#42 - The Golem's Eye

The Golem's Eye is the second book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. If the first had you cringing from the blatant similarity to Mr. Potter, this one manages to borrow even more! Harry, I mean Nathaniel is working for the Ministry of... I mean Office of Internal Affairs which is defending against Muggl... I mean commoners in the Resistance movement threatening to overthrow the magicians. Hermion... I mean Kitty enters the picture as a female counterpart and edges out Bartimaeus the djini for attention to some disappointment relegating the much loved djini to a minor role in this one. Normally this much cribbing would put me off totally, but damn it! these books are just too good! As much as I initially want to dislike them they present a great world, frenetic action, and a ton of fun. Rather than the plodding tomes and tales of Harry Potter these are smart, sarcastic, action-packed romps with great characters and storytelling. I've just given in to it all and enjoy the journey for what it is, not something I normally or easily do. Recommended.

#41 - The Amulet of Samarkand

The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud, was a series I picked up a book at a time from Borders' bargain bin. It is a young adult series I had feared was going to poorly proxy the Harry Potter series, especially due to the bargain bin part, but I bit anyhow... hey the covers are metal/foil iridescent and I can't pass up shiny fantasy books. :) You know the story, orphaned boy wizard sent off to study and learn of his "ultimate sacrifice." Seriously, except for Hogwarts it is an almost carbon copy. But, and most importantly, it all wildly diverges and quickly redeemed itself in my eyes. The boy summons a 5,000 year old djini that adds humor and character to a well written tale that is easily worth reading regardless of your age. In this case I'm glad I judged a book by its, shiny, cover and not the quick summary which screamed of a poor copy cat young adult fantasy novel. Recommended.

#40 - Tea With The Black Dragon

Sometimes seemingly random events in life become much more. A book I wrote about a while back "Lens of the World" by R. A. MacAvoy that I picked up on a whim in a dollar store led me to seek out and purchase the rest of the trilogy and while I was at it I decided to grab the first two unrelated books "Tea with the Black Dragon" and "Twisting teh Rope." This book was not a fantasy novel as I had thought but ended up being a suspense/mystery title involving Taoism, Tea, Zen Buddhism, and Chinese mysticism/legend... I don't think a single book could contain more of my interests unless I personally wrote it. Totally took me by surprise and in fact was an amazing read that did not allow me to stop turning the pages. Highly Recommended!

#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.