# book think (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 4 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover book think. Page: Feed: --- ## [The beauty in the ordinary](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/the-beauty-in-the-ordinary) _2026-08-13 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ A photographer, a watchmaker, and the magic hidden in plain sight. ## [My Robot Year](https://noelrappin.com/2026/08/my-robot-year/) _2026-08-12 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ I’ve been trying to write a follow up to my last LLM post for nearly a year and all the ideas kind of founder because: a) I think “oh, good another LLM post, just what the world needs”, and b) At the speed I’ve been finishing things lately, the whole world will have changed three times by the time I finish this. Still, it’s now been almost exactly a year since I started using LLMs significantly in… ## [May 2026](https://noelrappin.com/2026/08/may-2026/) _2026-08-09 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ This was a big month with all kinds of book releases that I had been waiting a long time for. StoryGraph ratings are as of June 7, I think. I read eight books, and I think we’re going to talk about seven of them. A Case of Life and Limb — Sally Smith StoryGraph Rating: 4.19 (6th of 8) My Rating: Double (6th of 8) The sequel to A Case of Mice and Murder which I read last month. I like these books a… ## [April 2026](https://noelrappin.com/2026/08/april-2026/) _2026-08-08 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ I read nine books in April and we’re going to talk about all of them. Warning: wild swings in tone ahead, as we go from some fairly light books to at least one very, very dark book. The Librarians — Sherry Thomas StoryGraph Rating: 3.51 (9th of 9) My Rating: Single (8th of 9) This was the book that got me interested in comparing StoryGraph ratings to my own, because it looked like the gap between… ## [Good decisions do not come from your gut](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/albucasis-restraint) _2026-07-29 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ Why the father of surgery began with warnings, not instructions. ## [The watch which died twice.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/the-watch-which-died-twice) _2026-07-20 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ On considering the context of a failure. ## [Innovation through pain points](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/innovation-through-pain-points) _2026-06-30 · Think like a surgeon_ Michelin's tire, Patek Philippe's chrono, and Dr. Styner's trauma system ## [When Books Could Code 2a: Extreme Programming Part 1 (of many)](https://noelrappin.com/2026/06/when-books-could-code-2a-extreme-programming-part-1-of-many/) _2026-06-30 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ On this episode of “When Books Could Code”, we’re talking about the book that probably had the largest single impact effect on my career, Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change by Kent Beck, published in October 1999. I read it in… probably March, 2000. There was a second edition in 2005, we’ll cover that in a later post. This version of the post that you are reading is about my fifth pass… ## [The Triumphant Return of a Thing Nobody Will Care About](https://noelrappin.com/2026/06/the-triumphant-return-of-a-thing-nobody-will-care-about/) _2026-06-29 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ In 2002, legendary baseball sabermetrician Bill James released Win Shares , his mega-calculation of how to create a single baseball stat that combines everything a player can do to create value. It was not a complete success. The baseball stat that is used these days for combining everything is called WAR, which stands for “Wins over Replacement”. Both stats attempt to summarize a player’s entire… ## [Outgoing Watch Alert: Moving on from a watch once appreciated.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/outgoing-watch-alert-moving-on-from) _2026-06-22 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ What can I learn from moving on from a watch? ## [Your 24/7 AI Media Buyer (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/7SHQIfu2lkyv) _2026-06-22 · **Sponsored**_ Finds placement, geo, and funnel leaks and proposes fixes you approve ## [Why working harder is working smarter.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/why-working-harder-is-working-smarter) _2026-06-18 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.” ## [March 2026](https://noelrappin.com/2026/06/march-2026/) _2026-06-07 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ Yep, we’re doing this again. I read 11 books in March and we might talk about all of them here, depending on how low in my own ratings I’m willing to go… StoryGraph scores are as of June 7, which should give you a sense of how averse I am to actually finishing anything I start these days. Eye of the Bedlam Bride — Matt Dinniman StoryGraph Rating: 4.53 (1st of 11) My Rating: Double (3rd of 11)… ## [February 2026 Books of the Month](https://noelrappin.com/2026/06/february-2026/) _2026-06-01 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ Continuing the month-by-month catchup that I started in January , here are February’s books. I read 8 and I think we’re going to talk about seven of them. As one of those random things, the StoryGraph scores for this month as a whole were lower than January, even though my scores still remain pretty high. Something is up with my own scoring, because my average score is up significantly from last… ## [January 2026 Books of the Month](https://noelrappin.com/2026/05/january-2026/) _2026-05-31 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ I’ve been doing book review posts here for a pretty long time , and I love doing them, but they are somewhat time intensive. I finally remembered the XP approach to work intensive practices, which is to do the job more frequently, in smaller bursts. I’ve been doing that – I’ve been writing reviews of books as I go, but editing my initial rambling into this rambling is what takes most of the time.… ## [When Books Could Code #1: Design Patterns](https://noelrappin.com/2026/04/when-books-could-code-1-design-patterns/) _2026-04-25 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ What is this? I’ve spent my whole career fascinated by writing about programming. How do programmers explain what we are doing to each other? How have books written about programming changed the way we work and think? So now I’m writing about programming books. If you think this is somewhat elegiac for the Era of the Programming Book, as the co-author of a 700 page programming book in an era where… ## [More wonders than watches.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/more-wonders-than-watches-kayfabees) _2026-04-24 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ What WrestleMania can teach us about the staged narratives of the luxury watch world. ## [On sacred attention.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/on-sacred-attention) _2026-04-17 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ The modern world trains us to flatten all distinctions. You have to discern and decide what is sacred. ## [The superpower we all need.](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/the-superpower-we-all-need) _2026-04-05 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ A lesson from trauma surgery in controlling inflow and outflow to maintain focus on only the essential. ## [TRIAGE: Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Rose Gold](https://ronhekier.substack.com/p/triage-armin-strom-one-week-skeleton) _2026-03-29 · Ron Hekier · Think like a surgeon_ Does the Armin Strom One Week pass the TRIAGE test? ## [The 2025 Book Post](https://noelrappin.com/2026/03/2025-book-post/) _2026-03-06 · Noel Rappin · Noel Rappin Writes Here | Blog_ One exciting thing about this year’s book wrap up, at least to me, is that I wrote mini-reviews all year, so these reviews should have a stronger tendency to sound like I actually read the book. And also this will come out in March and not, like, May. Another exciting thing, again, for me, is that I think I finally cracked my personal dilemma about How To Rate Books. So, this is like the nerdiest… ## [Stop CI/CD & Supply-Chain Attacks (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/2XZ7qKFkV8q2) _2026-03-05 · **Sponsored**_ Per-PR: 17 CI/CD checks and package malware scans with inline Check Run findings. ## [Autumn Plans](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/autumn-plans/) _2025-09-08 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Autumn Plans ## [Autumn Plans](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/autumn-plans/) _2025-09-08 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Autumn Plans ## [September Reading Goals](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/september-reading-goals-3/) _2025-09-01 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I am so happy for summer to be over, let the cosy reading begin! Ok, I know summer doesn t technically end until later in September but I ve had a PSL and there are leaves on the ground. As usual, I use my TBR game to decide my monthly reading list. I roll a dice, move Continue reading September Reading Goals ## [September Reading Goals](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/september-reading-goals-3/) _2025-09-01 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I am so happy for summer to be over, let the cosy reading begin! Ok, I know summer doesn t technically end until later in September but I ve had a PSL and there are leaves on the ground. As usual, I use my TBR game to decide my monthly reading list. I roll a dice, move Continue reading September Reading Goals ## [Chaotic Books](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/chaotic-books/) _2025-08-04 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Hello, my name is Caley and I love chaotic books. I think if I was asked my favourite genre; it would be chaos . Is that a genre? More a sub genre, I suppose. I have been itching to read some truly chaotic books lately. So I took a look at my bookshelves and did a Continue reading Chaotic Books ## [Chaotic Books](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/chaotic-books/) _2025-08-04 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Hello, my name is Caley and I love chaotic books. I think if I was asked my favourite genre; it would be chaos . Is that a genre? More a sub genre, I suppose. I have been itching to read some truly chaotic books lately. So I took a look at my bookshelves and did a Continue reading Chaotic Books ## [Nostalgic Reading](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/nostalgic-reading/) _2025-07-21 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I recently finished a rewatch of The Hills, I also watched Laguna Beach for the very first time. How else to celebrate this than by reading Lauren Conrad s debut book series? I have a ridiculous amount of books written by the cast of The Hills and I plan on reviewing them all. It felt right Continue reading Nostalgic Reading ## [Nostalgic Reading](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/nostalgic-reading/) _2025-07-21 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I recently finished a rewatch of The Hills, I also watched Laguna Beach for the very first time. How else to celebrate this than by reading Lauren Conrad s debut book series? I have a ridiculous amount of books written by the cast of The Hills and I plan on reviewing them all. It felt right Continue reading Nostalgic Reading ## [July Reading Plans](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/july-reading-plans/) _2025-06-30 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I m trying to ignore the current heatwave (seriously, Scotland should not be this hot!) by planning the wonderful books I m going to read in July. Not only do I have my TBR game but Summerween will also be taking place in July! For anyone who hasn t experienced the wonder of Summerween; basically it s a celebration Continue reading July Reading Plans ## [July Reading Plans](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/july-reading-plans/) _2025-06-30 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I m trying to ignore the current heatwave (seriously, Scotland should not be this hot!) by planning the wonderful books I m going to read in July. Not only do I have my TBR game but Summerween will also be taking place in July! For anyone who hasn t experienced the wonder of Summerween; basically it s a celebration Continue reading July Reading Plans ## [Earn crypto for idle GPUs (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/min7QpLBgEgj) _2025-06-30 · **Sponsored**_ Run one CLI, host Qwen/Llama/Mistral, and earn BTC, ETH, SOL, or USDC ## [It Was My Birthday](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/it-was-my-birthday-2/) _2025-06-23 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ It was my birthday, happy birthday to me! I usually take a week of annual leave for my birthday; as a gift to myself from myself. Unfortunately I couldn t get a wee off this year (my birthday week off will be in July) but I did have the day off. We managed to squeeze so much Continue reading It Was My Birthday ## [It Was My Birthday](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/it-was-my-birthday-2/) _2025-06-23 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ It was my birthday, happy birthday to me! I usually take a week of annual leave for my birthday; as a gift to myself from myself. Unfortunately I couldn t get a wee off this year (my birthday week off will be in July) but I did have the day off. We managed to squeeze so much Continue reading It Was My Birthday ## [June Reading Goals](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/june-reading-goals/) _2025-06-02 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Well hello there! Long time no speak. It s been a long time since my last post; life happened. I honestly just kept forgetting to post and when I did remember, I felt it was too late to post. It s a new month so let s start afresh. What better way to start a new month than Continue reading June Reading Goals ## [June Reading Goals](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/june-reading-goals/) _2025-06-02 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ Well hello there! Long time no speak. It s been a long time since my last post; life happened. I honestly just kept forgetting to post and when I did remember, I felt it was too late to post. It s a new month so let s start afresh. What better way to start a new month than Continue reading June Reading Goals ## [It’s Gonna Be May…and I’m Gonna Read](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/04/28/its-gonna-be-may-and-im-gonna-read/) _2025-04-28 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I mean, of course I m going to read, that s my main hobby. I just couldn t resist paying homage to the meme. Even though I don t like Justin Timberlake; JC had the better voice and JT always gave me the ick (he seemed smug) and the way he treated Janet Jackson and Britney Spears, no. No Continue reading It s Gonna Be May and I m Gonna Read ## [Reading My Library Books](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/04/21/reading-my-library-books-3/) _2025-04-21 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ My goal for 2025 was to read more physical library books. So here I am with four more library books that I think I m going to enjoy. I went for more familiar genres this time, mainly creepy sounding books. I wanted the horrors! I also picked up a non fiction book by June Sarpong who Continue reading Reading My Library Books ## [Quarter 1 in Review](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/04/07/quarter-1-in-review/) _2025-04-07 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I am trying to do regular updates and with the first 3 months of the year being over, let s review the first quarter of 2025! I set myself far fewer reading goals to previous years. Fewer and less specific. I feel this is working in my favour because who knows in December what they want Continue reading Quarter 1 in Review ## [Quarter 1 in Review](https://kapowskireads.wordpress.com/2025/04/07/quarter-1-in-review/) _2025-04-07 · Caley Kapowski · Kapowski Reads_ I am trying to do regular updates and with the first 3 months of the year being over, let s review the first quarter of 2025! I set myself far fewer reading goals to previous years. Fewer and less specific. I feel this is working in my favour because who knows in December what they want Continue reading Quarter 1 in Review