#39 - Lonely Planet Guide Kaua'i

Lonely Planet Guides are always tops on my list and earlier in the year when we were planning our honeymoon to Kaua'i it was my first choice. However there is a reason this is one of the books I forgot to post up after reading... it just wasn't the quality I was used to and while useful it was forgettable. This was the guidebook that sent us to a horrible dinner at Kintaro which had been highly applauded. A greasy and unseasoned massacre of Japanese cuisine where I was glad the overly strong Mai Tai at the bar while waiting for a table kept us in good spirits. It did turn us on to a few neat sights but nothing that wasn't covered as well or better in a different guidebook. Depending on your vacation style it might be more useful than it was for us so I'll say it is Recommended. Just stay away from Kintaro no matter what the book says.

#38 - The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management with Microsoft Project 2003

Long title, decent book. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management with Microsoft Project 2003 was another tech book I picked up just for personal interest and betterment. MS Project is one of those neglected programs that many people use but few use properly. I have always found it to be only used in one of two ways: overly simplified or overly complex, and even with some familiarity I'd still be in the simplified group. This book, however, is great on the actual topic of project management overall and covers quite a lot of ground. This is a good book for the first time user or the seasoned project manager. Recommended.

#37 - Fiber Optics Technician's Manual

Another tech book I picked up just for my own research and development. I work with fiber optics on a daily basis but have never been trained to build fiber cables and it is something that intrigues me. Most network people work with fiber optics and never give it a second thought beyond is it single or multimode? Fiber optics transmits data at very high rates over a microscopic-thin piece of plastic or glass using light from an LED or laser beam. The production of the less-than-hair-thin flexible glass core is a marvel in itself. I could go on but I'll spare you the geekery... Let's just say I find fiber optics fascinating. So much so that I read technician's manuals about it for fun. Yes, I know.

The Fiber Optics Technician's Manual ended up not being quite what I had expected and while it could possibly be useful as a textbook it is hard to say if it is as useful in the real world. It has some great information though and is very accurate but at times it gets mired in minutia and math/numbers a bit too weighty for what it is trying to accomplish. I've heard that there is a new addition (3rd I believe) which adds the practical application and installation information, so I'm guessing my critique was accurate and shared by many others but I have not read or seen it to make an assessment. As it stands I can't say it is recommended outside of a classroom or possibly if you grab the latest edition.

#36 - Neuromancer

While waiting to receive the rest of the "Lens of the World" Trilogy I decided to tackle a "classic" sci-fi title which basically gave birth to the genre of cyberpunk. I'm a techie/IT Guy/nerd by nature but I somehow missed the sci-fi gene and absolutely hate most space-themed/Sci-fi favorites like Star Wars, Star Trek, Galactica, Battlefield Earth, etc. I am however fully into Fantasy/Medieval genres so I am able to retain my geek card. Neuromancer is kind of a blend of both computers and sci-fi so I have always kept a copy in the hopes of someday reading it.

I can at least say I have now, and I do have to be a bit easier on it since it was groundbreaking and genre-defining. It's always easy to look back and nitpick so many years later and especially since my expertise lies in the computer/network/Internet realm. I am so easily turned off because usually an author has a mere basic grasp of concepts and then proceeds to butcher the hell out of them to seem techie... it may fool the average Joe but it drives me crazy. This is, for the most part, not the case here and in fact Mr. Gibson actually presages a number of technologies and ideas that were in infancy or not invented at the time of writing. If not for that I would have never made it through. It is a choppy read that is esoteric and elusive just for the sake of being so at many points but on the whole it is successful and was a nice change of pace for me. It is a must read for fans of the genre and I can say it is Recommended even for dabblers.