Reading

Books I've read, grouped by year with a star rating and a short note. ★ = 5-star scale, half-stars allowed.

2026

  • Inferno

    Pretty good one. Another Robert Langdon book.

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Interesting read. Provocative from a religious standpoint.

  • The Lost Symbol

    I liked this one. Lots of history about the Freemasonry.

  • The Secret of Secrets

    Pretty good. The newest installment in the Robert Langdon series.

  • Flash Boys

    Fun read. Provides interesting insights into the origins of High Frequency Trading

  • Origin

    Interesting read. The main thing I didn't like is that a cliff-hanger spans almost the whole book. I had to spoil it for myself after enough teasing of the big reveal.

  • Digital Fortress

    This one was a tough read. Too many glaring inconsistencies with reality.

2025

  • Angels & Demons

    The first Robert Langdon book, and in my opinion, the best one. Covered a lot of history of the Illuminati.

  • The Source

    A mammoth book, but an incredible story.

  • The Screwtape Letters

    A creative idea: a senior demon writing letters to instruct his nephew on how to lead a human into temptation. It was recommended to me, but I found it just okay.

  • Ghost Wars

    Interesting content, but tough read. It details CIA activities in the Middle East that preceded and motivated the 9/11 attack.

  • The Art of War

    I had been looking forward to this one but ultimately found it underwhelming. It it just a collection of insights about armed conflict.

2024

  • Dolores Claiborne

    Entertaining and a unique style. The story is told as a continuous, breathless, unedited, first-person monologue.

  • The Long Walk

    Pretty entertaining read. The movie wasn't bad either, better than its 6.7/10 IMDB rating. Oddly, the movie significantly altered the ending, perhaps to make it more cinematic.

  • Never Split the Difference

    Interesting read by a former FBI hostage negotiator.

  • Outliers

    Intriguing read. Sensible explanation for the why some individuals among us are outliers.

  • Holly

    I had high hopes for this one when I heard it was in development. Ultimately I was underwhelmed

  • Salem's Lot

    I didn't care for it.

  • The Running Man

    Sort of a fun story, but not a favorite. Book was about the same caliber as the movie that was eventually made, 6.4/10 on IMDB.

2023

  • Hawaii

    It took me an entire year to read this book. It is an incredible tale of Hawaii, from the origin of the islands to the mid-1900s. One of James Michener's best.

2022

  • Finders Keepers

    An excellent read. Years later, I still vividly remember many details of the story.

  • The Outsider

    This one was pretty good. Quite a mystery and fairly entertaining throughout.

  • End of Watch

    Third book in the Bill Hodges trilogy. It was decent, but I didn't care much for the paranormal activity content when the first two books didn't have any.

  • Mr. Mercedes

    Fun. Intriguing. A good read. The first in a series featuring detective Bill Hodges.

  • The Innocent Man

    Non-fiction tale about a man freed from conviction by DNA evidence after 11 years on death row.

  • Cujo

    I heard positive things about this one, but it just did not land for me.

2021

  • 11/22/63

    One of the best books I've ever read. A man goes back in time to attempt to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on 11/22/63. It's a lengthy book, but it hooks you in right away and there is rarely a dull moment.