Mike Daisey’s website Subtitled “doing time @ amazon.com”, this is a memoir of Daisey’s two years at Amazon. It’s an entertaining account, starting with his being interviewed at Amazon because he fit their profile of being a freak (or as he more charitably describes himself, a dilettante). He suffers through life in customer service, figuring […]
Category: books
Dance for the Ivory Madonna, by Don Sakers
This is a pretty standard sci-fi book, picked up randomly from the new book section of the library mostly because of the review on the back from Melissa Scott (whose work I like): “Imagine a Stand on Zanzibar written by a left-wing Robert Heinlein, and infused with the most exciting possibilities of the new cyber-technology”. […]
Zeitgeist, by Bruce Sterling
While at the library a few days ago, I was browsing along and noticed this book by Bruce Sterling. As a longtime subscriber to his Viridian mailing list, I’d almost forgotten that Sterling makes his living as a writer. So I picked this up and read it. Our protagonist is Leggy Starlitz, a band promoter […]
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
I borrowed and read this while at a friend’s house on vacation. It’s got some interesting ideas. While I don’t think much of Gibson as a writer, he’s definitely a sharp observer of cultural trends. This book follows the adventures of Cayce Pollard, a “coolhunter” (somebody who hits the streets trying to observe new trends […]
Shadow Puppets, by Orson Scott Card
I loved the original Ender’s Game series, so this re-examination of the universe bothers me. This is the third book in the series (Ender’s Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon were the first two) detailing what happens on Earth after Ender leaves, when all of his fellow “soldiers” battle it out for control of Earth. […]
Gearheads, by Brad Stone
Subtitled “The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports”, this book takes a look at the rise of Robot Wars, Battlebots, and the several other TV shows associated with robotic warfare. It’s interesting to me as somebody who watched a lot of these things develop from afar, from being a fan of SRL to cheering my friends […]
The Getaway Man, by Andrew Vachss
I really like most of Andrew Vachss‘s work, especially the Burke series, so I had to buy this. It’s a throwback noir novel, in a style appropriate to the 1930’s or so. What’s interesting is that the protagonist, Eddie, is a pretty simple fellow, as opposed to the street intelligence of Burke. Eddie gets caught […]
How The Mind Works, by Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker, a professor in the cognitive science department at MIT, is best known for his theories of language acquisition, as described in his book The Language Instinct. In this book, he takes a swing at the larger problem of how the mind works. His thesis, in his words: “The mind is a system of […]
Finity, by John Barnes
I’ve read several other books by John Barnes, and have enjoyed them, so I picked this one up from the library. It’s got a very odd premise, and is very confusing, even after he starts to explain what’s going on. I’m not sure I particularly liked it. But the premise is interesting, so I’ll roll […]
The Cheese Monkeys, by Chip Kidd
Subtitled “A Novel in Two Semesters”, this book tells the story of a freshman arriving at college in 1958 with no real idea of what he wants to do, and his introduction to the world of art. Chip Kidd is apparently a graphic designer of some renown (according to one cover blurb, “Chip Kidd altered […]
