A very well written tale of a Wall Street quant who left during the GFC to adventure in startup land and ended up at Facebook attempting to solve their monetization problems for an indifferent employer. Martinez must have been stomping around Mountain View because his description of the environment and what its like to work inside a Silicon Valley company ring very true to me. A good read.
Its been ages since I've read a book in a couple of days, let alone stayed up late when I really shouldn't in order to finish a book. Artemis is the book which broke me out of that rut -- this is a fun, clever, light read. Its quite different when compared to The Martian, but I think that's good. Weir has attempted to do something new instead of just playing on his previous successes. An excellent book, and Mr Weir is solidly landing on my buy-everything-he-writes list.
A very readable set of essays from Robyn Williams, the broadcaster of the Australian Science Show, not the comedian. Covering the state of modern science, journalism, the ABC, and whether modern democracy is doomed in an approachable and very readable form. I enjoyed this book greatly. A good Sunday morning and vacation read if you're into approachable non-fiction.
The true life story of a kid from Bribie Island (I've been there!) running a marathon in Antartica, via being a touring musical comedian, doing things like this: This book is an interesting and light read, and came kindly recommended by Michael Carden, who pretty much insisted I take the book off him at a cafe. I don't regret reading it and would recommend it to people looking for a light autobiography for a rainy (and perhaps cold) evening or two. Oh, and the Scared Weird Little Guys of course are responsible for this gem... This book is highly recommended and now I really want to go for a run.
A sequel to Lock In, this book is a quick and fun read of a murder mystery. It has Scalzi's distinctive style which has generally meshed quite well for me, so it's not surprise that I enjoyed this book.
This is the second book in the Leviathan Wakes series by James SA Corey. Just as good as the first, this is a story about how much a father loves his daughter, moral choices, and politics -- just as much as it is the continuation of the story arc around the alien visitor. I haven't seen this far in the Netflix series, but I sure hope they get this right, because its a very good story so far.
Lifehacker kindly pointed out that the Hugo nominees are out for 2018. They are: The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi. I've read this one and liked it. New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've had a difficult time with Kim's work in the past, but perhaps I'll one day read this. Provenance, by Ann Leckie. I liked Ancillary Justice, but failed to fully read the sequel, so I guess we'll wait and see on this one. Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee. I know nothing! Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty. Again, I know nothing about this book or this author. So a few there to consider in the future.
This is a fun fast read, as is everything by Mr Scalzi. The basic premise here is that of a set of interdependent colonies that are about to lose their ability to trade with each other, and are therefore doomed. Oh, except they don't know that and are busy having petty trade wars instead. It isn't a super intellectual read, but it is fun and does leave me wanting to know what happens to the empire...
In this follow-up to Command and Control, Schlosser explores the conscientious objectors and protestors who have sought to highlight not just the immorality of nuclear weapons, but the hilariously insecure state the US government stores them in. In all seriousness, we are talking grannies with heart conditions being able to break in. My only real objection to this book is that is more of a pamphlet than a book, and feels a bit like things that didn't make it into the main book. That said, it is well worth the read.
I found this tale of Bill Bryson walking the Appalachian Trail (rather incompetently I must say) immensely entertaining. Well written, interesting, generally exaggerated, and leaving me with a desire to get out somewhere and walk some more. I'd strongly recommend this book to people who already care about bush walking, but have found other pursuits to occupy most of their spare time.