Books of 2019
As previously (2018, 2017, 2016), here are the books I read this year, in chronological order.
The Worldly Philosophers - Robert L. Heilbroner
Super interesting, really enjoyed it.
Bite Me - Christopher Moore
Weird & funny, entertaining read.
The Productive Programmer - Neal Ford
Okay - interesting, sorta, but disagree with a lot. Very OOP & java-focused.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Re-read, fun.
The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisen
Read last year, forgot to write down.
Very fun series.
The Obelisk Gate - N.K. Jemisen
Book two. Like this series – neat setting, good gradual reveal of premise.
To the Finland Station - Edmon Wilson
Great follup to Worldly. Real interesting; neat perspective of being written in the 1930’s.
The Rhetoric of Reaction - Albert Hirschman
Interesting analysis; kinda wish it was more actionable.
The High Mountains of Portugal - Yann Martel
Not what I expected, really great, sad.
The Stone Sky - N.K. Jemisen
Last in the triology, good conclusion.
Unsettling Canada - Arthur Manuel
Great & inspirational primer on Indigenous resistance to Canada’s shittiness.
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
Really good, really sad.
French Exit - Patrick DeWitt
Platte cleanser; weird & funny-ish, even it’s not exactly light subjects.
On Trails - Robert Moore
Saw him speak last year. Interesting book, enjoyable read.
No Impact Man - Colin Beavan
Interesting; very honest look at trying to be more sustainable.
How to Not Always Be Working - Marlee Grace
Short, inspiring, thought-provoking.
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy - Joesph Schumpter
Real interesting; mix of prescient & great anysis & “wow, things have changed”
The Hidden Life of Trees - Peter Wohlleben
Light, informative, enjoyable.
Programming Erlang Joe Armstrong
I’ve had this book for a while, but had never read the whole thing before. Makes more sense after learning Prolog. Read in memory of Joe.
Marxism: For and Against - Robert Heilbroner
Short & cogent; excellent primer.
Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson
Read on planes while travelling. Funny, as Bill is.
A Pattern Language - Christopher Alexander et al
Awesome; instructive, plus a great tool for examining spaces.
The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte - Karl Marx
Short, good history. Upsetting how little we learn.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power - Robert A. Caro
Really gripping, need to get the rest of the series.
Turing’s Man - J David Bolter
Quite good; summed up some of the big philosphical problems with programmers.
Teaching Tech Together - Greg Wilson
Great (online) book about teaching tech. Lots to reflect on.
The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 1 - Abridgement by Colin Ronan of Joesph Needham
Follow-up to perspectives missing from Turing’s Man.
Thinking Forth - Leo Brodie
Weird look at a strange sort of programming.
Teachings from the Worldly Philosophers - Robert Heilbroner
Great follow-up to Worldly. Commentary on excerpts from the greats; very good.
The Theory of the Leisure Class - Thorstein Veblen
Real interesting economic/sociological analysis. Very thought-provoking.
Slicing Pie Handbook - Mike Moyer
Interesting approach to startup equity distribution. Repetitive book thought.
A Companion to Marx’s Capital: Complete Edition - David Harvey
Great summary of Capital & Marx in general. Illuminating, fascinating.
Eros and Civilization - Herbert Marcuse
Interesting fusion of Marx & Freud. Alienation as psychological repression.
Peopleware - Tom DeMarco & Timothy Cister
Short but good. Referenced A Pattern Language, good ideas.
War & Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Very enjoyable read – good story, moved well & covered a lot. Women in the book, not so great though.
The Best Software Writing I - Various
Bunch of blog entries that Joel Spolsky liked in 2004. Pretty meh.
Illustrated Letters of Virginia Woolf - Virginia Woolf
Very enjoyable. Funny, interesting. Makes me want to read her books & write more.
Notes on the Synthesis of Form - Christopher Alexander
Neat idea here.
Alexander proposes a structured approach for finding design solutions, based on set theory and mathematical processes. I quite like his attempt to systematize this sort of thing; this in particular seems like a great way of making a vastly more powerful version of mind mapping.
I really want to try building some sort of tool for this sort of planning & decision making.
A Room of One’s Own - Virginia Woolf
Great critique of patriarchy from a fantastic author. Very highly recommended.
Three Guineas - Virginia Woolf
A thorough and compelling argument for why an anti-war movement requires what we would call feminism in the modern era (although Woolf rails against that term here)