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#BookReview: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

More About Influencer / Hyper Online Culture Of The Last Decade And How To Manipulate The Algorithms To Increase Your Reach. This is one of those books where I suspect most people will go into it with one expectation – to learn about the etymology of various terms used online and how the creation and propagation of these terms is shaping the future of language.

Instead, what we largely get is a look at influencer and hyper-online culture of the last decade and tips on how to manipulate language so that the algorithms of social media don’t shadow ban (or outright ban) you and even how to use them to gain more followers for yourself.

In and of itself, this is a rather fascinating look at what it actually is… but that isn’t really what was “sold” to us in the (current, one month to the day before publication) description of the book. But is it *quite* enough to justify a star deduction in and of itself? Normally, possibly, but here I’ll allow it simply because Aleksic does do a truly great job of explaining what he actually wants to explain… even if this isn’t what the description of the book (which isn’t controlled exclusively by Aleksic) wants us to believe the book is about.

Thus, the star deduction here is actually for the dearth of even really a modicum of a bibliography, at least in the Advance Review Copy of the book I read. Perhaps the final form will include one, and perhaps that bibliography will be roughly 15% or more of the overall text. That would be *awesome* – but that is NOT the version of the book I read, and thus is not the version of the book I must judge.

Overall truly an eye opening book roughly about linguistics and etymology, but really more about influencer culture and how to manipulate the algorithms to your own personal gain, this one will be one that will likely fly about that high – perhaps gaining a modicum of attention for a few moments, before the algorithm instead pushes the next Big Thing.

Very much recommended.

This review of Algospeak by Adam Aleksic was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Magic Of Code by Samuel Arbesman

Solid Explanation Of Why Knowing The Basics Of Software Development Is Essential In Modern Life. Full disclosure up front: My degree is in Computer Science. I actually started the program at 16 years old and was already going into Programming 3 by the time I graduated high school. I spent over three years in college as a Programming 1 tutor, having never made less than a 95 on *any* assignment or test – including the handwritten final exam – in Programming 1. I was a middle school/ high school teacher for a year before spending the last 18 years as a professional software developer building everything from credit card processing applications at a Fortune 50 megacorporation to various medical billing systems to even a couple of stints at the Savannah River Site as a nuclear software engineer on various projects, including one that informed the chemical engineers of when any one of a couple dozen nuclear waste tanks ranging in size from a few hundred thousand gallons to over a million gallons were about to explode within 24 hours if they didn’t act in time.

All that to say, obviously, I love my craft. I’m a 25+ year student of this industry as well as practitioner, and I’ve learned, done, and seen quite a bit. I *know* how critical my industry is to modern life.

Here, Arbesman does a truly remarkable job of explaining to everyone *else* what I’ve known for quite some time. No matter your background outside of software development – including those non-coders inside of the more general Information Technology industry – Arbesman does a truly great job of explaining the basics of coding and why it is important to modern life – both for good and ill – in such a way that it is both easily approachable and easily understandable by pretty well anyone who can read at all.

Reasonably well documented – at least by my more recent, more relaxed standards – at 15% or so, this book explains the wonders and pitfalls of this industry in ways that will make most anyone understand just how critical it is and why it is critically important that they have at least some understanding of it… and also make those of us who have been in the trenches for quite some time come to love what we do all over again. It is both informed and inspiring, and while it doesn’t go into all of the complexities of the field, it does give a solid overview of at least a lot of the key issues in such a way that it invites the reader to discover even more about this industry.

Overall a great book for anyone, and seemingly destined to be at minimum suggested reading – if not required – in perhaps a lot of Computer 101 courses in college or even high school.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Magic Of Code by Samuel Arbesman was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

Strong Small Town Tale. This is one of those tales that has a bit of a lot. Rich boy falls in love with trailer park trash girl over the course of one fateful teenage summer. Events happen in their small seasonal town, and small seasonal townspeople – including police – respond as small seasonable townspeople all too often do, even in real life.

But what if… what if damn near *everyone* was wrong?

What if the truth of that summer all those years ago was so much more complex? What if virtually *no one* had anywhere near a complete picture of what was happening, due to *everyone* having far too many prejudices and preconceptions?

Can wrongs done that summer all those years ago be corrected all this time later – at least to some degree or another? Can relationships destroyed then – family, community, romantically, and others – be repaired after so much time has passed and so much bitterness has been so deeply internalized?

Novak here provides a stunning tale perfect for summer reading that delves into all of the above in a tale that ultimately leaves the reader a bit breathless and a lot of emotions to deal with. It isn’t a comedy, though it has a touch of that. It isn’t a romance per se, though it does in fact meet all known qualifications there and may be marketed as such. This is far more a family/ small town drama, and one that plays out quite remarkably well.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Case For Kringle by Kent Holloway

Hitler In Heaven, Pope Francis In Hell, And The Surprising Connection To Why Santa Claus Is The Best Missionary In The History Of Christianity. Got your attention with that title, right? And I know you’re asking, seriously, dude? Hitler? THAT Hitler? In Heaven???? And the recently deceased Pope Francis, the freaking POPE, the HEAD OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH POPE, in Hell????

And what, by God, does either one of those things have to do with Santa Claus AT ALL?????

Well… you need to read this book. 😀 (Though to be clear, I *did* modify Holloway’s premise for purposes of this review. In the text, Holloway actually uses Mother Teresa rather than Pope Francis, but I thought Pope Francis was more relevant to the current moment while serving the exact same purpose. 🙂 ) I fully cop to the simple fact that the title of this review and indeed most of it to this point is openly written to attempt to trigger the Outrage Machine (as Tobias Rose-Stockwell called it in his book of the same name almost two years to the day before this book is released) / Algospeak (as Adam Aleksic proclaims it in his book of the same name releasing on the same day as this book). My duty as a reviewer is first to be completely honest about my thoughts on a given book, but second to do everything in my power to help promote my review of the book (and thus the book itself), so this is an experiment in that line of thinking.

Seriously, this book is all about the pros and cons of Santa Claus, as seen by an ordained Baptist minister who actively dons the red and white suit every year and openly professes his love of (nearly) all things Christmas and Santa.

Yet even though Holloway is quite open with his natural bias here, he is also quite thorough in looking through the common complaints of Santa and examining each in turn – both from the left (“shaming isn’t cool, y’all, and we need to protect the feelings of the young flowers”) and from the right (“Heresy!!! There is NOTHING about Santa in the Bible!!!”). And Holloway truly does a pretty even handed look at all aspects of the complaints at hand, writing as both defense lawyer and prosecutor of both sides. Truly, it works quite well and since he uses a very conversational tone, it also reads quite easily.

Further, at barely 150 pages, this is also a very *quick* read – I read it in under 3 hrs, and that included getting a few chores done around the house preparing for my sister in law to arrive later today as I write this review.

Truly, anyone interested in any form of Christmas – even the secular, Santa/ Rudolph only version – will appreciate the overall discussion here, as while this *is* an explicitly Christian book and Holloway explicitly talks about using his time in the suit to spread the Christian message – part of the whole “best missionary in the history of Christianity bit”, though read the book to see what Holloway does with this and how carefully and sensitively he approaches it – this is truly a book that looks at several non-religious arguments for and against Santa as well, and these discussions could be beneficial to even the most ardent secularist/ anti-Christian.

Indeed, the *only* reason for the star deduction is that even though Holloway does include at least some footnotes at the end of each chapter, they’re all brief enough that I daresay they wouldn’t quite get to the 15% or so of the text that even my recently relaxed bibliographic standards require in order to get the full amount of stars in the rating.

Truly an well written quick read that does everything it sets out to do… and maybe a bit more.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Case For Kringle by Kent Holloway was originally written on June 6, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Complex Story of Generational Trauma. This is one of those tales that reads a touch slow – so be prepared for that – but which ultimately succeeds in having quite an emotional impact due to just how much force it lands with. When, to bring a bit of physics into the equation here, Force is mass multiplied by acceleration, a slow acceleration of a sufficiently sized mass can hit with the same impact as a much faster, yet smaller, object. This book’s ultimate mass, all that has happened to each of these characters and all they have gone through as a result of these events, is truly rather substantial. In the end, you’re going to see clearly just how these characters became all that they did… even as you may not quite get all the answers you may want as a reader, or perhaps things ultimately play out a touch differently here than you may want in “real life”. Regardless, this book stays true to its story as Clark chooses to craft it, and she truly did a particularly great job yet again.

Yes, there is praise for both AOC and Kamala Harris within this text, so there will be some who love it for that alone and others who wish to defenestrate it for that alone, but I can also state that other than one character actively praising an event that is current for that character, the AOC/ Kamala lines in particular are one-offs and not truly central to the story.

Of at least slightly more concern, perhaps still not enough to deduct a star, yet enough to note in the review, is that this *is* yet another book where most straight males are written as antagonists and vile and evil – and yes, combined with the AOC/ Kamala line… again, could be divisive. But while annoying, it also works within the context of this tale as told, and is actually at least used well to enhance the impact of the overall story. Along these lines, there *is* also a gay married couple present, so do with that as you will. Again, I know some will love this and others will want to defenestrate the book over it, so you do you. I for one thought these characters were, again, worked into the story quite well and didn’t seem as forced as I’ve seen these types of characters be in other tales by other authors, so it was neither here nor there for me.

Ultimately there is enough in this tale that various people won’t like it for various side reasons. Read the book anyway for the actual main storyline… and maybe be prepared for the room to get quite dusty at a couple of points in particular.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Other Side Of Now by Paige Harbison

One Of The Hardest Hitting ‘Glimpse’ Tales I’ve Ever Come Across. This is one of those ‘glimpse’ tales – ala The Family Man (the 2000s era movie with Nic Cage and Tea Leoni) or It’s A Wonderful Life, and yet in its specific mechanics, it hit me harder than any I’ve come across before it. There are really only two books I’ve come across before – that I believe I’ve written reviews for over the years – that even come close, but revealing which two gets way too close to spoiler territory. So read this book then look back through my reviews (available on BookHype.com, PageBound.co, TheStoryGraph, Goodreads, or my blog at BookAnon.com) and see if you can make the connection yourself. 😀 (Ok, so *no one* is going to do that. But it could be a fun challenge for someone who is particularly bored, maybe? :D) Also, don’t forget to leave your own review of this book after you read it. *Then* go look through mine. 😀

But seriously, this is an utterly hilarious book that happens to have a lot of heart – both of which are hallmarks of this type of tale, and both of which are done particularly well by Harbison.

The selection of exact characterization here helps – a regular girl from Florida who has two different dreams which ultimately become two different realities one day such that she gets to live through both and see what both are really like. Yes, there is a fair amount of Hollywood name dropping and commentary, but again, I’ve seen that in many other books with similar characters, and it works well to establish this exact characterization early, particularly since the real ‘meat’ of the book is actually the *other* life.

What made this hit so hard personally was an event I don’t speak much of publicly, but which has direct bearing on this book – but again, I have to be very vague here in order to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that my reality – assuming the one I’m typing this review in *is* reality – wound up very different from the one in the book, yet it is also all *too* easy for me to see how my reality could have been a version of this tale, all the way to me becoming a version of our lead character. (Though to be clear, *no one* is casting me as an actor. The one time I acted at all was in a HS play – Midsummer Night’s Dream – and even playing a character who was *supposed* to be a bad actor… damn, I was *really* bad at even that!)

If you’ve never encountered a ‘glimpse’ tale, this is genuinely one of the better ones I’ve come across, particularly in the last few years, so it is a great place to start. Long time fans of the type of tale, like me, will likely enjoy this particular tale quite a bit too.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Other Side Of Now by Paige Harbison was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Dark Pattern by Guido Palazzo And Ulrich Hoffrage

Not So Hidden, Yet Authors Explain In Ways Perhaps Others Have Not Considered. This is one of those books that reads as though you’ve always known exactly what the authors are presenting… you just never considered actually breaking it out exactly like this. Part Corporate Leadership, part Corporate Ethics, and part Self Help, it is a guide to thinking ethically even in tough situations – lest you find yourself and your company embroiled in scandals as infamous as the ones detailed herein (and others far less famous, yet impactful).

Speaking as someone who *has* worked in one of the largest companies in the world (a global megacorporation generally in the lower half of the Fortune 50 the entire time I worked there), this is one that corporate leaders are going to *love* so that they can claim they are doing something about corporate ethics/ education… so we’ll see how much those same companies really take to heart the actual message of this text and truly make changes across the board, rather than just dictating to crew dogs some (usually not completely thought out, at least at the lowest levels) written in stone and just as hard to adapt rules to follow that will change with the next corporate ethics book Leadership reads. Hell, maybe they can even save some money and just buy a lot of copies of this book rather than hiring expensive “consultants” to tell them the exact same thing… *because they read this book*.

But seriously, having been involved in the mentorship program at that employer as a mentor to more junior colleagues, this is absolutely a book I would have recommended they read, and indeed even in my current role where I also help mentor a junior colleague, I’m absolutely going to recommend this book to both my boss and my colleague. It really does lay things out quite clearly, at least so far as its framework goes.

The one criticism I have, though not rising quite to the level of a star deduction, is that its application of its framework can feel at times forced and at other times a touch too heavy handed or even myopic. Yes, it *technically* fits with both Enron and Theranos as described… but there were absolutely other factors in both of those situations that were just as critical to their scandals that *don’t* fit the overall framework as neatly which were ignored or explained away with essentially a hand wave.

But read this book anyway. It really is quite solid, and it absolutely gives off the “I always knew this” impression… even when you clearly didn’t think of it in these exact terms or framework, and these exact terms and framework may indeed help you to be a more ethical worker and leader.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Dark Pattern by Guido Palazzo and Ulrich Hoffrage was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BlogTour: The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a thinking person’s thriller. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Thinking Person’s Thriller In Directions Perhaps Belle Didn’t Intend. This is one of those kinds of books that I really like because it tells a kickass suspense/ thriller tale, and if that’s all you want… there you go. But *just* below the surface, it also makes some points that in all honesty, knowing Belle for several years now and seeing several of her political posts on social media… I honestly don’t think she meant to make.

As a surface level thriller, this tale works quite well with both of its leads being American expats who find themselves connected to one part of Amsterdam’s diamond trade when all hell begins to break loose. Even at this surface level, the amount of intrigue and suspense Belle manages to layer into this barely over 300 page tale is rather astonishing, really. Lesser authors likely wouldn’t have been able to quite pull this off as effectively as she does, with the various corporate and familial relationships, motivations, and quandries happening side by side and sometimes directly overlapping… whether or not anyone or everyone involved knows it is happening.

On the deeper level, Belle makes clear that she does not like American gun culture, despite having lived in Atlanta for at least some time – the major metro area I grew up just outside of, where my grandfather was, so it was claimed, the most decorated WWII vet in his metro Atlanta County at the time of his death… *because of his comfort and use of guns before and during that war*. And while there are many who may be tempted to defenestrate the book over this, don’t. She doesn’t actually get preachy at any point about it, though various “Americans and their guns” comments are made more than once and by more than one character. Which is perhaps fitting given the Dutch setting of the novel.

But it actually goes well beyond this, getting subversive to many real-world political positions, because one major subplot revolves around a particular technology which I’m intentionally being obtuse about in this review so as to avoid spoilers. Yet in showing just how easy this particular technology is to use, and even making a point at least as much as “Americans and their guns” that using this tech itself isn’t actually illegal even though possessing the results of the tech very much is, Belle actively destroys every single argument about owning the result of this tech while also making it clear that bans against the possession of the results of this tech are actively elitist and classist, as this tech isn’t exactly dirt cheap. (Though it *is*, seemingly, more common than this particular book shows.)

Thus, this thriller featuring several complex characters of nationalities on both sides of the Atlantic works both with one’s brain in “just entertain me” mode *and* in “I want something to ponder after reading this book” mode, while still retaining its primary purpose of more straightforward entertainment.

Which is always a nice to see.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle”

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#BookReview: The Hiroshima Men by Iain MacGregor

Among The More Complete Histories Of The Nuclear Bombing Of Japan. Clocking in at nearly 450 pages, with only about 10% of that bibliography – and hence the star deduction – this account really is one of the more complete accounts of the entire event I’ve yet come across in all my years both reading books generally and studying WWII in its various facets more specifically. It was also the last of three books about the bomb and/ or the use of it that I read over the few days of US Memorial Day Weekend 2025 or in the days immediately after, the other two being Evan Thomas’ 2023 book Road To Surrender and Frank Close’s June 2025 book Destroyer Of Worlds.

Specifically, in tracking exactly who it does – including several key US personnel involved with both war planning and the Manhattan Project itself, the pilot of the bomber that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, the reporter who really opened America’s eyes to the horrors of nuclear fallout, and even the Mayor of Hiroshima himself – this book really does give a complete all around picture of all aspects of the creation and use of the atomic bomb and the repercussions for both American leadership and Japanese civilians.

Reading almost like a Tom Clancy or perhaps Robert Ludlum war thriller at times, this text *also* manages to have the emotional heavy hitting of Hersey’s original Hiroshima report, which it covers in nearly as much detail as Lesley MM Blume’s 2020 book Fallout – which told the story of that report exclusively. Leaning more towards the American position that as horrific as this event was, it very likely saved lives – American, Japanese, and even Russian – this is one of those texts that largely doesn’t speak of the efforts in both America and Japan by several key, yet not quite highly ranked enough, leaders to at least consider trying to end the war through dialogue (ala Evan Thomas’ 2023 book Road To Surrender), but instead seeks to offer the reader a more complete understanding of the men who *were* making the decisions in these moments, from the President of the United States all the way to the commander of the airplane that actually dropped the bomb itself.

Ultimately a thorough yet sobering account, and with its release intentionally timed just barely a month before the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, this really is one of the most complete books I’ve ever encountered on the topic, one that at least attempts to strive for a balance in understanding *all* involved in this event. Thus, all -American, Japanese, and everyone else interested in discussing the event with intelligence and facts – would do well to read this particular accounting.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Hiroshima Men by Iain MacGregor was originally written on June 1, 2025.

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#BookReview: Destroyer Of Worlds by Frank Close

Despite Title, This Is A Physics History – Not A WWII History. Despite using J. Robert Oppenheimer’s famous quote upon seeing the detonation of the first atomic bomb – quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, he proclaimed “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” (in case you’ve been living under a rock and had never heard that tale) – and indeed even showing that moment in this history of physics, this really is exactly that – a history of nuclear physics and the scientists involved.

Even when the book finally gets into WWII and the Manhattan Project – as well as at least touching on both Germany and Japan’s efforts to also create the first atom bomb – it still primarily focuses on the science, scientists, and the technical, logistical, and political challenges they were having. Indeed, this is really as close as this text gets to discussing the larger picture of WWII – or the Cold War after it ended.

Instead what we get is a fascinating, and perhaps first of its kind in just how detailed and comprehensive it is, examination of the history of scientific discovery as it relates to nuclear and even quantum physics. Yes, it has a lot of complex – as in, truly seemingly PhD level in the field – images of some of the various mathematical equations involved, but Close does a pretty great job of actually explaining them in such a way that someone with at least a high school physics class under their belt should be able to follow along reasonably well, and even for those that don’t have even that background in physics, it really is more “history of physics” than “physics” in the text’s actual discussions of the relevant histories. (Though I could absolutely see this being used as a textbook, particularly at the collegiate level and particularly in certain history classes or even physics classes, as a way of showing all that has come before to get us to roughly where we are in our understanding of the topics at hand.)

At least I had an easy enough time following along with the text here- though as others frequently tell me, this could very well be a “*my* abilities” thing rather than a more general level of ease. So please, read this book and write a review yourself, no matter who you may be, and please briefly describe your own educational background when you do. (For me, I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, came within a handful of classes of getting two other degrees in Secondary Mathematics Education and Mathematics -long story there – and had physics classes in both high school and college. In addition to several history classes, including a few covering the time and issues in question.) I also had a great time reading this over US Memorial Weekend 2025, as we prepare for the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki later this summer – though I *did* expect this book would be more about those events than it was, which was one main reason I had originally picked it up and chose to read it at this exact time. So again, to be crystal clear yet another time: This is a history of nuclear physics, *NOT* a history of the atomic bomb directly or exclusively.

Truly a fascinating and compelling history, particularly for anyone at least remotely interested in the field for any reason.

Oh, and the star deduction? For all that is discussed here, the bibliography is actually rather short, clocking in at just 10% or so of the text. Astonishing, really, considering the sheer amount of history presented here.

Very much recommended.

This review of Destroyer Of Worlds by Frank Close was originally written on June 1, 2025.