Books – Absoblogginlutely!

Review: The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz – Jane Hawk #4

By Andy on Monday, August 27, 2018

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The fourth book in the Jane Hawk series is definitely one that should be read after the others. This could be read as a standalone novel (and indeed the first few pages are a recap) but it would spoil the fun if you later decided to go back and read the first few.

I have the book 3 stars as the beginning of this book felt really stilted due to being written in a weird third person tense that jarred as it attempted to tell the story and it just felt like it was interrupting all the time.
The latter part of the book did not have this issue so I was finally able to enjoy the last part of the book.
Note there is a lot of violence in the book and lots of extreme methods of dying so stay away if squeamish, however it does help to paint the dark, screwed up world that would occur when mind control is used for bad purposes and when things go wrong….really wrong.

The ending was very abrupt and almost felt like it was in mid plot. The Kindle version does have the first couple of chapters for the next book but I didn’t want to read those until the entire book comes out.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book.
You can get your own copy from your book retailer September 11, 2018.

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Books

Book Review – Lies by T.M. Logan

By Andy on Saturday, June 23, 2018

Lies by T.M. Logan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

T.M. Logan was a new author to me that I came across on Netgalley who gave me an arc version of the book for my review.
Overall I enjoyed the book but the first part seemed a bit tedious with all the dialog and very short chapters that seemed to interrupt the flow of the book.
However as the mystery and lies unfolded, the book got easier to read and the plot twists suck the reader deeper into the story.
I didn’t suspect the ending twist but it did seem plausible enough.
A good, reasonably quick summers read that would be perfect for the beach.

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Books

Book Review: The Book Of Joe

By Andy on Monday, January 1, 2018

The Book of Joe: The Life, Wit, and (Sometimes Accidental) Wisdom of Joe Biden by Jeff Wilser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last book I read in 2017 but I’ve been sick and unable to post to the blog until 2018! The description of this book was interesting and I’ve been trying to alternate my reading between fiction and non fiction and as a Brit in the USA I basically know nothing about Joe Biden apart from his much meme’d bromance with Obama so I figured this might make an interesting read.

The book is a simple, short biography of Biden that focus’s on tips of wisdom from Biden along with the stories behind them. Covering a lot of episodes from being a kid through to life after the election, the reader is taken through several key moments in his life, along with a challenge to apply these tips to our lives.

Thankfully the book doesn’t get too political so is suitable for all to read – treat it as a biography rather than a political memoir.
The author is obviously a huge, huge fan of Biden and if Biden’s bromance with Obama never worked out, I think Jeff would be waiting in the wings!

Thanks to Blogging for Books for the review copy of this book and the opportunity to read a funny, inspiring book about a politician (not something I would ever expect to say!)

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Books Reviews

Review: Match Up

By Andy on Sunday, July 30, 2017

Match Up by Lee Child
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had only read a couple of these authors and I am always on the lookout for new books to read so this was a great way of trialing them out. The unique idea of blending characters from different authors together in multiple short stories was intriguing and worked really well. None of the tales felt awkwardly written. Each story was different and engrossing – the only sad thing is that they are short stories and I often wondered what would happen next! Highly recommended – especially if you’ve read at least one of the authors and want to see one of the characters in a completely different scenario.
Netgalley was kind enough to give me an ARC for this book but it would definitely be a book I would get for myself.

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Books Reviews

Review: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog

By Andy on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog by Samm Hodges
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some funny haiku
make an entertaining read
No photos used though.

A very quick, cute read. As a fan of the tv series, I hope this book isn’t a spoiler of what is to come in the episodes as there is an unexpected and (initially) sad event in the book but keep reading!
I was initially expecting photos to be used in the book but instead there are cute pictures (which is probably just as well considering some of the subject matter!). But this combined with just a few words on the simple pages along with a read that takes less than 5 minutes, does make me wonder what the value for money is in the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Review Copy for this book.

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Books

The Silent Corner – Book Review

By Andy on Saturday, May 6, 2017

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As usual, a great book from Dean Koontz. However this was pretty different to his usual stuff.
Similar in style to a Jason Bourne movie, this action packed thriller is the first book in a new series about the wife of an ex military person who kills himself in mysterious circumstances and her endeavours to find out why.
This book ended pretty suddenly to my surprise – a kindle version doesn’t have that clue that you are getting to the end like a paper book would – but I was pleased to see the next few chapters continue the story….but why.do.I.have.to.wait………
Needless to say I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

This book took a while to read due a hectic lifestyle but normally this would be read nonstop in a couple of days.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book and the opportunity to review and recommend.

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Books Security

Book Review – The Art of Invisibility by Kevin Mitnik

By Andy on Thursday, March 16, 2017

The Art of Invisibility: The World’s Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data by Kevin Mitnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A cautionary tale of just how visible you are on the internet and in todays connected society.

First off I am fully aware of the irony of posting a review of this book online on Goodreads, my blog and Facebook after reading a book on how to be invisible on the internet…..

This was a an entertaining read and although I work in the IT field, there were still some security facts in the book that I was not aware so I learnt a fair amount. There are also some useful references for security tools that I had not been previously aware of (although I’m not a security professional).

Despite the above, the book isn’t too technical to make the non IT person bored but it may well make them paranoid! There is a huge emphasis on becoming invisible in the book through extreme measures such as paying a complete strange to buy some gift cards at a store that doesn’t have cameras in the store OR on the way to the store, then using that to buy bitcoins – twice to ensure they are completely laundered and then using those new coins to purchase various items. Not something that the average person in the street is likely to ever do ……and I must admit I do wonder if someone needs to go to all that trouble, would they be reading this book?

There are useful hints and tips about using secure messaging, email etc that can be used by everyone just to keep their internet usage secure which are not too extreme for the day to day consumer.

But for the ultra paranoid/nefarious, this book will either help you solve some of your issues or make you even more paranoid as it brings up points you hadn’t thought of before….

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Books Reviews

Book Review: The Secret Language of Dogs

By Andy on Monday, December 12, 2016

Image of front cover of The Secret Language of Dogs — Front cover of book

I grew up in a non dog (or even pet) owning household but loved dogs that came into my life through various means and our 110lb Doberman/Lab mix was so awesome. He was very easy to understand – feed me, pet me, “Hey – I was sleeping there” and “Welcome home Dad – here’s your giraffe” were all phrases that were very obvious to us. Our new dog, Lola, or “Princess Fluffy Pants”, is not so clear as to what she wants so I hoped that this book would give me some insight into her brain.

At (allegedly) 2 years old, she is still very much a puppy and as a rescue dog has some very strange reactions to us. Most of this is due to her separation anxiety – when we come home, she runs around the house like a lunatic for several minutes, she barks at people who come into the house and is very protective but when we are out and about she has no problems with strangers.

Getting the opportunity to read and review the Secret Language of Dogs was great timing.
The book is full of really cute pictures of dogs so it feels like you are reading a Pinterest or Instragram feed with a small bit of dog behavioural knowledge thrown in. There was a fair amount of information as to why the dogs do the strangest things, but not a lot of guidance on how to counteract that kind of behaviour. I would imagine that most people (including me) who read this book are looking for advice on how to change the dogs reactions to certain things – coming home, the postman or why does she still continue to pee in that corner after I’ve just taken her outside?
Unfortunately the book seems to be pretty light on actionable tips and I am still wondering why she is doing that and how to overcome those strange reactions. Our biggest challenge with Lola is her separation anxiety and the book didn’t really give many practical tips on dealing with this. We know we should try to slowly increase the time we spend apart from her, but as we have full time jobs it’s not like we can go from 1 hour apart to 2, to 3 to 4 etc. Strangely enough she is ok a lot of the time, but occasionally lapses into bouts of severe anxiety which results in “accidents” in the house

All in all, a quick, beautiful read and good for leaving out on the coffee table or in a veterinary waiting room, but more detailed information needs to be provided to make the book really useful.

*I received a complimentary copy of The Secret Language of Dogs from Blogging For Books for my honest review.

Lola our chabrador lying on a very orange couch — How can you resist this cute face?

Books Reviews

Book Review: The Tunnels – Escapes under Berlin Wall.

By Andy on Thursday, November 10, 2016

When I was a kid, I enjoyed the exciting tales of tunnels and escapes from prisons such as Colditz and as a young kid, that was basically all they were – thrilling tales of adventures and escapes. So naturally, a book about the Berlin Wall and the escapes (mainly) underneath it was going to be intriguing reading. I can clearly remember the night that it was announced that the wall was coming down and free movement was now available so although the ending of the book was not a surprise, it was still going to be an interesting read.

The Tunnels by Greg Mitchell front cover Greg Mitchell writes a very detailed and exciting book that gives details on several escape methods used to leave East Germany, not just tunnels although they are the primary focus. The depths that the diggers went to,their heroism and the risks that the escapees took deserves a wider audience and this book provides a very detailed account of what happened.

Apparently both NBC and CBS were trying to capture exclusive footage of tunnel escapes for their network and some of the book details the political twists and turns as the producers and networks attempt to get the films released despite the protestation of various governments who feared the political fallout and risks during this cold-war era. It was pretty scary to see just how close the US was to war with Russia in the cold-war era and how big of an impact the Berlin escapes were having.

The pictures included in the middle of the book give an additional indication of what happened under the streets of Berlin. I had not heard details of the escapes or seen pictures of the Berlin Wall so this book also provided a detailed history lesson from this era.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and got a new appreciation for what happened back during those years and an appreciation for the freedom of movement that we currently enjoy. Highly recommended.

As a follow up to the book, I will be watching the NBC video, East Germans escape through tunnel that will provide an extra insight into the situation. I would recommend that you read the book before watching the film though.

A special thanks to Blogging for Books for the review copy of this book.

Books Training Work

Zero Downtime Migration seminar in Cincinnati tomorrow

By Andy on Friday, October 23, 2009

I’m currently reading The Network Migration Workbook: Zero Downtime Migration Strategies for Windows Networks as can be seen on my Goodreads shelf. So far it’s been very useful and there have already been lots of tips that would save our company time (and therefore) money in doing migrations. Even if we didn’t go down this particular route for migrations, the tips applied would be very beneficial for other types of migrations, especially when it comes to planning and quoting for the migration itself. The only hard bit is to get the customer to agree to the restrictions in the plan – it is vital to quote for *only* the migration – everything else results in another helpdesk ticket, project or work order.

I’ve been reading the book for a couple of hours straight through – I’ve resisted the lure of jumping to the checklists – and still have some way to go, which is why I’ve not posted a review of the book yet – but so far I’m definitely recommending it – but note that some significant time needs to be invested for each person in the migration project from the sales person, to the project manager to the team lead down to the tech doing the work. In some companies this could be one person – in our company it’s probably three people.

Anyway, the point of this blog post was to mention that the author is going to be at An Introduction to Zero Downtime Migrations – and More in Cincinnati tomorrow (Saturday) for an all day training event which I am attending. It was worth the cheap admission to get an in person overview of the book and also some tips and previews of the other books he has written – I’m particularly intrigued by the Network Documentation book as this is something that is typically hard/time consuming to do yet so valuable when troubleshooting customer networks (and is NEVER provided by the client). If you’re going to this training day, be sure to say Hi.

If you want to browse Karl’s store then you can click on my affiliate link or click through directly to the books from the links above (not affiliate linked). Currently the cheapest place to buy the book is either used from Amazon or new from the Good Little Books store. It did amuse me to see that someone has the Zero Downtime book listed for $1165 and a used version for $564 which is crazy when the book brand new is currently $250 (will be $300)