Death Masks - Jim Butcher

The 5th book of the Dresden files is exactly what you'd expect. The unexpected. There's always unexpected twists in the plot with a little bit more exposure into Harry's past, non stop magic action mixed with the super sarcastic and calm-under-fire nature of Harry Dresden.

After 5 books, I'm still enjoying Harry's character, who I can describe as the House.M.D of the magic world who always finds himself in 24-like plot. All the books have a plot that last about 48 hrs in which Harry's is hunted by multiple parties and he slips out with some beasty magic action everytime he's pushed into a corner. And Death Masks definitely delivers. The plot is my favorite one so far, which includes a duel with a vampire and the return of a great character from Book 3.

Probably my favorite book of the Dresden files so far, but I wouldn't recommend reading this one without going through the rest of the series. The character build-up through the series makes this book that much more enoyable.

Summer Knight - Jim Butcher

Book 4 of the Dresden files. Summer Knight has all the sarcasm and action I've come to expect from the first three books. The theme in this one is Faeries and Harry Dresden finds himself in the middle of TWO potential wars. This book finally delves a little into Harry's background and the white council. The action scenes weren't as interesting as the first 3 but Harry's ingenuity in getting out of tough situations or dumb luck keeps this book interesting.

If I was putting the Dresden files on a graph, compared to the first 3 books I'd put book 4 at a plateau. It starts off great but then doesn't really get much better. It just keeps building upto something and feels a bit anti-climactic towards the end.

Killing Pablo - Mark Bowden

This book is about the hunt for Pablo Escobar, so it's pretty interesting right off the cover. The first half of the book sets up the political and social climate in Columbia to which Pablo was born and how he rose to becoming the most hunted man alive. The second half of the book is about the hunt. The author is an investigative reporter so the book includes a lot of facts from interviews and quotes. But the book still reads like a novel.

In addition to a LOT of political detail and the history of every player involved, there is also some cool information like secret CIA spy aircrafts which seem like normal 2 prop airplanes but have sliding panels and antenna's that pop out once in the air. They used to keep those up in the air around Medellin trying to catch Pablo, he was one evasive SOB. 16 month hunt and hundreds of millions of dollars

The author does tend to go off into tangents about the background of each new player that is introduced but if you have the patience for that it only makes the book and drama involved that much better. The book is very clear about the overarching theme that Pablo's demise was his love for his homeland, Medellin and a couple of pivotal mistakes he made along the way.

Grave Peril - Jim Butcher

The 3rd book in the Dresden files continues the Harry Dresden saga and this story knows no bounds. All hell has broken lose in Chicago with ghosts and ghouls with Harry and this time a trusty sidekick to clean up the mess. This book introduces a whole bunch of new concepts. The NeverNever alternative world that was touched upon in the 1st book is explained further, among other things.

Harry does a lot of cool magic in this, stuff that makes Harry Potter look like a candy ass. And he does it at the brink of death and exhaustion with his never ending sarcastic humor that makes you smile the whole time. The story also develops to a point where you know is almost setting up for something even bigger to take place in the next book. I can't wait for the next one.

Fool Moon - Jim Butcher

The 2nd book of the Dresden files picks up about 6 months where the last one left off. Harry Dresden is still a starving wizard in Chicago and this time there's a new problem in his city, Werewolves. Although in a series of a books, this book is a stand-alone story where, as usual, Harry Dresden is wanted by everybody and liked by none. The author explains the different types of werewolves and a plot that has atleast 2-3 pivotal turns that keep you guessing till almost the end.

Great writing by Jim Butcher in this quick read sci-fi novel. Harry Dresden is a great character that I can't enough of. Always exhausted and coming up with the right magic at the last minute. I will definitely be reading the rest of Dresden Files series.

Freakonomics - Steven Levitt

Steven Levitt is described as a rogue economist. He's not a traditional economist but he does believe in the basic principles of economics, such as incentives, although he has a completely different way of looking at things.

The book is split up into stand-alone chapters that can be read individually and are very interesting. The author proves, using probability theory and simple logic, that Chicago public teachers cheat, that sumo wrestling is rigged and that drug dealing isn't as lucrative as people think it is. After reading some of the chapters, you feel like you could have come up with these results yourself if you had just looked at the data in a different light.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone. It is all factual and includes very interesting analysis for some of the issues that the country is facing in recent years. The writing itself is relatively loose with a touch of humor that makes this book an easy read. There simply aren't enough chapters in this book.

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

This is the 1st of a series of 8 books called the 'Dresden Files'. Harry Dresden is a wizard but the interesting part is that he is a wizard in modern day Chicago who is also a starving private eye. He does some consulting work with the police and takes on weird and mysterious cases.

This book develops the character of Harry Dresden really well. He's hungry and always looking for more work but bound by human and wizard ethics he's kept from using his powers for bad. The end of the book is definitely the best part, makes you want to get book2 and see really how good a wizard is Harry Dresden.

I'd recommend this book for anybody who likes Harry Potter but with a slightly more adult outlook and with a modern day outlook to boot. I'm definitely going to read at least a couple more books in the Dresden files.

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

First impression of this book was, long sentences. All well articulated but long sentences. I think many of these celebrities have other authors ghost write books for them, but if Obama even wrote a part of this book, he's brilliant. All those votes that Obama cast as part of the legislative process are recorded & scrutinized in the media but this book gave me an insight into things from his perspective. His thought process that goes into those decisions, that from a distance seem so easy.

The whole book is written in first person, during the timeframe when he first got elected as a senator in DC. Juggling work with a young a family between DC and Chicago, Obama clearly humanizes himself with all the honesty that you'd expect from Joe next door. A fresh new senator in the middle of the old boys club still holding on to the basic principles on which this country was found upon.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I believe I gained a much better understanding of political America as well as a lot of american and international history. I also got a lot of attention at airports and planes when people saw me holding this book.

I hope they serve beer in Hell - Tucker Max

OMFG! This book was so funny that I couldn't pick it up for bedtime reading because I'd find myself up till 2am with tears in my eyes laughing my ass off. The whole book is a collection of his drinking and sex stories from his blog @ TuckerMax.com. Making fun of rednecks, fat people, ugly women with no bounds, he makes telling the truth sound like a disease. His friends and drinking nights sort of remind me me of my own drinking nights but not nearly as as crazy. This guys lifestyle will make your fun nights sound like a church bingo party.

I picked up this book because I was in the mood for reading something humorous and I mistakenly stumbled upon on a phenomenon. Apparently this guys blog and his stories are famous and he's on his way to make a movie. Internet celeberities of the new era at its best.

Sex Lives of Cannibals - Maarten Troost

This book was freakin' hilarious. Its so funny that I kept chuckling to myself in libraries and airports. About a guy who can only be classified as a social reject, sarcastic as hell, lives in parents basement and no ambitions decides to moves to a pacific island. He thinks its exotic. The lack of electricity, kids and pigs playing on the 1 airport runway, no water and only fish fish fish for food. The lack of infrastructure and the hilarity that ensures by putting a white couple in the middle of it is well worth it. To add to that the sarcasm is the best part. His writing kind of reminded me Joseph Hellers writing. After this book, I really appreciate living in a developed society.

Supposed to be a true story and a really funny read. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read that'll keep you smiling. Although there are a couple of gross moments in it though.

Eldest - Christopher Paolini

As good as expected. This book was along the same lines as Eragon, picks up right where that one left off. He's finally on his way to the elf-land to get his training and then he finally shows what he's capable of. And the battle at the end was even better than the one in Eragon. There's a couple of surprises along the way that caught be completely off guard.

This is a must read for anybody who liked Eragon, and I can't wait to read Brisingr.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

This book is exactly half way between Harry Potter and Lord of the rings. So many similarities but its still a great story. Whats interesting is the vast difference in the beginning and the end. Eragon goes a long way from farm boy to a legend. The fight in the end of the book was amazing, kept me in goose bumps and I couldn't wait to see what happens next.

Anybody who enjoys fantasy reading will enjoy this, especially if they're looking for something like the LOTR series thats actually readable and not convoluted like Tolkien made it.

Godfather Returns - Mark Winegardner

Chronologically this book is placed in between all three movies. It fills in the gaps about Michaels family life and his struggle to take his family legit. I don't know what the reviewers who gave this thing a thumbs up were smoking but the writing is nothing like Mario Puzo. This moron has put the godfather saga to shame. He writes with forever annoying brackets (oh so many brackets). The new character, Geraci, was great and probably the only good thing in this novel.

The overall story wasn't bad but I'm never going to read a book written by this author again. I think I'll have to read 'The Godfather' again just to remove the bitter taste in my mouth.

The Closers - Michael Connelly

I love how Michael Connelly novels always have a bang ending. This one didn't. This book was like reading an episode of 'Cold Case', which sucks. Either way the story could've been much shorter. I could've read only the alternate pages of this book and not missed anything. It took me forever to finish it because it just so boring. Granted I was a little intrigued by the suspense created but it took forever.

I don't recommend this book for anybody, unless you're a die-hard Michael Connelly fan, even in which case this would be a mediocre read at best.

The Brethren - John Grisham

The story of three criminal judges that are in prison and upto no good was what got me interested in this story. I loved the old fart characters that have gone astray and come up with the best way to make money whilst in prison. At the same time the other story developing on the political side (big surprise with John Grisham) has an obvious connection to these scam old scam artists. Atleast it didn't start off with a young hungry lawyer who gets a high paying job.


This book is a good quick read thats just a little humorous and very predictabe. The read speed is very fast so I didn't wasn't too much time on it.

Anatomy of Fear - Jonathan Santlofer

This is a murder mystery with a twist. The author is an artist himself, so this book has a lot of sketches throughout the book that give you a good visual. The other twist is that the protagonist is a police sketch artist with another twist in the story. So as the sketch artist is part of the investigation, he keeps making these sketches and talks about the 43 'Action Units' in your face that he studies. The different parts of the face have reflex responses which he describes and is able to function as a human lie-detector.

Great quick read for anybody. Its not scary by any means, nothing more than an episode of CSI.

The Last Templar - Raymond Khoury

This story and writing style are right along the Da Vinci code, only this book doesn't slow down. I love books that start off with a bang. This one had new developments or twists in the story till the very LAST line, literally. The Da Vinci code mentioned the Knights Templar, the protectors of the church, at some point. This book is completely about the knights templar and shows that their cause was much higher than the church, but not in a religious way.

The thing that I really found engaging about this book was the two parallel stories, one in the 21st century and the other in the 13th century. The author connects both the parallels really well. I definitely recommend this book to anybody who liked the Dan Brown novels but likes it slightly toned down from the plethora of details you get from Dan Brown.

24: Vanishing Point - Marc Cerasini

24 is one of my favourite tv shows of all time, so I picked up one of the books but it just wasn't that good. Maybe I got the wrong one but there just wasn't enough JB in this book and hardly any What-What-Jack-Baeur-Do (WWJBD) moments. I meant thats the reason people watch the tv show. It was a very quick read though and the characters in the story are from all the seasons. There's no real alignment with anything on tv. The one thing this book did have enough of, was action but that would've just been much better on the screen.

Competing on the edge - Brown/ Eisenhardt

This book talks about the strategy of 'Management via Structured Chaos'. Its an interesting concept that Google lives by. In fact Google even hired the author Shona Brown. The concept of competing on the edge is a business strategy that says that in order to be successful you must be in a state of constant change. And in order to maintain success at the edge of innovation you must adopt a strategy called Structured Chaos. Structured Chaos is a style of management in which groups are allowed to do whatever they please within a set of broad boundaries. It gives people enough room to innovate and express themselves.

For example, a developer can be allowed to create any product he wants, as long as it adds value to a one of the company's long term goals.

I would definitely recommend this book to read and compare with other management strategies.

Curious Incident of the dog - Mark Haddon

A very quick read, this book is extremely interesting. And different, its narrated by an autistic teenager who tries to bridge the gap between his and societal norms. Its clear that he's brilliant but completely misunderstood. There's also a sad family story in the background but its interesting to see how totally impervious he is to the emotions involved.

All in all a good read, a refreshing break from the normal writing style of many best selling authors.

Angel of Darkness - Caleb Carr

This sequel to 'The Alienist' delivers what you would expect in terms of a psychological murder mystery. The investigation will, again, break down the antagonist down to their core psychological units. Even the basic concept of a female criminal set in the 1900's is a new one and again the author introduces new concepts such as ballistics and forensic analysis for the use of investigations. All in all a great story.

That being said, this book is just too verbose. There's no reason why it should have been 750 pages, even when the story was over I still have 50 pages to go. In addition the writing style gets downright annoying. The extremely long sentences kept me searching for the subject and made it impossible to speed read and I've never seen so many brackets used in a fiction novel in my life.

Overall a good book to read if you have time and can speed read. But if you're going to read one of Caleb Carr's book, it has to be the predecessor 'The Alienist'.

Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly

As the title suggests this is a law related novel, and since its Michael Connelly its law related suspense. If you like that TV show shark, his character is almost the same as the antagonist. The Lincoln Lawyer is looking for a big break and when he finds it, he realizes that he might've bitten off more than he can chew.

This is a great suspense and law related case. I kept changing my guess' as the investigations went on and thats what kept this book interesting, I couldn't wait to find out what actually happened. I'd definitely recommend this book to anybody looking for a quick suspense novel.

Prey - Michael Crichton

Nano-technology + Crichton. Sounds great. And this book had so much potential but it just got a little bit retarded. Crichton is still a great story teller though so everything was explained with amazing depth and left little room for doubt that something like this could actually happen. But after I finished with the book thats exactly what I thought.

I probably wouldn't read this book again a Crichton fan might find it interesting enough for at least one read. Probably a 2.5 stars on the Crichton scale.

The Sicilian - Mario Puzo

The classic story of a young Italian boy on the lawless island of Sicily who goes from the nothing to the most feared man in Sicily. I loved the way the author shows him going from boyhood to manhood and how he builds his army with nothing but his charm.

Easily the next best Mario Puzo novel after Godfather. The robin hood type main character is so gripping, his character and style is crystal clear in my head years later.

The Godfather - Mario Puzo

This book is legendary. The back and forth chronology of the writing is perfectly aligned. After reading this book, I so badly wanted to be a mafioso. The first thing that caught me was just exactly how organised, organised-crime is. They operate like a small army with well definied business units and a hierarchial structure to employ automatic deniability. An advantage of the book over the also-amazing movie is that the author explains the inner workings of the mafia with vivid details. Also, each character is so well developed, I love the calm and composed style of Don Corleone. And even better was the fact that he came from humble beginnings.

This book is simply epic. No guy should go through life without reading this book at least once. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

Restaurant at the end of the universe - Douglas Adams

A continuation of the original book, this book is also hilarious. Same crew of the starship 'Heart of Gold' is not only at the restaurant at the end of the universe, its also at the end of time. Read the book for more.

Its a much shorter and a quick read, more like a short story. Definitely recommended.

HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Ample sarcasm and absolutely hilarious, especially if you like dry British humor. If I had to pin it down, I'd say the humor in this book is Fawlty towers meets Star Trek. A weird combination but it is really funny.

This book is funny on so many levels, the characters, the concepts and even the slapstick. I definitely recommend reading this book along with other books in this series.

State of Fear - Michael Crighton

I got this book thinking that its Crichton, what could go wrong? His books have been going downhill over the years and this is definitely at the bottom. Crichton has officially gone 'Green'. This book felt more and more like propaganda. The underlying message is that global warming is a hoax and that totally gets hammered in again and again and again.

The positive note is that everything he tries to get across is very well documented and referenced, I almost came away believing that global warming isn't real but thats besides the point. I wanted to read a scientific fiction novel, something exciting and complex, something Crichton. This just isn't it.

The Messiah Code - Michael Cordy

Don't let the title fool you, this isn't a religious epic. It is closer to 'Angels & Demons' as far as the concept of combining religion with science. The interesting catch in this book includes the completion of a genome project which lead to the ability to be able to predict any genetic diseases in babies, even before birth. Combine that with a international conspiracies, unsolved murders and an ancient religious cult that's existed for hundred of years and is somehow connected to modern genetic sciences... and you have 'The Messiah Code'.

I definitely recommend reading this book, especially if you liked the Dan Brown books.

Howard Hughes The Untold Story - Peter Brown

There's several Howard Hughes biography's out there and this listed as one of the top few. The whole book is written like a story chronologically so it keeps it very interesting. There are a lot of facts, for which the author provides several references, and pictures that makes it read more like a story. What really pissed me off was how many women this guy slept with. The Howard Hughes this book shows is absurd with personal relationships, which is completely blamed on his mother, and great visionary. His ability to set his mind on something and achieve it no-matter-what was I'm sure fueled by his obsessive compulsive disorder.

Book reads quick and it'll keep you involved. I found myself just trying to guess what crazy antics this guy is going to be up to next.