I finished:

Dimension of Miracles, by Robert Sheckley

This was an audiobook read by John Hodgman. Very, very funny at times. It’s a great spiritual precursor to Douglas Adams’ work.

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou

Another audiobook. Fascinating non-fiction about the huge fraud committed by the people at Theranos, which not only misled investors but put peoples’ lives at risk due to faulty blood tests.

The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

Read this on my Kindle. I wrote when I started this that I found it uneven; finishing it didn’t change my mind. Sometimes great, sometimes dull.

The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

Finally finished this book! Every time I'd attempt to read it at night, it would put me to sleep. I was really disappointed that it wasn't focused more on the pilgrims and instead spent waaaay too much time on the datasphere, politics, poetry and religious non-sense. There were a couple of good reveals, most loose ends were tied up.. but there was no need for a lot of the fluff that was added.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou

Started this last night and so far it's really great. It keeps giving me flashbacks of what it was like working at a start-up with a clueless and demanding CEO.

Finished All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, by Bryn Greenwood and wow, words can barely describe how much I hated it. I don't want to read about how a little girl and a pretty much adult man have only had eyes for each other since they met, or the exact scope of their physical relationship when she's thirteen and he's what, twenty-four? There's nothing romantic in this romance.

Also listened to the audiobook of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman. It was a good listen and I'll probably check out some of his other books.

Now reading Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. It's probably the best thing I've read all year, fascinating and mind-boggling and never a single dull moment.

Finished The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, by Jeff Guinn. It took me longer than most books, because it was so incredibly detailed and covered his entire life. I liked it because I had no background knowledge of the Jonestown Massacre, and because there was a lot to think about in terms of groupthink and how people think in cults.

About to start Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou. Typically I wouldn't read two non-fiction in a row, but I got Bad Blood off the library waitlist unexpectedly, and won't be able to renew it, so I'm moving it to the front of the queue. Looking forward to something light and fun after this one!

This week I finished Recursion, by Blake Crouch and The Woman in the Window, by AJ Finn. Recursion was pretty good. I thought it was better than his previous book. The Woman in the Window was just OK.

Last week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast was Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou. This week (Tuesday) will be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Phillip K. Dick.

Finished Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou and started Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah

Finished:

Adrmiral Hornblower in the West Indies, by CS Forester - Sad to have finally finished the series. 11 books. Such a fun adventure, I absolutely love Hornblower as a character and will definitely miss Forester's writing.

Started:

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou - I've heard really great things and love nonfiction books like this.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou of the Wall Street Journal. A highly detailed, extremely well-written exposé of the Theranos scandal over the last couple of years (biotech company who falsely claimed to have revolutionized blood-testing and swindled hundreds of millions of dollars from investors over the last decade and operated on a corporate culture of fear and intimidation, while putting real patients at risk). Page-turner, felt like I was watching a movie.

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou

So I started this yesterday and discovered that even reading about drawing blood will cause me to faint like some kind of Victorian gentlewoman in need of a mobile fainting couch. Not a fun thing to discover while on the subway on my way to work, 0/10, would not recommend. Which is too bad, because the book is well written and engaging and it's a crazy story. Just not for me.

Empress Dowager Cixi, by Jung Chang

Started today. Enjoying the history and a look into the life of a fascinating woman.

I finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I loved it even better than Rules of Civility. Not a sweeping story but still full of exquisite dialogue and a plot that definitely had my heart racing at the end!

I started Bad Blood by John Carreyrou and I am FLYING through it. Tech startups are not my thing but a story of massive fraud and manipulative leadership that reads like a novel? Definitely up my alley.

I’m also planning to listen to Heartburn by Nora Ephron and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (which I’ve somehow never read!!) on a road trip this week.

This week I finished The Witch Elm, by Tana French and Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou.

This week on the Drunk Guy Book Club Podcast is Pet Sematary, by Stephen King. Next week, A Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin!

Finished:

The Stolen Marriage, by Diane Chamberlain - this was okay for me. It was readable, but there were elements that were kind of unbelievable and a little soap-opera-esque.

The Girls, by Lori Lansens - again, just okay. Interesting premise (conjoined twins), but felt like they could have done so much more with hit.

A River in Darkness, by Masaji Ishikawa - I feel bad to say anything negative after all this author has been through, but I prefer a little more story to my memoirs. I felt like this was a little recitation of fact and not a whole lot of get me invested in the people. Preferred In Order to Live by Park Yeon-mi.

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Started:

Still Life, by Louise Penny - just started yesterday and am almost through. Fun read.

He Said/She Said, by Erin Kelly - I'm having a hard time getting into this one.

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou - just started listening on my commute in this morning and can already tell I'm going to like it.

I've been reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou. Very good so far!

Finished:

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou

Strong recommendation - interesting account detailing the rise and fall of a $10b company and how an aspirational company pitch trips over into an ever more deceptive narrative, reinforced with increasingly aggressive legal tactics

Sometimes I Lie, by Alice Feeney

An increasingly twisting and enjoyable story that for me, was really let down by the inconclusive ending. Not my cup of tea...

Finished: Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. Some reviews talk about how it may have come out a bit too soon, with the indictments against Holmes coming out after the book was released. A pretty good read though.

Continuing: Velvet, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Really solid spy-thriller graphic novel. Lots of jumping between timeframes and doing a nice character study through the art.

Finished:

• The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, by Denis Johnson - This is the first book I've read from this author. Overall I didn't love it but I did really enjoy some of the stories. I might pick up one of his other books.
• Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou - Such a frustrating, worthwhile read. It's crazy how long Holmes maintained the charade. I finished the book yesterday and was curious how old she is and her birthday was that day. (She's 35 if anyone else wanted to know.)

Started:

• Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

finished:

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

started:

Under the Cold Bright Lights by Gary Disher this one is an unedited proof i got free from a local bookstore. i’m interested to see how it turns out.

Finished: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (first reread since it was published).

Almost finished: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

Started (and almost finished because so good): Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Just started reading Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. The story is about the blood testing startup Theranos who raised millions of dollars from some of Silicon Valley's biggest VCs.

Started:

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. Phenomenal so far. It's a gripping story and it's well written.

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Still trying to finish:

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

Mission to Mars, by Buzz Aldrin. Not sure how I feel about this, I feel like I'm getting hit with a bunch of propositions to policy changes which is not (for me) very exciting.

Finished Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou

Started Night, by Elie Wiesel

Finished

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou - good book, easy to read and an interesting story.

Started

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, by David W. Blight - this seems like it's gonna be a trudge of a read, probably going to need to pause and read stories in between.

Just finished Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou

Starting Ararat, by Christopher Golden

Finished Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou yesterday and it was fascinating. It sent me down a rabbit hole with the whole Theranos scandal.

About to start The Wet and the Dry, by Lawrence Osborne

I finished Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. Read the whole thing in about three days. An amazing book, it shows you how far a fraud can go on its own vapor. The same pattern appeared over and over: Elizabeth Holmes would impress and wow very high-profile people, one (or more) of their underlings would say "This isn't right, here's why," and the high-profile person would dismiss their concerns. This kept happening for over a decade!

Just started Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou

Finished:

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou - Great book and wild story. One of those books that you don't want to put down.

Vigilance, by Robert Jackson Bennett - Completely forgot I finished this book, and its by one of my favorite authors! Surprised I forgot it because I actually really enjoyed it, took me two/three days to finish actually. Short book that's set in the US ~ 2030, gives off minor dystopian vibes. Was a bit confused as to what was going on at first, but eventually figured it out.

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Started:

Hannibal's Children, by John Maddox Roberts - Alternate history fiction, what if Hannibal won the Punic Wars? Enjoying it so far

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance - Just finished reading this book an hour or so ago. I read this surprisingly fast as the last book (7 habits of highly effective people) I read took me a week to finish. I really loved this as it really shows Elon's passion for moving the world into clean energy. I liked how it wasn't completely praising him and showed flaws in his personal and professional life.

7 habits of highly effective people, by Stephen Covey - It was insightful throughout some chapters but got painful to read as you near the ending. I did enjoy the segment on "seeking first to understand". Wasn't too extremely interested in this and I just wanted to finish it.

I just started Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the creator of Nike, by Phil Knight since I enjoyed the biography on Elon Musk so much. Any suggestions based on these few books? (Also finished Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou and started on Billion Dollar Whale, by Tom Wright).