Category: Reviews

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson Book Review

Post author By Nate
Post date October 9, 2014

Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.

That is one of the many, many memorable quotes from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Benjamin Franklin.

I picked this book up immediately after hearing Elon Musk talk about it (and later finding a whole slew of fans of it). It’s 500 pages – and well worth the read.

I had always had this sort of elementary school version of Ben Franklin in my head like most every American, but I was really blown away by just how ingenious, influential, industrious, and insightful Ben Franklin was.

Book Reviews Reviews

Shakespeare by Bill Bryson Book Review

Post author By Nate
Post date September 10, 2014

With the move to Atlanta, new job, and new routines, it took me an embarrassingly long time to read Bill Bryson’s short little work on Shakespeare (it only just reaches 196 pages). Either way – it was a fun read, and just the type of book that’s easy to pick up and put down frequently. Here’s why…

Book Reviews Reviews

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Book Review

Post author By Nate
Post date September 10, 2014

I grew up about 10 years too late and on the wrong side of the world to fully appreciate Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – but it was a really fun, fresh, and fascinating novel.

The book set in 2030 where everyone spends all their time digitally immersed online to escape the awful dystopia outside.

The economy is dominated by just 2 online firms – and one firm’s eccentric founder dies leaving his fortune to whomever can solve a treasure hunt involving riddles and trivia centered around the 1980s American geek sub-culture.

Book Reviews Reviews

Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer Book Review

Post author By Nate
Post date May 10, 2014

I’ve never thought of memory as skill until I read Moonwalking With Einstein.

The book is Joshua Foer’s exploration into not only mnemonics, but also the subculture of “memory athletes,” and his adventure in experimental journalism where he goes from covering the US Memory Championships (yes, there is such a thing) to participating in – and winning the following year.

Book Reviews Reviews

Books Read in 2013

Post author By Nate
Post date January 1, 2014

From 2007 to 2012, I read 263+ books. But I did not stop there. I haven’t kept up the same pace – but have kept on tracking every book I’ve read since. Ideally, I’ve also written a short lessons learned or review of each. Here’s the books I’ve read this past year.

*all the links below go to Amazon for convenience, but I definitely recommend purchasing books from Alibris. They support local booksellers, and often have even better used pricing.

This post covers books read in 2013. You can also read from,

2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Most Recent Full Reviews

Book Reviews

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Post author By Nate
Post date April 18, 2013

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a story of a family’s journey to the Congo in 1959. The Price family, led by Nathan Price, an overzealous Baptist minister, is determined to bring Christianity to the people of the Congo.

Reviews

The Best Unlikely Sandwich

Post author By Nate
Post date December 29, 2012
3 Comments on The Best Unlikely Sandwich

Image of a Sandwich Made With Peanut Butter and Pickles - a PB&P

A few months ago when the New York Times wrote about PB&P sandwiches (yes, as in Peanut Butter and Pickle) – it got quite a bit of attention. The article was the most emailed that day, and made it to the Front Page of Reddit.

Apparently there is a whole cohort of people in America who know about all sorts of unlikely pairings with peanut butter. I had never met any of these sandwich anarchists before (everyone I know is a PB&J die-hard) – and was really skeptical as well of the idea of peanut butter paired with pickles.

Reviews

I Drank Kopi Luwak Today

Post author By Nate
Post date October 14, 2012

In Southeast Asia, there’s a jungle cat called the Civet that loves to eat coffee cherries.

The civet’s digestive system uses the fruit of the coffee cherry for nourishment – but only partly begins to break down the coffee cherry pit (what we call the “coffee bean”) before pooping it out.

Someone, and I have no idea how this someone got this idea, but someone thought it would be perfectly splendid to pick the undigested coffee beans out of the Civet cat poop, and proceed to process, roast, grind, brew, and serve them just like any other beans you’d buy from your coffee shop.

And I’m not making this up.

In Indonesia – they call it “Kopi Luwak” or “Civet Coffee.”

And it’s one of the most sought after coffees in the world – mainly because of it’s scarcity (you can imagine the hordes of people signing on to harvest it…).

Today – I got to drink some Kopi Luwak. Fresh-brewed in a French Press. Here’s how it all went down (and out).

Outdoors Product Reviews Reviews

One Year of Running In Vibram Fivefingers Bikilas

Post author By Nate
Post date September 29, 2012

I started running distance when I was 10 years old, and continued throughout high school. I was never particularly fast, but it was enjoyable and something athletic I could do.

I had shin splints, hurt ankles, and all the rest of runner’s woes – to the point that I slowly tapered off in college.

In 2010 – I had some friends who encouraged me to get back into running and had me read Born To Run by Chris McDougall, followed by Four Hour Body (running chapter).

Tags Running

Book Reviews Reviews