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Locus 2003 Recommended Reading List
Embedded Geek writes "Locus magazine has published its 2003 Recommended Reading List of science fiction, fantasy, and related titles. With nearly 300 entries, it's a safe bet that even the most voracious reader will find something new. Personally, I was delighted to see Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams under non-fiction and the great listing of short fiction (so I can mine my old magazines for the gems). If you're more of a completist, check out Locus'es exhaustive listings (continued here
and here). Definitely worth downloading to your PDA for your next trip to the bookstore."
"SCO's Claim to ownership of Linux"
Monstrous Regiment: OK, but not his best
Wee Free Men: Better than MR
(pTerry's next book, A Hat Full of Sky will be out in a couple months.)
Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams, M.J. Simpson (Hodder & Stoughton; Justin Charles & Co.)
Not sure I'd read this, I took a swing at Salmon of doubt but didn't find much interesting I hadn't already seen before in there. A good read from a while back, and recently re-issued in hardcover: Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I picked a paperback copy up in Cambridge, ten years ago and found it a great read.
(Currently reading The Soong Dynasty (non-fiction) by Sterling Seagrave, alternately with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (fiction) by Robt. Heinlein, interesting combination as both address revolutions.)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I purchased his complete works in ASCII format at the market a year ago for 50 rupees. The "Hitchiker's Guide" series is very very funny though I have yet to finish all of the cd.
This is a great reading list. In fact, I've read my fair share of these books and can vouch for the quality.
I wasn't particularly impressed with the Douglas Adams biography, personally, but Adam's book itself (not released this year) is extraordinary.
I have been pwned because my
But where is the 'Adult' section.
He was a risk taker though, and clearly scuba diving is dangerous if you have emphasema (sp?).
I have to read all those books? Is that what they are recommending?
"Windows -- Securing the world for the next Millooneyum"
MoFscker
Teaser:
One February morning, Dick Cheney emerges from his bunker, to see his own shadow - which means six more months of war...
The scenario repeats itself, with the morning started anew each day, until Dick learns to keep his eyes off the ground, and fixed on "the light at the end of the tunnel."
Capsule review:
The best traditions of Michael Moorcock and Norman Spinrad meet those of Michael Moore and Norman Schwartzkopf.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
He died, IIRC, after a basketball game. Ruptured aorta, I think. Something that happens to tall people on occasion and Douglas was 6'4" (also, IIRC)
I did have the great fortune to meet him (and Terry Jones) at a reading (Startship Titanic) in Larkspur, CA several years ago. A truly entertaining fellow to listen to. I wonder how much recorded, documentary style footage there is of him.
One thing I'll pass along, and pardon me for not wording it exactly as he had: WWW has to be the longest to pronounce, as an acronym of what it stands for. Double-U-Double-U-Double-U, that's 9 syllables, while World Wide Web has only 3. Why don't they call it something shorter, like Triple-U?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I wasn't aware 'completist' was a word...
That is to say- I couldn't find a meaningition in my language-iser.
That's ok, Jesus likes me anyway.
As a self confessed nerd, I have never been able to really get into all these science fiction novels that are mentioned on slashdot. I try reading them but never finish them as I find the stories trite on the most part. 2001 is the ultimate piece of science fiction for me. I also liked Robinson's Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars.
Can anyone recommend an interesting and thought provoking piece of science fiction? The Locus list is 300 long and I want a narrower target than that.
If I point out that you are incorrect, making me a foe does not make you any more correct.
Heavy on "Lit'rature" and not much on books to be read for fun or entertainment. I note that not one of the fourteen books from Baen that made 2003 a year to remember in my reading is mentioned.
And pretty much the lot from publishers who insist that, if they deign to sell you any of these as an e-book that it be encrypted with DRM and sold at hardcover prices.
*sigh* Looks like we'll need to start a fund to get seeing-eye dogs for the Locus panel.
Is the Locus 2003 Recommended Reading List on the list? Because it's pretty long and I don't want to read it all if it's not on the recommended list.
-Brad
Glad to see the Tad Williams book up there; it was excellent.
Another series by the same author that I'd highly recommend (especially to this crowd) is the "Otherland" series; four books long (and I do mean long.)
It set in the future, and raises some interesting points about the possible future of the internet, VR, and gaming technologies.
I'm currently reading the second part of that story (It really is one long story. It ends in a cliffhanger of sorts). I'm glad to see it make that list, it is really good.
It may be one of the first "modern" sci-fi stories. Namely that it plays forward some familiar themes from today, and not just 60 years ago. (It seemed to me that science ficition for the most part was stuck in WWII/Cold War logic). One main part of the books is how immortality begets laziness...and how intellectual property plays into that. (One of the main characters, a Senator, is in the middle of a centuries long fillibuster of even more strict IP rules.)
As well, the idea of micro-combat instead of macro-combat is extremly interesting and well done.
It really is a must read.
I'm suprised that they didn't have any Math or Science novels in there. Some of the best books I have read this year have dealt with these subjects. Of course, this classifies me as a nerd.
...
Ya know, I used to think the same way, until I started working where I do now. Here, we download alarm panels. Which is to say that we dial in, and send in the programming which makes the alarm panel actually know what zones to monitor, etc. It took me a while before I finally wrapped my brain around the fundamental issue: From whose perspective is the download being done? From mine, it's an upload. From the technician on the scene, it's a download. And what is the technician asking for? A download. Hence, why we use this (seemingly backwards) definition that we do.
GPL made simple: What was my stuff is now our stuff. If you improve our stuff, please keep it our stuff.
There used to be a number of good books out there but in light of Excel's dominance of the market, it's hard to find any good book on Locus 1-2-3.
(Personally, I tended to favored Lotus Improv anyway.)
You mean I can't download TO my home directory?
On to business: When I submitted the article, I wanted to use the word, but found (as you did) that it does not appear to be defined anywhere (I was actually trying to check the spelling). In checking around, though, I saw that nevertheless it was being used.
So, like a good little sheep, I caved into peer pressure and used it. No doubt, my English teachers would be ashamed of me ("Hey, all the cool kids are saying 'completist'. You should, too. The first one is free, you know...")
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
Locus magazine sounds like Lokus magazine, and Lokus is WC in german... :)
Downloading simply implies that that there is a client/server relationship - you download from the server to the client. So saying you downloaded something onto your computer is perfectly valid, because it is implicit that it is from a server.
The submitter may very well have a PDA that can connect to the internet, in which case what he said is perfectly valid. Even in the case where you have to download from the server onto your computer and then sync to your PDA, the usage is still not that far off.
You pay her to leave. And promise a little more a month later if she leaves you alone.
Really, this works. You don't need a lawyer, etc.
Yet, of those three magazines, Analog is the only one I find consistently good enough to subscribe to.
I wish they would publish a list of things they they recommend against reading...I suspect that would fit better with my tastes. :-)
Looking over the list quickly, there aren't a whole lot of surprises here. The usual crop of perennial big authors are here, (Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson) and even many of the lesser authors are familiar to anyone who even occasionally reads Asimov's or Analog.
The problem here is that the list is so massive, there's actually almost no point to it. There's no plot descriptions whatsoever attached to the list, just a link to elsewhere.
If you're going to recommend a book, I think whoever a book is being recommended to deserves at least a brief explanation of "WHY?" I know that's difficult for a long list like this, but just a sentence or two would be nice, not just a links leading eventually to Amazon.
BTW: I'm finding Greg Bear's latest series a tad scientifically iffy, and his characters unbearably (no pun intended) flat and boring. The new William Gibson book, on the other hand, has enough of his signiture sarcastic view of mass-media to be entertaining, but that's just my humble opinion. Go read your own books.
"Isn't that the sweetest little well-balanced undergraduate-level philosophy of life."
Quite a few authors I have not read...and me being a fantasy addict....
"The Crystal City, Orson Scott Card (Tor)"
I am actually just now reading though this series. I sometimes can't believe just how deep he seems to build this alternative look at america. I admit I am just finishing the third book but I am hooked already.
"The War of the Flowers, Tad Williams (DAW)"
I don't know how Tad ever got the chance to write. His first book was about cats, it was not very good and he even mentions that it took forever to find someone to publish it. He then went on to write his great Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series...and then on to his amazing Sci-Fi Otherworld series. The War of flowers was good but not as amazing as his last series.
"Fool's Fate, Robin Hobb (Voyager; Bantam Spectra 2004)"
I did not even know the third one was out (or is it?..a quick check of chapters seems to think not, in my local stores...if it is I better get to the book store fast!). If you have any interest in the fantasy genre then you have to go give these a read NOW! Each book she publishes seem to get better and better with no end in sight. I often find that many authors seem to hit their "peak" and then taper off (Hey I am looking at you Robert Jordan) but that is just not the case here.
And just to ruin my many image (please oh please don't let anyone I know find this post), she was the first author to actually make me cry while reading one of her books...(shhhh don't tell).
Thats all I have read (well kinda) off that list.
Then again, maybe I'm just caving into peer pressure. ;)
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I love Linda Nagata but do not know any of the other.
Help fight continental drift.
Hmmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
By the great bird of the galaxy, does anyone have any good links/URLs to free(as in gargleblasters) Golden Age SF stories online?
Besides Burroughs and that great "They're Made out of Meat" short story.
I'm taking an online English class this semester that is focused on SF and Fantasy, and it sure would be nice to boost my arsenal of SF-proselytizing links.
Much appreciated if you can assist.
I agree it's unwieldy, but the Locus List has to be big to accomodate all Locus'es editorial staff. I mean, the magazine is basically nothing but reviews. If you want to thin the herd a little, try looking at some of the stuff nominated for the various awards or better yet at various reviewers personal best lists (sorry - couldn't find any links offhand).
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I just finished the last book of this trilogy. I've read way too much fantasy in the past couple years and it's sometimes hard to find a new author that I really like. This series is BY FAR one of the best I have read. I was hooked from the first few pages of the first book.
:-)
It's not on the list, but I thought I'd pitch it!
I read this about a month ago. It's a decent book, fairly short (208 pages), but at the same time it's expensive for the length ($12.95 US).
It's based off of an interesting idea: a society where scarcity is no more and death has been cured. My only complaint is that, by the end, I was ready to hurt someone if I had to read the word "Bitchun" one more time.
"I won't mod you down - I feel the need to call you a twit explicitly, rather than by implication."
Here's their list from last year. Me, I'd rather buy 4 good paperbacks than 1 hardcover, and I only found one book from the new list available in paperback (admittedly, I only looked for 20-25).
And someone rememeber to remind me to revisit this list next year.
Cheers
-b
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
I have 5 one foot high piles of unread novels on my bedside table from my last few trips to the bookstore. Reading's like crack.
Completist is a made-up word, biznitches.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
If you only count the official "submission to pro fiction magazines", I've been uncannily lucky. Not being too prolific, I've only sent out a half dozen formal submissions over the years and got this one sale last year.
For several years, though, I submitted three or more times a year to an amateur short-short contest in the Orange County Register and placed in the top ten half the time (meriting being put on their website) and scored first twice (to wind up in their newspaper). One of those grew into the Black Gate piece.
On the (nominally) nonfiction front, I wrote several articles for Dragon. In would pitch, say, twenty different articles at a sentence a piece before the editor would tell me he liked one and asked me to write the article. Perhaps one in five of those I liked enough to actually carry out and complete a full article. Of those articles that were "preapproved" that were submitted, he only turned down two - one of which was by an assistant editor in a very unprofessional manner that convinced me to end my relationship with Dragon.
So, my ratio is either very high (about 80% for "preapproved" Dragon articles), good (16% for "submission to pro fiction magazines"), or rather low (about 1% for total Dragon pitches).
If you're not bored yet with my ramblings and want to see the total tally of pieces that saw print, check out my site.
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I have a little book that EVERYONE should read. Why? Because this little book is has interesting symmetries from the syntax all the way up to higher-level concepts in the books storyline. It is an old book originally written in French (free online version), but translated into English. The book is classified as surrealist, and that might be the best one word description of it... but it definitely doesn't do it justice.
It is free if you can read French, and it is inexpensive if you do not. JUST TRY IT! Note that the original French has the best syntax level symmetry in that the author would make use of words that were spelled similarly but had different meanings... he would then construct sentences around that which were nearly the same at the level of text, but wildly different at the level of semantics. He even takes this interesting anti-symmetry all the way up to the storyline. It is one interesting and entertaining read. The English translation is still enjoyable, but 2nd best to the French original.
Don't even try to Babelfish the free online version. It might make you cry.
It's no surprise to me that F&SF was well-represented in this list. If you love *good* fantasy and science fiction, F&SF is for you. I've had a subscription on and off since freshman year of high school, and I'm currently in the process of completing my collection by ordering the back issues from my "off" times. You can subscribe here.
They publish an incredible spread of stories. Some to make you think; some to make you feel; some to make you laugh; some to immerse you completely in the world the author has created. I can't say enough good things about the magazine. Check it out.
-monique
The Internet Top 100 SF/Fantasy List:3 /top100 .html
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/611
I'm currently working my way through this list. One or two of the authors are a bit hard to find, but trawling the 2nd-hand book shops nets quite a few of the more 'specialist' books.
Red.
And, yes, lurking and posting on my own article is indeed self referential and indulgent. I have no defense...
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I noticed there were no Baen books on the list - Baen (www.baen.com) has produced several bestsellers recently, including Eric Flint's "1633" (the followup to the wildly successful "1632", which is now free for the download). Baen is one of the few publishing houses to make money recently - and they are the one giving away full-length, top quality novels at their Baen Free Library. ( www.baen.com/library )
They also sell their books through "Webscriptions", which produce non-DRM e-books (They use HTML, RTF, or a variety of 'Reader' formats).
It's more than a little interesting that giving away older product, and selling current product without annoying DRM or other restrictions would produce a *positive* result - but of course the RIAA will probably continue to pay no attention.
I wonder why Locus avoided the whole publishing house? SF publishing has traditionally been a jealous, backbiting world but I don't know if that's a factor in this list, or just the taste of the reviewers.
With the recent news about Sprit and Opportuntity, I'm really tempted to go back and re-read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars).
These books get into a lot of detail about the colonization and terraforming of Mars and how different factions splinter off into different directions (think of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri for you gamers).
I really enjoyed Tad Williams' "Dragonbone Chair" series (which isn't on the list, as it isn't new) but I was not at all impressed with "The War of the Flowers," (which is on the list.) The other two I've read are "The Brian King" and "In the Forest of Seere," both of which are quite good.
"The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.
The best new (to me) series I've read recently wasn't represented on Locus' recommended list. It's in the fantasy genre.
Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn.
Book 1: Across the Nightingale Floor
Book 2: Grass for his Pillow
Book 3: Cloud of Sparrows
Highly recommended.
Join moola.com, play games to earn money.
I mean, Playboy, Fantasy, what else.
I dont mean fantasy like shes my fantasy, I mean FANTASY like ANY geek would EVER get a Playboy babe in the sack, now THATS Fantasy
I love how at the bottom of the site it states you can order the issue via credit card submitted via mail, E-mail, or phone. Who in their right mind would submit credit card information over E-mail...seriously now people.
Yeah, Robinson is about the head of the class these days, along with Neal Stephenson and William Gibson of course (need I tell any good /.er that?). Zelazney, though, was something else again. If you ever happen to see it, buy/steal/barter a copy of "Doorways In The Sand". Brilliant, and perhaps the best opening chapter in all of SF. Cheers!
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
Viri is the plural of vir, or man. Virus has no plural.
In reference to the ommision of any works by Charles Sheffield: Fuck you
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
Lois McMaster Bujold's "Paladin of Souls" made the fantasy novel list. It and the book before it, "Curse of Chalion" are awesome, and unique fantasy.
Any geek that hasn't read her Mile's books certainly should consider them also. "Warrior's Apprentice" or "Borders of Infinity" are good starting points. Military SF at its best.
Cadmann
Ok, I see two titles I've recently read -- Darwin's Children, and Ilium. Didn't like either of them, both for different reasons. But now what? Maybe there truly are some gems on the list that I should read -- but if I randomly go get one and it's as all over the place as Ilium was I won't be happy. Especially if I'm buying hardcovers.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
House of Chains came out in 2003, and it was a great book.
The author is Canadian, and the books are difficult to get in the US (Locus is American).
I think that says it all.
something besides sci-fi/fantasy.
English != Latin
Words derived from Latin must use Latin conjugations. English words have their own special conjugations which are not related to Latin.
Romance languages vs. Germanic languages and all that, you know.
I realise that the list was made by Locus, a magazine devoted completely to SF and fantasy, and I'm just a random Slashdot jerk, but William Gibson's Pattern Recognition sucks. Avoid it like the plague, although in all honesty, the plague would be more fun, because it would be over faster and be a less boring.
Obviously it's akin to blasphemy to pan a book by The Godfather of Cyberspace, but it's just bad. All the main characters are in MARKETING, for god's sake. The plot revolves around a new way to sell Nikes, oh yay. Not to mention that the story is ripped off from his earlier Count Zero, people are using hotmail accounts to send corporate secrets back and forth, the main character is "... one of those slight-looking women who combine considerable wiry strength with low body weight." Kill me. If we wanted to read about a vacuous, tea-substitute-drinking, Pilates store window dummy WANKER, we would've read this month's Coked Up Supermodel mag.
Anyway. The only other book I've read on the list is Ilium, by Dan Simmons. It's pretty darn good, although not as good as Hyperion.
Darwin's Children, Greg Bear (Del Rey):
Not as good as the first one, the skipping ahead in time that goes on detracts a lot from the book and there aren't a lot of new ideas in it (compared to the first on at least). It's also a little short. Overall though I'd recommend it, especially if you read the first one. It's a decent book, solidly written.
Pattern Recognition, William Gibson (Putnam):
I enjoyed this one a lot, definitely a solid book. Not sci-fi though.
Absolution Gap, Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz; Ace 2004):
I'd read it if they'd release it in the US. I've read his other books and all of them are awesome. Cyberpunkish space opera from a scientist who works for the ESA and knows his stuff, you can't beat that.
Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson (Morrow)
A lot of people didn't like this one, but I thought it was good. Yeah, it's long. And yeah, it doesn't all fit together completely (yet, its part one in a series). It is also not scifi, or even fantasy.
Succession: The Risen Empire; The Killing of Worlds, Scott Westerfeld (Tor - two volumes; SFBC)
I read the first one, it was pretty good. It's lame that they cut it in two the way they did. It was enjoyable and well written. A good amount of clever ideas. I'm still pissed about buying the first one and having it be half a book that I'm waiting for the second half to come out in paperback, so I haven't read that one yet.
The Golden Age: The Phoenix Exultant; The Golden Transcendence, John C. Wright (Tor - two volumes)
I highly recommend these books. They are by far some of the best novels I have read in recent years. It takes some work to get into them because its such a radically different environment than whats normal, but its worth struggling through the first chapter or two. Of all the books listed I'd say these stand out above the rest as the most likely to be considered classics 20 years from now.
What is a Novellas and a Novelettes ?
I bought 4 of his books in a fit of madness recently (They're letting me write this from my padded cell). After reading the first two in the series, Revelation Space and Chasm City, I can honestly say that I have seldom been so irritated by books that have loads of promise and constantly seem on the verge of attaining some measure of plot consistency and depth of character portrayal, yet never actually get there.
It was uncannily like being forced to stop having sex moments before orgasm.
Ed. by Hartwell & Cramer. Yeah, I know it was published in 2002, but it is truly a great anthology.
Rape her and then cut her up into little bits and feed the bitch to the fishes.
Main Entry: dorkus
Pronunciation: 'dork&s
Function: noun
Etymology: emphasized alteration of dork
slang : NERD; also : JERK
1 : an annoyingly stupid or foolish person
2 : an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits "Slashdot dorki waste their lives."
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. Already mentioned by a previous poster.
The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man, both by Alfred Bester.
Marooned in Real Time by Vernor Vinge.
Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon.
A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn.
A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.
A Fire in the Deep by Vernor Vinge.
Startide Rising by David Brin.
Dune by Frank Herbert.
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks.
I can't believe how this book made it onto any recommended reading list - it is utter, utter shite.
The lead character is incredibly annoying and useless - fair play, he's autistic - but that's not it, he's just MIND-BENDINGLY irritating. The kind where you just want to throw the book at the wall in disgust.
And the plot, although having a few good ideas, is mainly laughably transparent and bland.
Avoid like the plague.
Danny.
I have written over 900 book reviews
I consider myself a voracious sc-fi / fantasy reader, but I've only read a small proportion of the books on the list.
;)
I can thoroughly recommend 'More Tomorrow and other stories' by Michael Marshall Smith. I was plesantly surprised to see this on the list, as he is often overlooked. More Tomorrow is a collection of the authors short stories, previously only available here in the UK. They're weird, bizarre, surreal but with a very disturbing undercurrent of normality.
Also good to see 'Amulet of Samarkand' and 'Predator's Gold' on the list, top notch 'teen' fiction (no shame in adults reading them either
Last of all, 'Fool's Fate'. I'm so sorry to say goodbye to Fitz, but Robin Hobb has done a brilliant job in bringing the series to a close. (and making me cry)
One surprising thing about the list is the number of 'limited' books on there, ie - those with a very small print run. They would be rather difficult to get from a high street book shop.
Paperbacks are better for travelling. Smaller and lighter, they fit in the back of my belt or the sleeve of a jacket so people don't think I'm a nerd. Ten paperbacks is good for a week travelling while consulting. Three hardcovers weigh more and I know that I'll be flipping stations on the hotel TV by Wednesday.
Hardcovers look better in the library, and survive much better. With overstock stores like Atlantic Books, they cost less than paperbacks. The Ender series and Spider Robinson are about the only ones I am willing to pay full price. Reading in bed, the larger print and larger pages means you can prop the book up with pillows and still read with one hand. (No jokes please.)
Since I started almost exclusively buying hardcovers, the amount of books I read has started slipping. This may also have much to do with life changes. There is just so much to do that I can rarely read more than one book in a day. Also, reading Slashdot takes a bit of time that was previously dedicated to books.
The big problem with hardcovers is the space. I bought 3 more bookshelves recently, and do not have much room for more. The new shelves are already filled and there are a few hundred books that still do not have a home yet.
I spend my life entertaining my brain.
I have trouble respecting a "best of" list that includes Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. A great post of what is wrong with that book here.
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
That is it, I said it.
I have read some of these and I always find them sorely lacking, they are the nerd equivalent of Bridget Jones books for single,late 20s early 30s females.
Has any SciFi writer ever gained a prize or being recognized outside the niche cabal of SciFi?
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
To that list I would have added:
1. Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Avatar"
2. Sharon Shinn's "Angelica"
3. Ursula Le Guin's "Changing Planes"
I was trying to track down a Sci-Fi story I read years ago, about these beautiful creautures, sylphs i think they were called, who men would become obsessed with until they wasted away. Not only did I not find the story, (anyone know this story), but I was disappointed that I couldn't find anywhere I could go, pay a small fee and download short stories, poems, or even novels that are out of circulation. Does such a place on the web exist? If it doesn't then it should.
And the learning is in the doing.