel – Verdict: A couple of books. Drippy romance.

🧠 Past Reads: Non-Fiction

Biography & Business

  • Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson
  • Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
  • Decision Points – George W. Bush
  • Atomic Habits – James Clear
  • Freakonomics – Steven Levitt
  • How Not To Die – Michael Greger
  • The Phoenix Project & The Unicorn Project – Gene Kim
  • Art of War – Sun Tzu
  • Future Shock – Alvin Toffler
  • Business at the Speed of Thought – Bill Gates
  • Only the Paranoid Survive – Andy Grove
  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
  • In Search of Excellence – Peters & Waterman
  • Dale Carnegie Collection – All books.

Sales & Strategy

  • Positioning – Jack Trout
  • Spin Selling – Neil Rackham
  • Getting Into Your Customer’s Head – Kevin Davis
  • Swim with the Sharks – Harvey Mackay
  • You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar – David H. Sandler
  • The New Strategic Selling – Miller & Heiman

🛑 The “Did Not Finish” (DNF) & Dislikes

Books I struggled with or didn’t enjoy.

  • Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean M. Auel
    • Why: VERY SLOW.
  • The Horse Whisperer – Nicholas Evans
  • Pilgrim – Timothy Findley
  • Black House – Stephen King & Peter Straub
  • Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard
    • Why: Movie sucked too!
  • The Gap Series – Stephen R. Donaldson
    • Note: I read them all, but didn’t enjoy them.
  • The Gripping Hand – Niven & Pournelle
    • Why: Still reading… lost interest… probably won’t finish. In my opinion – a big let down from the great first book “The Mote in God’s Eye”.
  • Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
    • Why: Don’t get the hype.
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
    • Why: Aborted book – did not like and I read tons of him when younger.
  • Girl in Landscape – Jonathan Lethem
    • Why: Nice writing style, might try others, but this story didn’t have an ending that tied up loose ends. As if the author just stopped writing.
  • Lensman Series – E.E. “Doc” Smith
    • Why: Finished book one. Was OK, but dated.
  • The Road – Cormac McCarthy
    • Why: Uneventful, boring, sad tale.