Listened to this with my daughter who is 9 and into horses. I was surprised at what a well written, gripping story this is! Timeless story of love betListened to this with my daughter who is 9 and into horses. I was surprised at what a well written, gripping story this is! Timeless story of love between a boy and his horse. It had us gripping our seats and yelling at the end!...more
Fascinating tale of Shackleton's incredible voyage and how he lead his crew out of it. Learned about the antarctic and ice floes, but mostly learned aFascinating tale of Shackleton's incredible voyage and how he lead his crew out of it. Learned about the antarctic and ice floes, but mostly learned about the grit these men displayed in surviving.
The first thing that struck me was that despite their situation being arguably hopeless, and the fact that they were wearing wet clothes and sleeping in wet sleeping bags half the time, their spirits seemed up. This was impressive, and is the kind of thing that can only come from the top.
Shackleton may have been a bit of a fool to sail into the ice floes to start with, but his legacy is known as being a strong leader.
"For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton." - Sir Raymond Priestly, Antarctic Explorer and Geologist.
And I think his leadership in action as described in the book was evident in (A) setting a strong plan at any given point - they always knew where they were trying to go even if it sounded impossible (B) Removing emotion from his decision making, which led him to be right a lot about what to do in tough situations, and (C) knowing his men and paying close attention to morale. I think the middle point (B) was the most impressive thing - he knew when to turn around and when to press forward - and that's a super hard call to make to turn around.
A beautiful story. Neil Gaiman is truly a unique storyteller. I did a combo of reading and listening to this story, and Neil is great at reading as weA beautiful story. Neil Gaiman is truly a unique storyteller. I did a combo of reading and listening to this story, and Neil is great at reading as well. I got interested in this book after seeing the movie, which I really enjoyed. The book is similar - maybe a bit more poetic - but I think the plot in the movie is a bit improved (not much, but a bit).
I imagine this book came about because Neil read the below poem that he includes in the beginning, and then he invented a plot around it. The result is the book reads like a epic poem - it's creative, magical, and really, just right.
Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind.
If thou be'st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see, Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me, All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear, No where Lives a woman true, and fair.
If thou find'st one, let me know, Such a pilgrimage were sweet; Yet do not, I would not go, Though at next door we might meet; Though she were true, when you met her, And last, till you write your letter, Yet she Will be False, ere I come, to two, or three.
This book has a great premise, and is full of some beautifully written prose. It's about a hacker during the Arab Spring, helping people get around thThis book has a great premise, and is full of some beautifully written prose. It's about a hacker during the Arab Spring, helping people get around the firewalls that the State erected to control its population. Alif falls in love, finds an ancient book, gets into trouble with State, enlists the help of an unseen, magical world full of creatures call Jinn, and combats evil. The story flowed well, and was a fast, fun read.
I would have given it a higher rating, but I'm a computer programmer, and for a book that is about hacking the descriptions of Alif coding felt like I was watching one of those movies where they used a bunch of made-up visuals that have nothing to do with hacking. The prose around the hacking was so oddly descriptive you didn't know what to make of it. For instance, when Alif is hacking into State's intranet, it is described as:
I didn't know a computer program could "reek of ionized air" - and can't conceive of how a mirroring protocol (if there is such a thing) could ever be used to "slice away layers of code".
(view spoiler)[I wanted so hard for the bit about quantum computing and encoding the ancient story into code to make sense. But it just didn't. And that was the heart of the story - that the ancient text contained an all-powerful computer algorithm. I also had trouble buying the Alif & Dina relationship - the characters just felt shallow to me. (hide spoiler)] ...more
I first read this ~10 years ago and just re-read it as someone reminded me that it predicts the future of reading. And it does - what I love about SteI first read this ~10 years ago and just re-read it as someone reminded me that it predicts the future of reading. And it does - what I love about Stephenson is his high level of prescient-ness. In fact I think it also predicts a lot of the future of nanotechnology and entertainment.
The Young Ladies Illustrated Primer is a dynamic book with an AI in it. Imagine Alexa or Siri in 5-10 years, smart enough to make up stories on the fly and answer questions about or even redirect the storyline. The YLIP is designed in the book for a 4 year old girl, Fiona, but Nell and a few other girls end up with them also. Maybe this resonated with me as I have a 4 year old girl and wish this existed for her. What's particularly powerful about this, is the story was able to be adaptive to the problems in Nell's life, and give her strength and confidence at moments when she needed it. Some cool trivia: Project Fiona was the codename for the Kindle. There is now a building at Amazon in Seattle named Fiona.
One of the pieces of magic of the Young Ladies Illustrated Primer was that for Nell and Fiona's editions, there were live actors ("ractors") on the other end, reading all the lines 1 on 1. This put a level of personalization and human connection into the story for the girls that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Learning about the marketplace of ractors was particularly interesting and it's hard to think such a thing won't exist in 2-5 years as VR takes off. Would you rather watch the movie Harry Potter or live act out the scenes with 2 friends as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and have professional actors play the other characters? You can imagine this being a big form of entertainment of the future.
The nanotechnology described in the book was also fascinating. Describing a world of robots and drones too small for the human eye to see, doing tasks and even fighting each other. Massive wars we perceive as "particularly dusty days". Poisoning or taking control of another person is as easy as getting them to inhale or injest some nanobots. The drummers were a particularly interesting notion of hive-mind, connecting multiple humans together through nanobots attached to their synapses on their brain. And then of course you have nanobots creating other bots, which led to this great quote:
But of course the biggest implication of nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate molecules and thus - given The Feed (which I somehow provides a stream of molecules & energy for manipulation) - you can make anything in a Matter Compiler (MC). This is kind of like what they had in Star Trek, and what 3D printing gives us .0001% of today.
The book is largely about what would happen to society if MC's were invented and much of the need for farming, manufacturing, etc was eliminated. Poverty would become even more prevalent, as would crime, governments would collapse, and of course, a class divide would emerge as never before, driven by those who have technology and those who don't. And of course, badass engineers like Hackworth will rule the day (kind of). I suppose in a way the book is about the fear of what will happen if technology progresses too far and leaves masses of humans without a purpose in life. Parking lots and chaos.
**spoiler alert** Hooked me equally as well as the first one, though it was a little slower paced. He definitely had you guessing as to who the killer**spoiler alert** Hooked me equally as well as the first one, though it was a little slower paced. He definitely had you guessing as to who the killer was!
I would have liked it to dive more into the sex trade and it's economics, and not focus so much on Salander and every detail of what she did while on vacation. She definitely is an interesting character though. The math references were just strange though and didn't add much....more
I cracked and finally picked this up. Very enjoyable quick read - couldn't put it down - it was like crack.
I'm a bit bothered by the lack of backstorI cracked and finally picked this up. Very enjoyable quick read - couldn't put it down - it was like crack.
I'm a bit bothered by the lack of backstory of how Panem and the Hunger Games come about. It is just kind of explained away in a few paragraphs and we are left to accept this very strange world where teenagers are pitted into an arena each year to kill each other? I was expecting it because I've seen Battle Royale, but I would have appreciated knowing more of the backstory of how the world could have come into such a odd state.
I suppose what makes a book like this interesting is thinking about the strategy of it all. The players are going to be statistically encouraged to band together because they will last longer that way, but by definition of course any partnership will be broken, and the drama of how that unfolds is always interesting and full of friendships broken and betrayal. Each character approached the game in their own way. Some banded together in larger coalitions, some were loners initially and banded together later. And some were just loners, like Foxface. A lot depended on your survival skill: could you find food and water on your own? Self-dependence is highly valued - and of course our hero was strong there.
All in all, a fun read, but I feel kind of dirty for having read it. ...more
A quick read, but I enjoyed the focus on generic engineering - which is a topic that rarely think about. It's full of moral decisions and politics (ofA quick read, but I enjoyed the focus on generic engineering - which is a topic that rarely think about. It's full of moral decisions and politics (of course) - but also lots of science. In the end the climax of the book fell short of being interesting, but I felt the substance of the book, along with getting me to think about new things, deserved at least 3 stars....more
A great finish to the D'Artagnan series - definitely enjoyed it. Ending wasn't what I wanted though, you could tell he was just trying to permanently A great finish to the D'Artagnan series - definitely enjoyed it. Ending wasn't what I wanted though, you could tell he was just trying to permanently end the series. It could easily be having seen the movie made me want more drama....more
**spoiler alert** Great book - I liked it better than the second. I ate up the descriptions of India, and felt Stephen's pain with Diana the whole way**spoiler alert** Great book - I liked it better than the second. I ate up the descriptions of India, and felt Stephen's pain with Diana the whole way. O'Brian really makes you feel like you're learning what it must have been like to have been at sea in an 18th century English ship of the line - a most impressive feat....more
**spoiler alert** I equally loved book 2, and am definitely hooked. I did feel it took a little while for them to get to sea, but I guess we can't bri**spoiler alert** I equally loved book 2, and am definitely hooked. I did feel it took a little while for them to get to sea, but I guess we can't bring in a love interest if we aren't on the land!
My favorite thing by far was the Lively, and the descriptions of how fast she is and how much care the crew took keeping her a crack ship. Pride in what you do can be a great motivator. I also loved how Jack made them work the guns against all the batteries for practice. ...more
I read a bunch of Bond books in High School and hadn't read one since, so I really enjoyed this one. As I remember a few of them being, it was very diI read a bunch of Bond books in High School and hadn't read one since, so I really enjoyed this one. As I remember a few of them being, it was very different from the movie. Though the main players - Scaramanga, Goodnight, and Felix Leiter - were all still there - but there was no midget! Bond books are simple, yet somehow still very compelling. The way Flemming wrote, Bond seems much more human and susceptible, yet determined and focused him - in the movies he seems more superhuman. I think Daniel Craig's movies are actually bringing that aspect of bond back a little bit.
In any event I greatly enjoyed the duel between Scaramanga and Bond. ...more
I'm a sucker for spy novels, so when someone left this at our bookswap brunch, I zero'd right in on it. I definitely enjoyed it, but didn't think it hI'm a sucker for spy novels, so when someone left this at our bookswap brunch, I zero'd right in on it. I definitely enjoyed it, but didn't think it had much substance. However, it was a perfect novel to relax the mind.
I enjoyed the descriptions of East Berlin and West Berlin and the Anarchists and Communists. The descriptions of how the double agents were made was a lot of fun. Being a real spy would not be fun, if you really had to pretend to be in a dead-end job with no ambition. It was definitely interesting to be thrown back into a cold-war novel, though at the end I found it a little boring and I started skimming....more
One of the most enjoyable stories I've read in some time. Captain Jack Aubrey was a fascinating character. You just wanted him to succeed - to captureOne of the most enjoyable stories I've read in some time. Captain Jack Aubrey was a fascinating character. You just wanted him to succeed - to capture the Spanish vessel, to gain the respect of his men, to gain the respect of the Admiral.
The book is set during the Napoleonic Wars, and it was interesting to see all the Kings ships were nothing but glorified pirates, capturing all vessels they could on the open seas.
The book also strongly reminded me of my sailing lessons from last summer - I still had to look a lot of words up, but I remembered ones like leeward and abeam. Makes me want to go sailing!...more
I read this after hearing from a few people that it was among their all-time favorites. I was almost put off when I saw it was a story about rabbits, I read this after hearing from a few people that it was among their all-time favorites. I was almost put off when I saw it was a story about rabbits, originally written as a tale by a father to his children - but I'm glad I wasn't.
I found the folk tales about El-ahrairah to be very impressive. The author clearly had a vivid imagination to create so much of the rabbits culture and history. But I think this book was worth reading as it's really a story about survival, leadership, and human nature.
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