Books

A mega-thread of all the books I read in 2023.

The setup: one cast per book (oldest > recent), inc. an impression and a link. Comments, questions and extra recommendations welcome.

This may take a while...

#1: Alan Moore's Watchmen series (a 12 issue collection). The phrase that comes to mind for this series? "Frighteningly relevant".

In motion - complex systems, computing and communication (amongst other things) | msweet.net

#1: Alan Moore's Watchmen series (a 12 issue collection). The phrase that comes to mind for this series? "Frighteningly relevant".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen

#2: Underland by Robert Macfarlane. Ride- along as Macfarlane goes to some primal locations and provides a vicarious experience of the power of place.

#2: Underland by Robert Macfarlane. Ride- along as Macfarlane goes to some primal locations and provides a vicarious experience of the power of place.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/56082/

#3: the third volume (issues 12-18) of Skottie Young's and Jorge Corona's Middlewest. Beautiful art and a poignant tale of coming to terms with one's traumas.

#3: the third volume (issues 12-18) of Skottie Young's and Jorge Corona's Middlewest. Beautiful art and a poignant tale of coming to terms with one's traumas.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/middlewest

#4: The Complete Persepolis (Vol. 1 and 2) by Marjane Satrapi. An experience that helped me understand what it meant to be inside Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

#4: The Complete Persepolis (Vol. 1 and 2) by Marjane Satrapi. An experience that helped me understand what it meant to be inside Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis_(comics)

#5: Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. A text that took me deeper into the diversity of non-human agencies and understandings.

#5: Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. A text that took me deeper into the diversity of non-human agencies and understandings.
https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life

#6: The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. A particularly wrenching rendition of an already unfathomable time in human history.

#6: The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. A particularly wrenching rendition of an already unfathomable time in human history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus

#7: There Are No Electrons by Kenn Amdahl. An odd and entertaining introduction to electronics that I actually recall with some fondness.

#7: There Are No Electrons by Kenn Amdahl. An odd and entertaining introduction to electronics that I actually recall with some fondness.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/304551

#8: Keller Easterling's Extrastatecraft. Scary and exciting in a gloomy way. Lends supports to the idea that the singularity has already occurred (corp. personhood).

#9: the 2nd volume of McGilchrist's The Matter with Things. Really helped me to see the malleability of our experience. Could've been longer tbh.

#9: the 2nd volume of McGilchrist's The Matter with Things. Really helped me to see the malleability of our experience. Could've been longer tbh.
https://channelmcgilchrist.com/buy-now-the-matter-with-things/

#10: Saga: Compendium One by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. A real experience; I was excited when I got to sit down and read this of an evening.

#10: Saga: Compendium One by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. A real experience; I was excited when I got to sit down and read this of an evening.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/saga-compendium-one-tp

#11: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. Felt a little twee to begin with but I actually found myself quite affected by the end.

#11: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. Felt a little twee to begin with but I actually found myself quite affected by the end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_We_Talk_About_Something_More_Pleasant%3F

#12: Daniel Hillis' The Pattern on the Stone. An orientation in computing akin to Petzold's Code (though perhaps a little softer).

#12: Daniel Hillis' The Pattern on the Stone. An orientation in computing akin to Petzold's Code (though perhaps a little softer).
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/277658

#13: Bastani's Fully Automated Luxury Communism. A decent manifesto that set me to thinking about a lot of things—especially the interplay of tech, labour and capital.

#13: Bastani's Fully Automated Luxury Communism. A decent manifesto that set me to thinking about a lot of things—especially the interplay of tech, labour and capital.
https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/476-fully-automated-luxury-communism

#14: Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy. Classic fantasy, really. Dramatic and poignant and insert more literary adjectives.

#14: Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy. Classic fantasy, really. Dramatic and poignant and insert more literary adjectives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liveship_Traders

#15: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Third Eco novel I've read, I think, and it's just as fun as the others. Delicately plotted and quite verbose in the telling—enjoyed.

#15: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Third Eco novel I've read, I think, and it's just as fun as the others. Delicately plotted and quite verbose in the telling—enjoyed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault%27s_Pendulum

#16: Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Like the preceding entries, this was evocative and managed to get me to buy in to and comprehend the non-human perspectives.

#16: Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Like the preceding entries, this was evocative and managed to get me to buy in to and comprehend the non-human perspectives.
https://adriantchaikovsky.com/children-of-time-children-of-ruin-children-of-memory.html#anchor3

#17: Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web by Niels Brugger, Gerard Goggin. A history of a most foundational thing. Illuminating, esp. how it refactors conventional, anglo-centric narratives about the net.

#17: Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web by Niels Brugger, Gerard Goggin. A history of a most foundational thing. Illuminating, esp. how it refactors conventional, anglo-centric narratives about the net.
https://www.routledge.com/Oral-Histories-of-the-Internet-and-the-Web/Brugger-Goggin/p/book/9781032333380

#18: Mystics, Masters, Saints and Sages by Robert Ullman and Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman. A collection of enlightenment anecdotes. Intriguing and a little underwhelming.

#18: Mystics, Masters, Saints and Sages by Robert Ullman and Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman. A collection of enlightenment anecdotes. Intriguing and a little underwhelming.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/922048

#19: Everything Flows by Daniel J. Nicholson and John Dupre. I'm a sucker for attempted paradigm-cides, and this is one undertaken with class and humility.

#19: Everything Flows by Daniel J. Nicholson and John Dupre. I'm a sucker for attempted paradigm-cides, and this is one undertaken with class and humility.
https://academic.oup.com/book/27525

#20: Chris Miller's Chip War. I'm a dummy when it comes to semiconductors—both technically, and as an industry—so this served as a nice, light introduction.

#20: Chris Miller's Chip War. I'm a dummy when it comes to semiconductors—both technically, and as an industry—so this served as a nice, light introduction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_War:_The_Fight_for_the_World%27s_Most_Critical_Technology

#21: Health Communism by Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant. I'm pretty blind to the discourse around contemporary healthcare (and how capitalism has entangled with it), and this helped me see a little more.

#21: Health Communism by Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant. I'm pretty blind to the discourse around contemporary healthcare (and how capitalism has entangled with it), and this helped me see a little more.
https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2801-health-communism

#22: Operating Systems: Three Easy Steps by Remzi H. and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau. Part of my continued attempt to get a Fingerspitzengefühl for computing. Serendipitous outcome of this? A continued sense of awe.

#22: Operating Systems: Three Easy Steps by Remzi H. and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau. Part of my continued attempt to get a Fingerspitzengefühl for computing. Serendipitous outcome of this? A continued sense of awe.
https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/

#23: Jessica Bruder's Nomadland. A despairing look into how a society's underclass manage to subsist.

#23: Jessica Bruder's Nomadland. A despairing look into how a society's underclass manage to subsist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadland:_Surviving_America_in_the_Twenty-First_Century

#24: Pessoa's The Entangled Brain. Bangs the drum of embodied cognition in a convincing fashion. Say it with me: "Embodiment matters. Embodiment matters. Embodiment..."

#24: Pessoa's The Entangled Brain. Bangs the drum of embodied cognition in a convincing fashion. Say it with me: "Embodiment matters. Embodiment matters. Embodiment..."
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262544603/the-entangled-brain/

#25: Mike Prada's Spaced Out. Following my re-engagement with the NBA I wanted to better understand the modern "pace and space" paradigm. This really helped.

#25: Mike Prada's Spaced Out. Following my re-engagement with the NBA I wanted to better understand the modern "pace and space" paradigm. This really helped.
https://www.triumphbooks.com/spaced-out-products-9781629378862.php?page_id=21

#26 and #27: Complexity, Entropy and The Physics of Information Vol. 1 and 2. Probably "above my level" in technical terms, but a good interdisciplinary grounding in some foundational papers and proceedings.

#26 and #27: Complexity, Entropy and The Physics of Information Vol. 1 and 2. Probably "above my level" in technical terms, but a good interdisciplinary grounding in some foundational papers and proceedings.
https://www.sfipress.org/books/complexity-entropy-and-the-physics-of-information

#28: 2nd ed. of Rob Philip's Physical Biology of the Cell. A great map for cellular and molecular biology that makes the domain feel accessible more than intimidating.

#28: 2nd ed. of Rob Philip's Physical Biology of the Cell. A great map for cellular and molecular biology that makes the domain feel accessible more than intimidating.
https://www.routledge.com/Physical-Biology-of-the-Cell/Garcia-Phillips-Kondev-Theriot-Phillips-Kondev-Garcia/p/book/9780815344506

#29: Mahajan's The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering is, to me, actually better than the prettied up Street Fighting Mathematics. It provides sharp tools for reality comprehension.

#29: Mahajan's The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering is, to me, actually better than the prettied up Street Fighting Mathematics. It provides sharp tools for reality comprehension.
https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/26055

#30: Jackson's The Essence of Software asks the provocative question of what software is and proposes a novel approach for conceptualising it.

#30: Jackson's The Essence of Software asks the provocative question of what software is and proposes a novel approach for conceptualising it.
https://essenceofsoftware.com

#30: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. Absolutely gorgeous, and with the narrative oomph that such impactful visuals deserve.

#30: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. Absolutely gorgeous, and with the narrative oomph that such impactful visuals deserve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterios_Polyp

#31: ZOT! The Complete Black and White Collection by Scott McCloud. I'm not American but this felt very Yankee in its characterisation of naive optimism meets mundanity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zot!

#32: A boxset of Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. "Poetic" is the first word that comes to mind. "Pure" is the second.

#32: A boxset of Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. "Poetic" is the first word that comes to mind. "Pure" is the second.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausicaä_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind_(manga)

#33: Miguel Sicart's Playing Software. The book's thesis—software is an active agent that helps us play our way to novel cultural, social, political forms—is one that resonated.

#33: Miguel Sicart's Playing Software. The book's thesis—software is an active agent that helps us play our way to novel cultural, social, political forms—is one that resonated.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047722/playing-software/

#34: Bateson's Steps to an Ecology of Mind. An erudite collection of dialogues and inquiries directed at the intersection of multiple disciplines.

#34: Bateson's Steps to an Ecology of Mind. An erudite collection of dialogues and inquiries directed at the intersection of multiple disciplines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steps_to_an_Ecology_of_Mind

#35: Hammond's The Art of Doing Science and Engineering. Honestly, this felt like quite an odd book. Probably because it's a memoir, a critical thinking style guide, lecture notes...

#35: Hammond's The Art of Doing Science and Engineering. Honestly, this felt like quite an odd book. Probably because it's a memoir, a critical thinking style guide, lecture notes...
https://press.stripe.com/the-art-of-doing-science-and-engineering

#36: James Bridle's Ways of Being. A timely read for me—really helped me open up to alternative modes of thought and Copernicus the human experience.

#36: James Bridle's Ways of Being. A timely read for me—really helped me open up to alternative modes of thought and Copernicus the human experience.
https://jamesbridle.com/books/ways-of-being

#37-40: The Sandman: Books One to Four by Neil Gaiman et. al. Picked up b/c of the Netflix series (which I saw a little of) and b/c a lot of people called this out as a seminal work.

#37-40: The Sandman: Books One to Four by Neil Gaiman et. al. Picked up b/c of the Netflix series (which I saw a little of) and b/c a lot of people called this out as a seminal work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(comic_book)#2022/3_paperback_reprints

#41: John H. Miller's Ex Machina. A pretty fun entry point for the discourse around agent-based modelling and cellular automata.

#41: John H. Miller's Ex Machina. A pretty fun entry point for the discourse around agent-based modelling and cellular automata.
https://www.sfipress.org/books/ex-machina

#42: World's Hidden in Plain Sight by David C. Krakuer. An accessible survey of the complexity science idea maze.

#42: World's Hidden in Plain Sight by David C. Krakuer. An accessible survey of the complexity science idea maze.
https://www.sfipress.org/books/worlds-hidden-in-plain-sight

#43: Grossberg's Conscious Mind, Resonant Brain. Quite a tome. It does a good job of connecting the mechanics of our embodiment to higher order functions.

#43: Grossberg's Conscious Mind, Resonant Brain. Quite a tome. It does a good job of connecting the mechanics of our embodiment to higher order functions.
https://academic.oup.com/book/40038

#44: Brian Arthur's Complexity Economics. I read this straight after Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight, and it was a decent sign-off to that text.

#44: Brian Arthur's Complexity Economics. I read this straight after Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight, and it was a decent sign-off to that text.
https://www.sfipress.org/books/complexity-economics

#45: Hannah Stowe's Move Like Water. A pretty arbitrary bookshop buy but one I'm glad I made. It helped me think about the significance of water, ecologically and culturally.

#45: Hannah Stowe's Move Like Water. A pretty arbitrary bookshop buy but one I'm glad I made. It helped me think about the significance of water, ecologically and culturally.
https://www.hannahstowe.co.uk/books

#46: Rupert Callender's What Remains? A timely read that caused me to contemplate—sincerely—the practicalities of death and the experience of those that remain.

#46: Rupert Callender's What Remains? A timely read that caused me to contemplate—sincerely—the practicalities of death and the experience of those that remain.
https://rucallender.com/product/what-remains-life-death-and-the-human-art-of-undertaking

#47: the first issue of Ryan Cady and Andrea Mutti's Infinite Dark. The first of six first issues that I binged on a Saturday eve alongside a bottle of red. Scary space horror.

#47: the first issue of Ryan Cady and Andrea Mutti's Infinite Dark. The first of six first issues that I binged on a Saturday eve alongside a bottle of red. Scary space horror.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/infinite-dark

#48: Chapter 1 of Rich Watkin's Digital. The second of the first issue haul. Coincidentally, more space antics. This one was okay. Just okay.

#48: Chapter 1 of Rich Watkin's Digital. The second of the first issue haul. Coincidentally, more space antics. This one was okay. Just okay.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1599347364/digital-comic-book-series

#49: Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons and Dragons (Issue 1) by Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub and Troy Little. The crossover I didn't know I needed in my life.

#49: Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons and Dragons (Issue 1) by Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub and Troy Little. The crossover I didn't know I needed in my life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty_vs._Dungeons_%26_Dragons

#50: Issue 1 of Kirk Duggan's 1872. I'll be honest; I didn't know this was a Marvel thing. Enjoyed it (but not enough to pursue the greater series).

#50: Issue 1 of Kirk Duggan's 1872. I'll be honest; I didn't know this was a Marvel thing. Enjoyed it (but not enough to pursue the greater series).
https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/52072/1872_2015_1

#51: Issue 1 of James Asmus' Evolution. Fairly haunting, given recent Covid phenomena. I adored the style.

#51: Issue 1 of James Asmus' Evolution. Fairly haunting, given recent Covid phenomena. I adored the style.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/evolution

#52: Issue 1 of Claire Gibson's From Under Mountains. An enjoyable start but one I didn't feel compelled to pursue further.

#52: Issue 1 of Claire Gibson's From Under Mountains. An enjoyable start but one I didn't feel compelled to pursue further.
https://imagecomics.com/news/image-expo-announcement-from-under-mountains-comes-a-magical-fantasy-advent

#53: Bronnie Ware's The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Read the blog, bought the book; the blog was enough.

#53: Bronnie Ware's The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Read the blog, bought the book; the blog was enough.
https://bronnieware.com/regrets-of-the-dying/
https://bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying/

#54: Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons and Dragons (the whole thing) by Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub and Troy Little. Yes, I read it all and it was a romp.

#54: Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons and Dragons (the whole thing) by Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub and Troy Little. Yes, I read it all and it was a romp.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty_vs._Dungeons_%26_Dragons

#55: The Art of Gig Vol. 1: Foundations by @vgr. Insightful, inventive and, to be honest, kinda agency-enhancing.

#55: The Art of Gig Vol. 1: Foundations by @vgr. Insightful, inventive and, to be honest, kinda agency-enhancing.
https://artofgig.com

#56: Robin Hobb's Fool's Errand. My partner picked up the Tawny Man trilogy at a charity shop, so I naturally appropriated it and dug in. Good decision, that.

#56: Robin Hobb's Fool's Errand. My partner picked up the Tawny Man trilogy at a charity shop, so I naturally appropriated it and dug in. Good decision, that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_Errand_(novel)

#57: The Art of Gig Vol. 2: Foundations by @vgr. I'd use the same adjectives for this as volume one though the impact was dulled as this is more for practicing indies.

#57: The Art of Gig Vol. 2: Foundations by @vgr. I'd use the same adjectives for this as volume one though the impact was dulled as this is more for practicing indies.
https://artofgig.com

#58: The Energetics of Computing in Life and Machines by David H. Wolpert et al.. Like others read in 2023, likely above my level. Also expected something more profound, or quake-booky.

#58: The Energetics of Computing in Life and Machines by David H. Wolpert et al.. Like others read in 2023, likely above my level. Also expected something more profound, or quake-booky.
https://www.sfipress.org/books/energetics-of-computing-in-life-and-machines

#59: The Book of Wilding by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell. A pretty comprehensive survey (and advocation for) wilding. Made me look a little closer at my local natural environment.

#59: The Book of Wilding by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell. A pretty comprehensive survey (and advocation for) wilding. Made me look a little closer at my local natural environment.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/book-of-wilding-9781526659309/

#60: The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb (2nd part of the Tawny Man trilogy). Classic, high grade fantasy. Hemingway's iceberg is definitely present in Hobb's work.

#60: The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb (2nd part of the Tawny Man trilogy). Classic, high grade fantasy. Hemingway's iceberg is definitely present in Hobb's work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Fool
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_theory

#61: 20th anniversary ed. of the Pragmatic Programmer. One of two seminal engineering ways-of-working texts that my CTO at the time bugged me to read.

#61: 20th anniversary ed. of the Pragmatic Programmer. One of two seminal engineering ways-of-working texts that my CTO at the time bugged me to read.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pragmatic_Programmer

#62: Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd by Frans Osinga. Boydian strategy is so much more than the OODA loop. I wish more people knew that.

#62: Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd by Frans Osinga. Boydian strategy is so much more than the OODA loop. I wish more people knew that.
https://www.routledge.com/Science-Strategy-and-War-The-Strategic-Theory-of-John-Boyd/Osinga/p/book/9780415459525

#63: Hiesinger's The Self-Assembling Brain. An accessible, contemporary work that convincingly weaves neuroscience, AI, robotics and genetics together.

#63: Hiesinger's The Self-Assembling Brain. An accessible, contemporary work that convincingly weaves neuroscience, AI, robotics and genetics together.
http://selfassemblingbrain.com

#64: 20th ed. of Brooks' Mythical Man-Month. Second of two texts my CTO at the time stressed I read. This one was more timeless and enjoyable (for me, a non-engineer).

#64: 20th ed. of Brooks' Mythical Man-Month. Second of two texts my CTO at the time stressed I read. This one was more timeless and enjoyable (for me, a non-engineer).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

#65: Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, the 1st entry in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Begun due to a comic book delay and b/c my partner started it. It's the best thing. Read it.

#65: Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, the 1st entry in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Begun due to a comic book delay and b/c my partner started it. It's the best thing. Read it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardens_of_the_Moon

#66: Fool's Fate, the close to Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy. Quite pathos ridden, both narratively and b/c it's the final entry in a series I really enjoyed.

#66: Fool's Fate, the close to Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy. Quite pathos ridden, both narratively and b/c it's the final entry in a series I really enjoyed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_Fate

#67: Lewis and Zak's Essential Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science. A succinct and high utility primer that'll no doubt be a reference in the future.

#67: Lewis and Zak's Essential Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science. A succinct and high utility primer that'll no doubt be a reference in the future.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179292/essential-discrete-mathematics-for-computer-science

#68: Dennis P. Waters' Behaviour and Culture in One Dimension. Oooo, a fun read, especially as I was eyeing up the analog-continuous interface. Led me to think about product lines, too.

#68: Dennis P. Waters' Behaviour and Culture in One Dimension. Oooo, a fun read, especially as I was eyeing up the analog-continuous interface. Led me to think about product lines, too.
https://1dimensional.com
https://swellandcut.com/product-lines/

#69: The seminal Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Easy to see how this nerd-sniped a lot of people and steered the intelligence dialogue entire.

#69: The seminal Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Easy to see how this nerd-sniped a lot of people and steered the intelligence dialogue entire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gödel,_Escher,_Bach

#70: Erikson's Deadhouse Gates, book two in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. So. Damn. Good. Even on my fourth (perhaps fifth?) encounter. Read the MBOTF, I beg you.

#70: Erikson's Deadhouse Gates, book two in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. So. Damn. Good. Even on my fourth (perhaps fifth?) encounter. Read the MBOTF, I beg you. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadhouse_Gates

#71-73: James Asmus's Evolution series (3 vols). Visually and narratively, this was a good read.  Oddly, seemed to conjure AI risk as well as the more obvious contagion spectres.

#71-73: James Asmus's Evolution series (3 vols). Visually and narratively, this was a good read.  Oddly, seemed to conjure AI risk as well as the more obvious contagion spectres.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/evolution

#74: Vols 1-3 of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece. Picked up after watching the Netflix series. Both were fun and net wholesome.

#74: Vols 1-3 of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece. Picked up after watching the Netflix series. Both were fun and net wholesome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80217863

#75: Analog and Hybrid Computer Programming by Bernd Ulmann. Unsurprisingly, more dry and instructional than conceptual. Something for future newb electronics practice.
/articles-books/
https://anabrid.com

#75: Analog and Hybrid Computer Programming by Bernd Ulmann. Unsurprisingly, more dry and instructional than conceptual. Something for future newb electronics practice.
https://anabrid.com/articles-books/
https://anabrid.com

#76: Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. I'd describe this as both evocative and endearing. Makes one want to touch grass.

#76: Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. I'd describe this as both evocative and endearing. Makes one want to touch grass.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/316088/braiding-sweetgrass-by-kimmerer-robin-wall/9780141991955

#77: A First Course in Systems Biology (2nd Ed.) by Voit. A systems biology textbook that affirms the malleability and comprehensibility of reality.

#77: A First Course in Systems Biology (2nd Ed.) by Voit. A systems biology textbook that affirms the malleability and comprehensibility of reality.
https://www.routledge.com/A-First-Course-in-Systems-Biology/Voit/p/book/9780815345688

#78: Petre and van der Hoek's Software Design Decoded. A short collection of directives based on the denser Software Designers in Action. Reminded me of Pollan's Food Rules.

#78: Petre and van der Hoek's Software Design Decoded. A short collection of directives based on the denser Software Designers in Action. Reminded me of Pollan's Food Rules.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262035187/software-design-decoded/
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/software-designers-in/9781466501096/

#79: W. Brian Arthur's The Nature of Technology. This really showcases the dynamism and emergence of technology and provides a novel paradigm to play with.

#79: W. Brian Arthur's The Nature of Technology. This really showcases the dynamism and emergence of technology and provides a novel paradigm to play with.
https://sites.santafe.edu/~wbarthur/thenatureoftechnology.htm

#80: Lisa Margonelli's Underbug. I did not know that termites were so interesting. Wonderfully fun read, this one.

#80: Lisa Margonelli's Underbug. I did not know that termites were so interesting. Wonderfully fun read, this one.
https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/underbug-an-obsessive-tale-of-termites-and-technology-lisa-margonelli

#81-84: James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds The Department of Truth (vols 1-4). A rich, provocative and beautiful series.

#81-84: James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds The Department of Truth (vols 1-4). A rich, provocative and beautiful series.
https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/the-department-of-truth

#85: Octopus: A Natural History by Jennifer Mather, Roland Anderson and James Wood. Interesting but a little flat. Should've read The Soul of an Octopus.

#85: Octopus: A Natural History by Jennifer Mather, Roland Anderson and James Wood. Interesting but a little flat. Should've read The Soul of an Octopus.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7367893
https://symontgomery.com/soul-of-an-octopus/

#86: Scott Patterson's Chaos Kings. It was fun to be re-immersed in the bananas world of high finance and Taleb-ian righteousness once more.

#86: Scott Patterson's Chaos Kings. It was fun to be re-immersed in the bananas world of high finance and Taleb-ian righteousness once more.
https://www.ft.com/content/9d8ee26a-b5f6-4fdf-91e3-e67fda9cdf7e

#87: Memories of Ice, the third entry in Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. Utterly brilliant. Still. Read read read it.

#87: Memories of Ice, the third entry in Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. Utterly brilliant. Still. Read read read it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memories_of_Ice

#88: Xiawei Wang's Blockchain Chicken Farm. A fascinating look at how technological rhetoric gets diffracted into diverse realities.

#88: Xiawei Wang's Blockchain Chicken Farm. A fascinating look at how technological rhetoric gets diffracted into diverse realities.
https://www.fsgoriginals.com/books/blockchain-chicken-farm

#89: Being-Time: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Shobogenzo by Shinshu Roberts. I've not read any Dogen, but the inherent irreverence towards trad. dogma really comes through.

#89: Being-Time: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Shobogenzo by Shinshu Roberts. I've not read any Dogen, but the inherent irreverence towards trad. dogma really comes through.
https://wisdomexperience.org/product/being-time/

#90: Mark H. Lee's How to Grow a Robot. I had high expectations for this which—though it was informative and enjoyable—weren't quite met. Still a good intro survey.

#90: Mark H. Lee's How to Grow a Robot. I had high expectations for this which—though it was informative and enjoyable—weren't quite met. Still a good intro survey.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548632/how-to-grow-a-robot/

#91: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins Library Edition Vol. 1. S2 of CritRole is my favourite and this tells the origin stories of Jester, Yasha, Nott and Caleb. A real good read.

#91: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins Library Edition Vol. 1. S2 of CritRole is my favourite and this tells the origin stories of Jester, Yasha, Nott and Caleb. A real good read.
https://shop.critrole.co.uk/products/critical-role-the-mighty-nein-origins-library-edition-volume-1

#92: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Illustrated). I've read the first four and took on the fifth during a general, end-of-year reprieve. I'm glad I did.

#92: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Illustrated). I've read the first four and took on the fifth during a general, end-of-year reprieve. I'm glad I did.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-9781408845684/

#93: James DeGregori's Adaptive Oncogenesis. Takes an evolutionary perspective on the development of cancers. An interesting thesis indeed.

#93: James DeGregori's Adaptive Oncogenesis. Takes an evolutionary perspective on the development of cancers. An interesting thesis indeed.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674545397

#8: Keller Easterling's Extrastatecraft. Scary and exciting in a gloomy way. Lends supports to the idea that the singularity has already occurred (corp. personhood).
https://www.kellereasterling.com/books/extrastatecraft-the-power-of-infrastructure-space