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diff --git a/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org b/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org deleted file mode 100644 index 45fdbd9..0000000 --- a/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,145 +0,0 @@ -I was hoping to read more this year, but I've started very slowly, with -only a few books the first half of the year. But almost all of them were -good, and only one really disappointed me. I'm not covering purely -technical books this time, maybe I'll do it next year. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KEPLC08][Countdown to zero - day]]: First book of the year, it was mentioned at lunch by a - [[https://github.com/rgs1][coworker]]. The book is about the - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet][Stuxnet]] virus: how it was - discovered; the impact; the remaining questions; etc. You'll read it - as a spy novel. The style is not great, but the story is so - unbelievable, it's hard to stop reading. Also, the author did a great - job to not be too technical, you don't need any particular background - to understand it. Now would be a good time to read it, while - following conversations about - [[https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=news&q=%2332c3&src=typd][#32c3]]. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INIJJAI][Proxima]]: Your - classic space opera. A group is send to a new planet to colonize it, - and everything goes wrong. Good read while commuting to work, and - there's some good ideas. I will read more in this series next year. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AW2OYC][Witches Abroad]]: - First Pratchett in a while! We follow a small group of witches - traveling in foreign parts of the discworld. As always, it's - hilarious. I really need to get back to the discworld universe. One - book a year is not enough! - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWPSND4][The prince]]: My first - time reading it, and it was good! I'll admit that the content is - different from what I was expecting. It's not as "cold" or "brutal" - as I thought it would be if you put the text in its historical - context. Machiavelli is very practical in his explanations. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BU3KPQU][How to stop sucking - and be awesome instead]]: It's fun to read in commute. There's some - good advice, and it's not only for engineers / managers. I think - everybody can read it and get something from it, you don't need any - technical background to enjoy the essays. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LZWV8JO][Seveneves]]: I love - Stephenson. I'm a huge fan of the - [[http://www.amazon.com/Cryptonomicon-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B000FC11A6/][Cryptonomicon - trilogy]] and the - [[http://www.amazon.com/Baroque-Cycle-Quicksilver-Confusion-System-ebook/dp/B00KVIBWPI][Baroque - Cycle]]. However, - [[http://www.amazon.com/Reamde-Novel-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B004XVN0WW][Reamde]] - was kind of disappointing, and so I had high expectation for this - novel. The book is divided in two parts: for the first one, it was - like I watching - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_(film)][Gravity]], where - everything that will go wrong, will go wrong. The second part is not - as entertaining, but is still good. Despite the last part, it's still - one of my favorite read for this year. The first part is really - captivating, and you just want to know what's going to happen next. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CBCRCA][The Pentium - chronicles]]: Great book on project management. When I got the book, - I was expecting something similar to - [[http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Machine-Introduction-Microprocessors-Architecture-ebook/dp/B004OEJO0A][Inside - The Machine]]: a very technical book about the Pentium: how it works, - what were the decision taken while designing the processor, the - various challenges, etc. Although you'll find some of that in the - book, it's more about how to manage a large and risky project in a - company like Intel. Different teams want different things at - different time. Marketing want to go in different direction; how to - respond to change of schedule; how to handle frustrations in the - team, etc. I highly recommend this book to anyone in a manager - position or who want to become manager. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005SCRR1A][caliban's war: book - 2]]: Another typical space opera, ideal for the commute. There's a TV - show now, saw the first episode - ([[https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/The_Expanse?id=qSBdK4fbIYc][it - is/was free on Google Play]]). I think I'll stick with the book for - now, and wait to hear what people are saying about the show. I'll - keep reading this serie. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IQO403K][The Three Body - Problem]]: Another book mentioned by a co-worker during lunch. It's - an interesting SF book. Not the best I've read, but entertaining. - There's also some insight on Chinese culture (the author is chinese). - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EMXBDMA][The Martian: a - novel]]: Great SF book. Fun to read, lot's of details. Engineers will - love this book. Interesting to see how he approaches problems and - solve them The book was in my "to-read" list for a while, and I - wanted to read it before seeing the movie, which I did. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009G1PHP2][Structures: or why - things don't fall]]: if, in general, you are curious, definitely take - a look at this one. I've learned some things about architecture and - why some things are the way they are. I'll definitely look at - buildings with a different yey now (especially churches / cathedrals - / bridges). Also really good to force you to ask the question ‘why is - it that way' instead of saying ‘this is stupid'. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Trilogy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00TOZI7FM][Nexus]]: - This is a great SF series. It reminds me of - [[http://www.amazon.com/Babylon-Babies-Science-Fiction-French/dp/2070417530/][babylon - babies]], I have the same excitement reading the books. If you are - interested in AI, and what it could mean for the future of humanity, - read this book: there's a lot of interesting ideas. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-Kidder-ebook/dp/B005HG4W9W][The - soul of a new machine]]: Interesting book about a computer build by - Data General in the late 70s. There's some technical information, but - it's mostly about the people who worked on the project. The part I - really enjoyed is that the author put a great effort to put - everything in context. Like for "The Pentium Chronicles", if you are - a manager or interested in learning more about working with people, I - highly recommend this book. Also, I would not be surprised if the - authors of - [[https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/Halt_and_Catch_Fire?id=0B6GRUwiZH4][Halt - and catch fire]] got some ideas from this book :) - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/Console-Wars-Nintendo-Defined-Generation-ebook/dp/B00FJ379XE][Console - wars]]: The war between Sega and Nintendo. This two companies created - amazing hardware and software in the late 80s and early 90s. Like a - lot of kids from my generation, I got interested in computers because - of video games. And so I had high expectation for this book, but - sadly it was a disappointment for me. I was expecting something more - technical, but the author almost only talk about the marketing part. - It also focus only on the U.S. market, and I was hoping to learn more - about the launch of the consoles in Japan. I can see how this would - be interesting if you are interested in the pop culture side of video - games though, but this is not my case. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TOZI7J8][Crux]]: Second volume - in the Nexus trilogy. Still entertaining, and there's some really - great quotes. I loved the action. The last volume in the series will - probably be my first novel of 2016. - -- [[http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Forest-Cixin-Liu-ebook/dp/B00R13OYU6][The - Dark Forest]]: Second volume in "The Three Body Problem" trilogy, and - I can't say I enjoyed this volume. There's three parts: the first two - are really not that exciting, but the last one is really good. I've - spend a lot of time questioning the actions the characters take in - the first two parts, and I don't feel like the explanations given in - the last part are satisfactory. Also, the style is still not really - good: I can't say if it's due to the translation or not (I remember - having a similar problem with some of Gibson's book in their french - version). - - |