100 Book Goal For 2016

January6

January 2016

1. Stumbling on Happiness – A good read, really interesting to hear what people think makes them happy, and what actually does. Good one for a reread down the road.

2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business – Fantastic book, super insightful and a must read for everyone. Great book!

3. My brother’s book!!!!!!!!

4. Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy – Hilarious book, and fascinating interviews with comedians.

February 2016

5. Written in Fire – This is book 3 of a great series, but the ending was a bit disappointing. Still good, but kinda just felt like version 2.5.

6. Calamity – Book 3 of the reckoners – Great ending to the series, but not my favorite work by Sanderson (one of my favorite authors). The premise is a star shows up on earth, and it grants people special powers, but they all become evil. Fun one :)

7. Morning Star: Book III of The Red Rising Trilogy – A fantastic end to a great series. Think in the future and multi planet, but Roman type society with body mods to differentiate them. Then there is a revolution. Fun one!

8. The Bands of Mourning – I love the mistborn univerise Brandon Sanderson created, and this the second book in a new twist on that world. Fantastic plot, great pace, fun read!

March 2016

9. Book 1 of the Grim Company – Fun Fantasy book, cool magical universe, going to read book 2 as well.

10. Starship Eternal – Really fun space science fiction book, I am not sure if I am going to read the sequel. But it was a nice break from all the serious reading.

11. The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think – Small fascinating look at the problem of high rental cost on American society.

12. Man of War – Aliens attack earth, wipe the floor with us, and then we try to save things. Kinda silly, and not my thing. Not doing the next one.

13. 14. Red Phoenix – An AMAZING book by a guy that writes like Tom Clancy about a North Korean invasion and our response. Followed by Red Phoenix Burning which is the modern day look at the same event.

15. Caretaker – A cool scifi book about a dude on a big spaceship and a mystery. Decent but not reading the sequels.

16. Morning Star – Book 3 of the Red Rising triology. Really great series, and the ending was good :).

17. Narconomics: How to run a drug cartel – Very interesting look at selling drugs from an economist perspective. Great read and highly entertaining!

April

18. Six of Crows – A robbery story but in a fantasy world, I liked the characters and the magic, but wish the characters beyond Nina/Matthew had some development. It was a good pace and I preordered the sequel.

19. Archangel – A really interesting book about a world that a lot of people want to immigrate too but that the current settlers don’t want being spoiled by an influx of people. And some cool stuff about clone’s etc. Overall I liked it, but not enough to read another one.

20. Windswept – I finished this one but it was hard, it was just action action action, but hard to see what was going on through the writing. Interesting plot though, lots of huge union stuff and spaceships etc.

21. Ancillary Justice – A really interesting book about spaceships and AI and revenge and clones. I might get book 2, still trying to decide.

22. The Road to Little Dribbling – Bill Bryson’s newest book, hilarious as always :)

23. The Sword of the North – Book 2 of the series and I love this one. If you want the descrip click through.

24. A Kill In The Morning – Decent WW2 time travel book. Characters a lil flat.

May

25. 26. 27. Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Tao series :). Those being: The Lives of Tao, The Deaths of Tao, and The Rebirths of Tao. This is a GREAT science fiction series and very well written. Basically aliens crashed into earth and have been driving our evolution in order to get to a technology level to enable them to leave. At some point the group split into a group trying to help humanity and improve them, and another that just wants off the planet… The aliens are a symbiotic relationship, and they combine with a human and can talk to them and effectively live forever. Which makes some really interesting topics on history when an immortal alien was inside the human’s head talking to them and giving them advice. Great series, highly recommended and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

28. 29. Into the Storm, and Into the Wild by Larry Corria who writes some amazing books like MHI. This is an awesome universe where you have these huge armored soldiers who have figured out how to pull electricity out of the sky and make lightning swords. The characters are fantastic, and Larry is so great with making them feel rounded and relatable. Highly recommended!

30. The Deep Blue Good-By – A good mystery thriller, and overall I would give it a B-. A Tim Ferriss guest recommended it on the podcast. If you love mystery this is probably a good one to try as the author has a load more.

31. Wizard’s First Rule. Wow this was hard to read, I almost gave up several times as it was so cliche and the characters so FLAT. This was written in 1994 so I think part of it is that this set the stage for every later book. Some great concepts and I ended up liking it once I got 60% in, but I don’t think I would read anymore as it just didn’t work for me.

32. Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization – Fantastic read that looks at the philosophy of immortality and its affect on humanity. I read this slowly over a few months and highly recommend it. I loved how he broke it down per section going from Immortality narratives, to resurrection, to the idea of soul, and finally legacy. So many fascinating thoughts erupted from the thoughts this book created.

33. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai: The Song of Shattered Sands. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next ones! This is a fantasy book seated in a Baghdadian type world, but with a lot of magic I’ve never really encountered in other readings and some fantastic characters. This is on my short list for best fantasy of the year so far. I am going to try some more by the author too.

June

34. The Wheel of Osheim – The last book in a great series, I love the character of Jal, very diff than most fantasy books. This is set in the prince of thorns universe, fun one!

35. Foreign Agent – Terrorism thriller, it was ok, no Tom Clancy or VF.

36. 37. 38. 39. The 4 books that make up the Seven Forges series. I liked the series, very well written and fun, but the enemy was so scary it just seemed too lopsided. Fun read though and pretty good ending apart from a lack of a big battle etc.

July

40. 41. 42. 43. The First Rule of Ten, The Second Rule of Ten, The Third Rule Of Ten, and The Fourth Rule of Ten. I love these books and can’t wait for the 5th one to come out. The lead detective grew up in Tibet as a Buddhist Monk, then moves to LA and joins the LAPD, and then becomes a private investigator. Well written and great reads!

44. Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery – I love Dogfish beer, especially when they go back in history to create old recipes. Being a history nut that is super appealing to me :). This book was about growing the business and a good read, I wish he had more details on where he screwed up but it was still useful to learn from.

45. Star Wars: Bloodline – Supposdly this book explains a lot of the new Star Wars movie, which was ok, but JJ makes bad choices as a director. He is so ADD he can’t let a moment path without idiotic action. What idiot attacks something without a plan, it makes my head hurt to watch :(. Anyway, this book is decent and explains some, but not fantastic and I’d give it 2.5 stars out of 5 compared to some other star wars books like the Admiral Thrawn series.

46. Petty: The Biography – I heard an interview on the radio with the guy who wrote this and it sounded good. It was a great read and being a Tom Petty fan it was cool to trace his journey back. Dude is such a hard worker and really reminded me how much I value hard work as well. He never quit and just kept hammering on his craft.

47. Ninefox Gambit – Machineries of Empire Book 1 – Decent read and def a very interesting world. I am not going to read book 2 as just wasn’t for me. It was just a tad too hard to follow and I didn’t find the characters all that interesting beyond the ghost. Interesting from a military strategy perspective, and almost like an insect like approach to war.

48. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians – Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors so I wanted to try this even if it is aimed at teens. It was a good read but a bit too simplistic versus his other work. I would recommend this to kids though, and I will probably finish the 2nd one since I already bought it.

49. True to Form: How to Use Foundation Training for Sustained Pain Relief and Everyday Fitness – Part of the rehab I am doing on my back is connected to this, so I read it to understand more of the foundation behind it. Useful!

50. Star Nomad: Fallen Empire – Interesting one, but just didn’t click. Well written and I would recommend it but I think I got bored as it just didn’t go anywhere fast enough for the first book. Def has a bit of a firefly tone to it.

51. Foreign Agent – Military thriller, but I just found it ok despite the high rankings. I would give it 3 stars and say skip it unless you just want a fun beach read. I found the plot pretty stupid, and confusing.

August

52. Time Siege – An interesting sci fi concept and pretty good, but I just didn’t connect with it like his other books. Not a bad read though. The basic premise is that there is a group dedicated to salvaging time as long as it doesn’t impact the future, and another responsible for ensuring the timeline doesn’t mess up. Tie that into a rebellion on earth and some other items…

53. Dawn of Wonder – The Wakening Volume 1 – This is one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in a long time and HUGELY recommended. So so so good! I can’t wait for the 2nd one! The premise is simple, about a young boy as he suffers a tragedy and then as he joins a very elite military unit. Beautifully written, great characters, and just fantastic.

54. Cumulus – Interesting read, but just felt like it missed a ton of depth. Basically some google like company has gotten too popular, and abuses its powers to take over and given too much power to one guy. Then at the end they realize its bad and do the right thing, even the bad guy realizes he is all wrong. Stupid :).

55. The Waking Fire – By Anthony Ryan. I LOVED this book, super amazing world, great characters, great dialogue. This is on the short list for the best fantasy book I’ve read this year. I can’t wait for the 2nd one. Very steampunk with a great “magic” system.

September

56. Heirs of Empire – A fantasty / scifi book that is pretty cool, military thriller with some cool concepts. I preordered the 2nd one as it was pretty decent.

57. Walking the Kiso Road: A A Modern-Day Exploration of Old Japan – Wow! Great book and I really want to go walk this route. Japan has a lot of great pilgrimages I’d like to do. The author walks you through some of the history and day to day of the walk.

58. Of Sand and Malice Made: A Shattered Sands Novel – I loved this first book in this series, and this was a prequel. I didn’t like it, it was confusing and made no sense. Pretty frustrating, but hopefully the next book is better.

59. The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year – Daniel recommended this to me and it is a GREAT book. Guides you through the first year and a lot of info. Good read :)

60. Lost Horizon – An old school adventure novel written in the 1930s about the mythical Shangri-La. Great read, and I miss the old school adventure style :).

61. The Gilded Rage: A Wild Ride Through Donald Trump’s America – A good read!

62. Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows – Good sequel, think Ocean 11 but in fantasy/magic land.

63. 64. I reread some of my fav Tom Clancy, Debt of Honor and Executive Orders.

65. The Fifth Rule of 10 – Another in a series about a great ex Buddhist monk private eye. This one was a bit different as it involved his brother, but still a great read.

66. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Love his website, pure genius and should be handed out in high school :).

October

67. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition – Amaing book! Well written and very enjoyable to read. I bought it because I was curious how this related to Cannabis, and legalization there. As well as the moves by the Koch brothers, and Republicans to gain control of enough state legislatures to try to make an amendment to the constitution. And, some personal interest in passing an amendment to make political campaigns only funded by state dollars or something similar. Great read, learned a lot!

68. Fighting Monks and Burning Mountains: Misadventures on a Buddhist Pilgrimage – Fun read by a traveler doing a Japanese pilgrimage I am interested in doing. Good sense of humor as he walks 750+ miles :)

69. Death’s End – This is the 3rd and final book of the 3 body problem series by a chinese scifi writer. This is one of the most stunning science fiction books I’ve ever read, the scope and different approach to things is amazing. Super super recommended. I think this was my favorite of the 3. Here is a great write up by NPR.

70. Power of Peers: How the Company You Keep Drives Leadership, Growth, and Success – Awesome read for something I am working on. I learned so much, and being in Vistage and soon joining EO it was awesome to see the data backing up the process.

71. Elephant Complex: Travels in Sri Lanka – Wow!!! I didn’t know much about Sri Lanka and it was fascinating to get a blend of the history, the people, the psychology, and traveling. The big was DENSE and it took me a while as I took a few weeks break between some of the chapters. Good read and the war is something I want to learn more about.

72. 73. Books 1 and 2 of the Sorcery Ascendant Series. Book 1 is Crucible of Souls and Blood of Innocents. Awesome books, very fun with cool concepts.

74. Order to Kill – I love Mitch Rapp and that whole series, but this is ghost written I think, not so good :(. The others are great. This fantastic author died last year I believe, some of the best thrillers since Tom Clancy, just not this one.

75. 76. Unsouled and Soulsmith – I LOVED these books, great characters, curious world, well written. About to start book 3.

77. The Bear and the Dragon – Reread this one, good book but weird to see Tom Clancy’s 1990s politics.

78. A Shattered Empire: Book Three of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence – The final book in a great series. I’d give them a solid b+ and can’t wait for more from the author.

November

79. The Wolf of the North: Wolf of the North Book 1 – This is a fantastic book and I can’t wait for more! Awesome viking esque story…

80. 81. Sea and Shadow and Dawn and Darkness. Waiting for book 3, but I’d give them a B-, entertaining and I loved his other trilogy.

82. 83. Free the Darkness and Reign of Madness. These are books 1 and 2 of the King’s Dark Tidings series and they are AWESOME. The main character is like James Bond but a monk, and in a Fantasy setting. Awesome world, great surrounding characters and FUN. I can’t wait for the 3rd one!!!!

84. The Wretched of Muirwood. A well written decent book, but the plot was so short by the end I was bored. It was like a mini story that didn’t pull me in. Good writing but not going to read any others. I am trying a different series by the same author though.

85. 86. Path of Flames and The Black Shriving. Books 1 and 2 of the Black Gate series, and I am currently reading the 3rd. These are some of the best fantasy books I’ve read in a while, very cool story with 3 different pieces slowly coming together.

87. 88. Books 1 and 2 of the Disinherited Prince series. The Disinherited Prince and The Monk’s Habit. Fun simple books about a prince who his family is trying to kill him, and his quest to stay alive. Entertaining and I am looking forward to the 3rd.

89. Book 2 in a series I started a few months back, An Empire Asunder. Basically about a rebellion in a sci fi fantasy world. Pretty cool universe but book 2 was a bit of a disappointment. Just not very clear writing sometimes, and kinda a mini plot when I was expecting some big things to happen. I might not read the 3rd.

90. Book 3 of the Black Gate series, The Siege of Abythos. I can’t wait for book 4! Fantatic series and my favorite fantasy of the year.

December

91. Rules for a Knight – Cool book, something to meditate on. Was suprised who write it!

92. 93. 94. Books 1, 2, and 3 of the Kingfountain Series. Those being The Queen’s Poisoner, The Thief’s Daughter, and The King’s Traitor. Great series and a solid B+. Basically around a kingdom with a lot going on, and a young boy held by the king as a hostage along with other kids. Then it jumps to him at 18 in the next book, and then at 24. Modeled on the war of roses a little. Looking forward to the next one.

95. Benjamin Ashwood. Book 2 is coming out in a few days and I can’t wait! It is cool to have a character that shares your name :). The tagline for this is epic fantasy at it’s best and I agree, straight adventure story. The first sets up a lot, and I hope the 2nd gets a little more nitty gritty.

96. A Death in Vienna. I picked the Gabriel Allon series up, and slowly working through it. Good spy/assassin/detective type thrillers.

97. Endless Flight – Book 2 of the benjamin ashwood series and even better than the first one. I love this seris and can’t wait for more. Just solid classic fantasy and good characters.

98. The confessor – Another great Gabriel Allon series. This one about the vatican, pope, and a murdered Jewish scholar. Fun read!

99. Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind – I am trying to see what others are doing for their day to day, this was a nice little book with stories from a variety of authors. I would give it a B-, as it just didn’t have the nitty gritty I wanted. Still useful though.

100. 101. 102. I am reading through the Gabriel Allon series (spy/assassin action detective books). Book 5 was Prince of Fire. Book 6 was The Messenger. Book 7 was The Secret Servant.

103. 104. 105. More Gabriel Allon :). Moscow Rules and The Defector are an awesome 2 book story, really enjoyed it. The Rembrandt Affair was one of my favorites as it is a bit more of a detective story with a twist.

106. A Sip of Magic which is book 3 of the disinherited prince series, now that he is healed they had a bit of an action / mystery book. Not too bad and I will def pick up the next one.

107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. I finished the rest of the Gabriel Allon series, can’t wait for a new one :). I read Portrait of a Spy, the Fallen Angel, The English Girl, The Heist, English Spy, and The Black Widow. So now I just wait for more :). Very solid spy books.

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This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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