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Slashdot Asks: What Book(s) Are You Reading This Month?

Posted by msmash on from the let's-get-this-going dept.

We have not run book recommendations and book discussion posts for some time. So here it goes: What's a book -- or books -- are you reading this month? Additionally, what's a book you finished recently that you found insightful, or funny, or both. (The latter request comes from a reader.) Leave your recommendation and any additional notes in the comments section below.

23 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. ww1 centennial coming up by bugs2squash · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger. With respect to my heritage this is an account by someone on "the other side" in WW1. Always worth getting a different perspective.

    --
    Nullius in verba
  2. The Mythical Man Month by bobbied · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Everybody who engineers or manages engineers needs to read this book every few years.

    "The Mythical Man Month" by Fred Brooks.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:The Mythical Man Month by DickBreath · · Score: 3

      But will they learn the lessons from it?

      Every few years since the 1970s managers get some new fad that it is possible to totally predict all software development, 100% perfectly, so it fits into nice neat marketing timetables. Clue: even companies with billions of dollars have trouble perfectly predicting large software projects or when they will be ready.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    2. Re:The Mythical Man Month by bobbied · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, I don't think Agile runs contrary to Brooks. In fact, I think Agile flows pretty naturally from Brooks.

      Of course, the term "agile" can be abused in astonishingly foolish ways (and yes, I've lived though some of these), but I actually think true Agile addresses many of the issues raised by Brooks as being keys to successful projects when properly done.

      So let's call Agile and Brooks complementary.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    3. Re:The Mythical Man Month by Nidi62 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Everybody who engineers or manages engineers needs to read this book every few years.

      "The Mythical Man Month" by Fred Brooks.

      I was going to have all my subordinates read it but the book was too long, so I assigned them all a chapter to read so they would finish reading the book quicker.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    4. Re:The Mythical Man Month by ngc5194 · · Score: 3, Informative

      True story. A company was having problems with its development team. I was brought in to manage the team, to get things straightened out and act as a bridge between the developers and management. One of the folks on the management team asked me if I could recommend any books on the issues that address why they were having such problems with software development. I said there are a bunch, but start with the best, "Mythical Man Month". A few days later I asked him if he had bought it and started reading it. He said he looked at it, but it was really old so he didn't bother with it. He asked if there were more recent books I could recommend. I said, "Yes, but none of them are as good. Trust me, give this one a chance and we can talk about it's applicability to our situation." Again, a few days later we talked, and he decided he wasn't going to bother getting and reading it. I said, "Let me get this straight, you hired me for my insights into the software development process. You've seen me improve things around here. You asked me, presumably because you recognize I have some expertise in the field, what you should read, I told you, and you decided to go with your instincts on this matter over my judgment, is that correct?" To this day I have not received an answer to this question.

  3. The Billionaire Raj by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Picked "The Billionaire Raj" by James Crabtree, a former Mumbai bureau chief of Financial Times who used to live in India. For nearly a century leading up to its independence in 1947, India operated under a system of British governance known as the Raj, (Sanskrit for kingdom or rule.) Then, more or less until the introduction of economic liberalization in 1991, the country stagnated under a planned economy whose overwhelming regulatory demands were described as the License Raj. The book illustrates how India has come under the grip of a new but no less troublesome regime. In a nation no longer at the mercy of imperial administrators and maharajahs or petty bureaucrats, a new system has grown up, and the emerging superrich are firmly in charge. Pretty fascinating book if you want to learn more about India, which is increasingly becoming important for Silicon Valley companies, and take you mind off of the US politics headlines.

  4. A few I've read that have had me laughing.. by malkavian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are:
                  "Carpet Diem" by Justin Lee Anderson
                (The Chronicles of Breed) "Dangerous to Know", "Tooth and Claw" and "Something Wicked" by K.T. Davies.

    I'd say Carpet Diem would appeal to fans of Douglas Adams for the humour, and perspective on life.
    The Chronicles of Breed books are the sort of humour that Deadpool brings to bear, though I'd say has a fair bit more insightfulness than Deadpool about life.
    All of those are well worth a look.

  5. My Fantasy Reading List for September 2018 by Seven+Spirals · · Score: 5, Interesting

    * The Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

    * Lyonesse by Jack Vance

    * The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

    * The Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

    * The Fall of Gondolin by JRR Tolkien

    I can recommend all of these, except for The Fall of Gondolin. It's not really up to Tolkien's best standard, but still worth reading for fans like me.

  6. Foreigner Series by C.J. Cherryh by The+Original+CDR · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I read 18 volumes of C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series in 54 days. That's about ~7,000 pages. A fast paced story that never bogs down about aliens, first contact and languages. Volume 19 just came out but I haven't read it yet.

  7. Three Body Problem trilogy by Guy+Smiley · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I just finished this series, and each of them were among the most original sci-fi books that I've read in years. That is hard to pull off with three longish books, but the author is full of great ideas.

  8. My list by Quirkz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    - The Pun Also Rises (not a typo; yes, it's about puns)
    - The Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams
    - Thanks, but It's Not for Us - a book on writing craft
    - Drinking with Dead Drunks by Elaine Ambrose and A.K. Turner

    --
    The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  9. Current and upcoming... by gosand · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Current:
    Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts

    So far so good... very insightful into how we think and act.

    Up Next:
    Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character

    Looking forward to this because he's such a great figure.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  10. Sunburst and Luminary by EdwinFreed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    by Don Eyles, about the "development of software for the Apollo program". This book contains far more technical details than is the norm, and the tone is that of an actual engineer rather than a biographer/editor.

  11. Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule by mykepredko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have always found this essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/make...

    To be the best way to explain to managers/executives how to work with engineers.

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
  12. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Lucas123 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Author Bill Bryson explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more so to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. I'm just beginning the book, but I've already found it absolutely fascinating as it's filled with little factoids, such as why Pluto lost its planetary status (it's less than half the size of the United States and may even be a comet in the Kuiper belt), or of the billions and billions of species that existed throughout Earth's history, 99.99% of them no longer exist; the average existence of a species is 4 million years.

    It's a really compelling read.

  13. "Lost in Math" by fomalhaut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Lost in Math", by Sabrine Hossenfelder.

  14. Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Scorch_Mechanic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    By Max Hastings.

    Fascinating, but its so tall that it's slightly awkward to hold it open with one hand, which I find myself doing a lot because I'm referencing things or looking up word definitions on my phone.

    I had the good fortune of visiting Powell's City of Books for the first time in years in August and I've been working very slowly (much more slowly than I normally go) through the pile of books I got there.

    --
    You should turn signatures off.
  15. Graham Greene by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Heart of the Matter

  16. I am reading an Asimov classic by WCMI92 · · Score: 3

    "Foundation and Earth" Of course I have already read it but the Foundation series always is a good re read.

    --
    Corporatism != Free Market
  17. White Trash by DaMattster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am reading White Trash: The 400 Year Old History of Class in America. It's really eye opening and challenges everything I ever learned in grade school about American history.

  18. Patrick O'Brian by kalpol · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm rereading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels after having first read them 10 or 15 years ago. They are every bit as excellent as I remember, and even more of their glory is revealed now through the lens of age. You may have seen the "Master and Commander" movie, but it's a pretty pale ghost of the characters and plots of the novels.

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    12:50 - press return.
  19. SF and Fantasy by Daetrin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Within the last month i've been reading:

    - Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik: A re-telling/twist on the Rumpelstiltskin story. A lot darker and more intense than "Uprooted", but still good.
    - All Systems Red - Martha Wells: A story about "Murderbot", a security robot that's broken its conditioning but somehow never gets around to doing much murdering. Re-listening to with my SO because of the Hugos. Still good the second time around.
    - The Fated Sky - Mary Robinette Kowal: Sequel to the very excellent "Calculating Stars" about an alternate history space program after a meteor impact in the 50s.
    - Girl in the Green Silk Down - Seanan McGuire: Sequel to "Sparrow Hill Road", about a hitch-hiking ghost on the run from a phantom rider. Still in the middle of this one, but enjoying it so far, and i'm curious if it's going to turn into a long running series or not.

    "Additionally, what's a book you finished recently that you found insightful, or funny, or both."

    I'll pick "funny"

    Either

    We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - Dennis E. Taylor: A guy gets dragooned into being a space probe. It's got geeky cultural references like Ready Player One (but much more toned down and well integrated with the story) in a near future (relatively speaking) space opera plot.

    or

    All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault - James Alan Gardner: About an alternate earth where "creatures of the night" are at war with superheroes. The author does humor well, but a lot of it is situational humor about the ridiculousness of the situation and some of it is dark.

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    This Space Intentionally Left Blank