Jason Cox

Wow! How did I not get taught this stuff in 17 years of schooling (not including Med school of course)? The topics covered in this one should be required education for not only every American, but every individual in a “free society” of any sort.

What's crazy is that for a book that was written in the 1980s and covers events mostly prior to 1950, this book is shockingly relevant at our current time.

If you have an Audible subscription, I believe this is included in your program and I would definitely recommend it if you want to be blown away by how prescient some guys writing in the 1600's and 1800's and early 20th Century were about politics and society.

This book is simply fantastic.

Yet frustrating at the same time. The whole book begs the question “what has happened that Kvothe has lost his power?” Yet this is never touched upon. Obviously there will be a sequel or sequels (hopefully Rothfuss won't try to cram the entirety of the answer into a single tome!) But there is no other book that I can think of that leaves you hanging as sorely or as long.

Book 2 of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey is a fantastic follow-up that pulls off the unusual feat of being a better book than the first book in a series.

This one follows James Holden and his small crew as they find themselves once again in the middle of events swirling around the solar system. On the “other thread” you get to meet U.N. Undersecretary Christen Avasarala and see her fight a political battle against nearly insurmountable odds. The third major character is Bobby Draper, a Martian marine who encounters and survives an early protomolecule monster encounter.

All of this maneuvering occurs under the ominous transformation occurring on Venus after the events of the first book sent the protomolecule there, instead of Earth.

Along the way, you get to know these extremely interesting characters, see them change, and handle some pretty sticky dilemmas in creative ways.

Overall, while the Expanse books fall into the category of “Space Opera,” I'd caution you against thinking of them that way. Space Opera has become synonymous with the concept of cliche space stories. They reuse and recycle old themes, characters, and situations and you end up with very similar stories. Sometimes it's just a re-worked western set in space. They tend to be fun, fast reads, but the common theme is cliche. There is essentially nothing cliche about these books. They are original and gritty. The characters are far outside the norm, and you get to know them and their motivations very well.

Add to that the fairly realistic way in which real physics are dealt with, and you give the story a bit of a hard science-fiction edge.

As a Christian, there are always going to be struggles with how best to grow closer to Christ. My number 1 recommendation for any Christian in this (outside of faithfully reading the Bible) is Donald Whitney's book The Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. That book simply transformed my intentional efforts to be a better follower of Christ.

This book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, is a great addition as well. There is some overlap, so if you start here, there is still a tremendous amount of coverage of the spiritual disciplines as well. But this book is directed at and fully acknowledges the challenges of our 21st century western lives and all of the distractions that may make it difficult to follow through.

The format of this one is interesting in that each “chapter” is 1-2 pages. You could almost use it as a nightly read, just reading 1-2 of the topics and seeing how they apply to your situation. Much like Spiritual Disciplines, I think this is a book I'll come back to from time to time. I've dog-eared several sections that I think would be great for discussion in small group settings as well.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to grow their relationship to Christ.

This was simply phenomenal.
As a Christian man, there are so many ways we are pulled each and every day. It can be hard to maintain focus on what is important. I think even moreso for later generations as the quality of parenting has been progressively worsening over the past 50+ years.

Briefly, this is a great book to put a Christian man's focus where it needs to be to break the chains that seem to be destroying individual men, their families, and even our society. Each chapter covers a particular focus, but all of the chapters point back to Christ, who we need to rely upon to accomplish the goal of being the men God calls us to be in order to accomplish His purpose. There can be no higher purpose or calling than that.

Discussing the important issue of lack of discourse on hot topics in today's western culture, The Canceling of the American Mind is a fair and balanced review of the phenomenon.

The focus is on how the types of attacks that result in cancellation of individuals on the right and the left create an environment of self-censorship in an unhelpful way. It further describes the 2 main tools in cancellation: The Perfect Rhetorical Fortress and the Efficient Rhetorical Fortress. How both are used and the problem with both.

You may see negative reviews about this book, calling it ahistorical (which is completely incorrect in this reader's view) and biased. There is a very thorough discussion of the history of cancel culture and it's foundation with many explicit examples that clarify each of the points made. Regarding the allegation of bias, I would expect that from one reading it from one particular viewpoint, because the extreme bubble that exists in academia would blind those people from even seeing what is going on. Those within the bubble have no idea how little viewpoint diversity they are exposed to simply due to the nature of their environment.

There are sections of this tome which are hard to stomach for people on either side of the political aisle, but as a person who has been politically neutral for most of my life, I would definitely say these areas are handled in a balanced and appropriate fashion. This issue is NOT occurring equally for people on both sides, nor is the current situation a minor issue. There is currently complete silencing of anyone whose viewpoint doesn't align perfectly with the ruling regime. It's extremely disappointing to see those in academia not standing against this in vastly larger numbers and signals a death-knell for our society and western civilization as a whole.

Well worth a read, but if you go in defensive about it, consider yourself completely captured by “the ideology of the day.” Desist in thinking of yourself as a free thinker or defender of alternative viewpoints. You are already part of the problem.

This book was a fascinating dive into the reasons we as individuals have the political leanings that we do. I feel the author did a fantastic job of not beating down one side or the other overwhelmingly (though if there is a lean it is to the left). The tone of the book is very nonpartisan and scientific, which is what I expected after seeing many lectures by him on YouTube. His writing style is interesting and holds the attention well. Every so often he slips in some wry humor, which helps.

But you're probably reading this book to see why your side or some other side thinks the way they do. And this book really delivers. The concepts are clearly illustrated (textually) and I really don't know how this book could be any better.

I first read the Dark Phoenix Saga (as individual comics) during college in the early 90's. Given the release of the Dark Phoenix movie, I thought I'd re-read it to see any similarities. I'm not going to spoil either the comic or the movie, but I will say that similarities between the two are loose. Very loose. That said, the comic omnibus is fantastic. It covers Uncanny XMen issues 129-137 wherein Jean Grey is struggling with the Dark Phoenix, a cosmic entity that coinhabits her body and slowly gains control over her.

This is a classic XMen story arc and it occurs at a very key point in the history of the Xmen with many long-lasting effects going forward. Events from this arc essentially set in motion enemies for the XMen that lead to Days of Future Past, the Sentinels, the political adversaries that lead to the mutant registration act, Genosha, and essentially sets the broad course of the XMen for at least the next 20 years in print.

The artwork by John Byrne and Terry Austin is absolutely fantastic. It was IMHO the best artwork in comics during that era. The other thing to keep in mind is this is what lead into the explosion of mutant comics at Marvel. The XMen was changing. There's something of a reunion of the original teammates with the new members during Dark Phoenix. Not long after this run, mutants would go from 1 comic (Uncanny Xmen) to so many that it was difficult to keep up - X Factor, New Mutants, Wolverine, Excalibur, Longshot, XMen, and I'm sure there are tons of others.

This is a very short, but reasonably good book about raised bed gardening. If you have Kindle Unlimited, I recommend checking this out (literally) and flipping through it. It's well illustrated and to the point.

Chances are, you're not going to come away with much new from the book just due to brevity (hence the 3 star review... really I give this 3.5 stars). That said, I did see a couple of good ideas that I've not seen elsewhere - in-garden trench composting and “garden worm tubes” - I think I'll give these a try with my next garden.

Back to the Bible

Dr. McArthur reminds us that truth is only found in the word of God through the scripture. An important reminder in this age of “personal truth” and reinterpretation of scripture to fit cultural preferences. I was challenged to examine my own heart with regard to where I seek truth and authority. Too often today we see “Christian influencers” directing the path of the Christian communities with quotes, anecdotes, and cultural relevance and leaving behind the authority of scripture. This book is a needed wake up call to get back to being scripturally literate in our walk with Christ. ( reviewed by Holley Cox)

This is a fantastic cookbook with full-color photos throughout. Many different styles of barbeque are covered along with many different rubs, sauces, sides, desserts and even cocktails. I've tried several of the recipes and have been impressed with the outcome, even though I'm cooking on a pellet grill/smoker instead of lump hardwood charcoal.

Looking forward to trying out the cocktail recipes and many of the sides as well as every last one of the BBQs on offer.

This is a fascinating book on WWI that covers more of the political aspects of the events leading up to and during the war. It reads fairly neutrally and doesn't feel like it “takes sides.” There is general discussion of the military side of the war with various battles and their significance covered, but not likely in the same degree of detail as the political machinations going on are covered.

I will admit that my education on the Great War was woeful. Perhaps this is because I moved cities in 8th grade and somehow missed it. Or maybe it's just that I'm a public school kid and that's what we got. Anyway, I thought this was very well done and I'd love suggestions that cover WWII in the same way.

For those of you who feel like taking the time (the unabridged audiobook was 32 hours) to learn about a war from a century ago, you might be surprised. I was certainly surprised how much similarity there is now to that era. Especially where it comes to some of the reporting from newspapers and propaganda that went on prior to and throughout the war.

A Warning: The propaganda of the time drove the citizens into a frenzy. For the Germans, that made them believe they were justified in their actions. It made them willing to make tremendous sacrifices towards a war effort that maybe shouldn't have been supported so long if their citizens and legislators were more level-headed. For the Entente (Allies), the same thing was true, but it also drove them to a point that they were unreasonable in their expectations for war reparations from Germany/Austria/Hungary. It appears obvious in hind-sight, but this likely lead to the conditions that brought Hitler to power and ultimately directly lead to WWII. Our current political climate is equally divisive. People on both sides of the political street actually believe that the other side is literally “evil.” That if you expose yourself to thoughts from the other side that you are somehow doing yourself harm. In reality, we are all in our own propaganda “bubbles” of information which is self-selected and then algorithmically reinforced through social media which feeds you more ideas that are similar to your own. The best thing we can do is to reverse this trend and burst our own info bubbles. Look openly at the other side. Maybe this way we can prevent WWIII, or a second civil war.

Tag and his crew find themselves in a new predicament. After leaving the Mechanics' homeworld due to politics getting them in hot water, they meet up with the SRE only to be further embroiled in trouble. They are sent to another world which is technically run by the SRE but with a significant separatist movement.

Melchiorri's writing style and character development is growing on me. Definitely looking forward to the next installment.

These Cruciform Quick books are solid quick-hitters that go hard on a single idea. Aging Gracefully talks about the Christian life and uses the metaphor of building a house - every day all the things we do go into the “house” we are building that is our witness to others and which also affects our every day lives. He talks about the sorrows that come with age, as well as joys and responsibilities. The race that we run and the fruit of our labors and witness.

All very good things to keep in mind as we live our lives as professing Christians.

Interesting comparison of the Jouvenelian model vs the Liberal model in our current political world order.

This isn't a book to start with if you don't have the prerequisites of having read Bertrand de Jouvenel or at least having read summaries or other content to understand where C.A. Bond is coming from. But if you do have that background, then this work really helps you see how power structures work. This edition shows how almost all current Western political trends are towards centralization of power and ties together so many things, including foundations, various “marginalized people movements,” political science as a science, international organizations, etc.

Harry's troubles with the various courts of Vampires continue, with him battling against Black, Red, and White courts at various points throughout this fun read.

The key to this novel is you learn more about his family and mentor in ways that I expect will have long-running impact in upcoming novels.

This book is an excellent overview of likely changes coming to our society from a world-view perspective. In generations past, there have been wholesale societal shifts in “direction.” For instance, moving from into the industrial age, there was a shift from a family-based agrarian societal structure. That had profound effects throughout society. People left the rural areas and congregated in cities to find production jobs. Capacity of production was limited by the workers available so the educational system was changed to educate our children to a degree that they would be capable of succeeding in those types of jobs. That required left brain thinking. Over the past 150 years, that has been an extremely successful and productive model for western countries. But in modern times, there is another shift that is currently in full swing: a new renaissance, wherein those jobs & professions that require left-brain thought and training are better handled by computers or low-paid workers in other countries.

If you have been exposed to Goleman's Emotional Intelligence or Social Intelligence books and Friedman's The World is Flat (or even Hot, Flat & Crowded), you'll have something of an idea of how this book reads. The writing style is very similar to Friedman's, though not as densely packed. There is certainly some conceptual content overlap among all of these books as well. I found them all to be quite interesting. Or maybe “thought-provoking” would be the more appropriate term.

The focus of AWNM is on the new renaissance and how this could affect our future and that of our children. Is the current education system going to serve our children, or will it adequately outfit them to enter a job market in which they have no chance of competing with someone who works for 1/2 or less the wages? What types of skills and perspectives do we need to educate and train our future generations in order to make the next economic leap? There are some specifics and a lot of general ideas to digest. And probably act upon through groundswells of pressure and support on our educational system in order to make the necessary changes to best serve our next generations.

My primary criticism of the book is there isn't enough specific application discussed. The topics covered are huge and will probably affect our next several generations to such a large degree that not acting on this is foolish. Probably even downright negligent. So what are the “next steps” to take as (a) individuals, (b) local thought-leaders, (c) people on educational boards, (d) people involved in various strata of government or even politics? Speaking of politics, I'm essentially straight-up libertarian, and this book read as having a significantly liberal bias. To me, that felt unnecessary as these topics are really non-partisan. Perhaps it was hard to contain as many current right-brain-dominant individuals find themselves in liberal fields of work. Still, it needs to be noted as the topics should be equally important to conservatives, liberals, or anyone in our country. And for those reading it from outside of the western world, it really gives a good thought-platform on skipping straight past “equality” with the western world to a position of dominance quickly.

Definitely a recommended read. Start up a conversation if you do.

It's been a long time since my first read of Sundiver. On my first read, I remember not enjoying it as much as the other Uplift Saga books, but I also read them out of order (I read Startide Rising followed by The Uplift War, then Sundiver originally). I've been meaning to re-read the series (and the 2nd series for the first time) but am just getting around to it.

At any rate, I enjoyed this quite a bit on my second reading. I had completely forgotten the plot and the twists in the story, which is a good thing because there'd be little re-read value otherwise. That being said, the story is good, with an interesting plot. Characters are really good, especially the primary protagonist. The anthropology-based sci-fi is top notch as well. Overall, a very solid book and a reminder of why I've often thought of David Brin as one of my favorite authors.

I've had the first few of these on my shelf for years but haven't previously picked them up. This was a seriously enjoyable page-turner. Still processing it mentally but already started book 2 (Guns of Avalon).

The characters are complex and interesting. Sibling rivalry to the extreme, let's just say. Interesting setting/world-building. Loved it.

This 4th book in The Dresden Files is the best one to date. As usual, Harry Dresden is in the middle of a mess that is far bigger than him, but into which he is intimately embroiled. At risk: Not only his own life (which is forfeit from any number of directions), but also the balance of the entire realm of Fairy. Billy and the Wolf Gang are there to help along with a number of other, new, friends.

With every book I read in this series, I find myself more and more glad I got it started! Definitely worth the time. These books are fast and fun, very creative and impossible to put down.