Book-Review

So much of my recent work has been around Azure SQL Database, and Fabric Warehouse. But in terms of Azure SQL Database, the Hyperscale tier is the one I haven’t used as much. So I was pleased to see a new book from an old friend (Bob Ward from Microsoft) that covers it. Azure SQL Hyperscale Unveiled: The Cloud SQL AI Database for Everyone .

Author

Bob Ward is a Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team that owns the development of Microsoft SQL. I’ve been involved with SQL Server since 1992 and Bob is one of the few people at Microsoft that I can recall having been there pretty much the whole time. Bob knows what he’s talking about with both SQL and with baseball. (I’ve enjoyed discussing that with him over the years).

2026-11-13

I’ve spent a lot of time lately considering the ethics surrounding AI usage in the workplace, but the title of a new book had me intrigued. I was sent a review copy of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results by the author.

Author

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is a behavioural scientist, author and consultant who specialises in workplace change, decision-making and the future of work. He is the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, a consultancy that helps organisations adopt new technologies and improve business performance. He previously spent more than 15 years in academia, including seven years as a professor at Ohio State University. He has written eight books and has been featured in publications including Harvard Business Review, Forbes and The New York Times, which described him as an office whisperer.

2026-11-06

In recent years, I’ve done a lot of consulting work with companies who are involved in financial trading. Invariably nowadays, they have leaned heavily on using Python. I recently received an early review copy of Hands-on Financial Trading with Python (2nd Edition): Build, backtest, and deploy professional trading strategies using a proven end-to-end framework from my friends at PacktT.

NOTE: This is the second edition of this book. I haven’t previously read the first edition.

2026-11-02

One of the interesting aspects of recent AI work is the idea that we’re fast moving beyond prompt engineering. Not that long ago, it was all the rage, so I was fascinated to receive a review copy of The Practical Prompt Guide for GPT-6 Astra from my friends at PacktT.

Author

Curiously, this book is listed as being written by Steve T. As noted on his official Leanpub biography page , the authors behind Steve Publications often choose to write under pseudonyms or partial names for privacy or professional reasons. Consequently, he only operates publicly under the name Steve. I’m not a fan of this as it limits his perceived authority.

2026-10-31

In previous reviews, I’ve mentioned that I spend much of my time nowadays working with Microsoft Fabric but in many of those projects, I still regularly need to use Power Query. Doing that effectively means using the M language. I was pleased to receive a review copy of The Definitive Guide to Power Query (M) from my friends at PacktT.

Authors

Gregory Deckler is a fellow Microsoft Data Platform MVP, actibe blogger and Fabric/PowerBI community member. He is the author of many books on related topics.

2026-10-29

I spend much of my time nowadays working with Microsoft Fabric and there are many opinions on how to use it for the best outcomes, so I was interested to see a new book Analytics Engineering with Microsoft Fabric and PowerBI from friends of mine (in the Fabric community), Shabnam Watson and Nikola Ilic. Nikola sent me a copy to review.

Authors

Shabnam Watson is a business intelligence consultant and owner of ABI Cube, a company that specializes in delivering data solutions using the Microsoft Data Platform. She has decades of experience and is a fellow Microsoft Data Platform MVP.

2026-10-27

I’ve been continuing with my review of famous books. This time, I listed to the AudioBook of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway. It’s a very long time since I’d listened to this one, and I had forgotten quite a bit of it.

Author

According to Wikipedia, Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist who is known for having an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers. They also note that he has been romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle and outspoken, blunt public image. I can deal with that.

2026-10-21

AI Ethics is a really timely subject. I recently read AI Ethics in Action: A practical guide to building modern organizations through purposeful, ethical AI innovation as a review copy I received from my friends at PackT.

Author

Laura Miller is described as a continental philosopher and AI ethicist. She works across many continents and is recognized by publications like The New York Times. Laura founded Aeterne and Mindher. I liked seeing that her advisory clients included NIST, the US State Department, and the EU AI Act Public Working Group. Laura is well-positioned to write this book.

2026-10-15

AI development is another really timely subject. I recently read Hands-On AI Development with Python: Build and Deploy Real-World AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and NLP Applications as a review copy I received from my friends at PackT.

Author

Vivian Aranha is described as an AI educator, technology leader, and founder of School of AI. He was worked with Fortune 500 organizations including The Washington Post, Delta Air Lines, and IBM. He currently teaches globally through School of AI, Udemy, Skool, and Maven.

2026-10-07

Over the years, I’ve read quite a number of marketing books. Today, I finished reading Confessions of a Persuasion Hitman by Ian Stanley.

Content

I’ll start by saying that the title nearly put me off. It seemed a pretty cheesy title and it’s the sort of book that I’d normally avoid. In the end though, I’m glad that I read it.

It’s not a long book. My paperback copy only had about 130 pages. I didn’t love the print quality. It seemed to have pretty low-quality paper and there were places were I found a paragraph break in the middle of a sentence. I presume it’s been designed for eBook use and just has a print-on-demand option availble. Sometimes they don’t fit printed copies well. But the quality was acceptable.

2026-09-23