What I read in January 2020
This first month of the year I read way more than I thought I would. It was surprisingly very productive in this regard.
- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff : This one was a dense and dry read, maybe a little bit too long. It brings a detailed account of the emergence of Surveillance Capitalism and how it threatens democracy, privacy and information.
- Letters From An Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson : Such a delight! I listened to Audio book which is narrated by the author and it's excellent. Clever answers to people's questions about science and religion, aliens, life and the universe.
- The Sweet Spot: How to Accomplish More by Doing Less by Christine Carter: A productivity blogger recommended this book and it was okay. It's basically a compilation of best practices that work for the author. It was a relaxing read that reminded me of how important it is to pause and rest. And to simplify things.
- Blood of Elves (The Witcher, #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski: This the first full length novel of the Witcher series (the previous 2 books are basically a collection of short stories). The story follows the aftermath of the attack on the Kingdom of Cintra by the Nilfgaardian empire. Ciri starts her training as a Witcher but she starts to demonstrate weird powers so Geralt asks for the help of Triss Merigold. They decide that Ciri needs a normal education as well as some magic training, so Yennefer starts training her too. The story and the world building are extremely well done. I couldn't put it down until the end and then I had to continue reading the next book...
- Sword of Destiny (The Witcher, #2) by Andrzej Sapkowski: This one is a darker book where the characters are temporarily separated from each other, and some serious confrontation between the mages/sorceress take place. Everyone is looking for Ciri and she is on the run. And there are donuts in the Witcher's world! Another read I couldn't put down that lead me to Book 3 straight away.
- Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future by Andrew McAfee, Erik Brynjolfsson: A continuation of the “Second Machine Age” with focus on crowd-sourced technologies. Cloud computing, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, network platform businesses. An up-to-date book about the decentralized technologies that are out there and how will they impact our future.
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By Noisy Deadlines
Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.