⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hana by Mornštajnová
| Full Title | Hana |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alena Mornštajnová |
| Year Published | 2017 |
| Date Read | August 28, 2024 |
| Rating | 5/5 stars |
Moc pěkně namluvená audiokniha, která má i trefný houslový doprovod, což se často nevidí. Použití několika časových os pro vyprávění není v beletrii nic nového, ale autorce se to v této knize opravdu velmi podařilo. I konec je uspokojivý. Možná je to dokonce nejlepší česká kniha, kterou jsem kdy četl.
Vřele doporučuji.
⭐⭐ The Dream Machine by Waldrop
| Full Title | The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal |
|---|---|
| Authors | M. Mitchell Waldrop |
| Year Published | 2002 |
| Date Read | August 15, 2024 |
| Rating | 2/5 stars |
You’d think that since I work in the industry I’d like a book about its history. But I found this guy to be too meandering, and it introduced too many characters for my liking. Though not focused on history, I think something like Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software offers a far better way to interact parts of computing one may not be aware of.
Only got through ~1/3. Not recommended.
⭐⭐ In Cold Blood by Capote
| Full Title | In Cold Blood |
|---|---|
| Authors | Truman Capote |
| Year Published | 1994 |
| Date Read | August 08, 2024 |
| Rating | 2/5 stars |
Got through about 40%. The lead-up to the actual murder was interesting enough, but then Capote really struggles to weave a compelling narrative afterwards. 3 hours of listening post-murder and zero progress is made on the investigation save for one small detail.
Maybe In Cold Blood is a victim of its success, as with many genre-defining books: the genre itself has advanced significantly since the first attempts, and so expectations for contemporary readers are far higher.
Don’t recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Norwegian Wood by Murakami
| Full Title | Norwegian Wood |
|---|---|
| Authors | Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin |
| Year Published | 2000 |
| Date Read | August 03, 2024 |
| Rating | 5/5 stars |
Beautifully written. As someone who has rarely engaged with fiction in the past (perhaps the only authors I’ve read 3+ books from are JK Rowling and Bukowski), I feel I don’t yet have a good handle on what aspects of a novel contribute to my enjoyment of it. But pretty quickly, I found myself coming back to the book to see how its main character’s feelings for the women in his life would develop. Would recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Man Who Solved the Market by Zuckerman
| Full Title | The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory Zuckerman |
| Year Published | 2019 |
| Date Read | July 23, 2024 |
| Rating | 4/5 stars |
Not a bad read. Great to hear about the full history, and how much of it was things mostly-not-working or working-but-not-super-well. As I read more of these biographical books, this arc becomes less surprising as it shows up again and again. Perhaps some of it is that a story wouldn’t be all that interesting if everything went awesome throughout. But I think less cynically, I take away that the struggle for success is something that has many twists and turns before arriving at the destination.
⭐⭐⭐ The Grid by Bakke
| Full Title | The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gretchen Bakke |
| Year Published | 2016 |
| Date Read | June 12, 2024 |
| Rating | 3/5 stars |
A little weak. Was definitely interesting to read about the similarity in differing standards (as with railroads) eventually converging on the (quasi-)nation-wide grid that we have today, and just how much the monopoly status was intertwined with government regulation sought after by the companies themselves. Still, it didn’t hold my attention enough to get past about a third.