Reviews and Comments

As someone who has seen baseball in films and on tv for ages, and even been to a few games, well, there's a lot of basic stuff that I picked up just by sight. But when you talk with someone in the know, it's easy to get lost. That's where I was before this book. I'd collected the cards and seen the stats, but had no idea how good or bad any of it was or what they meant.

This book answered a LOT of those questions, and included formulas on how they figure them out.

The first chunk of the book is about game mechanics and how to improve your own play and make sure you do it right and safely. But the 2nd half is largely about the history, the rules and changes, stats configurations, how ball teams work, and much more. There's a lot of anecdotal asides from the author and his time in the league to elaborate some points, and it gives some needed context. I feel there's much in here if you wanted to be part of the conversation or at least get the gist of it. Worth reviewing... SO much lingo.

Let's face it... I'm sure there are dozens of authors who have simplified and translated the text of Marcus Aurelius, or done a thorough analysis of his work to interpret it just the right way. This version has a bunch of older, more classical English with the "thou" usage and all. I had to really clear my head and be in quiet places to finish reading this short work. Some of the extra parts of the book were essentially mini-bios of Marcus Aurelius ... or more accurately, the influences on him and the times he was part of.

There's a lot of wisdom in this book, some repetition and all... but as long as you remember it's basically some journaling that was meant only for the man himself to reflect on, and not something he meant to send to a publisher of his day, then it gets easier to see how these things go. It's a lot of little snippets and some deeper musings next to each other. I did find a lot to highlight and some ideas to keep in mind or come back to later.

I'll probably get another, more modern English translation the next time I tackle this (but I always keep the original I read so I can see how much I got right or how far off my interpretation was). Keeping for further study, but not a "for the hell of it" read.

I admit, I LOVE the first Dune book... and it took me a couple tries to start and finish this one. The book assumes you've got the gist of the first book under your belt and then throws you into a world of intrigue. Paul is still the main character, but it's mostly about what goes on around him. He's burdened by his power and his status, and constantly beset by enemies on the fringes around the Imperium, waiting for a chance to find a blind spot and attack.

At the start, it felt a bit choppy and like I'd just been thrown into the mix with little preparation... but reading the preface again helped a bit. All the little "asides" hold meaning in Frank Herbert works, so I've learned to read them as well. As the story centers more on Arrakis, you see it slow down and get back to life with Paul and Chiani and their family, and the power dynamics of the Princess Irulan in the house trying to ensure the couple has no children. Plots enfold concerning the Guild, the Bene Geserit, the Fremen, & the Tleilaxu Face Dancers. It's a LOT to take in for the shortest book in the series, but it gets us to the next level. And the ending of this book makes it worth the time, the progression of this universe is rather fascinating.

I wanted to say 3.5 stars, but I can't give half ratings on the meter, & it feels a little too hasty and too complex at times. But the philosophies discussed & the ending nudge it to a 4 to me. Can't wait to get to the 3rd one.

Yes, a good chunk of this book is composed of drink recipes (which would be worth a look, since I haven't heard of many of them myself), but apart from that, each chapter has a wealth of information that I wasn't aware I wanted to know!

In the early chapters, there are plenty of diagrams, charts, and figures to help you find out what the tools you need look like, conversion figures, techniques, etc. Most of the first two chapters about basic bar setup is in probably every book about bartending out there, of course, but it's the layout of the alcohol categories and descriptions where this one shines. The chapters describe what makes a drink fit into a certain category (like tequila vs. mescal, or bourbon vs. other whiskeys--or whiskys), and then gives a short rundown of different brands of alcohols in said category and what makes them different than the others (and probably gives hints as to why prices can be so different while you browse the store on your next stock-up trip).

Worth keeping beyond the recipes. So far, this is gonna be my main "textbook" for learning to bartend in the coming weeks.

I picked this up today because I'm trying to get beyond my fast-food job and into more service and customer-oriented positions elsewhere. I am glad that I read it because it answered some questions about best practices in the industry and pointed out some of the things that have bothered me about service in America... namely that it has fallen by the wayside in a bunch of ways.

This book is not some etiquette guide, but rather an overarching basic primer for keeping the different aspects of managing a brick-and-mortar, customer-facing food/beverage business in balance and why some concepts work and some do not when it comes to getting folks in the door and keeping them coming back. I'm not a manager and you don't have to be to get the gist... it's got plenty to give any worker in the industry some food for thought about how they perform the job or how they've seen others do it (and how to improve or decide to make their moves elsewhere).

Yes, there are plenty of references to Bar Rescue episodes, but if you haven't seen the show, he describes the issues that he had to explain or figure out so that you have enough context to get his point. And there are plenty of other little examples from restaurants/bars that he never ran or rescued, and mistakes he made at ones he participated in. It doesn't drown us in statistics; there are plenty of studies and examples to illustrate his points and observations. I was eager to learn and read it cover to cover in a couple of hours. I'm hanging onto it for reference.