Category Archives: Books

The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

My review
I liked this book best of the Iain M Banks books I’ve read so far – but I’m a sucker for science fiction books where the main character enters a tournament of games. I even liked Split Infinity, for Pete’s sake. I always like books that [...]

The Shia Revival, by Vali Nasr

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future by Vali Nasr

My review
This is a really interesting book, given to me by my friend Peter Sims, particularly in light of the Iranian elections last week. It’s an in depth, but readable explanation of the history of the Shia/Sunni relationship, but also a [...]

Dune, by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert

My review
What can you say about Dune, really? A classic of science fiction literature; a book that many consider to be the best of the genre. I last read it probably 20 years ago in high school — I remembered a lot of sand, I remembered enjoying it, and then I [...]

Teaching as a Subversive Activity, by Postman and Weingartner

Teaching as a Subversive Activity by Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner

My review (rating: 4 of 5 stars)
This is an amazing book — written in 1968 by always smart Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner, it’s ostensibly a book about education reform — and it’s a very good one to read about that. But it also [...]

B is for Beer, by Tom Robbins

B Is for Beer by Tom Robbins

My review
About the best thing that can be said about this book is that it’s a book about beer. The 2nd best thing about the book is that it’s mercifully short, at just over 100 pages. I’ve liked Robbins historically, and especially Skinny Legs and All and Half [...]