| Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 12:59 pm Tags: Blogging |
Ten books picked at random from my shelves – press refresh to see more…
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Title: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency Author: Douglas Adams A TWiT recommendation by Andy Ihnatko. The Audible version is the BBC dramatization. Andy says this is a must listen, even before Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy |
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Title: Blood and Gold (Vampire Chronicles) Author: Anne Rice I’ve read all the Vampire Chronicles novels and really love Rice’s style. This is Marius’s story, told entirely in flashback. There’s not as much action as in some of the earlier stories, but it’s well worth listening to (or reading if you must). |
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Title: The Commodore (Aubrey-Maturin Series) Author: Patrick O\’Brian The 17th in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, it’s the tale of 19th century British naval captain (now Commodore) Jack Aubrey and his particular friend (and spy) Dr. Maturin. Read them in order starting with Master and Commander, and if you listen to them make sure to get the Patrick Tull versions. You’ll practically smell the sea air and feel the grapeshot whizzing by you. |
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Title: Fallen Dragon Author: Peter F. Hamilton Steve Gibson turned me on to Peter Hamilton’s work – it’s classic hard sci-fi with excellent writing, strong characterizations, and detailed and imaginative worlds. We both agree this is his best work, but they’re all worth reading. |
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Title: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Author: David Allen Finally a system that really works. Techies really love this system because you can find all sorts of programs and/or hardware that supports it, but the core of the system is really dead simple. Remove the stress from your life by creating a reliable place you can store your to-do items so you don’t have to think about them any more. |
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Title: Telecosm: The World After Bandwidth Abundance Author: George Gilder Seven years old and still worth reading – the story of fiber and the coming telecom revolution. This is Gilder’s follow-up to Microcosm, the story of the microprocessor revolution, also a must read. |
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Title: Confessions of an Economic Hitman (Unabridged) Author: John Perkins Dvorak says this blows the lid of the US’s interference with other nations. It’s my next read. |
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Title: On Intelligence Author: Jeff Hawkins A must read introduction to a new theory of artificial intelligence, but don’t read it for that. Hawkins description of how the mind works is mind blowing. You’ll never think about thinking the same way again. |
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Title: Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II Author: Robert Kurson The amazing true story of a pair deep sea divers and a hitherto unknown sunken German U-Boat they discover. Lot’s of interesting information about this crazy hobby. Dramatic, hair-raising, and moving. You won’t be able to stop listening to the audio version. |
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Title: Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up Author: James Hollis What happens when you no longer need to win the approval of parents, spouses, family, and friends? You can begin to live life for yourself. Hollis is a Jungian analyst who writes with insight and clarity. It’s thought-provoking stuff that needs time to digest but it’s well worth the effort for those of us over 40. |
Swag
