Since April: Flash Boys, Michael Lewis. It's great, like all things Michael Lewis, but not the best. The Everything Store, Brad Stone. insomniasexx's recommendation. Beat the dead corpse of my wonder for tech companies. Amazon isn't the best, they're just the first, and they kick everyone else when they're down. American Gods, Neil Gaiman. and that's about all I have to say about that. Our Mathematical Universe, Max Tegmark. Considering the amount of navel-gazing and armchair mathematics done on this site, I'm amazed no one has mentioned it before. The Martian, Andy Weir. Best new sci fi I've read since Bacigalupi's Clockwork Girl. College Unbound, Jeffrey Selingo. The kids are all right, college is a scam and it can't continue. Gives you numbers and statistics to back up your suspicions. Age of Context, Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. Pure shit. Nerds fellating themselves and arguing that Google is important because everybody knows google is important shut up peon. Fucking hated that book. Capital in the 21st Century, Thomas Piketty. A grind, but an important one. You don't read this for fun. Escape from Camp 14, Blaine Harden. Life in a North Korean prison camp. Spoilers: it's a drag. Daemon, Daniel Suarez. Purer shit than Age of Context, except it's fiction so it has no excuse. One of the worst-crafted novels I have ever read. Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett. Spectacularly good WWII Nazi spy thriller. Nexus, Ramez Naam. Fucking terrible. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown (in process). Surprisingly, better than Nexus or Daemon. __________________ I've been meaning to try some Eco. You are, of course, aware that Sean Connery and Christian Slater starred opposite each other in the adaptation?
Wow, it genuinely didn't occur to me that Follett could still be alive, since he captured that era so well. He was actually born post-war. Now that I think about it I believe I read something about a relatively recent book of his the other day.
Ah, right right. I figured it was one of those but was on phone cooking dinner. When I once again get the chance to read for fun, I shall check it out. For you - September 2014
Dunno if you're joking here or what, but - you had plenty to say about that :-)American Gods, Neil Gaiman. and that's about all I have to say about that.
Thanks for reminding me how much trailers have changed. Seems like a textbook case of a novel with a lot of symbolism and history and complexity scaled right down into a darker Poirot BBC special. Piketty I start next week. Looking forward to it while I can. PS: I renew my suggestion that you read Quantum of Ra, mostly out of curiosity about what you say on it afterward.