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diff --git a/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org b/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..45fdbd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/2015-12-28-books-of-2015.org @@ -0,0 +1,145 @@ +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). + + |