Paul Grenyer

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

 ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1773137735  I found Lionel Giles’ introduction very boring. In this edition, there are more of his notes than Sun Tzu’s actual text. I gave up on them early, as they didn’t add any value for me. The Art of War itself is 13 short chapters of advice that mostly come across as common sense approaches to winning wars, or at least avoiding losing them. It didn’t really connect with me, since I’m not a general and my own leadership style is collaborative rather than combative. I mainly read it because I thought something I used in my own book might have originated here, and because Sabaton used it as inspiration for one of their albums.

I went to see Rob Newman at the Playhouse in Norwich this evening, and he was every bit as brilliant as I’d hoped. At times he came across as a little nervous, but that vulnerability only made the performance feel more genuine and engaging. The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a huge part of my teenage years, and I’ve followed all four of its comedians ever since. Each of them has carved out their own path, but what makes Rob stand out is the way he approaches comedy. He doesn’t just fall back on everyday observational humour or awkward anecdotes. Instead, he draws on his passion for culture, the classics, science, and mathematics to create routines that are clever, thoughtful, and original, all while being self-deprecating and warm. That mix of intelligence and humility is rare in comedy, and it made for a truly memorable evening. Nervous or not, Rob Newman delivered one of the smartest and most enjoyable performances I’ve seen in a very long time. I might even read his spy novel when...

Isaac Asimov  ISBN-13: 978-0007381159  Although the original Foundation trilogy (1950s) laid the groundwork for Asimov’s universe, I’ve always found it rather bland. When Asimov returned to the series in the 1980s with Foundation’s Edge, the leap in storytelling quality felt far greater than the thirty years that separated them. Growing up, I listened to Prelude to Foundation on cassette and loved it. Published just six years after Foundation’s Edge (with Foundation and Earth in between), it cemented for me how much richer and more engaging Asimov’s later entries were compared to the original trilogy. The mystery, the twists, and the separate timelines that converge all give the story a grand space-opera feel. The characters resonated with me, and the depiction of spaceships and hyperspace travel felt believable - perhaps because Asimov wisely avoids overexplaining how hyperspace works. Some of his characteristic sexism remains, though it’s far less pronounced than in the earl...

By Steve R. Covey ISBN-13: 978-1471195204  This book was recommended to me years ago when I was running my own business, but I only picked it up recently. I wish I’d read it back then, it would have been even more useful. I was expecting the habits to be things like, get up at 5am, always have a prioritised todo list, only do the things which matter, etc. The vast majority of it is not like that at all. I was pleased to find that I am doing most of the habits already, but there was still plenty for me to learn. I've always been proactive and put the first things first, but the book made me step back and see it from a wider perspective. The habits around Win/Win or No Deal and Sharpening the Saw also stood out for me. Sean Covey’s modern insights were a welcome addition, especially his humorous “7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People.” They made the book feel more relevant without losing the core message. That said, I do have two main criticisms: it’s at least twice as long as it nee...

 So you think you can lead a team? I’ve been talking and writing a lot about leading a software engineering team in 2025. I started thinking about it more deeply the year before when I decided to give a colleague, who was moving into team leading, some advice: 'Doing the work' isn't the only way to add value Remember to delegate Pick your battles Talk to your team every day Out of this came a talk, “So you think you can lead a team?” which I gave at work, at meetups and at conferences in various different formats during the first quarter of 2025. I am also turning these ideas, and more, into a book I hope to release towards the end of 2025.  I’ve already explored delegation, you can read about it here:  https://paulgrenyer.blogspot.com/2025/04/remember-to-delegate-triangle-of-trust.html  Seeing the Bigger Picture, you can read about that here: https://paulgrenyer.blogspot.com/2025/05/see-bigger-picture-and-look-around.html And Picking Your Battles, which can read abo...