Summer’s here, and we want to create a shared reading list — but with a twist. This list is all about what you are reading, whether it’s tech-related or just something great you’ve come across. It can be a blog post, a book (fiction or non-fiction), an article, or anything else you think others might enjoy.
Here’s how to join in:
Share your current favorite read in the comments.
Like the recommendations you find interesting or want to check out.
Chat about the reads — why you like them, what you learned, or what made them fun.
At the end of summer, we’ll highlight the most popular picks in a community-curated list.
Two I’ve just read: Delivered from Distraction - on ADHD, it’s not uncommon in tech folks and modern distractions are driving us more in that direction, Digital Minimalism - similar reasons to the above.
I’m cheating for fiction at the moment, it’s an audiobook; Excession by Iain M. Banks. One of the best Culture novels.
The computer book I often dip into is Code by Charles Petzold. It follows how we got from switches and relays all the way to a microprocessor. A computer book you won’t fall asleep to.
It covers the 1987 stock market crash, the Asian 'Flu of the 1990s that took down (among others) LTCM, the dot com bubble, and the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis (billed as a real-estate bubble bursting). The book was already written by mid 2008, before Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 and took multiple European economies down with them in the 2010 currency crisis afterwards, so it did not quite cover all of the events in The Big Short, but there’s obviously a lot of inspiration in there for the movie.
And yes, I have the feeling that we are currently in an AI bubble, and that it will burst relatively soon, possibly in 2027, as the speculation and massive capital investment run up against the need to turn a profit (echoes of the dot com era for me).
I also re-read recently The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder, a wonderful journey through the R&D and product development of a 1980 minicomputer from Data General. Wonderful sense of the OG hardcore engineering work putting together a new server. The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder | Goodreads
Finally: I was just talking about Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson recently with someone who asked me if I had read Snow Crash by the same author. I had not, but now I have. It is a classic Cyberpunk novel in a near-future where states have been replaced by franchises of corporations . I enjoyed it, but there were a couple of things that didn’t quite float my boat. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson | Goodreads
I tend to listen to books, so this sounds good. Although since I listen the most to books late at night while walking the dog, maybe not the best time to listen to a Stephen King book.
Soul of a new machine + snowcrash == a nice long weekend of binge reading, both classics. I just finished Profound Knowledge by John Willis (at Dave Neary’s recommendation); This book is part history, part story, part business lessons and discusses the life of Edward Deming, whom many consider a pioneer in the domain of quality and whose influence can be felt throughout everything from automobile manufacturing to software design even today.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
This book is very different from what I expected (from the title), it is a book about the bizarre elements of a parallel world, with a slightly cyberpunk sense of technology, reading this book will make you feel out of the real world.
A book I am reading, vering interesting Elon Musk
And recommend a song I like recently，a beutiful City Pop song, perfect for summer listening
