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Rendello 44 minutes ago [-]
Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer [1].
I don't tend to be great at finishing (or starting) books, and this is a big one. I've also never had any interest in Medieval or Renaissance history, for me it's been a black hole between the fall of Rome and the modern age.
But recently I saw some Youtube videos of Ada, and her enthusiasm is totally infectious [2]. She's fun and paints these vivid pictures of Florence and renaissance Europe that are incredible, absurd, and relatable, which makes sense since given she's also an accomplished sci-fi writer. She also reminds me of one of my favourite high school teachers. So I ordered the book right away.
The book is in the same tone as her videos, so it won't be for everyone, but I've really been enjoying it and now I'm fascinated by Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli, merchant republics, etc.
I'm currently reading her Terra Ignota series and it's great, so I was already planning to tackle this one next.
undopamine 5 minutes ago [-]
Just started Quantum Break: Zero State
Highly recommend the game for anyone who liked Dark or Primer (or any other fiction that features stable time loops).
no-dr-onboard 5 minutes ago [-]
The Intellectual Life by AG Sertillanges. Note that it does presuppose a Christian worldview, so ymmv depending on your belief.
lp92 14 minutes ago [-]
Currently reading "Beyond Tube-and-Wing: The X-48 Blended Wing-Body and NASA's Quest to Reshape Future Transport Aircraft".
Its a pretty good history of the X-48 program.
Edit: also reading the "The Anduril Thesis" in parallel.
abstash 21 minutes ago [-]
The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh.
A book which depicts tale of a family across the East and West Bengal amidst Partition of India. This book is very renowned and well written. Being a programmer, its better to read on different topics(which is rarity these days)
ferguess_k 60 minutes ago [-]
This is my 13th round to recommend "The Soul of a new Machine" as well as "Showstoppers".
theflyinghorse 26 minutes ago [-]
Finally got to Dostoevsky's Brother Karamazov. This will take a while.
akkartik 35 minutes ago [-]
Lots of scifi and fantasy.
The Works of Vermin. Exceptionally well written. Not an ounce of flab anywhere.
The Carryx series, 2 books so far. Best villains ever.
Tainted Cup and sequel. Sherlock Holmes meets Godzilla.
Goblin Emperor
The Prophet (Gibran)
Los Alamos (Kanon)
Hyperion (reread)
Finally, a shout out to the best book I read in 2025: Terra Ignota. Yes, the whole series.
aeve890 15 minutes ago [-]
>The Carryx series
Weird. There's a species called Carryx too in a series from James S.A. Corey called "The Captive's War".
akkartik 4 minutes ago [-]
That's the one I mean! Can never remember the names of the books/series, hence the gesture.
rearview 25 minutes ago [-]
Just recently started watching Reacher S1 and it was absolutely amazing so started reading the book and wow - like its absolutely amazing
buckhx 26 minutes ago [-]
Infinite Jest. Enjoying it so far, but the length keeps on killing me. I'm like 5% of the way in after a couple of weeks...
softwaredoug 1 hours ago [-]
I’m reading The Well of Ascension, the second book of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy
I like how he has the slow, almost clinical way of revealing interesting worlds and systems. It’s not the kind of book that’ll make me cry, but I really like world building with fun enough characters
hosel 55 minutes ago [-]
Wait until you hear a detailed explanation of the magic system for the 5th time. Still a good series.
leros 5 minutes ago [-]
I was just listening to a Sanderson interview. He's annoyed by it too. It's his publisher wanting the books to be easy to get into. He's dealing with it in Mistborn era 3 where's he's trying to figure out how to re-explain everything and it's annoying him because he just wants to show allomancers doing cool stuff.
softwaredoug 14 minutes ago [-]
Well I often forget the rules, so its useful :)
andsoitis 3 hours ago [-]
Why Greatness cannot be Planned.
The authors argue that rigid, goal-oriented planning and metric-driven objectives actively prevent true innovation and groundbreaking achievement.
leandot 60 minutes ago [-]
The Immortal Great Souls by Phil Tucker. Very enjoyable fantasy with great world and characters.
leandot 1 hours ago [-]
The Immortal Great Souls from Phil Tucker. Very enjoyable fantasy with unique world and characters.
snicky 1 hours ago [-]
Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China's New Social Order
Not sure if this one qualifies as more meaty :)
AbbeFaria 58 minutes ago [-]
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
PaulHoule 3 hours ago [-]
In my bag right now I have: The Fox and the Jewel by Karen A. Smeyers and The Spiral Dance by Starhawk.
Tomte 3 hours ago [-]
Back issues of The London Review of Books.
tocs3 2 hours ago [-]
I do not know if this is related to this comments but if you are reading The London Review of Books so that you do not have to read the whole book, maybe it is. I do not watch movies much anymore. Sometime though I want to know what a movie is all about. So, I just read the wikipedia plot review on it. It saves me the time by not having to sit through much tedium but I get a scenes of what it is about.
I have been reading The Bible. It has been a long time project and I have a long ways to go. I am much more agnostic that a true believer but it has been interesting. Hearing popular views about it and Christianity vs. reading The Book is sort of like the difference between reading a novel and watching the based on movie.
zero_shift 24 minutes ago [-]
I am an atheist but I have read a little bit of the bible, mostly early OT. I recommend reading a scholarly / literal translation, because there is a lot of nuance in the Hebrew
SubGenius 2 hours ago [-]
The Rouse by China Miéville, great read so far.
judicious 42 minutes ago [-]
Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W. David Marx. A fascinating and approachable read.
I don't tend to be great at finishing (or starting) books, and this is a big one. I've also never had any interest in Medieval or Renaissance history, for me it's been a black hole between the fall of Rome and the modern age.
But recently I saw some Youtube videos of Ada, and her enthusiasm is totally infectious [2]. She's fun and paints these vivid pictures of Florence and renaissance Europe that are incredible, absurd, and relatable, which makes sense since given she's also an accomplished sci-fi writer. She also reminds me of one of my favourite high school teachers. So I ordered the book right away.
The book is in the same tone as her videos, so it won't be for everyone, but I've really been enjoying it and now I'm fascinated by Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli, merchant republics, etc.
1. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo246135...
2. (My favourite example) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68p3jVQQdFk
Highly recommend the game for anyone who liked Dark or Primer (or any other fiction that features stable time loops).
Its a pretty good history of the X-48 program.
Edit: also reading the "The Anduril Thesis" in parallel.
The Works of Vermin. Exceptionally well written. Not an ounce of flab anywhere.
The Carryx series, 2 books so far. Best villains ever.
Tainted Cup and sequel. Sherlock Holmes meets Godzilla.
Goblin Emperor
The Prophet (Gibran)
Los Alamos (Kanon)
Hyperion (reread)
Finally, a shout out to the best book I read in 2025: Terra Ignota. Yes, the whole series.
Weird. There's a species called Carryx too in a series from James S.A. Corey called "The Captive's War".
I like how he has the slow, almost clinical way of revealing interesting worlds and systems. It’s not the kind of book that’ll make me cry, but I really like world building with fun enough characters
The authors argue that rigid, goal-oriented planning and metric-driven objectives actively prevent true innovation and groundbreaking achievement.
Not sure if this one qualifies as more meaty :)
I have been reading The Bible. It has been a long time project and I have a long ways to go. I am much more agnostic that a true believer but it has been interesting. Hearing popular views about it and Christianity vs. reading The Book is sort of like the difference between reading a novel and watching the based on movie.