My Reading List

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I used to read a lot as a kid and young adult.  Since getting caught up in being an adult, I fell off the band wagon and just didn’t read too often.  In fact, I don’t think I read for pleasure for about ten years.  In 2012, I decided to do something about this and made a plan to read four books for fun.  It turns out that reading four books was pretty easy when I set out to do it and ended up reading quite a bit more than that. After seeing others in the SQL Server community talking and tweeting about the books they’ve read, I figured I could make a list of what I’ve been reading.  Maybe someone out there will be interested in some of these titles.

2013

  1. Earthshaker - Science fiction tale that ties the old gods of the Greeks to the current day.  With the story revolving around the Minotaur.  Not a bad book, but was harder to get through that most of what I’ve read recently.
  2. Post-Apocalyptic Nomadic Warrier – Quick fast post-end of the world story.  About a warrier and his desires to help the towns emerging in the new world. I really enjoyed this from both a story and ease of read perspective.
  3. Indentured - A number of clones wake up on a spaceship and find out that the world they remember has changed dramatically.
  4. Chosen - Thriller about a couple groups of secret society folks chasing down a boy and his mother.  Good story, not sure I read the rest of the series though.
  5. Onslaught Ascension – Decent story about teens abducted by aliens.  The premise was good but there were a number of grammatical issues and holes in the story that made it tough to read at times.  All-in-all I plan to read the sequel when it comes out.
  6. The Spider and the Fly – Story set in the future after humans have conquered and been conquered by alien races.  It focuses on the truth about the past and the legacy of humanity.  One of the best books I’ve read in a while - riveting story that I pretty much couldn’t put down.
  7. Wool - Short story about a sheriff in an apocalyptic future.  It was an interesting book that Brent Ozar (Blog | @BrentO) recommended.  I’m still trying to decide if I like it.  May read it again in a month.
  8. Ender’s Game – A brilliant child tasked with saving humanity.  The story follows his years in school and their repercussions   Wish I had heard of this book when it came out over 20 years ago.  Glad to see there are other books in the series.  Adding them to my future reading list.
  9. Caves of Steel – My first time reading an Isaac Asimov book and I’m sad that I didn’t read more of his books earlier.  Glad that one of my goals for the year is to read through as much of his suggested Robot Series book list as I can.  The story wasn’t so much a robot fantasy story as a detective story with some social commentary, classic true sci-fi.
  10. Sick - I first thought this might be a zombie book when I saw it but then found out it was a thriller on germ warfare and global conspiracies.  Great and well-paced story.  It was hard to put down and I ended up reading it over two days.  There are two sequels to this story and I’m planning to read those now too.
  11. The Fall of the House of Usher – A classic Poe short story.  Good story with an overwhelming sense of dread.  Figured since I hadn’t read it, I should.  So worth it.
  12. The Blockade Runners – Like Asimov, I didn’t read enough (or any) Jules Verne as a kid.  A novella of a voyage to the US during the Civil War.  Interesting the bit of discussion in the book about the purpose of the Civil War, states rights versus slavery.
  13. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – I saw the cartoon for this as a kid and figured I should read the real classic American story.  It was good and brought back some good childhood memories.
  14. Beauty and the Beast – Ok, ok, not the Disney book.  I’m not going all children’s books in my reading list, but I knew there was a story prior to the Disney flick and thought I’d check it out.  It was… mediocre, but quick.
  15. The Land That Time Forgot – The first book in the Caspak series and a story that I’ve known about for years.  It is told from the point of view of a journal recovered in Iceland.  It takes a while to get to “the land” but the story was engaging and a good read.  It tells the story of a group on a submarine stuck on in a “land” that is populated with extinct animals and pre-historic versions of man.
  16. The People That Time Forgot – The second book in the Caspak series.  This one picks up with a rescue mission for the people stuck on the island.  It continues also with an explanation of some of the higher evolution of man on the island.  Another great story.
  17. Out of Time’s Abyss – The third book in the Caspak series.  This book finishes describing the people’s of Caspak with a focus on the Wieroo and the evolution on the island.  It does a great job of tying off the series and wrapping everything up.
  18. The Island of Doctor Moreau – I’ve always heard this was a great story and I’ll have to say it’s just a good story.  Something in either the prose or the formatting to kindle made it hard to get too drawn into.  For those unfamiliar with the story, the main character ends up on the island of Doctor Moreau and he has to deal with the doctors hobby of vivisection.
  19. The Boy at the End of the World – Interesting story that starts in the distant with a boy waking up at a time when it appears that humans are extinct.  I really enjoyed this one and plowed through it in a couple days.  Hard to put down and worth the read.
  20. Breakers (Breakers, Book 1) – Another hard to put down book.  A disease comes through and wipes out nearly everyone.  Those that remain have to deal with a spaceship that arrives a few months later.  The story follows a couple characters as they eventually intersect their stories and work together.  If you are looking a good science-fiction book, this is one to consider.
  21. The Girls From Alcyone – A good sci-fi story with a strong female character driven plot.  In a few of the early chapters, it seemed that there were a lot of plot lines being left unfinished.  By the end of the story, though, the lines were pulled together.  Another science-fiction book that I’d recommend.

2012

  1. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Great zombie story written from the standpoint of someone reporting on the events of the zombie apocalypse and the recovery after that.
  2. Zomblog - Zombie story written in a blog/journal format.  It follows the journey of the author in the post apocalypse   I really enjoyed this book.
  3. Dead Things – Yet another zombie book.  Written after the apocalypse in the new society.  The story uncovers the source of the zombie plague.  Great book to read following the last one.
  4. Dome Child – Science fiction story in the future after a few more world wars where religion and the end of the world.  The story revolves around a few people that get to decide between the end and hope for the future.
  5. Containment – Cool science fiction story told from the perspective of a colony on Venus.  The main character comes of age and starts to ask questions about whether he wants to be on Venus or go back to Earth.
  6. How Lego Built A Comeback – Interesting story that could have been told much better.  When I finished I really felt like the author ripped me off on my time.  There were some interesting facts but overall no good explanation of what Lego did.
  7. A Princess of Mars – Story of John Carters first trip to Mars.  Basically, it’s the first part of the movie John Carter – but immensely better.  Worth the read if you enjoy sci-fi books.
  8. The Gods of Mars – Follow-up to A Princess of Mars, John Carter returns to rescue the princess.  Great book – you should read it.
  9. The Warlord of Mars - John Carters back and he’s about to unite the entire planet.  Follow his adventures as he travels to the south side of the planet.  Another one to read, as well.
  10. Thuvia, Maid of Mars – No longer a story about John Carter, but now the focus is on his son.  As good as the others, it was as hard to put this down as the others.
  11. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Arhur Dent and company travel the universe after the Earth blows up.  Great book that I read often as a kid.
  12. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe – Arthur and company on the move again and this time they meet their meat.  Another book that I read as a kid and still enjoy.
  13. Life, the Universe and Everything -
  14. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish – Back on Earth, which suddenly returns, and Arthur runs around saving the universe again.  I barely remembered reading this as a kid and still enjoyed it.
  15. Mostly Harmless – I think I read this as a kid and still didn’t really enjoy.  I want to hear about Arthur and all, but this just wasn’t easy to get through.
  16. Guns of Seneca 6 – Cowboy science fiction in the future on a rim planet.  It was an entertaining and fast read.  Going to be looking for a follow-up for this story.
  17. Vallar – Another science fiction story about the colonies of Mars.  A fast read and very entertaining.  Looking forward to a sequel to this book.
  18. Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt. 205 – Zombie story about an agoraphobic who finally goes outside for the first time in decades.  A decent, quick book.
  19. The Time Machine – Classic science fiction from Jules Verne.  If you haven’t read this, you are selling yourself short.
  20. 30 Minute Plan – So-so zombie short story.  Good concepts but the story went too quick and something was missing that would have really helped.
  21. The Observer – Sci-fi story set during World War II about an event that changes humankind forever.  Quick pace and interesting subject.  Good for a quick science fiction story.
  22. Jailbreak - A two chapter sampler for the novel The Hunger.  I’m not sure I’ll be reading more than the sample.
  23. Vimana - Cool story about how the Hindu gods are, in fact, aliens.  And their internal battle with the “fallen” alien, otherwise known as Satan (amongst other names.  Great for a new twist on gods as aliens stories and easy to read.

Book Series

I’m always looking for books to read, especially those that are part of a series.  Here are the ones that I’m reading or planning to read.

Planned

Started

  • Baroom Series - I didn’t discover this series until Disney’s John Carter movie.  Fortunately, I saw the movie first because otherwise it would have been a disappointment.  These books are well written and very enjoyable.  So far I’ve read 4 of the 11 books.
  • Dune - Started reading Dune as a kid and continually have read the first book over and over throughput the years.  I finally committed to reading the series all the way through about 10 years ago.  Then read the expanded universe Herbert’s son has worked on.  Not quite the same, but enjoyable.  Right now I’ve read 15 of the 17 books.
  • Ender’s Game - No idea this was a series until I read Ender’s Game and ended the book wanting more.  Fortunately, there is a ton more to the series and I’m looking forward to reading them all.
  • Robot Series (Asimov)
  • Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
  • Traveler Series – I read the first book in the series years and years ago and really enjoyed it.  No idea if it will stand the test of time, but I’m going to pick them up and find out.
  • Wool - Turned onto the series by Brent and Jeremiah.  The first book kind of sits in you and stews and now I’m planning to read everything else in the series.