Steve's Book Stuff
@stevesbookstuff.bsky.social
Book lover - primarily nonfiction (love history and science books) but also sci-fi/fantasy and mystery stories. Half the year in Australia and half in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula. Read my book reviews here: https://steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com/
A history of science book that walks us through our cells and what causes them (and us) to die, with a scientist’s view on the value (or lack of value) of so-called longevity products. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
The Innocents Can Never Last
Exploring the reality and the quackery of death and longevity products with Nobel Prize winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM
A history of science book that walks us through our cells and what causes them (and us) to die, with a scientist’s view on the value (or lack of value) of so-called longevity products. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
Another excellent book by Jack Kelly. Thomas Paine’s words really did rally our nation at its birth. Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
Just in time for America's 250th birthday Jack Kelly gives us the story of the man behind the famous line "These are the times that try men's souls."
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Another excellent book by Jack Kelly. Thomas Paine’s words really did rally our nation at its birth. Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
In The Wide Wide Sea author Hampton Sides has delivered an engaging and highly readable account of Captain James Cook’s third and final voyage. #booksky
The Island Greeting That We Send to You
Hampton Sides delivers with this highly readable narrative non-fiction account of the fateful, final voyage of Captain James Cook.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
In The Wide Wide Sea author Hampton Sides has delivered an engaging and highly readable account of Captain James Cook’s third and final voyage. #booksky
Looking for the definitive history of the internet era? This book is not it. But, if you want to hear the ruminations of a smart, funny and opinionated journalist who has covered the internet from the start, well this IS that book. 3.5 ⭐
Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire
Kara Swisher pulls no punches (as you would expect) in this account of her life as a trail-blazing reporter and commentator on the Tech world.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Looking for the definitive history of the internet era? This book is not it. But, if you want to hear the ruminations of a smart, funny and opinionated journalist who has covered the internet from the start, well this IS that book. 3.5 ⭐
A complete account of the life of Mary Patten, who, in 1856, courageously took command of her husband’s clipper ship in perilous seas while he lay ill. How she did so is the thrilling centerpiece of this book. Three stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
I'm Your Captain, Though I'm Feeling Mighty Sick
In this true story the sea captain's wife takes charge of her husband's ship under the worst circumstances imaginable
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:30 PM
A complete account of the life of Mary Patten, who, in 1856, courageously took command of her husband’s clipper ship in perilous seas while he lay ill. How she did so is the thrilling centerpiece of this book. Three stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
In this review I explain that I overcame my confusion about who this book is for after I settled in to enjoy this entertaining short read. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
November 27, 2025 at 12:30 PM
In this review I explain that I overcame my confusion about who this book is for after I settled in to enjoy this entertaining short read. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
A daughter’s journey uncovering the true story of her family’s past as Nazi spies, that her father had kept secret for all of her life. A nonfiction that reads like a novel. #booksky #nonfiction #wwii #nazispies
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...
November 22, 2025 at 12:30 PM
A daughter’s journey uncovering the true story of her family’s past as Nazi spies, that her father had kept secret for all of her life. A nonfiction that reads like a novel. #booksky #nonfiction #wwii #nazispies
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...
A fascinating look at the rise of GLP-1 drugs, with a focus on Ozempic. Easily the best reportorial nonfiction books I’ve read this year. 4 and a half stars.
#booksky
#booksky
Oh-ho-ho, It's Magic!
The catchy tune helped sell Ozempic, which suddenly was everywhere. But the weight loss drug had a long road to overnight success.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
A fascinating look at the rise of GLP-1 drugs, with a focus on Ozempic. Easily the best reportorial nonfiction books I’ve read this year. 4 and a half stars.
#booksky
#booksky
Jeffrey Kluger sets NASA’s Gemini missions in their rightful place in the history of the US manned space missions, exploring the drama that followed the Mercury flights and paving the way for Apollo.
#booksky
#booksky
Ticket to Ride
Gemini, the middle child between Mercury and Apollo in the 1960's US space program, gave Apollo its ticket to the moon.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Jeffrey Kluger sets NASA’s Gemini missions in their rightful place in the history of the US manned space missions, exploring the drama that followed the Mercury flights and paving the way for Apollo.
#booksky
#booksky
A beautifully written layered novel with time-travelling bones that tells captivating storis of human connections with a glitch-in-time in common. Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
With a bit of a mind flip, you're into the time slip
Emily St. John Mandel masters the slow build as moments from different centuries are bleeding into one another, like a glitch in time.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:30 AM
A beautifully written layered novel with time-travelling bones that tells captivating storis of human connections with a glitch-in-time in common. Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#booksky
#booksky
Chris Hayes’ deep dive into the “#AttentionEconomy” is cogent and informative, even if a deeper dive than necessary to get the point across. But I loved listening to Hayes’ narration of the audiobook. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky #readingcommunity #nonfiction #chrishayes
#booksky #readingcommunity #nonfiction #chrishayes
I Want You to Want Me
Cable news anchor Chris Hayes takes a deep dive into the attention economy - how and why the internet works to steal your attention
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Chris Hayes’ deep dive into the “#AttentionEconomy” is cogent and informative, even if a deeper dive than necessary to get the point across. But I loved listening to Hayes’ narration of the audiobook. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky #readingcommunity #nonfiction #chrishayes
#booksky #readingcommunity #nonfiction #chrishayes
I really liked this book, and I think you will too. The interlinked stories are well paced, emotionally evocative and compelling. Each individual story packs an emotional punch that builds through the book. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#BookSky
#BookSky
Steve's Book Stuff
Reviews of Books I've Been Reading - Nonfiction, Sci Fi / Fantasy, and more...
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
I really liked this book, and I think you will too. The interlinked stories are well paced, emotionally evocative and compelling. Each individual story packs an emotional punch that builds through the book. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#BookSky
#BookSky
The insider’s view of Kamala Harris’s 107-day presidential campaign from the candidate herself - the joy, determination, pride, frustration and then the shock of her loss - it’s all here.
Read the full review on my book blog. 🔗in my bio.
#bookstagram #KamalaHarris #107Days
Read the full review on my book blog. 🔗in my bio.
#bookstagram #KamalaHarris #107Days
October 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The insider’s view of Kamala Harris’s 107-day presidential campaign from the candidate herself - the joy, determination, pride, frustration and then the shock of her loss - it’s all here.
Read the full review on my book blog. 🔗in my bio.
#bookstagram #KamalaHarris #107Days
Read the full review on my book blog. 🔗in my bio.
#bookstagram #KamalaHarris #107Days
The insider’s view of Kamala Harris’s 107-day presidential campaign from the candidate herself - the joy, determination, pride, frustration and then the shock of her loss - it’s all here.
#booksky #107Days #KamalaHarris
#booksky #107Days #KamalaHarris
Freedom, freedom, where are you?
Kamala Harris on her unique, time-shortened campaign for the presidency
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The insider’s view of Kamala Harris’s 107-day presidential campaign from the candidate herself - the joy, determination, pride, frustration and then the shock of her loss - it’s all here.
#booksky #107Days #KamalaHarris
#booksky #107Days #KamalaHarris
The inside story of bats and the scientists who study them. Written with humor in plain language by a bat expert who clearly hopes his love of bats will rub off on you. #booksky #sciencebooks #nonfiction
I've seen the future and it will be... Batman
An expert leads us through the science and history of human understanding of bats and echolocation.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The inside story of bats and the scientists who study them. Written with humor in plain language by a bat expert who clearly hopes his love of bats will rub off on you. #booksky #sciencebooks #nonfiction
Heilbrunn offers an informed and incisive overview of the American Right’s infatuation with dictators and autocrats over the last 100 years. A worthwhile read for anyone still trying to understand where Trumpism came from. #booksky
It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man
Jacob Heilbrunn explores a century of the American Right's romance with foreign dictators
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Heilbrunn offers an informed and incisive overview of the American Right’s infatuation with dictators and autocrats over the last 100 years. A worthwhile read for anyone still trying to understand where Trumpism came from. #booksky
A darker storyline than usual for the sixth and final installment of the much-loved Shady Hollow cozy mystery series. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky #readersky
#booksky #readersky
If That Mockingbird Don't Sing
A murder in the big city apartment building called Mockingbird Court brings another case to Shady Hollow for Vera Vixen to unravel - a case she herself is implicated in...
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
September 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM
A darker storyline than usual for the sixth and final installment of the much-loved Shady Hollow cozy mystery series. Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
#booksky #readersky
#booksky #readersky
A worthwhile read for Catholics, lapsed Catholics and those of other faiths interested in the state of Catholic leadership. The book gives an inside view within Catholic leadership, and to the direction the Church will take under the new Pope.
#books #popeleo #biography
#books #popeleo #biography
Habemus Papum - We Have a Pope
Behind the scenes of the conclave that elected Pope Leo, and an exploration of the papacy of Francis, which made his election possible
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
September 11, 2025 at 11:30 AM
A worthwhile read for Catholics, lapsed Catholics and those of other faiths interested in the state of Catholic leadership. The book gives an inside view within Catholic leadership, and to the direction the Church will take under the new Pope.
#books #popeleo #biography
#books #popeleo #biography
Jonathan Alter’s #biography is well-balanced and despite being 600 some pages it's easy to read. The detailed account of Carter's presidency was like a walk down memory lane of the late 1970s in America. #nonfiction #booksky #readersky
I'm Giving My Best to You Lord
Jimmy Carter, from birth to post-presidency in Jonathan Alter's 2021 biography of our nation's 39th President
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
September 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Jonathan Alter’s #biography is well-balanced and despite being 600 some pages it's easy to read. The detailed account of Carter's presidency was like a walk down memory lane of the late 1970s in America. #nonfiction #booksky #readersky
The story of Lana Turner & the rise of the Hollywood mob, leading to the death of Johnny Stompanato in Turner’s home. Read it for the history Hollywood's golden age, not for any new insight into a 70-year-old scandal.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #truecrime #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #truecrime #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
A Nasty Reputation as a Cruel Dude
What really happened that night in 1958 at Hollywood star Lana Turner's house when Johnny Stompanato met his end?
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The story of Lana Turner & the rise of the Hollywood mob, leading to the death of Johnny Stompanato in Turner’s home. Read it for the history Hollywood's golden age, not for any new insight into a 70-year-old scandal.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #truecrime #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #truecrime #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
The story of rope, a microhistory on the many uses of the common everyday object written by a lifelong sailor.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #sciencebooks #book #nonfiction #booklovers #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #sciencebooks #book #nonfiction #booklovers #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
Throw a Rope Around the Moon
A life long sailor dives deep into the history of rope and explores how central it has been to human progress.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
July 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The story of rope, a microhistory on the many uses of the common everyday object written by a lifelong sailor.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #sciencebooks #book #nonfiction #booklovers #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #sciencebooks #book #nonfiction #booklovers #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
Insights into how our language is changing online from the influencer also known as The Etymology Nerd. Fun to read, I learned a few things from this book.
ARC Review: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
ARC Review: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
Love and Language
Two books this week - one explores the women in Theodore Roosevelt's life, and the other examines the impact of social media on the future of language.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
July 11, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Insights into how our language is changing online from the influencer also known as The Etymology Nerd. Fun to read, I learned a few things from this book.
ARC Review: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
ARC Review: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
The story of the rise of a President, his family, and the influence of the women in his life who helped shape him. This is an engaging and well-documented biography.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #historybooks #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #historybooks #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
Love and Language
Two books this week - one explores the women in Theodore Roosevelt's life, and the other examines the impact of social media on the future of language.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
July 10, 2025 at 11:30 AM
The story of the rise of a President, his family, and the influence of the women in his life who helped shape him. This is an engaging and well-documented biography.
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #historybooks #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreviews #bookrecommendations #books #nonfiction #historybooks #booksky
steves-book-stuff.be...
#bookreview A relatively short audiobook full of ideas. Not really a “how to” book, it’s more of a “why” book. But the book will point out techniques to learn more about, so that you can dig in and learn how to really “think again”.
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...
The Counterintuitive Benefits of Unlearning
Question what you know, like a scientist searching for the truth
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
June 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
#bookreview A relatively short audiobook full of ideas. Not really a “how to” book, it’s more of a “why” book. But the book will point out techniques to learn more about, so that you can dig in and learn how to really “think again”.
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...
Two fantasy book reviews this week. One by James S.A. Corey, a short and satisfying read in the new The Captive's War series. The other, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a slow to start story that ends up flipping the Hero's Quest trope completely on its head.
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...
From Outer Space to Spider's Lair
Two Fantasies Help Fill the Idle Hours in a Week Full of Travel
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Two fantasy book reviews this week. One by James S.A. Corey, a short and satisfying read in the new The Captive's War series. The other, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a slow to start story that ends up flipping the Hero's Quest trope completely on its head.
steves-book-stuff.be...
steves-book-stuff.be...