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I read this the first time years ago when I was just starting my career in programming. I was enchanted by this strange new world of functors and monads, and it had a big impact on the way I think about data flow and error handling and side effects and declarative programming.
More of it "stuck" on re-reading.
Because Internet is for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message …
I was enjoying this one, but got distracted by other things, and will probably not go back to it at this point. I liked it though.
I didn't like this book. I don't like the characters, and I don't like the conversation style of stopping sentences in the middle of the....
Also it was for a bookclub that I'm not a part of any more, so I don't feel any need to see this one through.
DNF
don't need more political / moral outrage or stress in this time of coronavirus
A detailed scenario for an adventure for players of "Dungeons & Dragons" involving the Storm …
Gonna start running this game next week!
A very epic story. Love how huge and sprawling this is, and I love giants vs. dragons.
I'm having a hard time seeing how the middle part connects the beginning and the ending. But I have time to figure that out!
In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their …
Who recommended it to me ##
tomasino posted a pretty stellar review recently, and I generally am into stuff that tomasino is into, so I thought I'd give it a spin!
## How to read this book ##
In one sitting, turning the pages as fast as possible.
## What I liked ##
So much. Too much to list here.
Look, let's make a story golem: if the the meat of a story is its characters, and the story itself, the plot; then the bones of the story are all the things that support the meat, that allow the plot to progress, the whole world setting. In this book, that's the politics--each nation with rich language, ways of dressing, etc--the pantheon of saints and deities, the dragons and the quigutl, the dragon-kin. Especially the quigutl: so alien and relatable, their language and culture permeating throughout the whole story.
This book …
"Vice President Joe Biden is fresh out of the Obama White House and feeling adrift …
DNF
This has been languishing on "currently reading" for over a year, and I don't have the appetite for it any longer. I'm burnt out on Biden at the moment.
Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …
Summary ##
A brief and beautiful, poetic love story. Part Romeo and Juliet, part Spy vs. Spy, part time-travel espionage story.
## Why I picked it up ##
I don't remember. It was probably on some Best of 2019 list, and also I'm likely to have picked it up based on the title and cover alone.
## Who I'd recommend it to ##
People who like pretty things, but only if you're okay with there not being much plot. It's 98% just having love letters read to you, and 2% sci-fi time war.
## How to read this book ##
Get ready to read love letters.
## What I liked ##
It was pretty and poetic. For the setting and plot to have been so much in the background, they were somehow also extremely compelling. I'd love to read the sci-fi action companion novel set in this world.
## What …
Summary ##
Accidental DNF! Apparently the download silently failed, and I didn't know it. So my audiobook cut out unceremoniously ended at chapter 8 of 13, which means I only got about 60% through it.
Back on hold for it at the library.
## Why I picked it up ##
Another one of those books that has been on my to-read list for a long time, and which has been recommended by tons of people.
Most recently saw it again in Thinking Fast and Slow.
## What I want to remember ##
- Strategy is 1) a diagnosis, 2) a guiding policy, and 3) coherent actions.
- Strategy is not: slogans. Financial forecasts or projections.
A human-centric guide to solving complex problems in engineering management, from sizing teams to handling …
## Summary ##
Encyclopedic breadth of content, diving deeply into nothing.
## Why I picked it up ##
My bookclub wanted to read it.
## What I liked ##
Holy moly this is beautiful book. The binding, the print, the everything. I haven't been this much in love with the physical form of a book since... hmmm, since I found that copy of Moby Dick with the leather binding and the gilded edges.
## What I didn't like ##
One of those books that is a printed out series of blog posts. You can literally find the full text of the book online by browsing through the author's site.
This book does better at this than most: the blog posts are coherent and easily organized into groups and chapters. But I can't help but wonder whether the book's lack of depth comes directly from this method of book writing.
Welcome to Europe as you've never known it before, seen through the peculiarities of its …
Read Part 1, skipped forward to the chapter on Esperanto, and then DNF.
The content is brief, superficial, and underwhelming.
"Fate Core is the latest evolution of the Fate roleplaying game system from Evil Hat …
Who recommended it to me ##
Tomasino passively recommended it to me with their glowing goodreads review. I'm usually into the same sort of thing that they are, so I decided to give it a look-see.
## Who I'd recommend it to ##
D&D fans who want to try more story telling and fewer class restrictions.
## Summary ##
Fate is a system for collaborative story telling with a central, unifying mechanic (aspects).
This is in contrast to D&D (the only other ttrpg I've seriously played) in at least two ways:
1. Collaborative character creation and campaign creation
Although the "adversarial DM" cliche exists for a reason, the best D&D games are also collaborative to some extent or another. But not to the extent recommended by this system.
2. Characters without classes
Fate's character creation process was a revelation.
Fate is a story telling system with a unifying "aspects" mechanic. …
Summary ##
It's about how to ride an elephant.
## Why I picked it up ##
I don't remember ordering it, but it popped up in my library book holds, so why not!
## Who I'd recommend it to ##
Somebody who hasn't read anything on this topic before. If you've read Nudge, Habit, or Influence, then there's nothing new here for you. Except for a metaphor about an elephant.
In fact, I think I recommend you don't read it, and instead read the grand-daddy of all psychology / behavioral books, Thinking Fast & Slow. I haven't really enjoyed any books of this sort since reading that one, so much so did it set the gold standard.
## What I liked ##
It's a simple metaphor and framework that I probably won't be able to help but think about from time to time.
## What I …
Summary ##
How to turn your failing business around in three short off-site leadership retreats! There's a stuffy British guy!
## Why I picked it up ##
This is a title that has been on my To Read list for a long time now. It's just been recommended to me too many times to not take a crack at it. Especially once I realized that it's so short!
## How to read this book ##
Skip to the end. Start reading at "The model: An overview of the model".
Go back and skim the narrative part of the book if you want to see an anecdote of the model in action.
## Who I'd recommend it to ##
Somebody with three hours to kill and nothing better to do.
## What I didn't like ##
A little fluffy. Seems like most of the practical advice boiled down to stuff like, …
