19 January 2011

Bonus Post: 2011 Reading List

In one of life's weird little paradoxes, the worst thing about my current job is also one of the coolest.

I'm talking about my commute, of course. It's an hour each way, a fact I try not to think about too much. Frankly, it kills me that I spend 10 hours each week just getting to work and back. Gak - I literally hadn't done that math until just now. Pardon me, I need a moment.

Ahem.

OK, I'm back. Where was I? Oh yeah, I was saying my commute is simultaneously one of the worst and best things about my job. What could possibly be good about spending that much time in transit? Two words: I get to do a lot of reading. Not sure that quite makes up for the (gulp) 10 hours a week, but it does take the sting out.

So, I figured I'd recommend a few recent reads and post my current List Of Books I'm Gonna Read. I'm hoping my readers will pass along a few recommendations of your own.

I recently finished Mary Roach's Packing For Mars, which was brilliant and hilarious. I haven't read her previous books yet, but if they're anything like this one, sign me up. I also just wrapped up Steve Martin's new book, An Object of Beauty. I loved his The Pleasure of My Company, and this new one didn't disappoint. Not a funny book per se, but thoroughly enjoyable. Cory Doctorow's Little Brother brought out the hacker in me, although politically conservative readers may find his political commentary off putting. And speaking of hacking, it's always fun to flip through 2600 magazine.

What's ahead? Here's my current list:

And of course there's Wired magazine and a recent issue of Analog Santa brought me. 

1 comment:

Gabe said...

I have a few, but I'm trying to polish off the Rogue Reading list previously attached to the Sexy Rogue Guide....or something like that. I hope you don't mind, but I posted that reading list on my blog several months ago, mainly as a favor to a friend who had lost the previous one I gave him. Anyway, I just finished a book recently called The Deadline by Tom DeMarco. Its' an obscure little novel that really is a book about system engineering. Mr. DeMarco's story version of system engineering lessons learned is kind of wonky, but in the end it's actually a really good book with some great take aways about program management.