I haven't used goodreads in awhile, but I did spend some time compiling the book recommendations of inspiring people a long while ago. I published them on this site: http://liberator.me/ I have a...
I haven't used goodreads in awhile, but I did spend some time compiling the book recommendations of inspiring people a long while ago. I published them on this site: http://liberator.me/
I have a ton more lists stored somewhere, would be happy to post them if you are interested. I know it's not the goodreads profile comparison, but it felt pertinent.
Wow, thank you for this really substantial review! I like all the pieces you mentioned, too. In Understand, there was an "exponential" pace, for the lack of a better word, and the narrative...
Wow, thank you for this really substantial review!
I like all the pieces you mentioned, too. In Understand, there was an "exponential" pace, for the lack of a better word, and the narrative progression isn't just linear, going forward, but also scaling, getting more and more layered and intricate.
Seventy-Two Letters is also a favourite. In some way, its effect on our imagination was paralleled by the effect of words on forms inside the story. We're "impregnated", "fertilized", well, impressed by the words/thoughts/imaginaries. And the next time we think of some related theme or experience, those thoughts may unfold and replicate themselves, bringing new life-force into how we interpret our thoughts.
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate and Story of Your Life both had some similar taste to the topic of Novikov consistency principle, but I think the reason they're good isn't just the speculative science. They interrogated the human condition, our perception about fate, and affirmed a treasure of the human psyche -- even if we cannot change what is, we can gain new insight into the events and ourselves.
Story of Your Life was interesting also from the linguistic and science angles. I found the appearance of the Hamilton Principle (or Fermat Principle for light rays) in the story fascinating. In quantum physics, things get weirder, and the principle of classical motions emerges as the limit of the Path Integral formulation -- an even more mind-blowing way of looking at things. If we think about it in a story setting like that, what would happen to the characters? So the speculation goes on...
I also like some of his "minor" works, such as Exhalation and Division by Zero. The latter was a "math-fi" piece, even though the mathematical aspect might not be all that sound (but this is OK). It was also a psychological thriller and knocked on our yearning for meaning. Exhalation was really poetic, sublime, well-constructed, based on both good old science and perennial speculations such as our position in the Universe, etc.
I'm really glad we can talk about our shared enthusiasm here!
Egan tends to be very dense for my taste (but I totally understand why other people are into it) but VV is probably my favorite author of all time. Chiang and Reynolds are very good as well. I've...
Egan tends to be very dense for my taste (but I totally understand why other people are into it) but VV is probably my favorite author of all time. Chiang and Reynolds are very good as well. I've been on a Silverberg kick lately after finding one of his old novels, the Man in the Maze on sale for a dollar or two.
I agree, Factfulness was really great. I picked it up because I was looking for a book to read from Bill Gates' reading list, and it looked like something I'd be interested in. I appreciate the...
I agree, Factfulness was really great. I picked it up because I was looking for a book to read from Bill Gates' reading list, and it looked like something I'd be interested in. I appreciate the positivity that it brought to the topics covered, while still educating me and highlighting problems that do still exist.
Also, odds are that we might have more in common, but my Goodreads profile only covers my last year or so of reading—basically everything since I set it up. I need to get around to adding my entire book list, but that'll take some time.
Didn't start tracking the books I've read until just the other year, so my list is mostly just things I happen to remember reading. And even unfortunately just haven't gotten around to really...
Didn't start tracking the books I've read until just the other year, so my list is mostly just things I happen to remember reading. And even unfortunately just haven't gotten around to really reading anything recently. But Here it is if you want to look at it. Mostly read scifi and fantasy, but if something seems semi interesting I'll give it a go.
I haven't used goodreads in awhile, but I did spend some time compiling the book recommendations of inspiring people a long while ago. I published them on this site: http://liberator.me/
I have a ton more lists stored somewhere, would be happy to post them if you are interested. I know it's not the goodreads profile comparison, but it felt pertinent.
I'm interested in your thoughts about Chiang. Which work(s) of his do you like best?
Wow, thank you for this really substantial review!
I like all the pieces you mentioned, too. In Understand, there was an "exponential" pace, for the lack of a better word, and the narrative progression isn't just linear, going forward, but also scaling, getting more and more layered and intricate.
Seventy-Two Letters is also a favourite. In some way, its effect on our imagination was paralleled by the effect of words on forms inside the story. We're "impregnated", "fertilized", well, impressed by the words/thoughts/imaginaries. And the next time we think of some related theme or experience, those thoughts may unfold and replicate themselves, bringing new life-force into how we interpret our thoughts.
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate and Story of Your Life both had some similar taste to the topic of Novikov consistency principle, but I think the reason they're good isn't just the speculative science. They interrogated the human condition, our perception about fate, and affirmed a treasure of the human psyche -- even if we cannot change what is, we can gain new insight into the events and ourselves.
Story of Your Life was interesting also from the linguistic and science angles. I found the appearance of the Hamilton Principle (or Fermat Principle for light rays) in the story fascinating. In quantum physics, things get weirder, and the principle of classical motions emerges as the limit of the Path Integral formulation -- an even more mind-blowing way of looking at things. If we think about it in a story setting like that, what would happen to the characters? So the speculation goes on...
I also like some of his "minor" works, such as Exhalation and Division by Zero. The latter was a "math-fi" piece, even though the mathematical aspect might not be all that sound (but this is OK). It was also a psychological thriller and knocked on our yearning for meaning. Exhalation was really poetic, sublime, well-constructed, based on both good old science and perennial speculations such as our position in the Universe, etc.
I'm really glad we can talk about our shared enthusiasm here!
It is possible to find full collections of his work online.
Egan tends to be very dense for my taste (but I totally understand why other people are into it) but VV is probably my favorite author of all time. Chiang and Reynolds are very good as well. I've been on a Silverberg kick lately after finding one of his old novels, the Man in the Maze on sale for a dollar or two.
Hey, I like this idea. Here's my profile. I'm all over the place and read bits of everything.
I agree, Factfulness was really great. I picked it up because I was looking for a book to read from Bill Gates' reading list, and it looked like something I'd be interested in. I appreciate the positivity that it brought to the topics covered, while still educating me and highlighting problems that do still exist.
Also, odds are that we might have more in common, but my Goodreads profile only covers my last year or so of reading—basically everything since I set it up. I need to get around to adding my entire book list, but that'll take some time.
You're welcome to look at mine
My book collection has a bend towards ~humanities. I'd like to see if there are shared interests with Tilders.
Thanks for the recommendations! Alas, ever-growing reading lists.
Neat idea! Here's mine. My taste is all over the place, but I tend to like things with a bit of a historical bent.
Didn't start tracking the books I've read until just the other year, so my list is mostly just things I happen to remember reading. And even unfortunately just haven't gotten around to really reading anything recently. But Here it is if you want to look at it. Mostly read scifi and fantasy, but if something seems semi interesting I'll give it a go.
A little late to this but here's mine! I've added everyone so far.