Monday, October 31, 2016

Without Their Permission

I read Without Their Permission. The author is a co-founder of Reddit. He grew up close to my house. I did not know him as he is much younger than me. He has a great writer's voice. The first third of the book was about the companies he founded. Great stuff.

Later in the book, the author tries to teach you how to do your own startup. Not too interesting. Then the guy gets on his mission to fight restrictive bills such as SOPA. Even more boring. I wish the guy would have given us more details about the different companies he started or helped to start.

I bet this guy is a blast in person. I think he is relatively rich from the successful companies he started. His stories about his mom reminded me of my own mother. Three out of five stars.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

I Should Have Gone to Community College

This book was a fun read. The main character is a freshman in a four year college. He is essentially an alcoholic and habitual drug user. While he has sex with his girlfriend when he can, he does not want to be her boyfriend. Our man also looks down on his sad dorm roommate who is pledging for a fraternity.


It is a miracle that this guy is still alive. Seems to avoid getting caught, he and his friends would do drugs in the cars and truck. The driver would drive around while high. How are these guys not running off the road?


There are a lot of parties in the general college vicinity. The main guy and his friends get drunk before even going to the parties with their "pre-game" sessions. Most of the time they drink more at the parties, wander off, and somehow make it back to their dorms. They usually forget the whole night.


The author is very candid about the facts. What is great is that this is an unfiltered look at a college dude's life. He tells you his frame of mind throughout the book. You hear his fears. He confesses that he is a horrible boyfriend. He is screwing up in his classes (when he even attends). I have got to find out what happens in his second semester by reading the sequel.