Unsong

Unsong by Scott Alexander (audio version)

Scott Alexander has a cult-like following on his blog (Slate Star Codex and later Astral Codex Ten). He writes a lot and elicits a huge number of comments. This book was originally serialized over the span of a couple years on the blog. It has the feel of a work full of inside jokes. 

The book is an alternative history starting from the 1960s. The mission to the moon broke an important crystal surrounding the earth and started messing up the magic. Things started going wrong in various ways. Angels, demons and other religious figures are real and heavily involved in earth. Words have great power. Saying the right word can have real actions. (In one scene, the President burns up because somebody hacked a teleprompter to get him to say "light myself on fire" word.) Companies have set up ways to find words - and then copyrighted the words. This has caused problems as others are not permitted to use them - even if they would help a lot.

The book goes through many digressions at it explores possible kabbalistic interpretations of people, places and things. San Francisco is similar to Jerusalem, with many areas having words that match Jewish names. In one scene, a character goes through a deep theological analysis of the song "American Pie". He is only stopped by someone taking this discussion in other ways.

The book is very long and has a "blog feel". There is something of a plot with the rise of a fallen angel and the conflict with the world. However, that is of minor importance compared to the string of short episodes. Good angels are busy trying to "debug" the functionality of earth. Hell comes out in the open and partners with countries in earth. Historic episodes take place in this weird world, though often with more obvious manipulation. It would not be hard to read some sections out of order.

The audiobook was prepared as a podcast. The narration is pretty well done, but the volume can be variable.

How to Lead When You're Not in Charge

How to Lead When You're Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins and Andy Stanley

While the content is generally applicable, many of the examples are related to the author's experience as a southern church pastor. There is the story of how chic fil-a started serving milkshakes. (A local manager decided to experiment with ways to do it. He did not keep quiet about it, but did not spend too much time bragging. He had built up trust with the higher ups and was able to demonstrate how it worked well.) In another example, the church team advocated taking off Memorial Day Sunday after seeing another church do that with success. At first, the attempt was shot down. However, they later presented evidence and built up a solid case for giving volunteers some time off so they could come back stronger for the summer.

The core message is that leadership and authority are different. Leadership does not need authority. A position of authority works best for somebody that is already a leader. True leadership requires understanding others and helping them to achieve their maximum potential - whether they are above you or below you in the hierarchy. Being positive is key. Even when you seek change, doing it from a position of positivity is the best way to get it done. 

A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Rob Goodman

Claude Shannon was smart and introduced the information age. He had worked much in industry and pioneered ideas useful for transmitting information across phone networks. He helped understand the redundancy of data and how information can be compressed, error corrected and used to communicate across distances. It was a very practical field with some rigourous underpinnings. He was also a "character" with interesting social skills. He married his first wife because they liked the same music. He had general "I understand the world better than traditionalists" outlook.  I had a read a few Shannon books before, and didn't realize I had actually read this one before. This one felt a bit slow.

Less: A Novel

Less: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer

Arthur Less is a mediocre gay novelist. He has brushed against some greatness, but seems destined to be unremarkable. He was once "stole" a well-known poet from his wife. He also had a book that had somewhat positive feedback. All of that was in the past. Now he is taking any opportunity he can find with anyone available. This leads to various humorous encounters. Even at a gay convention, his writing is deemed "not gay enough." He cannot seem to win. Luckily, I did not find myself caring much about him.

The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change

The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier

The author did a NanoWriMo book on her experience transitioning from engineer to management. People still need to remain a bit technical as the rise up. First steps are typically working as a mentor to interns. Other steps include doing more people work and less coding. Even those on a technical track still need to have a little people experience. The best technical people are not necessarily the best managers. The book is a nice tech-focused book on management and rising up the career ladder. (Which sometimes is best done at places that do not have a ladder!) Management is different at different companies and at different phases of growth as are the opportunities.

Gabby the Bubble Gum Fairy

Gabby the Bubble Gum Fairy: The Candy Land Fairies Book 2

Some goblins are chewing bubble gum and being mean at a park. Other people find gum too hard. There is one girl at the park that is a "park buddy" that plays with others that are feeling lonely. She is about to get a gum award from the factory, but the gum is all bad. Rachel and Kirsty go to the candy factory and help rescue the important fairy item from the goblins and get the candy back to normal.

What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs?

What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs? by Megan Stine, illustrated by Gregory Copeland

The book covers "the age of excitement about dinosaurs" almost as much as "the age that dinosaurs lived". That is a good thing. I have not heard much discussed about the first people that discovered dinosaur bones. It was also fun to read about the rivalry of early dinosaur enthusiasts and the underhanded tricks they would pull to best their rivals. The coverage of the lives of dinosaurs is also in this book, but that is pretty well covered elsewhere.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness: 101 Stories of Compassion and Paying It Forward

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness: 101 Stories of Compassion and Paying It Forward by Amy Newmark

The "Good Deeds" book is a short version of the Random Acts of Kindness book. It has a series of kindness stories, including many tear-jerkers. Sometimes people tell the stories of being helped, while other times they help others. Helping can be a true benefit of its own. (Though in a few you wonder if it did help.) There are also a few stories about help received from those who you would least suspect it. It does seem to be primarily from a middle-class suburban mindset, but there is a bit of variety in there.

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776

I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 (I Survived #15) by Lauren Tarshis

A kid is with his cruel uncle. There is a slave boy that accidentally hurt the uncle. The boy takes the blame and runs off, eventually joining the American revolution around New york City in 1776. This short account explores some lesser known aspects of the American Revolution.

Meet Buzz and Fly Guy

Meet Buzz and Fly Guy (Phonics Long E book 7) by Tedd Arnold

This is a phonics version of the first Fly Guy book. It mostly follows the plot of the first book, though the story has been changed a bit to follow the phonics format. It also seems to abridge it a bit, with only some of the pictures used. Buzz finds fly guy as a pet. It seems to work alright.

The Complete What's Your Poo Telling You

The Complete What's Your Poo Telling You (Funny Bathroom Books, Health Books, Humor Books) by Josh Richman (Author), Anish Sheth (Author)

This is a quick book about poo and pee. What do the different colors and consistencies mean? What causes odors? Why is some poo difficult to wipe, while others are clean? This book provides simple medical analysis of human excrement. There are also bits of history and comparison to different animals. The book is fairly short and could be a bathroom reader. (However, sitting on the throne could produce impacted hemorrhoids.) It is light and interesting, but there are some highlights with black on red that can be difficult to read due to poor contrast.

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

A girl is moving... again. She has had to move every time her mother breaks up with a boyfriend - and that seems to happen frequently. This time she is starting a new middle school in St. George, Utah. She wears crazy clothes to help distract from her Tourette's tics. Her neighbor is an Asian boy who happens to be student body president at her school. He likes to play baseball and is attracted to the new girl, but reluctant to be seen with her. The other kids at school tease the girl all the time for her clothes and tics. Finally the boy is willing to be seen with the girl. It all comes to head when his friends make fun of her and he punches them. This gets him suspended from school and causes him to lose his leadership position. But now they are good friends. Alas, her mom has married a guy in Nevada and they are going to move soon. The friendship has helped her to be more bold in her new school and be forward about her tics. The story is told in an open narrative style with various verse. It brings together the challenges of coming of age with peer pressure, medical conditions and family issues. There is even a side story of the "mean" girl and the challenges from her history.

Warcross

Warcross by Marie Lu

Warcross is a super popular game that everyone loves to play and watch. The billionaire creator had lost his brother when he was young. Now he has a grand plan that nobody knows about.

The protagonist is a young woman who is struggling to make ends meet. She is secretly a great game player and hacker. She gets her chance to participate in the big game tournament after she hacks into the opening ceremony. The game creator recruits her as a type of "bounty hunter" to find people that may be trying to undermine him. She has a lot of success and learns a lot about the creator and enters into a small romantic relationship with him. However, one of the underworld guys she is tracking is her match. 

The story goes well, but the end gets trite. The game creator wants to eliminate crime and provide full historical access to memories. She feels that this could get people a loss of control. Maybe she should have partnered with the underworld people. But they were also mean.

The book feels a lot like Ready Player One.

Fly Guy’s Thrilling Tricks

Fly Guy’s Thrilling Tricks by Tedd Arnold

This is a "phonic" version of a Fly Guy book. The story is roughly the same as the original. However, the words are changed to emphasize certain short-i words. It is not quite as good as the original but not bad.

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

The heroine must save the world. This one seems to tilt more towards the violence rather than romance. It is really tedious. The heroine is some sort of royal and now has her committed partner. There is a big killing at the end. And there is a lot of forgettable prose in between.

Loud Proud Lenny Lion (Hand Puppet Books)

Loud Proud Lenny Lion (Hand Puppet Books) by Kate Thomson, illustrated by Barry Green

There is a fun "puppet" character in this book. That is the best thing going for this forgettable book about a lion and a mouse that ends up helping him escape a hunter's net.

Pinkalicious and the Babysitter

Pinkalicious and the Babysitter by Victoria Kann

A babysitter comes over. She has them play fun games and gets them to eat their peas when they say "P". They have hot chocolate, but break a mug. They then decide to make a mosaic out of the broken pieces. At least there is no magic in this one.

Pete the Cat: 5-Minute Bedtime Stories: Includes 12 Cozy Stories!

Pete the Cat: 5-Minute Bedtime Stories: Includes 12 Cozy Stories! by James Dean (Author, Illustrator), Kimberly Dean (Author)

This book has a dozen Pete the Cat stories. The stories are tedious. There are two many words. Every now and then there is an interesting part of story, but in general this has a lot to be desired. It is tough to get all the way through.

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt (Author), Adam Rex (Illustrator)

Rock, Paper and Scissors each occupy separate realms in the house. In their realms, they are always dominant. They feel unfulfilled that they don't have any challengers. Then they each independently venture out and encounter each other. They find rivals that provide a challenge and thus give birth to the rock, paper scissors game.

The book is narrated in over-the-top dramatic fashion, despite having locations like "Mom's home office." It is a fun ride.

Phoebe Sounds It Out

Phoebe Sounds It Out by Julie Zwillich (Author), Denise Holmes (Illustrator)

Phoebe is asked to write her name in school. The teacher encourages her to sound it out. She does and writes "Feeby".