Reading

Below is a list of what I've read and my ratings of them.  Cheap horror is my guilty pleasure, especially Stephen King novels.  I also like war stories.  I try, however, to read a decent mix of books.

A list of what I'm currently reading is here.

2020

1. Amy Cross, Escape from Hotel Necro Horror 3.5 stars Creepy!

2. Matt Shaw, How Much To Horror 4 stars Really good and disgusting!

3. Stephen King, The Institute Horror 3.5 stars Good but unexceptional King horror.

4. Arden Stenglein, Vietnam War/Non-Fiction 4 stars Solid war story.

5. Andy Hertzfeld, Revolution in the Valley Non-Fiction 4 stars Poor writing, but great info on development of the Mac.

6. Michael Guard, Tomcat Fury War/Non-Fiction 3.5 stars Good info on the F-14 Tomcat.

7. T.J. Payne, Intercepts Horror 3.5 stars Decent.

8. Agarwal et al., An Introduction to Complex Analysis Mathematics 3 stars Clear but not comprehensive.

9. Michael Hodges, Black Friday Horror 3 stars Okay.

10. Gordon Rottman, The Rocket Propelled Grenade War/Non-Fiction 4 stars Tons of good info on the history of the RPG.

11. Robert Mason, Chickenhawk War/Non-Fiction 4.5 stars Great Vietnam war story.

12. Robert Serling, Something's Alive on the Titanic Horror 3 stars Decent story; strains credulity.

13. Matt Shaw, Rent Horror 3 stars Okay.

14. Matt Shaw, Sick B*stards Horror 3 stars Okay.

15. John Draper, Our Boys Sports 3.5 stars Good high school sports story.

16. Sam West, The Grindhouse Experience Horror 3 stars Okay.

17. Hunter Shea, The Montauk Monster Horror 2 stars Forgettable.

18. Darcy Coates, Parasite Horror 2 stars Forgettable.

19. David Lindley, The Dream Universe Science 4 stars Really good with solid thesis; a little repetitive

20. John Athan, A Fistful of Guts Horror 1.5 stars Stupid and unrealisitic.

21. Matt Shaw, How Much 2 Horror 3.5 stars Not as good as How Much, but solid and disgusting

22. Jeremy Bates, The Sleep Experiment Horror 3.5 stars A solid horror story.

23. Flint Maxwell, The Snow Horror 2 stars Forgettable.

24. Daniel Cunningham, Set Theory Mathematics 4 stars Solid.

25. Clinton Romesha, Red Platoon Non-Fiction/War 4.5 stars Great modern war book.

26. Scott McManis, Running to Glory Sports 4 stars Really good  book on high school x-country team.

27. Scott Sigler, Earthcore Horror 2.5 stars Okay.

28. Radley Balko, Rise of the Warrior Cop Non-Fiction 4 stars Really good.

29. J. David Logan, A First Course in Differential Equations Mathematics 4 stars Very clear; lots of applications.

30. Rick Chesler, Luna Sci-Fi/Horror 2 stars Unbelievable and forgettable.

31. Masha Gessen, Perfect Rigor Biography 3 stars Not best math biography, but decent.

32. Joseph Zuko, Sweet Home Horror 2.5 stars Horror TV in book form; unexceptional.

33. Bert Mendelson, Topology Mathematics 3.5 stars Good, brief introduction; weird notation.

34. John Williams, Butcher's Crossing Western 4.5 stars Solid storytelling.

35. Isabel Sun Chao, Claire Chao, Remember Shanghai Biography 4 stars Good to see what Shanghai was like.

36. Jeremy Bates, Bad People Horror 4 stars Pretty creepy set of short stories.

37. Lisa Jewell, Then She Was Gone Mystery/Thriller 5 stars Great book, similar to Gillian Flynn!

38. A.J. Finn, The Woman in the Window Mystery/Thriller 5 stars Great!  Similar to Then She Was Gone, but even better!

39. Leroy Thompson, The G3 Battle Rifle Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Good info, but boring in places

40. Jon Krakauer, Where Men Win Glory Non-Fiction 4 stars Good Krakauer; not as good as Into Thin Air or UTBoH

41. Jasper Dewitt, The Patient Horror 4 stars Very good debut novel.  Lots of twists.

42. Bob Woodward, Rage Non-Fiction 4 stars Good inside look into Trumps' administration

43. Kealan Burke, Sour Candy Horror 3 stars Okay, but not that scary

44. Lindsey Fitzharris, The Butchering Art Non-Fiction 4 stars Interesting and well researched

45. Ian Rob Wright, The Spread Horror 2 stars Not very original or scary

46. Brian Panowich, Bull Mountain Fiction 4 stars A really good, gritty, hillbilly story!

47. Boyd & Vandenberghe, Intro. to Applied Linear Algebra Mathematics (Applied) 5 stars Great basic book for intuition

48. Robbie Dorman, Underneath Sci-fi/Horror 3 stars Decent story; not that scary

49. Michael Spivak, Calculus on Manifolds (5th Ed.) Mathematics 3.5 stars Interesting and engaging, but lots of errors

50. Tucker Max, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Humor 3 stars Funny, but gets old after a while

51. John Steinbeck, East of Eden Fiction 4.5 stars Great story, though it drags in some places

52. Ed Macy, Apache Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Great info on the Apache; drags in middle

53. Neil Grant, The Bren Gun Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Good history and information.

54. Matt Shaw, The Game Horror 2 stars Not his best work; unexceptional

55. Christopher Artin, Relentless Horror 3 stars Okay, but poor ending

56. Max Brooks, Devolution Horror 3 stars Decent scares, but only okay

57. Keith Taylor, This is the Way the World Ends Horror 3.5 stars Good, but not as good as World War Z

58. Richard Matheson, I Am Legend Horror 4 stars Very interesting; unexpected

59. Isaac Asimov, I, Robot Science Fiction 4.5 stars Smart book that makes you think

60. Tober Charles, Unnatural Causes Horror 3 stars Only okay; not very scary

61. Michael Brent Collings, The House That Death Built Horror 3.5 stars Worthy read

62. Jamie Lendino, Adventure Non-Fiction 3 stars Decent 2600 history; not as good as Racing the Beam

63. Michael Brent Collings, Dark Bound Horror 3.5 stars Another worthy read by Collings

2021

64. Michael Mammay, Planetside Sci-Fi 4 stars Good military sci-fi; page turner

65. Michael Mammay, Spaceside Sci-Fi 3.5 stars Good, but not as good as Planetside; dragged a little

66. Jamie Lendino, Faster Than Light Non-Fiction 3 stars Okay history of Atari ST; too much on software

67. Leroy Thompson, The Sten Gun Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Interesting stories

68. Michael Mammay, Colonyside Sci-Fi 4 stars Good, nearly as good as Planetside

69. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Fiction 4.5 stars Great

70. Sarah Stephens, Isolation Horror 3.5 stars Interesting; nice twists

71. Alex Lochrie, Fighting for the French Foreign Legion Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Nice inside look of French Foreign Legion; not best war bio

72. Matt Shaw, The 8th Horror 3.5 stars Good story and premise

73. Matt Shaw, Rotting Dead F*cks Horror 3.5 stars Nice, quick horror with moderate gore

74. Carl Sagan, Contact Sci-Fi 4.5 stars Really good; nice use of science and math

75. Matt Shaw, Seed Horror 4 stars Good story; atypical Matt Shaw; good twist

76. Matt Shaw, Extreme Horror Horror 3 stars Okay read; not the greatest Matt Shaw

77. Stephen Willard, General Topology Mathematics 3.5 stars Generally good exercises but error-prone; antiquated notions

78. Matt Shaw, Paralysed Horror 2.5 stars Lots of potential, but fell short

79. Sonia Faleiro, The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing Non-Fiction 4 stars Intriguing story; lots of info on rural modern India

80. Brian Kernighan, Unix: A History and a Memoir Non-Fiction 4 stars Writing isn't great, but lots of fun Unix/C/Bell Labs stories

81. Boris Bacic, The Door (Haunted Places) Horror 3.5 stars Not bad

82. Abigail Pest, The Girls Non-Fiction 4 stars Good background on the Larry Nassar case

83. Matt Shaw, Don't Read Horror 2.5 stars Blah

84. Sam West, Her Father's Mistake Horror 3 stars Okay horror

85. Boris Bacic, Radio Tower Horror 3 stars Okay horror

86. European Douglas, Gassamer Falls Horror 3 stars Had promise, but not memorable

87. Stephen King, Later Horror 2 stars Disappointing and disjointed

88. Michael Collins, The Loon Horror 2.5 stars Not great; unoriginal

89. Michael Scott, Descent Horror 3 stars Okay, but not much to it

90. Sam West, School Reunion Horror 2 stars Unoriginal

91. John Willkom, Walk-On Warrior Non-Fiction / Sports 3.5 stars Interesting story on walk-ons

92. Kristopher Trian, They All Died Screaming Horror 3.5 stars Okay story; lots of gore

93. Matt Shaw, Obscenely Bizarre Horror 3 stars Okay, but pretty gross

94. Matt Shaw, Whore Horror 2 stars Not interesting

95. Pete Dexter, Deadwood Western 5 stars Great, classic western

96. Joan Ryan, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes Non-Fiction 4 stars Great inside stories of elite gymnastics

97. Aron Beauregard, The Slob Horror 3 stars Good, but not compelling

98. Matt Shaw, F*cked to Death Horror 3 stars Alright

99. Leroy Thompson, The Browning High-Power Pistol Non-Fiction/War 3.5 stars Decent read; not the best of the series

100. Carol Leonnig, Zero Failure Non-Fiction 4 stars Interesting dive into the secret service; okay writing

101. Antony Lewis, The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains Technology 4 stars Breezy and interesting read

102. Benjamin Cross, The Colony Sci-Fi 4 stars Similar to Jurassic Park; fun

103. Gaye Clemson, Tandem Computers Unplugged Technology 3.5 stars Fun read; not so well written with so many quotes

104. P.K. White, Inside the Turn Circle Non-Fiction/War 3 stars Good info on F-16 and life as a Cold War-era fighter pilot

105. Stephen King & Joe Hill, Inside the Tall Grass Horror 2 stars Pretty bad

106. Stephen King, Mile 81 Horror 3 stars Okay

107. Johnny Moscato, Isolation Island Horror 2 stars Not scary or compelling

108. Nathan Ballingrud, Wounds Horror 3.5 stars Some nice touches of original horror

109. Ashee Vance, Elon Musk Non-Fiction 4 stars Balanced and intriguing

110. Bruce Cooperstein, Advanced Linear Algebra Mathematics 3.5 stars Nice proofs and exercises, but lots of typos

111. Arthur Herbert, The Cuts That Cure Horror 3.5 stars Decent

112. Jeffrey James Higgins, Furious Horror 3.5 stars Similar to the movie Dead Calm

113. Sam West, Dead Ahead Horror 2 stars Forgettable

114. Chris Wallace, Countdown 1945 History 4.5 stars Great read; less of a commitment than The Making of the Atomic Bomb

115. Jon Athan, Night of the Prowler Horror 4 stars Not too original, but fun

116. Jon Athan, The Groomer Horror 3.5 stars Decent

117. Michael Crichton, Timeline Science Fiction 3.5 star Good, but not the best Crichton

118. William Prochnau, Trinity's Child Fiction 4 stars Sometimes unbelievable, but a great ride

119. Andrew Piazza, One Last Gasp Horror 4 stars Wild historical ride; reminiscent of The Terror

120. Andrew Piazza, Tracks in the Snow Fiction 3.5 stars Lots of potential, but did not live to full potential

121. Charlotte McConaghy, Migrations Fiction 4 stars Intriguing quasi-dystopian story and well written

122. Andrew Piazza, A Song for the Void Horror 4 stars Similar to The Terror; very engaging with good history

123. Eyal Press, Dirty Work Non-Fiction 4.5 stars Fascinating look at how disassociate ourselves from society's "necessary evils"

124. Duncan Ralston, Woom Horror 4 stars So disgusting, yet so entertaining

125. Sam West, Two Sisters Horror 4 stars Pretty creepy read

126. Zakiya Dalilia Harris, The Other Black Girl Fiction 4 stars Intruiguing read; flash backs get confusing, but overall very good

127. John Athan et. al., Beyond Reform Horror 3 stars Okay

128. Jon Athan, Am I Beautiful Horror 4.5 stars Super disturbing; not totally realistic, but very good

129. Michael Punke, Ridgeline Western 4.5 stars Very interesting read from both the sides of the whites and the Indians

130. Jon Athan, Grandfather's House Horror 4 stars Whirlwind!

131. Philip Fracassi, Beneath a Pale Sky Horror 3 stars Original premises, but the writing can get dense

132. Jack Hunt, The Aging Horror 4 stars Good read

133. Bil Herd, Back into the Storm Technology 3.5 stars Interesting insider view of Commodore and C128 development

134. Jacqueline Druga, The Raged Horror 2 stars Lots of potential; boring middle and too much left undone

135. Jacqueline Druga, Sealed In Horror 3 stars Not very realistic, but a page turner and nice ending

136. John Marrs, The Good Samaritan Horror 4 stars Good, similar to Notes on a Scandal

137. Thomas Savage, The Power of the Dog Fiction 4 stars Writing can be hard to read, but great story

138. Aron Beauregard, Yellow Horror 3 stars Fairly nasty and fun to read

139. Aron Beauregard, Die Tommy Horror 2 stars Forgettable

140. Larry Watson, Montana 1948 Fiction 4.5 stars Seems naive at times, but very good story; like River Runs Through It

141. Sam West, Behind the Camera Horror 3.5 stars Generally a good collection of short stories

142. Sam West, Djinn Horror 3.5 stars Nice story

143. Dean Koontz, The Funhouse Horror 4 stars Good Koontz thriller

144. Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson, The Duke of Caladan Sci-Fi 4 stars Nice addition to the series, but not as good as first as the first three prequels

2022

145. Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson, The Lady of Caladan Sci-Fi 3.5 stars Decent story, but slower than The Duke of Caladan

146. Matt Shaw, From the Flames Horror 2.5 stars Never lived up to its potential

147. Pat Butcher, The Perfect Distance Sports 3 stars Good info on Coe and Ovett, but not well organized

148. Joseph Zuk, Revved Horror 3.5 stars Fun read!

149. Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun Fiction 5 stars Excellent and poignant

150. Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go Fiction 3 stars Honestly, I couldn't get myself to care that much about the characters

151. Ed Cobleig, War for the Hell of It War 3.5 stars Good background on a Vietnam War F-4 pilot

152. J.S. Ellis, The Confidant Fiction/Thriller 4 stars Good thriller, similar to Notes on a Scandal with a male antagonist

153. S.A. Crosby, Razorblade Tears Fiction 4.5 stars Really good story

154. Jon Athan, Bad Appetites Horror 3 stars Only okay

155. Jon Athan, Mason's Television Horror 4 stars Weird premise, but surprisingly good

156. Paul Halpern, Flashes of Creation Science/Biography 4 stars Great background on the competing theories of Hoyle and Gamow

157. Freida McFadden, The Locked Door Horror 4 stars Interesting story with twists

158. Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson, The Butlerian Jihad Sci-Fi 3.5 stars Good addition to the Dune prequels, but a bit unbelievable

159. Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson, The Machine Crusade Sci-Fi 4 stars Good story

160. Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson, The Battle of Corrin Sci-Fi 3 stars Went back to being unbelievable

161. Meb Keflezighi, Run to Overcome Sports/Biography 4.5 stars Really interesting and touching

162. Jon Athan, Scattershot Horror 3.5 stars Worthwhile read

163. F.H. Croom, Principles of Topology Mathematics 4.5 stars Very solid intro to point-set topology

164. Stephen King, Different Seasons Horror 4.5 stars Probably my favorite of King's collections of novellas

165. Tom Jordan, Pre Sports/Biography 4 stars Great stories about Prefontaine

166. Joe Clark, Demented Thriller 4 stars Fast, riveting read, but unsatisfactory conclusion

167. Catherine Ryan Hyde, Seven Perfect Things Fiction 3.5 stars Nice, feel-good story, but unrealistic

168. Jon Athan, When She Weeps Horror 4.5 Great, fast-paced read!

169. J.M. Patton, West Point Fiction 3 stars Had promise, but very unrealistic and unfulfilling

170. Jason Rekulak, Hidden Pictures Horror 4.5 stars Super fun read; I'll read more from this author

171. Jack Daniels, Daniels' Running Formula Sports 4.5 stars Great information on running training

172. William Grasso, Butter Bar Fiction 4.5 stars Great Vietnam War fiction

173. Ron Clarke, Unforgiving Minute Sports/Biography 4 stars Fun bio on Ron Clarke!

174. Jeff Menapace, Dark Halls Horror 3 stars Didn't live up to its potential

175. William Grasso, Reports of Their Demise Fiction 4 stars Not as good as Butter Bar, but fun and informative

176. Briana Morgan, The Reyes Incident Horror 2 stars Started off good, then fizzled out

177. Jaed Coffin, Roughhouse Friday Autobiography 4 stars I connect with this autobio of another Asian man

178. Josh Malerman, Goblin Horror 4 stars Nice horror collection; gore was minimal, but stories were good

179. Nick Roberts, The Exorcist's House Horror 3.5 stars Pretty good

180. Fitzgerald & Latter, Faster Road Racing Sports 4.5 stars Very good complement to Daniels' Running Formula

181. Boris Bacic, It Came with the Crash Horror 3.5 stars Decent scares

182. Boris Bacic, They Came with the Ocean Horror 3 stars Fun, but very unrealistic in how things are deep in the ocean

183. Nick Symmonds, Life Outside the Oval Office Sports 4 stars Really funny inside look at Nick Symmonds' life

184. Bobby Clark, Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer Sports 4 stars Easy guide for a soccer noob like me

185. Blake Crouch, Upgrade Sci-Fi 4 stars Good dystopian story

186. Steve Magness, The Science of Running Sports 4 stars Good material; could be better organized and edited

187. Tom Dunmore & Scott Murray, Soccer for Dummies Sports 4 stars Lots of good information, and an easy read

188. Matthew Mather, Aeon Rising Sci-Fi 3 stars Intriguing plot, but I lost internal halfway through

189. Matt Shaw, A Roll of the Dice Horror 4 stars Fun new take on the old Choose Your Own Adventure series

190. Peter Benchley, Jaws Fiction 4 stars In many ways, better than the movie; poor ending

191. Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives Fiction 5 stars Very good

192. Cordner Nelson, The Jim Ryun Story Sports 4.5 stars Lots of great info about this running great

193. Jim Garland, Youth Soccer Drills Sports 4 stars Good collection of youth soccer drills

194. Joe Lansdale, A Fine Dark Line Mystery 4.5 stars A really fun page-turner

195. Owen Anderson, Running Form Sports 3.5 stars Decent information, but repetitive and pedantic

196. Michael McBride, Predatory Instinct Horror 3 stars Slow in the middle, but overall decent

197. John Parker, Jr., Once a Runner Fiction 4.5 stars As a runner, I loved this book

198. Jon Athan, The President's Son Horror 3 stars Okay Donald Trump trope

199. Steve Bence, 1972 Sports 3.5 stars Interesting Prefontaine-era information; Nike part boring

200. Matt Fox, Eliud Kipchoge Sports 3.5 stars Short, but interesting information

201. Aron Beauregard, The Cuck Horror 2 stars Not engaging

202. John Vercher, After the Lights Go Out Fiction 4 stars Very good story

203. Terry Davis, Vision Quest Fiction 2 stars Meandering; unbelievable

204. Brad Husbon, Matt Fitzgerald, Run Faster Sports 4 stars Good running training plans and easy to follow

205. Matt Fitzgerald, Running the Dream Sports 4.5 stars Awesome story of a normal guy training with elite runners

206. Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher and the Wren Suspense 4.5 stars Fast-pace read similar to The Silence of the Lambs

207. Juddith Sonnet, No One Rides for Free Horror 3 stars Okay horror; had more potential than it lived up to

208. Michael Crawley, Out of Thin Air Sports 2 stars Boring; I couldn't finish it

209. S.C. Mendes, The City Horror 3.5 stars Interesting, although historical accuracy is suspect

210. Iain Wright, Zombie Horror 3 stars Only okay, with some higher points

211. Owen Anderson, Running Science Sports 4 stars Great explanations of running science; short on training ideas

212. Steve Scott, The Miler Sports 4 stars Good bio on Steve Scott; very humerous

213. Joe Landsdale, The Bottoms Suspense 3 stars Good beginning and end; very boring middle

214. Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus-Pocus Fiction 4.5 stars Nice Vonnegut!

215. Boris Bacic, It Lives in the Woods Horror 2 stars Forgettable

216. Marcia Bartusiak, Black Hole Science 4.5 stars Great popular science on the study of black holes

217. Colleen Hover, Verity Horror 3.5 stars Gone Girl-ish, but not quite as good; keep an eye on this author

218. Aaron Beardsell, Dead Station Sci-Fi 1.5 stars Weird, and not in a good way

219. Iain Rob Wright, Hell Train Horror 3.5 stars Decent horror with some twists

220. Matt Shaw & Michael Bray, Home-Video Horror 3.5 stars Nice read, but not Shaw's best

221. Rich Roll, Finding Ultra Sports 4 stars Inspiring read

222. Fabien Sanglard, Game Engine Black Book: Doom Technology 4.5 stars Super interesting and informative

223. Matthew Baxter, Back to Back Sports 3.5 stars Self-published diary of runner on NAU's 2017 NCAA champion XC team; nice!

224. Randall Stross, Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing Technology 3.5 stars Good information, but drags a lot

225. Jon Athan, The Law of Retaliation Horror 4 stars Nice story; similar to the movie The Green Room