Riding the Rap

Those who know me know that I am a fan of FX's show Justified, about US Marshal Raylan Givens as he returns to his childhood stomping ground of Harlan County Kentucky and deals with numerous outlaws in the area. As such, it should be no surprise that I read another of Elmore Leonard's books featuring Raylan. This time, the novel is Riding the Rap. This book features Raylan Givens investigating the kidnapping of his "friend" Harry Arno. The novel features some incredibly interesting characters including a Latino gardener turned bounty hunter, a Caribbean man who used to pretend to belong to the Nation of Islam, and a psychic. As usual, Leonard's dialogue is gritty and real. The book was a fun read.

Riding the Rap

The Everything Home Recording Book

I picked up The Everything Home Recording Book by Marc Schonbrun after Eddie and I made plans to do some demo recording in his basement. While recording studios and project studios are topics and concepts I am familiar with from my undergraduate education, it has been about 7 years since I have done anything hands-on with them. I wanted something that could easily job my memory and hopefully refresh my knowledge. And, Eddie has ProTools, with which I do not have a lot of familiarity.

The book served its intended purpose, at least from my perspective. Admittedly, it is written for beginners with little-to-no experience with recording, so hopefully I would understand it after studying it in college for four years. It presented the various concepts with clarity and helped to refresh my memory about microphones, recording technique, and effects usage in the recording process. Of course, nothing actually tops hands-on experience in recording, but I now feel that I can handle some basic recording with relative ease.

This is a great book for those interested in learning about home recording, or like me, who wish to refresh their memory.

The Everything Home Recording Book

Bad Luck and Trouble

Bad Luck and Trouble  finds Jack Reacher called to Los Angelos to investigate the death of a close friend and member of his Military Police Unit. Reacher teams up with Neagley (featured in another one of the stories), as well as two other friends to look into the mysterious circumstances surrounding their colleague's death. The story brings up memories from the past, as well as demonstrates the bonds Reacher still has with old comrades. The story focuses on the team unraveling the mystery, as well as dealing out some renegade vengeance.

It's worth a read.

Bad Luck and Trouble

One Shot

Lee Child's  One Shot  is another novel in the Jack Reacher series. It is the novel on which the Jack Reacher movie (starring Tom Cruise) is based. This novel finds Reacher investigating a killing spree in a small Indiana town perpetuated by a sniper who is believed to have been someone Reacher knew in the Army. There are a number of interesting twists to this novel, which made it rather fun to read. It has some differences from the motion picture, which I saw first, but is a definite thrill ride. I found this to be one of the stronger novels in the series. I definitely recommend the book for fans of the series, the film, or action/mystery novels in general.

One Shot

Start With Why

I starting reading Simon Sinek's  Start With Why as part of a reading group within the Division of Student Affairs at Virginia Tech. A number of staff members from various units within the Division gathered to read  and discuss one section of the book every other week. The book had previously been read as a staff development tool by some other departments and the Division of Student Affairs brought Sinek to speak to the staff.

I found the book to have some similar characteristics to other "self-help" or "personal development" books, but it also had a number of useful ideas related to leadership. Sinek's entire premise is that business needed to start with the "why" of what they do. He argues that too many businesses focus on "what" they do and "how" they do it. He clearly is a fan of Apple and Harley-Davidson as companies who understand their "Why." He uses them as examples throughout the book.

Overall it is a good book for someone who wishes to refocus on the "why" of what they do.

Start With Why