Book Recommendations

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Open wiki-thread to share book recommendations with a bit of a technical leaning (though I realise some of the first few I’m adding are more economics, societies).

We can organise it as we go, but for now, just split into fiction/non-fiction.

It’s a wiki thread, so feel free to add suggestions!

Non-Fiction

Maths & Comp Sci

Work/Organisation

Civilisation

Fiction

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As a side note - all of the books I just added are from my audiobook history & as I was going back through them, I realised that parts of the books that were most interesting come so mind when I’m at the place, or doing the thing I was while listening in the first place - there’s probably some lesson on learning and memory in that (along the lines of song maps and memory walks)…

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Great start Will! I recently read Start Where you are by Pema Chödrön. This book has nothing to do with technology; it’s about how and when to start your journey of improving your life. I mention it though because the title alone, ‘Start Where You Are’, can be applied to so many different things. It’s part of what led me to TechShed and a desire to get more involved and to just start learning more about something I’m interested in…Technology! My first book contribution
(Get Technology: Be in the know. Upgrade your future: 20 thought-provoking lessons) has been a really refreshing place to start. Part of the TechShed ethos is technology can be and should be accessible to everyone. This book is written for the lay person, not too long, easy to understand, and a great introduction to all the things we feel we “should know”.

My advice to anyone who wants to know more but might be a bit scared or not know how or where to start - start where you are and pick up any book that tickles your fancy. One day you’ll wake up surprised you can articulate what an API is!

Thanks again Will for the great suggestions. I can’t wait to give some of them a read.

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Thanks Denia!

I’ve added a half-dozen to the head post (it’s a wiki post) but here’s a book which I haven’t yet read, so can’t really recommend, but it looks like a good fit for this thread:

For me there’s an emerging theme: on the one hand books to make technology understandable, to make it a tool rather than a prison, and on the other hand, books which explore the ways technology has changed society, or might yet change society, and what we might be able to do about that.

On that front, here’s a classic from 1973 (when we felt we were in the white heat of technological change, and that we might reach the limits to growth)

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Steampunk Graphic Novel:

I was wondering (as I constantly do) if anyone has read the Babbage & Lovelace book,The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage? I’d love to read your thoughts! For me, it was really ‘jerky’ with so many ‘asterisks’ and ‘footnotes’! Illustration (Chris Riddell, chew your pencil out) was awe-inspiring.

Apologies about removing book cover, I was concerned about COPYRIGHT :slight_smile:

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I love that book! But then I love footnotes. I also like footnotes which take over many pages, and footnotes that have footnotes.

Agree that the illustrations are excellent - Wellington’s horse springs to mind.

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Ah! You forgot to mention the ‘endnotes’.