Hitler’s Pope#
John Cornwell
Rating: 4.0 / 5
Since traveling to Italy in the fall of 2024 and reading up on its history and culture, I’ve greatly enjoyed these focussed biopics of important individuals in Italy’s history. Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell fits well within that curiosity, offering an engaging look at Pope Pius XII and the Vatican’s complex position during World War II. As with most narratives that touch on Hitler and the war, the subject matter is inherently compelling, but what stood out most was Cornwell’s insight into the Vatican’s inner workings during this turbulent era. Beyond the controversial wartime connections, the book also highlights how Pius XII redefined the papacy itself—expanding its global vision and responsibilities in the modern world.A fascinating and thought-provoking read overall.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service#
Ian Fleming
Rating: 4.25 / 5
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service truly feels like a classic Bond adventure—packed with twists and turns, high-stakes excitement, an exotic setting, and a surprising thread of true love. Blofeld makes a terrific villain here, both menacing and memorable, with a convoluted plot that is slowly revealed as Bond explores and probes. Without providing and spoilers, this novel has the best – at least the most dramatic – ending in the entire series. Easily one of my favorites among Fleming’s novels, I’d give it a solid 4.25 out of 5.
Cod#
Mark Kurlansky
Rating: 3.5 / 5
I picked up Cod expecting something in the detailed, immersive style of John McPhee, but Mark Kurlansky’s approach turned out to be a bit more high-level and informal. Rather than a deep scientific study, this book focuses more on the cultural and historical impact of cod on the peoples of the Atlantic. It’s an enjoyable read, but I found myself wishing for a bit more depth and analysis.
Octopussy#
Ian Fleming
Rating: 3.5 / 5
As the final installment in my read-through of Ian Fleming’s Bond canon, Octopussy was a satisfying conclusion – a collection of short stories that I genuinely enjoyed, even if I still prefer the full-length novels. These tales feel darker and more somber than the typical Bond adventure, though Bond’s familiar confidence and suave demeanor remain intact. There’s a brooding quality to the writing that seems to reflect Fleming’s own declining health and personal struggles at the time, giving the collection an unusual somber depth.
Algorithms in Bioinformatics#
Wing-Kin Sung
Rating: 3.75 / 5
I think this short textbook serves as a good introduction to key bioinformatic algorithms. At times, details were lacking and there were minor errors, but overall the content was solid. I would have preferred a great diversity of algorithms. While the types of bioinformatic data were different, the problems presented for each were similar at their core and, therefore, used very similar algorithms. This was fun to work through as a side project, to stay sharp and learn some of the details of pattern matching algorithms, but I don’t think this would be suitable as a standalone textbook for a higher-education bioinformatics course.
K#
Tyler Kepner
Rating: 4 / 5
I grew up playing a ton fo baseball, but, after high-school, I drifted away from the sport. This was a fun return to a childhood passion, especially as one who always loved the art of pitching. Kepner demonstrated a tremendous ability to get nuanced quotes from some of the greatest players. It was delightful to get insight about relatively minor details of the game, illuminating these details that fascinate the true die-hards of the sport. This is an easy book to recommend to any lover of the game, I wish someone had given this to me when I was younger.
Rapt#
Winifred Gallagher
Rating: 3.25 / 5
This was, in general, a thought-provoking book, though often lacked in detail and became fairly repetitive. I appreciated the number and variety of angles at which Gallagher approach hed the topic of attention. There are other related books that I would recommend ahead of this one, but I wouldn’t dissuade someone from pick up Rapt, either. As I said, the book eventually became highly repetitive, almost as if the author didn’t have much else to add but needed length. Still, it was a short read, and if nothing else, brought my attention to my attention – I find it helpful to pick up a book on this topic every now and then to realign my focus on my focus.
From Russia with Love#
Ian Fleming
Rating: 4.25 / 5
Delightful addition to the James Bond series. While the fifth in the original Fleming series, this was the last one for me to read. This is a classic of the collection with a great movie, too!.
Basic Economics#
Thomas Sowell
Rating: 5 / 5
Quite the opus, but well worth the time. This is an exemplar of Sowell’s tremendous clarity of thought. It reads as if conversational, but not at all dumbed-down or amateurish. Sowell’s ability to lead a reader through logic is so effortless and clean, nothing is extraneous, nothing is missing. This should be required reading for most people as a primer to the key aspects of modern economies. The number of fallacies that are still pervasive decades after the publication of this book, is astounding and disappointing. Sowell is one of the greatest thinkers of the modern era and this book encapsulates many of his key economic teachings.
Marriage, a History#
Stephanie Coontz
Rating: 2 / 5
The title is very misleading: this is really about the modern history of marriage in the West, primarily the USA, with a particular focus on feminism’s effect on marriage from the mid-1800’s to later 1900s. I was hoping for a true history on marriage, so this was rather disappointing. To be fair, the book started off with a couple of chapters on the believed origin of marriage across the planet, but afterwards, most of history and the globe was ignored. In the end, this is more a book on feminism in marriage in the USA in the 1900’s than a broader history of marriage.
Currently reading:
- Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre
- A Concise Introduction To Pure Mathematics by Martin W. Liebeck
- Standing in a River Waving a Stick by John Gierach