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kmusserWhile I'm doing some catch-up, time for a books update. I've read some good stuff recently, including Nate Silver's book which I thought was excellent.
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver - an excellent non-fiction, statistics for the layperson book. Basically about how to break down complex systems and large datasets into a form that's actual useful for making predictions about the future. Largely made up of case studies where he examines different fields and how they use (or don't use) data and which have improved in the accuracy of their forecasts (weather) and which have failed (economics) and why. He talks a lot about how we should generally be thinking of things in terms of probabilities as in the real world things are seldom certain - but just because there's uncertainty in the data doesn't mean you can't use it - do you need to be 100% sure the hurricane is going to hit your house before you evacuate? By the time you know that it'll probably be too late. If you would like to understand the world around you better, or make a living as a professional gambler, than you should read this book.
Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein - a crime thriller set in Japan with a touch of fantasy. A police detective is trying to track down a samurai sword wielding murderer. Interspersed are short stories from earlier eras tied to the present by the sword. The fantasy element is subtle and the thriller, historical, Japanese, and fantasy elements are all very nicely mixed. Highly recommended to anyone who likes any of those genres, looking forward to the sequel.
Blood Soaked and Contagious by James Crawford - a fun and campy zombie story that I'd consider more humor than horror, although there is quite a lot of gore - it's a story that I can't imagine anyone other than Bruce Campbell playing the lead if you catch my drift, in fact whether or not you liked Army of Darkness is probably a good indication of whether or not you'd like this book.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - a boys misadventures with faerie, similar in theme to Coraline, though a little more intimate and the supernaturalness toned down. Also felt similar to a lot of Charles de Lint books. I liked it, if you're already a Gaiman fan you probably will to - if you haven't read Gaiman it would probably be an ok place to start, a little less bizarre and more accessible than a lot of his other stuff.
The Edge of the World by Kevin Anderson - some classic fantasy, I really wanted to like this book more then I did, it had potential, I mean there is a secret cabal of cartographers! I just found the writing style to be too dry, the world building aspect was interesting, but I felt like I was reading a history rather than a novel, I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters.
Soldiers by John Dalmas - they can't all be winners, this is some forgettable military sci-fi for folks that don't know about Starship Troopers.
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver - an excellent non-fiction, statistics for the layperson book. Basically about how to break down complex systems and large datasets into a form that's actual useful for making predictions about the future. Largely made up of case studies where he examines different fields and how they use (or don't use) data and which have improved in the accuracy of their forecasts (weather) and which have failed (economics) and why. He talks a lot about how we should generally be thinking of things in terms of probabilities as in the real world things are seldom certain - but just because there's uncertainty in the data doesn't mean you can't use it - do you need to be 100% sure the hurricane is going to hit your house before you evacuate? By the time you know that it'll probably be too late. If you would like to understand the world around you better, or make a living as a professional gambler, than you should read this book.
Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein - a crime thriller set in Japan with a touch of fantasy. A police detective is trying to track down a samurai sword wielding murderer. Interspersed are short stories from earlier eras tied to the present by the sword. The fantasy element is subtle and the thriller, historical, Japanese, and fantasy elements are all very nicely mixed. Highly recommended to anyone who likes any of those genres, looking forward to the sequel.
Blood Soaked and Contagious by James Crawford - a fun and campy zombie story that I'd consider more humor than horror, although there is quite a lot of gore - it's a story that I can't imagine anyone other than Bruce Campbell playing the lead if you catch my drift, in fact whether or not you liked Army of Darkness is probably a good indication of whether or not you'd like this book.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - a boys misadventures with faerie, similar in theme to Coraline, though a little more intimate and the supernaturalness toned down. Also felt similar to a lot of Charles de Lint books. I liked it, if you're already a Gaiman fan you probably will to - if you haven't read Gaiman it would probably be an ok place to start, a little less bizarre and more accessible than a lot of his other stuff.
The Edge of the World by Kevin Anderson - some classic fantasy, I really wanted to like this book more then I did, it had potential, I mean there is a secret cabal of cartographers! I just found the writing style to be too dry, the world building aspect was interesting, but I felt like I was reading a history rather than a novel, I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters.
Soldiers by John Dalmas - they can't all be winners, this is some forgettable military sci-fi for folks that don't know about Starship Troopers.