book updates

2 files changed, 89 insertions, 28 deletions

diff --git a/books/2016.page b/books/2016.page
index 53bd8a0..529b708 100644
--- a/books/2016.page
+++ b/books/2016.page
@@ -1,38 +1,53 @@
 
 The Good Terrorist, by Doris Lessing (1985)
+--------------------------------------------
 
 Reinventing Discovery, by Michael Nielsen (2011)
+--------------------------------------------
 
 Collapse, Jared Diamond (2005)
+--------------------------------------------
 
 Whole Earth Discipline, Steward Brand (2010)
+---------------------------------------------
 
 The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2, by Jane Pynter (2006)
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-    One of my favorite reads of the year!
-    History of the project is fascinating. Sounds like the habitat itself was
-    amazingly ambitious and well constructed, but the social organization fell
-    apart after that and there wasn't discipline in running the experiments.
-    Disapointed to learn how exogenous the habitat was regarding air
-    conditioning and electricity, really only focused on mass transfer. I don't
-    really consider the first run a "failure" due to air exchange; seems like a
-    lot was learned, especially regarding social cohesion, which I would
-    consider part of the experiment.
-    The first large chunk of the book is very autobiographical, and it's an
-    interesting life story. Sort of orthogonal to the experiment itself, though
-    it does give context for how the whole thing got off the ground as a hippie
-    collective, which I found pretty inspiring.
-    Crazy historical detail: Steve Bannon (Breitbart editor and Trump
-    presidential advisor) was involved in a repossesion of the Biosphere
-    facility!
+One of my favorite reads of the year!
+
+History of the project is fascinating. Sounds like the habitat itself was
+amazingly ambitious and well constructed, but the social organization fell
+apart after that and there wasn't discipline in running the experiments.
+
+Disapointed to learn how exogenous the habitat was regarding air
+conditioning and electricity, really only focused on mass transfer. I don't
+really consider the first run a "failure" due to air exchange; seems like a
+lot was learned, especially regarding social cohesion, which I would
+consider part of the experiment.
+
+The first large chunk of the book is very autobiographical, and it's an
+interesting life story. Sort of orthogonal to the experiment itself, though
+it does give context for how the whole thing got off the ground as a hippie
+collective, which I found pretty inspiring.
+
+Crazy historical detail: Steve Bannon (Breitbart editor and Trump presidential advisor) was involved in a repossesion of the Biosphere
+facility!
 
 Death's End (Three Body Problem), Liu Cixin (刘慈欣).
+-----------------------------------------------------------
 
 Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs
+-----------------------------------------------------------
 
 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie (Rilke translation, 2002)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 On the Shortness of Life, by Seneca
+--------------------------------------------
+
+More
+-------
 
 Not cover to cover:
 * Manufacturing Process for Design Professionals
diff --git a/books/2017.page b/books/2017.page
index 7508d7a..6bc9837 100644
--- a/books/2017.page
+++ b/books/2017.page
@@ -1,16 +1,62 @@
 
-Vineland, Thomas Pynchon
+Vineland, by Thomas Pynchon
+-----------------------------
 
 Assembling California, by John McPhee (1993)
+----------------------------------------------
+
+Part of a series on geology of the USA, covering the California section, as
+well as some history of plate tectonics in the 20th century.
+
+Good intro to the history and current geography of California on human
+timescales as well: the 1989 earthquake, gold mining in the Sierras, Napa
+valley wine country, the story of the Davis campus, etc.
+
+The last chapter, about earthquakes in the SF bay area, was as powerful as the
+July 2015 New Yorker article ("The Really Big One") about tsunamis in the
+Pacific Northwest.
+
+The Hall of the Singing Caryatids, by Victor Pelevin (2011)
+------------------------------------------------------------
+
+I think it's decent? Mako totally spoilered this entire (very short book) ahead
+of time.
+
+Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Dark Sun, by Richard Rhodes
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Curve of Binding Energy, by John McPhee
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Read this as a compliment to *Making of the Atmoic Bomb*, partially because I
+had described *Making* to a friend as being "well written as McPhee" and wanted
+to cross check. McPhee is more polished and doesn't drop the beat as much,
+while Rhodes is a much longer and deeper ride. This particular book seems to
+have had a huge impact when it was published, but as a victim of that success
+it's a little dated now for a general reader. I enjoyed reading it as a
+complement and second source for Rhodes (though they do end up
+cross-referencing each other), but wouldn't recommend it to others today.
+
+True Believer, by Eric Hoffer
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Empire Star, by Samuel Delany (1966)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Babel-17, by Samuel Delany (1966)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Nova, by Samuel Delany (1968)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Several people recommended Sam Delany to me in the course of a couple weeks,
+and I couldn't be happier that they did! All of his books have been great, but
+I particularly enjoyed the (short) *Empire Star* as a crisp self-contained
+nugget.
+
+Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow (2017)
+--------------------------------------------------------
 
-    Part of a series on geology of the USA, covering the California section, as
-    well as some history of plate tectonics in the 20th century.
-    Good intro to the history and current geography of California on human
-    timescales as well: the 1989 earthquake, gold mining in the Sierras, Napa
-    valley wine country, the story of the Davis campus, etc.
-    The last chapter, about earthquakes in the SF bay area, was as powerful as
-    the July 2015 New Yorker article ("The Really Big One") about tsunamis in
-    the Pacific Northwest.
-
-Not cover to cover:
-* Engineering a Safer World