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©2007 John Scalzi; (P)2008 Macmillan Audio
 I am not sure how this book ended up on my shelf, it was probably on one of my "Dave Ramsey Recommends" buying sprees.

Poke the Box is all about getting started and executed on your ideas. For me it is kind of like having a personal cheerleader. This book picked up my spirits at a time when I was feeling down, now I hope I am able to put some of it to good use.

This is a short book, I read it in 2 sittings while taking lots of notes.

Here is a quote from the book that describes how I often act when it comes to many projects.

" The person who constantly asks questions, interrupts, takes endless notes, and is always in your face isn’t just annoying — she’s self-sabotaging, a form of hiding. This hypergo mindset is just as safe as the more prevalent kind of under-shipping, because if you’re the kind of person who’s always dreaming and riffing, of course you can’t be held responsible for your work. First, because you’re crazy, and second, because you’re too busy doing the next thing to be held responsible for the last one."

I hope to put what I read in the book into practice and break out of the hypergo mentality.

Here is my favorite quote from the book:

" Today, not starting is far, far worse than being wrong. If you start, you’ve got a shot at evolving and adjusting to turn your wrong into a right. But if you don’t start, you never get a chance."


We send our kids to school and obsess about their test scores, their behavior and their ability to fit in.

We post a help wanted ad and look for experience, famous colleges and a history of avoiding failure.

We invest in companies based on how they did last quarter, not on what they’re going to do tomorrow.

So why are we surprised when it all falls apart?

Our economy is not static, but we act as if it is. Your position in the world is defined by what you instigate, how you provoke, and what you learn from the events you cause. In a world filled with change, that’s what matters — your ability to create and learn from change.

Poke the Box is a manifesto about producing something that’s scarce, and thus valuable. It demands that you stop waiting for a road map and start drawing one instead. You know how to do this, you’ve done it before, but along the way, someone talked you out of it.

We need your insight and your dreams and your contributions. Hurry.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10 and recommend it to anyone who needs a push to get started.
 I bought this book from Audible and listened to it on my iPhone with the Audible app.

My friend Rod mentioned this book in a Tweet a while back and I thought I would give it a try and I am glad I did.

Scott Lynch creates a fantastical world reminiscent of renaissance Venice Italy full of royalty and thieves. I feel that it is written more like modern fiction than it is traditional fantasy, magic is present but not over-explained.

Michael Page does an amazing job with his performance, he brings all of the characters to life and gives them accents and speech patterns that I would have totally missed if I’d have read a printed book.

I really liked this story and now can’t wait to read the second book in the series.


Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting. Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld’s most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful—and more ambitious—than Locke has yet imagined. Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi’s most trusted men—and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr’s underworld.

©2008 Scott Lynch; (P)2009 Tantor

I rate this book a 10 out of 10 and recommend it to anyone who likes good fiction or adult fantasy. This book is full of foul language, but not so much that it distracted me from the story.
 

Such an interesting story, a mystery sci-fi inter-dimensional romp. I find it hard to write about without giving major parts of the story away.

Try it, I think you’ll like it.


Padlocked doors. Strange light fixtures. Mutant cockroaches.

There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s. Because every room in this old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends. Or the end of everything….

©2012 Peter Clines and Permuted Press (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

I rate this book an 9 out of 10 and recommend it to any geeks who like a good mystery.

