American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart My rating: 4 of 5 stars As a cookbook this one is fascinating. It will not be a huge surprise to those who have read Reinhart’s other bread books, but the first half of the book is entirely prose. Reinhart takes us on a…

The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a good book that I want everyone to read so they understand why the tech is so broken right now. At the same time I think it’s hampered by the very forces it talks…

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Year of Sanderson is over (book-wise anyway). This book is the most Cosmere book of the year. Both Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter were basically standalone stories that happened to have Hoid in them. The ending…

House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is Hickman at his most Hickman. There are repeated timelines, conspiracies, and a semi-non-linear story that goes out 1000 years from the time of the first book. It’s more sci-fi than a typical X-Men book. It’s also, almost 100% setup.…

Compulsory by Martha Wells My rating: 3 of 5 stars Almost too short, it’s definitely microfiction. Murderbot is still Murderbot, but doesn’t get to shine with such a small word count. View all my reviews

Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything by Kelly Weinersmith My rating: 4 of 5 stars A popular science book about emerging technologies. I’m not sure if it’s because Kelly Weinersmith is actually a scientist, but they do a good job probing potential downsides to each of the technologies. Zach provides cartoons (in…

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars And so it appears we have finished the most recent Arc of the Dresden files. We tied together everything that has come before and just like the previously named book Changes this one changes a whole bunch. We’ve now left the world as it…

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars Overall, these stories are more relevant to the main storyline than the Brief Cases stories were. Definitely recommend reading where it takes place in the timeline. A Fistful of Warlocks – Lots of fun with wizards in the wild West. Would like to see…

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars What a way to end a book. Thank goodness I’m reading this when book 17 is already out. That said, I’m not sure the next book isn’t going to have a cliff-hanger based on what’s supposed to happen in that book. In these reviews…

Skin Game by Jim Butcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars Putting aside any feelings you, dear reader, may have about Rick and Morty – I have to say that their episode parodying heists had ruined me any time I come across a heist in any narrative media. That’s right, folks – Harry Dresden is…

Cold Days by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars I won’t know until the next book, but this one seems like the end or Arc 2. We finally learn what was happening with a bunch of loose plot threads. We learn why Rashid has the title he has. Harry and a bunch of…

Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart My rating: 3 of 5 stars Reinhart brings his expertise to the topic of whole grain breads. He’s been a champion of these healthier breads for a while, but here he bring his latest knowledge to bear to create tastier whole wheat and…

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher My rating: 3 of 5 stars The ending of this story saved it from being 2 stars in my estimation. I’d been telling lots of people that I viewed books 1-6 or 7 as the first arc of The Dresden Files. By the end of those books you’ve met all…

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Restoration of Faith” – for all Butcher’s disclaimer that this is amateur hour, it still reads rather well. Enjoyable story with a sort of proto-Harry. “Vignette” – a fun bit of flash fiction. The only thing that felt weird was Bob seeming a bit…

Changes by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars Changes, the title promises us, and changes we do get. As I was reading the story, I told my wife, I think this is the close of another grand story arc. She’s at about book 6, which I considered the be the first arc where…