Paul Grenyer

We took our youngest, Ed (14), to see Katy Perry last night, his first ever gig, and he absolutely loved it. Seeing his excitement made the whole evening worthwhile. Katy Perry is undeniably a talented singer and performer, but the relentless, thumping dance-style bass drum soon became monotonous. It all started to sound a little boring after a while. It was very loud too, even compared to a lot of the metal gigs I’ve attended. Visually, the show was impressive. The sci-fi theme was fun and creative, though during the first half it felt like Katy spent more time off stage than on. Things picked up in the second half, especially when she invited three kids from the audience onto the stage. Unfortunately, the sound quality at the O2 was its usual letdown. The mix lacked definition, and the guitars were often lost beneath the booming bass and drums. All in all, I’m glad we went and Ed had a brilliant time. But for me, it felt like there was more show than music, and I wouldn’t be in a hur...

 I first spotted Ego Is the Enemy years ago, sticking out of someone’s bag in the kitchen of an office I rented back in the mid-teenies. The title caught my eye, so I bought the Kindle version there and then. It’s taken me until now to actually read it. It’s a good book, and I think it’s helped me understand what ego really is and, perhaps more importantly, that mine isn’t as bad as I thought. It’s a very American book. A lot of the examples, stories, and metaphors are drawn from American history and sport, and I found myself having to look up quite a few of the references. That detracted from it a little for me. There were also a few too many chapters that felt similar, with long retellings of historical figures who’d come undone because of their ego. Still, I did enjoy learning something new about Kirk Hammett: I hadn’t expected Metallica to make an appearance in a book about philosophy and self-awareness. The biggest thing I took away was the idea of letting go of grudges. Inste...

  In order to gauge the potential audience for my book, So you think you can lead a team? , I conducted a small survey of my colleagues, co-workers and anyone from Linked. I read regularly, for work and pleasure, and assumed everyone else did too but did the responses I received confirm this? I polled 173 people, all within the software engineering field (including Product, etc), with a range of ages and years of experience in their role. What surprised me the most was that the majority of people, young or old, just starting or seasoned, still prefer reading physical books to blogs or e-readers. It also seemed that the older and more experienced were the most keen in learning more, and reading to expand or update their knowledge.  When it comes to reading habits between different roles the survey showed that software engineers and team leads read more regularly for their career than other roles, with 55 years old and over and 16+ years experience being the biggest readers over...

Having previously read two of James Kinsley’s novels, I was surprised, and impressed, by It’s Hard to Tell You This. While I’ve always associated Kinsley with science fiction, this book takes a different direction, focusing instead on intimate human emotions and relationships. It’s a departure that works beautifully. I found myself immediately identifying with Michael’s father. His experiences, especially his awkwardness at a Catholic school and his fear of girls, resonated with my own memories. The story caused me to think about my own relationships over the years.. At just the right length, the novel flows quickly, and while I could easily have read more, its brevity is one of its strengths. The ending, in particular, stands out. Endings are difficult to get right, but Kinsley manages to finish the story well. This is, without question, Kinsley’s best book so far and, incredibly, it’s all fiction! ISBN-13:  978-1917090193 

It’s dull, which is a shame as Nemisis Games  had picked up after Cibola Burn . There’s nothing new from the characters. No new characters of interest.  What was an exciting sci-fi series in the beginning has turned into politics and war in space. I can get that anywhere. There’s a ring gate with thousands of new worlds to explore, yet the story is confined to the solar system and the warring factions. The bad guys are unpleasant and not even interesting to read about. I don’t think it matters any more, but I didn’t recognise anything from the TV series here either. Of course I’ll plough on and read the other books. It might get better again. ISBN-13: 978-0356504285