The Rosie Project: A Novel
Simply excellent. A deftly written love story with echoes of The Speed of Dark.
Rework
A pretty good read. I wouldn't say it's particularly in-depth, and they do generalize quite a bit (i.e, just because something worked for them doesn't make it universally true). That said, it's a quick read, broken up into bite-sized chunks (blog posts grouped into chapters, basically).I can't say it has anything I disagree with -- the advice is solid enough (IMHO). But I do think that it doesn't dive deep enough to be used as a primary reference when trying to start a new business (or even an internal project). Reading this immediately after the Lean Startup book makes the contrast in depth quite stark.
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
Presents a compelling theory about what happens to our thinking as we hop from tweet to tweet to email to link, and when we use Evernote (or similar services) to augment our memory. Also talks about where profound ideas come from -- what's "deep" thinking. Lots of history and neurobiology mixed in.I know this may sound anti-tech and luddite, but it's not at all. Author is a big nerd.
Lexicon
This is a very good book, all the way up to the 95% mark or so. The ending feels somewhat rushed and implausible, but the bulk of the book is just great. Strongly echoes Stephenson's Snow Crash at times - the power of words, Sumerian, Babel, and all that. But all in all, it's definitely a page-turner and a good read.
Little Brother
An absolute must-read, especially these days. Too bad most RFID tags are actually write-once-read-many (i.e, you can't actually rewrite them).
Among Others
SImply excellent. Not at all what I was expecting, but it was really good, compelling, and just a beautiful read overall. Rural England in the late 70's combined with fairies and supernatural creatures is certainly an interesting setting for a story. There's quite a lot of Sci-fi name-dropping, though.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
A must-read, especially if you write for a living, or watch any amount of TV news, ever.
The Cider House Rules
What can I say? This is a classic for a reason. This is my third Irving, after Owen Meany and A Widow For One Year, and by now, I think I pretty much have to read everything the man wrote. I love Irving's calm, measured narrative voice. He made me laugh out loud several times during the book, but it didn't feel like he was trying too hard. There's just something inviting about his writing, and I love his quiet observations about human nature. Even when describing negative human qualities, it feels like there's a love for people in his writing.
A truly wonderful book.
Cloud Atlas: A Novel
This is one of the most ambitious books I've read in recent memory. The plot is built like a Russian doll -- subplots nested within subplots, in a very methodical way. Each subplot happens in a different period, and the writer really differentiates the language well, writing in a different register for each period.This is an engaging read. It's got some historical fiction, some Sci-Fi, and lots of political commentary. Somewhere near the end it starts feeling just a tad didactic and too direct, but I still enjoyed it.
Airframe
Pretty light and fluffy. Airplane reading, quite literally. Crichton does delve pretty deep into aviation jargon, so the start of the book is satisfyingly crunchy and technical. But the characters come off too flat -- there's almost something pedagogical about it. I felt as though Crichton was trying to teach me why privatizing the commercial flight sector was a bad idea, and how it can only result in corner-cutting and danger to the flying public. The argument came off as a bit one-sided. It's true that the media is often sensational and hungry for simple explanations, but I'd like to believe it's not really as bad as the book makes it seem.A nice, fun, quick read.
A Widow for One Year: A Novel
What can I say? Irving rocks. I saw the movie before I read the book, so I knew the plot for the first part, I never expected it to go on as epically as it did. The combination of rich details and deep, convincing characters really makes this a book to savor.
Turing Evolved
An enjoyable piece of science fiction. Some parts were a bit trite (the love story felt simplistic and lacked authenticity), but the technology is interesting and just plain cool.Not a masterpiece, but definitely a fun read.
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Couldn't finish this one. Just too depressing. Well-written, but not for me.