Finishing the Imperial Radch sci-fi trilogy (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) by Ann Leckie. Despite the agender language feature (everyone is addressed as she) the books deal more with colonialism, imperialism, and personal identity, rather than gender. Writing style is very information-dense, lots of thoughts and actions happening simultaneously. Compared to other science fiction that I read, it gets much more into the cultural and interpersonal situations, especially the second book.
Bouncing between Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions and The Screaming Staircase.
Algorithms is interesting but the actual algorithms aren’t terribly useful so far.
The Screaming Staircase has a very neat world but not very interesting characters. I’m hoping it improves.
I just finished Abundance by Ezra Kline and Derek Thompson. A really interesting read regarding the housing crisis and the policies that have halted develpoment in major cities in America. I highly recommend reading this one. I took notes along the way and basically did a book report.
I’m now reading Casino: The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas. A fascinating book that inspired the Scorsese film by the same title. Recommended for anyone with interest in Vegas or the mob. It’s written kinda like a series of interviews from the perspectives of the different people involved. The (alleged) mob guys and the FBI agents who were investigating them.
Next up, I’m likely gonna read Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. I don’t have too much insight on this one yet but I’ve heard it’s pretty great
Most of what I’ve read about Abundance is a general distrust for their arguments.
Alex Bronzini-Vender says abundance didn't work in practice in Colorado.
The abundance agenda’s fundamental sleight of hand is that, by unleashing the private sector from burdensome consumer protection, labor standards, and zoning regulations, American consumers might recover their lost purchasing power and living standards without the state directly tampering with workplace standards or wage levels. The private sector would supply more goods at lower costs—if only it could. That hasn’t panned out in Colorado, and it’s unlikely to elsewhere. (thebaffler.com)
David Sirota says the project is a scam because all it does is deregulate corporations without addressing medical care or the social safety net.
David Sirota, the founder of Lever News and a former Bernie Sanders speechwriter, summed up one stinging progressive critique of the whole project: “Abundance™ being defined as ‘kill zoning laws and corporate regulation’ but not ‘give everyone decent medical care’ — that’s the tell, and you’re the mark.” It’s true that this is not a focus among the advocates of abundance. Relaxing zoning laws won’t do anything to bring us universal health care or bolster the social safety net. It may not even, in the short term, do enough to create affordable housing. (nymag.com
He also argues that they ignore the real obstacles to efficiency and abundance: corporate corruption driving artificial scarcity.
[T]he takeaway from the broadband tale is that the biggest obstacles to efficiency and abundance are often corporate power and its corrupting influence on our politics — factors typically downplayed or unmentioned in the Abundance Discourse. … We could pass all the federal permitting reforms Klein and Thompson could dream of, but if powerful fossil-fuel interests continue to call the political shots, we’ll never achieve the clean energy build-out we desperately need. … In many of those areas, there’s no actual scarcity of structures that could be living space. It’s just that corporations and oligarchs hoarding wealth and land aren’t being compelled by zoning and tax laws to open up the space for housing.
As someone who’s actually read the book, have these criticisms been handled and no one noticed, or would they need to publish a revised edition?
Barbarians at the Gate is a good book and the movie is also worth a watch.
When the two executives are talking and then each gets on their private plane, then continue the talk via phone in air, and then land at the same location it sets up the situation so well.
The expanse
Just finished them instead of reading them right now, but “The Left Hand of Darkness” and “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the world building of the first far better, but it didn’t hit at the politics I wanted to read about as much as I wanted, the second being the opposite.
I don’t know why, but I just need content wrapped in sci-fi for me to find it enjoyable, and “The Dispossessed” in particular was what I was looking for, an exploration of anarchism grounded in examples and thought experiment.
Both of them are fantastic books, and definitely worth a read for anybody interested in science fiction, sexuality & gender, and anarchism.
I started the Left Hand of Darkness just a few days ago. It’s been interesting so far
Repurposing most of a comment from earlier in the day where someone asked about learning about the Jesus Myth theory that Jesus was originally a heavinly figure and only got turned into a guy with an earthly ministry decades later. This is well supported by the evidence in texts from the start of christianity (epistles, Dead Sea Scrolls).
The Jesus Puzzle, by Earl Doherty. He gets criticized because he’s not a trained scholar, but his work remains compelling and Robert M Price endorses him. I really enjoyed this one.
The Amazing Colossal Apostle - The Search for the Historical Paul, by Robert M Price. He’s a former Baptist minister with multiple degrees in the field, a true expert. He has a bunch of published YouTube interviews talking about these topics as well.
Quick warning: RMP is a Trump supporter. That makes sense. Ministers are rightwing. Coming from believing to realizing that the Bible is a collection of stories rather than history doesn’t necessarily change your politics. He mostly never mentions it, but it’s come out a couple of times in videos. Luckily, he doesn’t say anything further about it. The book is phenominal.
And, if you still want to consider Jeses to be a historical figure, I loved this controversial piece: The Passover Plot, by Hugh J. Schonfield. This book assumes that Jesus was a real apocalyptic Jew who truly believed that he was the messiah and who brilliantly engineered the conditions to fulfill prophecy. It’s a great read. If Jesus was a historical figure, this is the version of him that I think is most likely.
I am currently reading Marcion and the Dating of the Synoptic Gospels, by Markus Vinzent. I’m enjoying it a lot. Marcion was the first “heretic” for his view that Paul was the only apostle who understood the true message: that the creator god of the Jews was a lesser god, which is why there is evil in the world, and Jesus’s god would adopt us.
Price is a really wacky guy, and even he will admit he’s very much on the fringe. I would suggest Dan McClellan or Bart Ehrman over him.
If you like horror I can highly recommend the Christopher Snow Novels by Dean Koontz.
I reread Seize The Night almost yearly.
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. Great story, easy reading, relatable characters, and soon to be made into a series. There are 7 books so far, but rumors say there might be up to 10 eventually.
Second this. The audio book is the way to go on this one.
Just finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It made me go hug my partner very tightly.
The Last Juror by John Grisham
I’m currently reading Anthony Beevors ‘D-Day’… But I’m also in Normandy, so I just read that book whilst sitting on Omaha Beach, which is pretty special.
im reading slobberknocker by jim ross. very interesting behind the scenes of the wrestling business
Finally got around to the Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan and it’s more relevant than ever. It absolutely predicted the world we’re in politically now and has some insight and analysis as to how and why and what to do to help. Definitely worth a read or reread if you haven’t read it or it’s been a while.
I own this book. I’ve read it three times now. I think I will read it a fourth.
I’m reading Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. They fit modern fantasy into a British police procedural framework. What makes them exceptional are the characterizations, plus the wit and snark of the dialog. They are both good stories and a lot of fun to read.
Not reading it right now, but I’ll take this opportunity to recommend people read Project Hail Mary before watching the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation which spoils major plot twists.
Having read it multiple times, the trailer pissed me off because of the spoiler. I’d honestly say for anyone, whether you’ve read it or not, don’t watch the trailer.
My partner hasn’t read it, and I said they shouldn’t watch the trailer. We’re gonna see the movie and I don’t want them to get spoiled
Yeah I’m glad I read it before watching the trailer. It’s a great sci-fi book!
