It's a quick read, and can be finished in a single sitting if one has the mind to. It had been on my list for a long time, and lived up to its expectations.
The narrator's description of death as, "the skeleton working its way out of the body" is accurate, for anyone who has seen one pass from life to death up close. An emotionally shattering book.
"Cordelia's Honor", a starting point in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. So good: I'm a fan of space operas, and enjoyed the Expanse novels and Scalzi's Interdependency series. These novels are as enjoyable as those were, though Bujold focuses more on two people rather than chasing multiple different threads. I get a solid "I enjoy this like I remember enjoying Heinlein" vibe from the books, and Bujold's politics is more inclusive and less Curmudgeonly Old Libertarian than Heinlein so that's a win for me too. I'm now guzzling the rest of the books in the series. Each novel stands alone, but there's a timeline and continued characters.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
She is a wonderful writer and her book was an eye-opening journey through the deleterious and ubiquitous effects of caste, which is distinct from class or race, on American society and other societies.
The Expectant Father – was split up in such a way that once a month, I was reading the relevant chapter to keep up with my partner's pregnancy and all the things I need to/should know along the way. Was well worth it for me... there were many things in there that I wouldn't have otherwise been aware of that I think have made the journey a lot smoother (and less mysterious) for me.
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each – a compilation of Japanese poetry from ~800 years ago. The variety of poems in this were a great read and although the English translations can't replicate the originals perfectly, the translator's notes that go with them in the edition I own described the original techniques and wordplay used and it a lot of it is thoroughly impressive.
The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson.
Love every page of it. Its ci-fi, climate fiction, plays 10-20years in the future and tells eye whiteness stories about what people experience during extreme weather events. Plus how the global community is failing to address the crisis. It s mixing storytelling with climate science, sustainability, economics, politics, crypto.
How to avoid a climate disaster - Bill Gates. I found it extremely comprehensible and well structured, other than I learned a lot. It's the beginning of a new rabbit hole.
That will never work - Marc Randolph. I'm also a big fan of his new podcast, same title.
The dispatcher - John Scalzi. Short, kind of weird, but a nice distraction from tech & startups
I finished What is the name of this book? by Smullyan and am halfway through The Lady or the Tiger? (also Smullyan). I'd read the latter years ago along with one other book of his. I'll find out which it was when I get to it and recognize the text. They've been a pleasant, light diversion in the evenings the past few weeks (with stretches of not reading them and doing programming learning/side projects).
Nothing recently. I've been sort of forced to read up on some statutes and case law due to a false charge against my wife (the trooper even admitted he knew that he didn't have probable cause for the charge, but the system doesn't care). Any interaction with the system punishes you in one way or another.
Russia Leaves the War, George Kennan (WW I);
The Fate of Man in the Modern World, Nikolai Berdyaev;
Philosophy of Logic, W.V.O. Quine;
Marrow and Bone, Walter Kempowski;
White Teeth, Zadie Smith;
Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel;
Writing and Difference, Jacques Derrida;
Cartesian Meditations, Edmund Husserl (not quite to the end).
White Teeth is charming, and I will read more of Smith's work fairly soon. As for Kempowski's novel, I don't know that I'm a feminist, but the women in his novels (this and All for Nothing) seem to run to the ineffectual.
SQL Antipatterns. I would love for someone to write an extension to this book – Refactoring SQL Antipatterns at Scale. I posted my notes for this book on my website: https://www.briansnotes.io/book/sql-antipatterns/
Also: The DevOps Handbook, Staff Engineer, and 20 YC Lessons
25 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 63.1 ms ] threadThese are both absolutely brilliant and moving; you can't go wrong with either of them.
- Personality (Nettle)
- Lonesome Dove
- A First-Rate Madness
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem
- Dune
- At the Existentialist Cafe
Currently working on "The Hot Zone."
It's a quick read, and can be finished in a single sitting if one has the mind to. It had been on my list for a long time, and lived up to its expectations.
The narrator's description of death as, "the skeleton working its way out of the body" is accurate, for anyone who has seen one pass from life to death up close. An emotionally shattering book.
Titanic On Trial - Nic Compton
Recommend it for anyone interested in the learning process and how to approach new material
Stephen Fry re-tells the ancient greek myths in his own style, adding personal commentary along the way. Recommended.
It’s describes the pro-succession movement in very negative terms, but simultaneously defends the UK political system in general.
I’m like ... if UK politics isn’t that dysfunctional, how did such a dysfunctional movement some about?
Either both UK politics and Scottish succession are “reasonableish”, or neither is “reasonableish.” Because the two are pretty closely connected.
Based exclusively on this book, I’m thinking both are “reasonableish.”
She is a wonderful writer and her book was an eye-opening journey through the deleterious and ubiquitous effects of caste, which is distinct from class or race, on American society and other societies.
This is honestly more of a philosophy textbook than a book on Finance.
Soros, explains his interesting idea of reflexivity, an extension of the mind-body problem [0]
[0]:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind%E2%80%93body_problem
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each – a compilation of Japanese poetry from ~800 years ago. The variety of poems in this were a great read and although the English translations can't replicate the originals perfectly, the translator's notes that go with them in the edition I own described the original techniques and wordplay used and it a lot of it is thoroughly impressive.
Love every page of it. Its ci-fi, climate fiction, plays 10-20years in the future and tells eye whiteness stories about what people experience during extreme weather events. Plus how the global community is failing to address the crisis. It s mixing storytelling with climate science, sustainability, economics, politics, crypto.
That will never work - Marc Randolph. I'm also a big fan of his new podcast, same title.
The dispatcher - John Scalzi. Short, kind of weird, but a nice distraction from tech & startups
(all available on Audible)
Russia Leaves the War, George Kennan (WW I); The Fate of Man in the Modern World, Nikolai Berdyaev; Philosophy of Logic, W.V.O. Quine; Marrow and Bone, Walter Kempowski; White Teeth, Zadie Smith; Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel; Writing and Difference, Jacques Derrida; Cartesian Meditations, Edmund Husserl (not quite to the end).
White Teeth is charming, and I will read more of Smith's work fairly soon. As for Kempowski's novel, I don't know that I'm a feminist, but the women in his novels (this and All for Nothing) seem to run to the ineffectual.
Nexus, ramez naam. Good down to earth story for more people, and topic is right on the cusp of being ethically relevant (perception tech)
McLuhan understanding media
it's great. seems to be something there for everyone.
fans. musicians. political people. artists. lovers. writers. poets. workers. NJ enthusiasts.
Also: The DevOps Handbook, Staff Engineer, and 20 YC Lessons
by Bessel van der Kolk
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693771-the-body-keeps-...