BETA
Books I Am Reading
When All Else Fails: Government as the Ultimate Risk Manager
Reading for 3 years after waiting 25 second to read

I Want to Read

  1. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (Second Edition) by Tom DeMarco - 3 years
  2. The Couriers 01 (v. 1) by Brian Wood and Rob G - 3 years
  3. Phonogram: Rue Britannia by Kieron Gillen - 3 years
  4. The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess - 3 years
    I've caught a few single-issues of this. It looks so perfect for my kind of thing.
  5. Paper Towns by John Green - 3 years
  6. Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Francis Slattery - 3 years
  7. High Fidelity: A Novel by Nick Hornby - 3 years
  8. Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns by Kent Beck - 4 years
  9. Design Patterns in Ruby (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series) by Russ Olsen - 4 years
  10. The Gold Coast: Three Californias (Wild Shore Triptych) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years
  11. Pacific Edge: Three Californias (Wild Shore Triptych) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years
  12. The Wild Shore: Three Californias (Wild Shore Triptych) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years
  13. The Martians by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years
  14. A Fire Upon The Deep (Zones of Thought) by Vernor Vinge - 4 years
  15. Fray by Joss Whedon - 4 years
  16. Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix (Smart Pop series) by Glenn Yeffeth - 4 years
    Looks cheesy, but it should be a good read.
  17. Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H. Cormen - 4 years
    Or, CS 124: the Payback!
  18. Automata and Computability (Undergraduate Texts in Computer Science) by Dexter C. Kozen - 4 years
    Or, CS 121: the Revenge!
  19. Palestine by Joe Sacco - 4 years
  20. Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles) by Philip Reeve - 4 years
    Stefan said this is similar but different to Larklight. I obey!
  21. Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) by Justina Robson - 4 years
  22. Halting State by Charles Stross - 4 years
  23. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman and Don Norman - 4 years
  24. The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel by Michael Chabon - 4 years
  25. The Scar by China Mieville - 4 years
  26. So You Want to Be a Wizard (digest): The First Book in the Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane - 4 years
  27. Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years

I Have Read

  1. 47.
    Green Mars (Mars Trilogy) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 3 years ago A-
    The series slows down, but it's still epic and legendary and a great continuation of Red Mars. Great ecological/environmental content, also.
  2. 46.
    Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley - 3 years ago A
    Yeah, totally hooked on this series now.
  3. 45.
    Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley - 3 years ago
  4. 44.
    Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley - 3 years ago
  5. 43.
    X-Men: Longshot by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams - 3 years ago
  6. 42.
    Non-Designer's Design Book, The (3rd Edition) (Non Designer's Design Book) by Robin Williams - 3 years ago
  7. 41.
    Proof: A Play by David Auburn - 3 years ago
  8. 40.
    Enterprise Rails by Dan Chak - 3 years ago A
    A very intelligent book. If you're a Rails Developer, you owe it to yourself to read this and challenge your own orthodoxies. Like "Art of SQL", I'm not certain whether I'll follow every chapter and verse, but it nonethless is greatly affecting my way of thinking about building software.
  9. 39.
    Tales of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Joss Whedon - 3 years ago A
    If you dig the Buffy mythos, you'll enjoy this short collections of stories. It scratches my alt-history itch.
  10. 38.
    The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton - 3 years ago A
    A classic that I enjoyed greatly. Perfect book to start 2009.
  11. 37.
    Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems by David Rakoff - 3 years ago
  12. 36.
    No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories by Miranda July - 3 years ago A
    The author has a signature style in her work, and after the first short story you'll know: either this series isn't for you, or you'll be reading each of the short stories for the next several nights, and the echoes of longing and isolation and uncertainty and quiet personal fear will mix with your dreams.
  13. 35.
    Advanced Rails Recipes by Mike Clark - 3 years ago
  14. 34.
    Shooting War by Anthony Lappe - 3 years ago
  15. 33.
    Burning Chrome by William Gibson - 3 years ago
  16. 32.
    Alice In Sunderland by Bryan Talbot - 3 years ago A+
    Masterwork of graphic novels and comic arts. Talks about, well, everything but especially Lewis Carrol, north England, literature, comic art, and the soul of Britain. It's a very info-dense book, but it's working through to get through the whole thing. The pace really picks up and then kicks you in the wisdom.
  17. 31.
    Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas) by George Orwell - 3 years ago A
    This was great. I love Orwell's writing. The second, longest essay - about England and Socialism - is a little bit too limited in worldview, a bit too much taken up with its time. But the other three essays are powerful and timeless. The essay on political language is a must read.
  18. 30.
    The Difference Engine (Spectra Special Editions) by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling - 3 years ago
  19. 29.
    Runaways: Dead End Kids Premiere HC (Runaways (Marvel)) by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan - 3 years ago
  20. 28.
    Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 by Joe Sacco - 3 years ago A
    Sacco's comics-journalism is quality. This is probably some history that should be read up on.
  21. 27.
    Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe Dominguez - 4 years ago
  22. 26.
    I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert - 4 years ago A-
    Finished it. It's funny, but the most brilliant thing really was the reproduction of Colbert's White House Correspondents' Dinner speech. Most of the book is funny but safe satire, while that speech in particular burns dangerously. Real satire.
  23. 25.
    The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino - 4 years ago
    The stories are rather threadbare and lack something in continuity/causality, and there's so much depth that it almost cancels its depth out. Okay, but the actual mechanics of the tarot-driven story generation are more interesting to me, and I'll probably steal it for a game some time.
  24. 24.
    The Exile Kiss by George Alec Effinger - 4 years ago B
    Slightly average end to an otherwise great series. It definitely makes for exciting, well-paced adventure in the world of the Budayeen, but a few parts were lazy, some of the character themes didn't hit, and the alt-world spec-fic was more mutd. "When Gravity Fails" is still a must read.
  25. 23.
    Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff and Howard Dean - 4 years ago A-
    It's a correct read, concise and clear if pedantic. (But I don't like it's true conclusions.)
  26. 22.
    The Art of SQL (Art of) by Stephane Faroult - 4 years ago A
    Good book if you have some intermediate-to-advanced SQL skills and want to deepen its knowledge. I don't want to agree 100% with the book, but it got me thinking. (So I fear SQL less; but I don't love it.) The book has this "war" metaphor going on throughout, and that metaphor alternates between charming and helpful and stretched-thin.
  27. 21.
    Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge - 4 years ago A-
    Read it straight through over a six-hour train ride. My mind was really quite warped afterwards.
  28. 20.
    Red Mars (Mars Trilogy) by Kim Stanley Robinson - 4 years ago A-
    Epic social spec-fic.. It's been over a decade since it came out, and it's flaws show, but it's still a strong novel, bearing down with the full force of technological and social change. If you're into space / futurism / specfic, you want to read this.
  29. 19.
    Deploying Rails Applications: A Step-by-Step Guide (Facets of Ruby) by Ezra Zygmuntowicz - 4 years ago
  30. 18.
    Nextwave: Agents Of H.A.T.E. Volume 2 - I Kick Your Face TPB (Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.) by Warren Ellis - 4 years ago
    NEXTWAVE is SO AWESOME. And also, so insane. You need this kinda surreal in your reading life.
  31. 17.
    Saving and Investing: Financial Knowledge and Financial Literacy that Everyone Needs and Deserves to Have! by Michael Fischer - 4 years ago
    This is a really smart, quick book. Kind of like the elementary physics of personal finance. A must read; you might not know this stuff already.
  32. 16.
    How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career by Jason Seiden - 4 years ago
    Cute book with good advice. Kinda dude-ish at time, but generally like some smart guy telling you smart things, with enough pieces of wisdom within.
  33. 15.
    The Devil You Know by Mike Carey - 4 years ago
    Well-crated noir private-eye / private-exorcist supernatural urban horror mystery thriller. And, appropriately, chilling.
  34. 14.
    Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott Mccloud - 4 years ago
    Masterwork. This books is a brilliant, creative redpill about all kinds of art, not just comics.
  35. 13.
    Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software by Scott Rosenberg - 4 years ago
    Damn. This book tells all of the epic glory and infamy and damnation that is software development - really, scaling up to nearly any project. Good for noncoders to understand coders, and for coders to understand WTF they're in the midst of. NOT a "management/programming" book, but a narrative.
  36. 12.
    Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis - 4 years ago
    Eh.
  37. 11.
    Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby - 4 years ago
    A really great book, and a fun read. I'm ready for the Revs season now!
  38. 10.
    Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert - 4 years ago
    Finished this graphic novel in one weekend. Very sharp writing, with great love of the Marvel continuity but love for its own story as well.
  39. 9.
    Native Tongue by SUZETTE, HADEN ELGIN - 4 years ago
    Man. Difficult, fascinating, analytical, feminist, social science fiction. Not perfect, but quite good.
  40. 8.
    Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi - 4 years ago
    I love this one too! It's more of a story about growing up, coming of age, home, and other difficult stuff. A worthy successor. I love these novels so much.
  41. 7.
    Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space by Philip Reeve - 4 years ago
    Great! It got better and more fantastical as it went along, and stayed fun throughout. I think I'll continue with Reeve when I'm in the mood for Adventure fare.
  42. 6.
    Runaways, Vol. 3 by Brian K Vaughan - 4 years ago
    Solid fun. Gotta find Volume 4, now.
  43. 5.
    Smonk: A Novel by Tom Franklin - 4 years ago
    What a disgusting and hateful book. A fun read.
  44. 4.
    Practical Ruby for System Administration (Expert's Voice in Open Source) by André Ben Hamou - 4 years ago
    Pretty helpful. Though rather jokey.
  45. 3.
    Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan - 4 years ago
    This was great! A totally fun read and I'm recommending it. (Do read her first book, "Doppleganger", first.)
  46. 2.
    Love Is a Story: A New Theory of Relationships by Robert J. Sternberg - 4 years ago
    First completed book of 2008! This is a pretty decent (if quick, light) read. I'll probably return to it later.
  47. 1.
    The Plain Janes (Minx) by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg - 4 years ago
    Better than I thought.

I Have Given Up

  1. The Immigrant's Contract by Leland Kinsey - 3 years ago
  2. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss - 4 years ago C-
    I skimmed this so hard it can't count as reading. There were a few ideas I jotted down, so there was some reusable fodder, but a lot of this book rang of nauseatingly ignorant shamdom. It made me angry to read parts. Maybe I'm in decent-enough jobs that what they describe sounds like a soul-emptying copout.
  3. The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl (Bantam Spectra Book) by Tim Pratt - 3 years ago B-
    I wanted quirky-funny, in the style of Whedon. But it was a little too wierd, slightly gorey, psycho-active. I just wasn't in the mood for the crazy that was I could sense coming up (even if the tone was relatively light).
  4. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan - 4 years ago
    I feel like I was 75% through a difficult book - I should get partial credit! But while the book had smart things to say, at some point I got tired of the repetitive examples, the aesthetically-pleasing-yet-groundless conclusions and especially, the way-colonialist depictions of "tribal" "primitive" "pre-civilization" man.