Books Read in 2016 on paapereira.xyz

The Fold (Threshold #2) by Peter Clines (2015)

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 23:15:00 +0000

The Fold (Threshold #2) by Peter Clines (2015)

Author: Peter Clines
First Published: June 2nd 2015
Series: Threshold Book 2
Score: 6/10

Goodreads

Step into the fold. It’s perfectly safe.

The folks in Mike Erikson’s small New England town would say he’s just your average, everyday guy. And that’s exactly how Mike likes it. Sure, the life he’s chosen isn’t much of a challenge to someone with his unique gifts, but he’s content with his quiet and peaceful existence. That is until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve.

Remote by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried (2013)

Fri, 16 Dec 2016 19:34:00 +0000

Remote by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried (2013)

Author: David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried
First Published: October 29th 2013
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

The “work from home” phenomenon is thoroughly explored in this illuminating new book from bestselling 37signals founders Fried and Hansson, who point to the surging trend of employees working from home (and anywhere else) and explain the challenges and unexpected benefits. Most important, they show why – with a few controversial exceptions such as Yahoo – more businesses will want to promote this new model of getting things done.

The Most Wonderful Tales of the Year (2016)

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 19:34:00 +0000

The Most Wonderful Tales of the Year (2016)

First Published: December 6th 2016
Score: 3/10

Goodreads

Here at Audible, we know just how much of an impact a voice can have on a story - taking simple words and filling them with elation, wonderment, tragedy, or pure satisfaction. We rely on our narrators every day to bring our favorite stories and characters to life - to introduce us to new authors and genres, or even to a new (perhaps longer) commute. And though our narrators are the best story tellers in the business, it’s usually someone else’s that they’re telling.

Demon Star (Star Force #12) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2015)

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 22:52:00 +0000

Demon Star (Star Force #12) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2015)

Author: B.V. Larson and David VanDyke
First Published: August 3rd 2015
Series: Star Force Book 12
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Three stars, three worlds, three civilizations…one massive war.

In a triple star system, not all planets are equal. When the DEMON STAR swings closest in her orbit, the Insectoids always invade. They raid the inner worlds with grim regularity, riding hordes of stealthed ships in ever growing waves. Their mission is to destroy all opposition—alien, human or otherwise.

Bye Bye Banks? by James Haycock (2015)

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 22:32:00 +0000

Bye Bye Banks? by James Haycock (2015)

Author: James Haycock
First Published: June 29th 2015
Score: 5/10

Goodreads

Tech companies have disrupted retailing, media, transit and travel. Now the retail banking business model looks set to be transformed too.

In Bye Bye Banks? James Haycock and Shane Richmond describe these startups, and to which areas of the banking industry they are laying siege. It shows that this assault is already well underway and that many incumbents are poised to be displaced, diminished and disintermediated. It draws on extensive research and on-and-off the record interviews with senior executives in some of the biggest banks.

Exile (Star Force #11) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2014)

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 22:44:00 +0000

Exile (Star Force #11) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2014)

Author: B.V. Larson and David VanDyke
First Published: September 20th 2014
Series: Star Force Book 11
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Lost and cut off from Earth, the crew of the starship Valiant seeks a way home.

In the eleventh book of the Star Force series Cody Riggs collides with the overwhelming power of the Ancients. They fly incomprehensible ships and consider humans to be curiosities.

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)

Sat, 05 Nov 2016 23:19:00 +0000

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)

Author: Jules Verne
First Published: November 25th 1864
Score: 5/10

Goodreads

Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of literature’s earliest works of science fiction. It vividly animates a fantastical subterranean world as an intrepid crew, led by the eccentric Otto Lidenbrock, traverses the planet’s core and its various bizarre obstacles: giant mushrooms and insects, a herd of mastodons, prehistoric humans, a treacherous pit of magma, and more.

Outcast (Star Force #10) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2014)

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 22:15:00 +0100

Outcast (Star Force #10) by B.V. Larson and David VanDyke (2014)

Author: B.V. Larson and David VanDyke
First Published: May 1st 2014
Series: Star Force Book 10
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Many peaceful years have passed since the Macro Wars ended. Most of those who fought against the heartless machines have aged—but not the ingenious artificial construct known as Marvin. His insatiable curiosity is as strong as ever, and he’s brought home fresh perils to humanity’s doorstep in OUTCAST.

Deep Work by Cal Newport (2016)

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 22:29:00 +0100

Deep Work by Cal Newport (2016)

Author: Cal Newport
First Published: January 5th 2016
Score: 8/10

Goodreads

One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you’ll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there’s a better way.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (2015)

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:56:00 +0100

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (2015)

Author: Paula Hawkins
First Published: January 6th 2015
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

The Dead Sun (Star Force #9) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 22:56:00 +0100

The Dead Sun (Star Force #9) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: January 1st 2013
Series: Star Force Book 9
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Kyle Riggs sits uneasily upon Earth’s throne. He’s liberated his homeworld from a tyrant, only to replace him. In The Dead Sun, the ninth book of the Star Force Series, the Great War between life and the machines reaches its final chapter. Both sides have new technology and expanded industrial bases. Star Force and the machines attempt to exterminate one another in a final, glorious conflict. Along the way, Riggs finally learns who his real friends and enemies are. The Dead Sun is a military science fiction novel by best-selling author B. V. Larson. To read the first book in this series, look for Swarm, by B. V. Larson.

In the Plex by Steven Levy (2011)

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:12:00 +0100

In the Plex by Steven Levy (2011)

Author: Steven Levy
First Published: April 12th 2011
Score: 5/10

Goodreads

Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.

Storm Assault (Star Force #8) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 22:37:00 +0100

Storm Assault (Star Force #8) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: July 10th 2013
Series: Star Force Book 8
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Kyle Riggs has been away from Earth for a long time…but that’s about to change.

In STORM ASSAULT, the eighth book of the Star Force Series, the story moves in a new direction. Massive fleets are built by both Star Force and the Imperials—but there is a third player in the game: the Blues.

Annihilation (Star Force #7) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 22:48:00 +0100

Annihilation (Star Force #7) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: February 15th 2013
Series: Star Force Book 7
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Kyle Riggs is in for a rough ride.

In Annihilation, the seventh book of the Star Force Series, nothing goes as planned. The three fledgling human colonies in the Eden System are beginning to take hold, but the forces threatening to root them out are many. The Crustaceans are calling for help, despite the fact they are the sworn enemies of Star Force. Are they potential allies, or vicious tricksters? And why are the oceans of their world heating up?

Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick (2011)

Fri, 15 Jul 2016 23:04:00 +0100

Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick (2011)

Author: Kevin Mitnick
First Published: August 15th 2011
Score: 6/10

Goodreads

If they were a hall of fame or shame for computer hackers, a Kevin Mitnick plaque would be mounted the near the entrance. While other nerds were fumbling with password possibilities, this adept break-artist was penetrating the digital secrets of Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation, Nokia, Motorola, Pacific Bell, and other mammoth enterprises. His Ghost in the Wires memoir paints an action portrait of a plucky loner motivated by a passion for trickery, not material game. (P.S. Mitnick’s capers have already been the subject of two books and a movie. This first-person account is the most comprehensive to date.)

Empire (Star Force #6) by B.V. Larson (2012)

Sun, 26 Jun 2016 23:37:00 +0100

Empire (Star Force #6) by B.V. Larson (2012)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: October 6th 2012
Series: Star Force Book 6
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

In EMPIRE, the sixth book of the Star Force Series, the story moves in a new direction. Earth falls quiet, and the few reports coming out of the homeworld are increasingly strange. Isolated in the Eden system, Riggs realizes his enemies are forming an alliance against him. Crushed between two monstrous fleets, the last defenders of Star Force must forge their own alliance with the biotic aliens. But which alien race can Riggs truly trust?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 22:56:00 +0100

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)

Author: Oscar Wilde
First Published: July 20th 1890
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying and enchanting readers for more than 100 years.

Army of One (Star Force Book 4.5) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Sun, 29 May 2016 22:29:00 +0100

Army of One (Star Force Book 4.5) by B.V. Larson (2013)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: January 1st 2013
Series: Star Force Book 4.5
Score: 5/10

Goodreads

The Macros are invading from the skies. And the only nanotized man who isn’t officially part of Star Force learns how hard it can be to avoid an interstellar war.

Battle Station (Star Force #5) by B.V. Larson (2012)

Wed, 25 May 2016 22:58:00 +0100

Battle Station (Star Force #5) by B.V. Larson (2012)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: May 2nd 2012
Series: Star Force Book 5
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

In BATTLE STATION Kyle Riggs faces new challenges, new alien fleets and learns the secrets behind the war he has been fighting for years.

In the fifth book of the Star Force Series, the Eden system is in humanity’s grasp, but can they keep it? Star Force is weak after a long war, and many yearn to go home. Knowing the machines will return with a new armada eventually, Riggs seeks a more permanent solution. Along the way, worlds are won and lost, millions perish, and great truths are revealed.

Getting Things Done by David Allen (2001)

Tue, 10 May 2016 22:49:00 +0100

Getting Things Done by David Allen (2001)

Author: David Allen
First Published: 2001
Score: 10/10

Goodreads

With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, “flow,” “mind like water,” and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you’d almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance.

Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do’s clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists–all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you’re working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed “the personal productivity guru,” suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)

Conquest (Star Force #4) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Sat, 30 Apr 2016 23:46:00 +0100

Conquest (Star Force #4) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: December 13th 2011
Series: Star Force Book 4
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Conquest is the next chapter in the great interstellar war between all living creatures and the machines. Star Force must stop the machine invaders once again - but how? In the fourth book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs has freed Earth from the chains of the Macros - but at what cost? The Macros no longer trust him. He is a mad dog that must be put down - and all Star Force must be stamped out with him. The war expands in this story, and mankind is once again faced with annihilation.

Casino Royale (James Bond #1) by Ian Fleming (1953)

Sun, 17 Apr 2016 22:37:00 +0100

Casino Royale (James Bond #1) by Ian Fleming (1953)

Author: Ian Fleming
First Published: 1953
Series: James Bond Book 1
Score: 5/10

Goodreads

For James Bond and the British Secret Service, the stakes couldn’t be higher. 007’s mission is to neutralize the Russian operative Le Chiffre by ruining him at the baccarat table, forcing his Soviet masters to “retire” him. When Le Chiffre hits a losing streak, Bond discovers his luck is in - that is, until he meets Vesper Lynd, a glamorous agent who might yet prove to be his downfall.

Rebellion (Star Force #3) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 23:31:00 +0100

Rebellion (Star Force #3) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: August 22nd 2011
Series: Star Force Book 3
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

REBELLION is the turning point in the great interstellar war between all living creatures and the machines. Star Force is on the side of the machines–but for how long?

In the third book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs learns just what kind of war Earth is caught up in. At the mercy of the Macros, his marines fight against new alien races, big and small. They battle the innocent and the vile alike, until their situation becomes grim.

Cujo by Stephen King (1981)

Sun, 27 Mar 2016 23:55:00 +0100

Cujo by Stephen King (1981)

Author: Stephen King
First Published: September 8th 1981
Series: Stephen King Novels
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Left to fend for herself by her workaholic husband, Donna Trenton takes her ailing Pinto to Joe Cambers’s garage for repairs-only to be trapped with her son, Tad, in the sweltering car by the Cambers’s once-friendly Saint Bernard, Cujo, now a monstrous and rabid killer.

Extinction (Star Force #2) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Thu, 03 Mar 2016 23:23:00 +0000

Extinction (Star Force #2) by B.V. Larson (2011)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: March 28th 2011
Series: Star Force Book 2
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

Earth’s Star Force marines invade an alien world!

In the second book of the Star Force series, Kyle Riggs has another bad year. The Nano ships have a new mission-one that sentences their pilots to death. Meanwhile, the governments of Earth want to steal Star Force’s Nano technology for their own. Worst of all, Earth has made a promise to the Macros, and the machines are coming to collect.

Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance (2015)

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 23:03:00 +0000

Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance (2015)

Author: Ashlee Vance
First Published: March 3rd 2015
Score: 7/10

Goodreads

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey Junior.

Swarm (Star Force #1) by B.V. Larson (2010)

Sun, 31 Jan 2016 23:23:00 +0000

Swarm (Star Force #1) by B.V. Larson (2010)

Author: B.V. Larson
First Published: December 23rd 2010
Series: Star Force Book 1
Score: 9/10

Goodreads

Earth arms marines with alien technology and builds its first battle fleet! Kyle Riggs is snatched by an alien spacecraft sometime after midnight. The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there.

The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch (2014)

Sun, 10 Jan 2016 23:31:00 +0000

The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch (2014)

Author: Blake Crouch
First Published: July 15th 2014
Series: Wayward Pines Book 3
Score: 8/10

Goodreads

Welcome to Wayward Pines, the last town.

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrived in Wayward Pines, Idaho, three weeks ago. In this town, people are told who to marry, where to live, where to work. Their children are taught that David Pilcher, the town’s creator, is god. No one is allowed to leave; even asking questions can get you killed.

The Chimes by Charles Dickens (1844)

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 23:50:00 +0000

The Chimes by Charles Dickens (1844)

Author: Charles Dickens
First Published: 1844
Score: 3/10

Goodreads

This classic story is the second in a series of five Christmas books Dickens was commissioned to write - beginning with A Christmas Carol. A haunting tale set on New Year’s Eve, The Chimes tells the story of a poor porter named Trotty Veck who has become disheartened by the state of the world - until he is shown a series of fantastical visions that convince him of the good of humanity. Though much different from and certainly a bit darker than A Christmas Carol, the moral message of The Chimes is equally poignant - touting the importance of compassion, goodwill, and the love of friends and family.