Two Stars

A bit niche, perhaps

Books

Cover for A Confederacy of Dunces

The Simpsons’ comic book guy vibe, but for an entire book. Got old quickly.

Cover for A Pattern Language

This book is somewhat famous in software circles as a shining example of documenting best practices. It’s definitely interesting to skim through, but unless you’re an urban planner or something it’s not a particularly great read as it’s just a huge list of best practices for physical spaces.

Cover for Armada

A forgettable failed attempt to re-capture the spirit of Ready Player One

Cover for Artemis

Loved The Martian, but this felt like it was trying too hard.

Cover for Atomic Habits

Some good ideas, but could have been condensed into a long article.

I haven’t played the games or watched the show, but the books are enjoyable enough if you like the genre.

Final book jumps quite a bit ahead in time, can be skipped

Cover for Blind Side

Honestly, don’t remember much about this book but I know it hasn’t aged well.

Some good ideas, but way too long

The two books are interesting takes on foreign intelligence. The third book is skippable.

The first book is definitely worth reading, the rest are quite different.

I know a lot of people that love this 10-book series, but I wasn’t a fan of the first, though the second was better

Cover for Deep Utopia

There were a few interesting parts here, but ultimately this book less about AI and more about philosophy/the meaning of life. Not my cup of tea, I preferred Superintelligence.

The evolution and biology of a vastly different form of life living on a neutron star. Some interesting ideas, but should have been half the length. Written in the 80s and showing it’s age.

Quick series with some interesting ideas (human hive minds, vampires in space).

Cover for Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

Classic Stephenson: Interesting ideas, but drags at times.

Cover for Fight Club

The movie translated this very well, no particular reason to read it if you’ve seen it

Cover for Nettle & Bone

This won the Hugo in 2023. It’s … fine. Easy read but not particularly memorable.

Cover for Neuromancer

Like a lot of highly-influential books, ends up feeling dated and overhyped because it’s innovative ideas have been copied and improved upon by others.

Cover for On the Road

Didn’t speak to me, but perhaps I was too young

Cover for Polostan

Stephenson’s books always take a while to get going, and this is just Book 1 so still too early to really judge

Cover for Rebel Girl

Enjoyed some of the background and anecdotes, but not quite enough there unless you’re a huge fan

Cover for Sapiens

There is very little new here if you’ve read Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Third Chimpanzee, both of which I recommend over this

There are over 15 books in this series, not ready to dedicate that much time here

Cover for Termination Shock

Some interesting ideas, but not my favorite of his

Cover for The Creative Act

Zen advice on the creative process, can dip in and out of the book depending on where you are in a project. I wish he’d used specific examples from his work, but the book is probably already a bit longer than it could be anyway.

Cover for The Da Vinci Code

Not great, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

Cover for The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Like many of these types of books, a bit padded to get to book length. Kondo comes off as quite a bit kooky, but the general intention and advice is good and can inspire some good habits.

Cover for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

A bit too cutesy for my taste, but came highly recommended so might still read the others in the series.

Cover for The Odyssey

Heard a lot of hype about Emily Wilson’s modern translation, so decided to give it a shot. I found the preface and initial notes to be fairly interesting, and the translation is definitely more readable than what I remember in high school. However, finishing this ended up being a bit of a slog for me.

Cover for The Stranger

I should probably re-read this one.

Cover for Upgrade

Another plot-driven sci-fi popcorn read with a familiar story line

Cover for Winners Take All

Makes an important and though-provoking point, but with about twice as many pages as necessary which dilutes the message