Books

With some good book reading time due to recent long plane rides, I got through a good batch of books.

• Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalk to Fusion by Bill Messenger  - I have found myself listening to jazz more and more but didn't know anything about; this course helped by decipher the different styles of jazz
• Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson- a great book on one of the most influential periods of history that has left a profound impact on us to this day; less a biography of T. E. Lawrence and more blow-by-blow narrative of the all different threads weaving their way in WWI middle east - fascinating
• Ultralight Survival Kit by Jason Lichter - wonderful little encyclopaedia of knowledge for ultralight backpacking, although not for beginners
• Firestorm (Anna Pigeon) by Nevada Barr- A nice adventure mystery set in Lassen NP
• Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II by Robert Leckie- interesting narrative of the Okinawa campaign in Leckie's unique style
• Code To Zero by Ken Follett - I liked the 50's space race setting for this thriller
• Hornet Flight by Ken Follett - based on a true story, some parts were very predictable
• The Paleo Slow Cooker: Healthy, Gluten-free Meals the Easy Way by Arsy Vartanian - yet another book on paleo recipes
• Basic Training for Dummies by Rod Powers - not sure why I got this, just seemed interesting
• Long 19th Century: European History from 1789 to 1917 by Robert I. Weiner - great topic and material but the lectures are hard to follow; the library didn't have part 3 so I only got through 2/3'rds of it