book report
During my prolonged absence, I got a lot of reading done. Here's my book report. Because I have so many books to talk about, I'm going to limit myself to grouping them into three categories and giving one or two sentences per book.


Highly Recommended:

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
File under "better than the movie." Calibration warning: I also love everything J.D. Salinger ever published.

The John Varley Reader by John Varley
I loved "Millennium" when I read it a few years ago, but hadn't gotten around to reading any of Varley's other stuff. I read this collection while on vacation in Japan, and I sometimes found myself feeling anxious to get back to the hotel so I could read more!

The Golden Globe by John Varley
Possibly the most fun I have ever had reading science fiction, unless it was Transmetropolitan. I don't really know what to say about John Varley, except that he is among the most entertaining writers I can think of.

A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
I am not usually crazy about hard sci-fi, but this was an exception. Reading this book, I was kind of able to remember why I liked the Foundation series so much when I was in the sixth grade.

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
CAPITALISTS. IN. SPACE. Like aFutD, this book is full of interesting ideas on the general topic of intelligence.

The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker
I decided to read this after seeing a video of a Steven Pinker lecture. Normally I find popular science kind of irritating -- another exception.

Ministry of Space by Warren Ellis
This is a short graphic novel about an alternate history in which the British end up employing Werner von Brown after World War II. I don't usually like WWII-related alternate histories...




So-so:

The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge by Vernor Vinge
Vinge let his "singularity" idea keep him from writing the kind of science fiction I am most interested in early in his career, so this collection gets better toward the end. "Bomb Scare" -- which Vinge seems to have thought was a weak story -- is not to be missed.

Blood Music by Greg Bear
Sometimes brilliant, but kind of uneven. This one is all about biotech, so I'd be interested to know what schmatz thinks of it.

White Light by Rudy Rucker
Alcoholic, somewhat sexist college professor in infinityland. Contains quite a few entertaining thought experiments.

Red Thunder by John Varley
This was fun, but not in the same league as The Golden Globe. It kind of reminded me of Michael Crichton.

Outlines of a Formalist Philosophy of Mathematics by Haskell B. Curry
I picked this up for cheap due to the author. It's a pretty clear argument for viewing math as a science, without the need for nonsense like Platonic ideals or a basis in intuition.




I Want My Time Back:

A Gift from Earth by Larry Niven
The obvious influence of Larry Niven on both John Varley and Vernor Vinge made me think maybe I should give him another shot. Nope.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
This is where "paradigm shift" comes from. Interesting insights, fucking awful writing. The guy can't write his own fucking name without using at least one subjunctive clause.

The Nature of Physical Theory by Victor F. Lenzen
Published in 1931. Sometimes I get a kick out of reading older stuff about science, but not this time. Read Feynman's "The Character of Physical Law" instead.