NOW READING

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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I'm still reading all the stuff I've said before, but since I've been having a bit of a hard time lately, I'm keeping my mental health up by re-reading Wheel of Time from the first book, reading Sanderson (10 % in the first book of Stormlight) and a bit of Tad Williams on the side, not doing much progress in anything else.

Also, I've been listening to the Bible in a Year podcast since the beginning of the year, so I'm on day 171 or so, technically having read almost half of the Bible this year (I already have done so, especially during the biblical studies at the uni, but it's actually fun to listen to it and in English to boot; it's a rather novel experience).
 
I am currently working on completing my home library, so since the beginning of the year I have been completing & reading the missing books from the Discworld series and related books written by Terry Pratchett. I love his books and since his death in 2015 I was afraid to reach for the last book, The Shepherd's Crown because I would feel like the whole universe had somehow ended. When reading his books I always felt like I was on an adventure and the endings always made me feel good and wanted to have something worth waiting for.

Last week I finally read it.

I am glad it was published even though Pratchett did not finish it. I am sad that not everything was developed and there were some gaps and the style was very different from the previous books but still - it was worth it. Now I have a separate shelf at home dedicated to his books :-)
 
I usually read several books at once, recently I've been in a phase of reading about topics loosely (or not) related to my work.

I finished 'Chaos Machine' about the influence of social media on our brains (or so the cover claimed). It turned out to be an interesting set of stories about the influence of YouTube and Meta on several communities. Judging by the title, I expected something more related to psychology and neurology. The book is not bad, but I think I have an aversion to certain phrases that the author uses with pleasure. Whenever he talks about those responsible, he emphasizes that they were white men. I don't understand what race has to do with it, reading every few sentences / pages 'of course, the white men responsible for the product did not understand the consequences' is slightly tiring. At the same time, when black people were mentioned - it was always with a capital letter. I don't know - is this some custom that has not reached my country? Not to mention the very selective approach to moral assessment of the situation. White men made bad decisions in their ignorance and did it intentionally for profit while a Black, determined student created a social media hate spiral against a janitor (who she mistook for another employee) that resulted in his firing (without cause) out of a deeply felt sense of justice. Not my cup of tea.

The second book is 'Outrage Machine' - same subject but much better written, there are specific examples of behaviors and psychological patterns behind them. The book often refers to the mechanisms behind the social network algorithm and the element of psychology/culture it uses. Interesting, if difficult in places, read. Quite useful, I'll leave it on my desk.

I also read 'Pyramids' by Terry Pratchett - quite interesting but not his best book although the time loop is one of the better ones I've read.

On the shelf are 'Active Measures' (I'm currently reading it. is about a history of disinfromation and propaganda), "This is not propaganda" and "How to win an information war". I'm starting my vacation so I'll have time to read them. :-)
 
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