booknewb

TL;DR: A memoir of a time in Anthony Bourdain's life well into the fame and prominence, and a look on a point in time when celebrity chefs roamed the land, including critiques when food is disrespected . This started out dark, very dark. Knowing what happens to Anthony Bourdain, and him describing nights holed out in the Caribbean, I got an eerie sense of AB's tendencies. That what he'd written down as being unsuccessfully suicidal for nights on end, a chill ran down my spine.

TL;DR: 12 Rules to improve life based on mythologies, philosophy, psychology, science and religion. Jordan Peterson is a controversial figure. Maybe because of the rhetoric different groups are interpreting as attacks. And maybe that's simply the purpose of a discussion. It seems he's become a voice, where none used to be around. Like a forest with burnt wood, and the first spark creates a ripple that lights up the area.  This book is a good read. Stripped of all the arguments, it's basically like a self-help/personal development book. What makes it different from what one can usually read is it pulls from different sources, The Bible, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Lessons from World War II, essentially from Myths, History, Psychology, Religion etc.

TL;DR: Girl dies and meets five people in heaven; along the way she learn five lessons and then something else. <Spoiler Alert!>

TL;DR: Real leaders make people feel safe. I n times of danger, they put themselves in harm's way to protect another, and would no sooner give up what they have for their people to live on. The book opens that people have a fundamental need for security. Safety. Simon Sinek describes this Circe of Safety, where feelings of belonging, of shared values and a deep sense of empathy fosters trust and cooperation.

TL;DR:  There are certain hours of the day when we are most effective. There is a science to starting and ending things, and in synchronizing a group. For a moment, I thought I was reading Clive Cussler. Daniel Pink opened with the sinking of the Lusitania; a grand hypothesis that maybe the Lusitania sank because its captain made a crucial decision in the afternoon. It seems odd if an argument about time would hold water in a court of law. Can a person be absolved simply because the event happened in a person's less optimal hours? I honestly don't know. 

TL;DR: A Dutch Industrialist wanting revenge against Russian leadership sets up a terrorism attempt against the US using a previously submerged Soviet Atomic Bomb. Dirk Pitt and team are compelled to stop this. Dirk Jr. and Summer gets tangled with Russian Intelligence leading to a Russian Imperial Treasure, Romanov Gold. This went fast. Initially thought there were only two entities or story lines. Spoiler: There are three. The pace has the feel of a Sherlock Holmes/Tom Clancy mix while still having that James Bond/Indiana Jones-vibe for the seas and oceans. The Dirk Pitt series has this tendency of mixing contemporary news with historical issues.The fiction starts at the seams where history is deemed to be unfulfilled. The product is one fine craft of action and adventure. Longer summary: More Spoilers

TL;DR: Bad guys are found mining uranium under the Atlantic Ocean causing environmental problems; and they want to takeover the Cuban government. Good guys investigate and try to stop this. Oh and they go on a search for an Aztec Emperor's Treasure I grew up on the Dirk Pitt series. In today's world of the MCU's, DCEU and Star Wars EU, this was my fictional universe. This was my long standing fictional series.  Although it's been a couple years since I'd last read a Clive Cussler novel, it seems the spirit of adventure in this book remains the same. Some of the characters have matured but overall it feels familiar in a good way, like being home. A longer summary below, but a spoiler warning should be called out, so Spoiler Alert.