Stephen Keene > Recent Status Updates

So far, the characters are shallow and renamed copies from classic romance novels...with a few historical references thrown in for good measure. Drama has less to do with historical context and more to do with battles among personality types that could be set in a 1970’s soap opera. If this wants to be Downtown Abbey, it misses the mark by a great distance.

Not impressed. She gets bogged down in dialog between characters over trivial details that do not add to the plot. The main conflict in the first 15 chapters involves student historians bickering over what order of events they will get to see in their time machines. This is less sci-fi / historical fiction and more emotional drama among very shallow characters.

I just finished The Martian: A Novel and gave it 5 stars.

Interesting yet disappointing. Still not what I am looking for. I wish Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs,and Steel) would take on the 30 years war in Europe.

I just finished Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and gave it 5 stars.

Outstanding. I clearly identify with every element of this work. I have always felt the world is biased toward extroversion and 25 years in the corporate world has confirmed it for me. Susan Cain's work is an outstanding source of inspiration to help introverts find ways to adapt, play from their strengths, and quietly change the world.