After reading Memory and Dream from the library, I was reminded of the interesting worlds that de Lint constructs, so I picked this up on my next visit. Not much to say – magic is real, faeries are real, you choose what kind of world you live in, etc. Eh.
Neural Computing: An Introduction, by R. Beale and T. Jackson
I borrowed this from a friend when it looked like I might be trying to do something with neural networks at work. It’s a nice little summary of the basic neural network algorithms, with derivations of the equations and things like that. Useful for a quick overview, which was what I wanted, so that worked […]
Shopgirl, by Steve Martin
Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) wrote this little novella about a shopgirl in Los Angeles and her affair with a successful older businessman. In some ways, it’s a more meditative and thoughtful version of his movie, LA Story, focusing more on the isolation and desperation of those who came seeking their fortune in LA […]
Wittgenstein’s Poker, by David Edmonds and John Eidinow
On Oct. 25, 1946, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, two great philosophers of the twentieth century, met for the first and only time at a philosophy club meeting at Cambridge University. Recollections vary as to exactly what happened, but strong words were definitely exchanged, and Wittgenstein may have picked up the fireplace poker and threatened […]
The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen
This was a short book on how and why dominant companies consistently get undercut by disruptive technologies. It uses the disk drive industry as a case study to illustrate the decisions that get made by market leaders which make sense in context, but inevitably lead to obsolescence. I thought the second half of the book, […]
A Year at the Movies, by Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy, formally associated with MST3K, decided to embark on an unusual (some might even say foolhardy) quest. He decided to watch a movie a day, every day, for an entire year. And to watch movies under as varied conditions as possible. He sees movies at film festivals in Norway and projected onto a bed […]
What Management Is, by Joan Magretta
This book, recommended by The Economist, is a short treatise on the basics of management. The author, a former editor of the Harvard Business Review, seeks to distill management down to its most elementary components, which she breaks down into Design (“Why People Work Together and How”), and Execution (“Making it Happen”). I didn’t really […]
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
This is one of the few books that takes a close look at the medium of comics. Scott McCloud uses the comic book format to explore the conventions of comics, and how comics use our brain to do most of the heavy lifting for them. It’s an interesting look into what makes the medium work, […]
Memory and Dream, by Charles de Lint
Caitlin reminded me when I saw her over Christmas of the works of de Lint, one of the best urban fantasists around. I’ve read only a couple of his books, so when I noticed one in the library recently, I picked it up. As seems to be common in his novels, a straightforward story quickly […]
Poker Nation, by Andy Bellin
This book is an interesting peek into the world of professional gambling from one of its practitioners. With chapters ranging from poker strategy to the history of Vegas, the book necessarily is shallow in its exploration of various topics. But it definitely whets the appetite. After Bellin describes the thrill of bringing a huge bet […]
