From 49a440f9ae3695cc493b3d4e244e99435c87a24f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Bryan Newbold Date: Sun, 19 May 2019 23:10:35 -0700 Subject: 2019 books --- books/2019.page | 82 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 82 insertions(+) create mode 100644 books/2019.page diff --git a/books/2019.page b/books/2019.page new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b8b446 --- /dev/null +++ b/books/2019.page @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ + +Cataloging The World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age, by Alex Wright +----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +> The huge mass of published material grows by the day, by the hour, in +> amounts that are disconcerting and sometimes maddening. Like water falling +> from the sky, it can either cause flooding or beneficial irrigation + +I loved this book! + +Notes while reading: + +- "Biblion" as a unit of writing (and knowledge). +- Embodied Cognition + + +Singlularity Sky, by Charlie Stross +-------------------------------------- + +Had I really not read this? Maybe and forgot. Such strong optimism for info +maximalism and info-structures. Characters and writing meh; mostly interesting +for the taste of period (cyber)idiology. + +Overall, standard 90s singularity/space-opera genre fare. + + +Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch (2016) +-------------------------------------- + +Simple book, pretty well executed. Read like a film script, or a TV episode, +but with more twists. I liked the last quarter; much of the early exposition +was very slow and predictable. Good balance of fine details while glossing over +some hard physics which could have been an over-reach. + + +Oranges, by John McPhee +--------------------------- + +Ate so many oranges after reading this. Cara Caras are great, but had some +incredibly juicy flavorful oranges with Lucy at the kitchen table that now are +driving me mad that I can't remember the type. Changed my standards a lot: many +navels are great, many other easy-to-peel don't actually have much flavor. + +Orangeries! Florida! + +I like the small bit of 4th wall that McPhee breaks. + + +The World of Edena, by Moebius +---------------------------------- + +Always such a feeling of boundless creative universe with Moebius; could just +go on forever. Feels dated in a sometimes uncomfortable way (lots of naked +ladies), but also fresh and humanist. + + +The City and The City, by China Meville +----------------------------------------- + +For whatever reason I was skeptical going in... too popular? Too heavy-handed a +gimick? But liked it immediately, both the structure and the +characters/exposition. Not super happy with the resolution of the mystery, but +very happy with how the character arcs ended. + + +Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin (2015-2017) +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Oof, I binge-read this trilogy (**The Fifth Season**, **The Obelisk Gate**, and +**The Stone Sky** in one week, which wasn't particularly healthy, and wasn't +mindful or thoughtful. + +The books were tightly written and well paced. I mostly liked the characters, +but the "world building" and exposition felt like the real show here. The mix +of magical realism and sci-fi worked surprisingly well to me, though I think I +prefered the fuzzy-but-hard science of Anathem (by N. Stephenson) more. +Surprised how fascinated in the "orogenes" power/curse I was. + +Overall well written and different. During and after I keep thinking of this as +young-adult or genre entertainment reading; there's more to it than that, but +also less than more traditional adult literature. + -- cgit v1.2.3