24 votes

Topic deleted by author

7 comments

  1. agrippa
    Link
    I recently started reading Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neill. It's about the impact of big data algorithms on society/inequality.

    I recently started reading Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neill. It's about the impact of big data algorithms on society/inequality.

    5 votes
  2. DonQuixote
    Link
    Non-Fiction - Tao: The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts. Read it while outside, if possible. Fiction: White Noise by Don DeLillo. If the Protagonist's job (Professor of Hitler Studies) doesn't give...

    Non-Fiction - Tao: The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts. Read it while outside, if possible.

    Fiction: White Noise by Don DeLillo. If the Protagonist's job (Professor of Hitler Studies) doesn't give you pause to think, his wife, Babette, will.

    Fiction: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. First Line:

    The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.

    5 votes
  3. [2]
    pleure
    Link
    Manufacturing Consent. It's old and Chomsky's not my favorite person, but it's valuable.

    Manufacturing Consent. It's old and Chomsky's not my favorite person, but it's valuable.

    3 votes
    1. oryx
      Link Parent
      Manufacturing Consent was good, but I think I liked Understand Power better. I just finished Alan Watts' The Joyous Cosmology and I will say it was really enjoyable. I'm definitely going to look...

      Manufacturing Consent was good, but I think I liked Understand Power better.

      I just finished Alan Watts' The Joyous Cosmology and I will say it was really enjoyable. I'm definitely going to look into more of his stuff.

      3 votes
  4. Holiday
    Link
    Non-Fiction: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey. I recommend the season 1 house of cards soundtrack while reading it! I actually read it during my flight to leave D.C. I remember solemnly looking at...

    Non-Fiction: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey. I recommend the season 1 house of cards soundtrack while reading it! I actually read it during my flight to leave D.C. I remember solemnly looking at the Capitol building as I read a particularly grim statement from Comey in his book and thinking Perhaps this is too dramatic..

    Reading this book... humanized much of the government to me and made me realize decisions are truly dynamic in government, not so thoughtless as they sometimes may seem. Comey's struggle with Bush is surprising, and having human insight to what he "believed" during his time in office under Trump is I think important to the current view of the Administration.

    Fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert. This is an old one, and many people have likely read it by now. If you have, great! If not, then by far this one is a wordy, long and somewhat progressive for its time to read. I think it fundamentally changed how I approach a challenge. The famous phrase "Fear is the mind killer" fundamentally changed how I handle stress. Maybe that sounds dumb, but it really did. I also read it when I was 17 so take that with a grain of salt.

    Hope either of these are enjoyable for you.

    3 votes
  5. [2]
    muh_tilde
    Link
    These sound interesting I'm looking into picking up a few. Thanks for the recs. Is this thread only for non-fiction? I only read one NF book this year so I probably won't be helpful ITT.

    These sound interesting I'm looking into picking up a few. Thanks for the recs. Is this thread only for non-fiction? I only read one NF book this year so I probably won't be helpful ITT.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. muh_tilde
        Link Parent
        A few I read this year that I really liked - Anathem by Neil Stephenson. What a ride this book was! The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks. I read the first 4 culture novels this year and this was my...

        A few I read this year that I really liked -

        1. Anathem by Neil Stephenson. What a ride this book was!
        2. The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks. I read the first 4 culture novels this year and this was my favorite. The best game player in the culture travels to a newly discovered world where their whole society revolves around how people perform in a very complex game.
        3. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi. The follow up to last year's The Collapsing Empire and second in a planned trilogy. Felt a bit rushed towards the end but I love Scalzi's writing and enjoy everything I've read by him so far.
        4. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. I liked this one a lot but the trilogy devolved from there IMO. I struggled thru the last 2 and the 3rd book wasn't really worth it for me.
        1 vote