I have been reading many books the past few years and have decided to start writing up my thoughts on what I’ve read as a summary post. Since I didn’t do this regularly in 2018, some of the ideas in the books I read aren’t as fresh. I’ll try to do the write ups as I read in 2019.
I mostly read science fiction: I think it’s a great way to explore complex philosophical ideas about the nature of humanity. I’m trying to read a few non-fiction books in the year, but usually think that it would be more worthwhile to read the book summaries. Non-fiction books feel like they take too long to get their point across to me. In the end, it’s better to read more of what you enjoy than to force yourself to slowly go through books you hate.
Commuting 20 min twice a day really helps me power through large volumes of books, especially with a comfortably sized e-reader. Other ways to ‘read’ more are to listen to audiobooks.
Links to other reviews:
- The Expanse: Abaddon’s Gate, Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games, Babylon’s Ashes, Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey (note: some of these would be re-reads)
- Reasons to read this book instead of ASOIAF/Game of Thrones: There are two authors writing under the name James S.A. Corey, it has GRRM’s backing, and unlike GRRM the two authors are young and healthy. They also put out basically a book a year. So, if you start reading the series you will almost certainly get to read through to the end. The TV show is also amazing. The show follows the books pretty closely at first but I still think its worth it to both read and watch because of the world building, characters, and extra plot you get.
- Here is actor Cas Anvar, who plays Alex Kamal, explaining The Expanse in less than 45 seconds: https://twitter.com/expanseonprime/status/1100395060271693824?lang=en
- I have never been so obsessed with a series but for some reason The Expanse really does it for me. Apparently the audiobook narrator is pretty great too, so if reading isn’t your thing check that out. And/or read the books. And/or watch the show. Seriously, it will be worth it.
- A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones): A Storm of Swords, A Clash of Kings, A Feast For Crows, A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
- I feel like I don’t need to write much here. The books are well worth the read even if you have watched the show. GRRM is so good at politicking and writing schemes and characters. Having more internal character POVs is interesting and I found myself sad when each character’s chapter ended… only to be excited and into the next character shortly after (most of the time). And the show is on its final season now. I am skeptical I’ll ever read the end to this series but even incomplete it is worth the read.
- I feel like I don’t need to write much here. The books are well worth the read even if you have watched the show. GRRM is so good at politicking and writing schemes and characters. Having more internal character POVs is interesting and I found myself sad when each character’s chapter ended… only to be excited and into the next character shortly after (most of the time). And the show is on its final season now. I am skeptical I’ll ever read the end to this series but even incomplete it is worth the read.
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (Hugo and Nebula winner 1974)
- I really enjoy Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing. In The Dispossessed, we follow Shevek, who grew up in a communist-utopia style world but is a very talented physicist. In a society of equals, the egoism in putting forth brilliant works of thinking is not necessarily received well. His planet has a twin planet that has a capitalist patriarchal society, and he goes there to finish and publish his thinking. However, having grown up in a society where everyone considers themselves free and independent and equal, he struggles with the hierarchies in the twin planet. This is a book that I loved thinking about while reading and I think I will read it at least one more time to more fully absorb the discussions on anarchism, utopianism, capitalism, and probably some more ‘isms’. The storytelling style of alternating chapters from different parts of Shevek’s life really worked for me in making a gripping story.
- I really enjoy Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing. In The Dispossessed, we follow Shevek, who grew up in a communist-utopia style world but is a very talented physicist. In a society of equals, the egoism in putting forth brilliant works of thinking is not necessarily received well. His planet has a twin planet that has a capitalist patriarchal society, and he goes there to finish and publish his thinking. However, having grown up in a society where everyone considers themselves free and independent and equal, he struggles with the hierarchies in the twin planet. This is a book that I loved thinking about while reading and I think I will read it at least one more time to more fully absorb the discussions on anarchism, utopianism, capitalism, and probably some more ‘isms’. The storytelling style of alternating chapters from different parts of Shevek’s life really worked for me in making a gripping story.
- A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
- Becky Chambers writes a different type of sci-fi than I usually read. Whereas oftentimes the universe and setting are the majority of the interesting changed elements, Chambers writes really great characters that are somehow (but not too) different than today. She explores alien relationships, AI relationships, sense of self, and more. These books are usually not quite as deep and thought provoking as others, but they make up for it in being purely enjoyable reads. And they aren’t completely ‘fluff’ pieces either.
- Becky Chambers writes a different type of sci-fi than I usually read. Whereas oftentimes the universe and setting are the majority of the interesting changed elements, Chambers writes really great characters that are somehow (but not too) different than today. She explores alien relationships, AI relationships, sense of self, and more. These books are usually not quite as deep and thought provoking as others, but they make up for it in being purely enjoyable reads. And they aren’t completely ‘fluff’ pieces either.
- Patternmaster Series: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay’s Ark, Survivor, and Patternmaster by Octavia E. Butler
- I really enjoyed this series. Though, enjoyed might not be the right word. It was a heavy read. Spanning a large time range from the past to the far future, following characters with telepathic and other powers, it explores some really interesting ideas. It starts following two immortals and their relationship in the 17th to 18th century. Doro wants to create a new race through selective breeding. The books follow what happens hundreds of years later when Doro succeeds, and even later when an alien plague is spreading through society. If some people have powers, and they start making up a large enough majority of society, what does that mean about the remaining powerless? Can they use their abilities and power ethically? What does it mean to be human: After these changes from on-Earth and off-Earth pressures, are the characters still human? It also explores concepts like race and gender. Sometimes it was a really dark read, but it was thoroughly thought provoking.
- I really enjoyed this series. Though, enjoyed might not be the right word. It was a heavy read. Spanning a large time range from the past to the far future, following characters with telepathic and other powers, it explores some really interesting ideas. It starts following two immortals and their relationship in the 17th to 18th century. Doro wants to create a new race through selective breeding. The books follow what happens hundreds of years later when Doro succeeds, and even later when an alien plague is spreading through society. If some people have powers, and they start making up a large enough majority of society, what does that mean about the remaining powerless? Can they use their abilities and power ethically? What does it mean to be human: After these changes from on-Earth and off-Earth pressures, are the characters still human? It also explores concepts like race and gender. Sometimes it was a really dark read, but it was thoroughly thought provoking.
- The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester
- I read this because Daniel Abraham, one of the writers for The Expanse, wrote about it on his blog. And oh can you see the similarities in setting. Not only, much like in The Expanse, are tensions high and seeming to lead up to a war between the inner and outer planets, but also we start the novel on a destroyed ship as someone tries to survive in a tiny airtight locker. I enjoyed that the protagonist, Gully Foyle, wasn’t just a brilliant hero. He was a very terrible person who seeks revenge and does very bad things. He is someone who could have been someone with no interesting story to tell, but then feeling betrayed by humanity, goes on a rampage. As Daniel Abraham says, “Bester taught me that the future will have humans in it, and it’s a lesson I never forgot.”.
- I read this because Daniel Abraham, one of the writers for The Expanse, wrote about it on his blog. And oh can you see the similarities in setting. Not only, much like in The Expanse, are tensions high and seeming to lead up to a war between the inner and outer planets, but also we start the novel on a destroyed ship as someone tries to survive in a tiny airtight locker. I enjoyed that the protagonist, Gully Foyle, wasn’t just a brilliant hero. He was a very terrible person who seeks revenge and does very bad things. He is someone who could have been someone with no interesting story to tell, but then feeling betrayed by humanity, goes on a rampage. As Daniel Abraham says, “Bester taught me that the future will have humans in it, and it’s a lesson I never forgot.”.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Fun fact: I have never seen the classic movie. Now I have read the book. I have no clue how some of this was portrayed in movie form and will watch eventually. I don’t do well with long movies though, so it might be a while before I watch it. Since I try not to read details about things I intend to read/watch, I had only heard of the HAL-9000 evil computer style jokes here and there. That ended up playing a much smaller role than I had expected.
- Fun fact: I have never seen the classic movie. Now I have read the book. I have no clue how some of this was portrayed in movie form and will watch eventually. I don’t do well with long movies though, so it might be a while before I watch it. Since I try not to read details about things I intend to read/watch, I had only heard of the HAL-9000 evil computer style jokes here and there. That ended up playing a much smaller role than I had expected.
- The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
- This is a fun ‘inverted’ detective story where you know about who did the murder and we watch the protagonist try to catch the murderer. The difficulty is, it is set in a future where telepaths are pretty commonplace. How did a murder occur in a world where murderers are caught before they murder? This book was the very first winner of the Hugo Award (in 1953)
- This was a good read but nothing really stuck with me. It was interesting because the book didn’t have the feel of some old sci-fi where the predictions were all wrong, because technology isn’t mentioned much (a punch card computer is once or twice, but generally the book isn’t about technological changes). All that said, it’s still an interesting exploration into how things might play out if there were telepaths and normal people living together and some of the impacts on society.
- Hyperion: Hyperion (winner of the Hugo in 1989) & The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- The first book was so good, but when I reached the end it felt like it had been mostly setup. I loved the style of the characters telling their stories of what connected them to Hyperion, the Time Tombs, and the Shrike. 6 seemingly disconnected stories, though all leading back to Hyperion, blend together in a really interesting way. When I reached the end, I wished it wasn’t over. I wanted to know what happened next. I also loved the second book! The political intrigue of the characters felt so tense and good. It was stylistically very different from the first but tied story elements together. Altogether I was very satisfied. I don’t feel like reading more right now, and feel content leaving the series as is for now since the third book is supposed to be less related.
- Hit Refresh (Microsoft Employee Edition) Satya Nadella
- This is a book I was given when starting my new job at Microsoft in November. It was a relatively easy read, though not super deep or insightful. It was interesting learning about the current CEO Satya Nadella’s life story and thoughts on Microsoft culture. For someone not working at Microsoft, you’d probably get better value reading a blog post, news article, or Wikipedia page behind Satya Nadella’s life. That’s not to say its a bad book per se. There just isn’t necessarily enough deep content within to spend time on (though I feel that way about most non-fiction). I liked reading it as a new Microsoft employee, though, in that it gave me more perspective on Microsoft under Satya Nadella.
- Southern Reach: Annihilation and Authority by Jeff Vandermeer
- DID NOT LIKE. Wish I had stopped reading. The movie made it feel like the book probably explained things better. I do not think that it did. I did not enjoy my time reading these. I will not spend more time writing about them.
- DID NOT LIKE. Wish I had stopped reading. The movie made it feel like the book probably explained things better. I do not think that it did. I did not enjoy my time reading these. I will not spend more time writing about them.
- Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
- She is pointing out things that certainly exist. I’m not sure I agree with her overarching conclusion of government intervention being more trustworthy than private companies. I agree that models and our biased datasets are dangerous, and may write more on my thoughts on this later.
- She is pointing out things that certainly exist. I’m not sure I agree with her overarching conclusion of government intervention being more trustworthy than private companies. I agree that models and our biased datasets are dangerous, and may write more on my thoughts on this later.
- Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
- Vampire stories may have been ruined by Twilight. This was an okay read but not one I’d rave about. It’s a bit… disturbing in some of the content and subject matter. It’s designed to make us squirm.
- Vampire stories may have been ruined by Twilight. This was an okay read but not one I’d rave about. It’s a bit… disturbing in some of the content and subject matter. It’s designed to make us squirm.
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Hugo and Nebula winner, 2002)
- I enjoyed this book but put off writing this up too long since reading it! Really interesting world building and characters. I will probably try watching the TV adaption at some point.