Glorious (Heaven's Bowl 3) by Gregory Benford & Larry Niven (2020)

By the time I finished this third and final book, I overcame my revulsion to Benford's inscrutable and bizarre space aliens and enjoyed this finale, especially the ending. The number of mind-blowing revelations per second reached a crescendo; Niven's optimistic humanism was evident. 4/5 Stars.  I hope David Brin makes good on his threat to write more about the implications of engineering at immense scales (ringworlds, bowl worlds, twin-planets webs, Dyson spheres, etc.).

Books Mitch enjoyed in 2023

 

I value, cherish, and enjoy learning, scholarship, and reading. About half of what I read is for entertainment.  Like everyone else, I suffer from 150 cognitive biases, including "curse of knowledge bias," and "false consensus bias."  As a result, I unconsciously assume others have read as much as I have, that they remember everything they have read, and that they also enjoy reading.

In 2023 I read 170 books in five genres.  Here are some recommendations in no particular order: 

Fiction

Everyone loves Murderbot.  This new installment is extremely well-crafted. I predict it will win awards (Hugo, Locus).

Here is a 1994 Stephenson book that I had not read; it holds up very well 20 years later.  If you enjoy Neal Stephenson's books, go back and look for his earlier works.

This series is hilarious, silly, mindless madcap entertainment.

Here is a crypto-bro asteroid mining fantasy with some interesting science and plot points.

Juli Zeh is currently my favorite writer.  I read 5 of her books this year;  I highly recommend most of her books if you read German.

Non-Fiction

Many people have spoken to me about the topics covered in this book and why we should all read and discuss how it applies to our work. The book really is as fantastic as everyone said.   Now I understand all those commit messages and code comments such as "DDIA page 132." I cannot recommend this book enough. The book exceeded my high expectations.

In 2023 I read seven Patrick Lencioni books.  At least two of them have helped my career and the engagement of my teams.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: This collection of journal entries is short, approachable, and interesting.

This book is interesting for people who are transitioning through the journeyman years of their careers towards mastery, or for people entering middle age.  The data and theories are well-presented despite the weak writing.

After a gap of 10 years, I read some Malcolm Gladwell books this year.  Most of them were not good but I liked this one.  As usual, Gladwell's stories are very entertaining; readers love the stories and scientists dislike the presentation of the science.

Aftermath: Expeditionary Force 16 by Craig Alanson (2023)

Fantastic resurrection to this fun series.  Hilarious, mindless entertainment. 5/5 Stars

Tell No One by Harlan Coben (2001)

Another Harlan Coben thriller with identical plot elements to all the others: the reluctant hero with true grit who overcomes overwhelming odds and circumstances, a deep, dark murder mystery, evil overlords in a criminal  conspiracy, and horrifying, sudden violence. The protagonist, of course, lives happily ever after, 4/5 Stars.

Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies that'll improve or ruin everything by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith (2017)

Fun romp through emerging revolutionary technologies by the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal cartoonist and lawyer wife pair. Lots of funny anecdotes.  Like most popular science, the predictions in the book were overtaken by events since it was published, so it's not nearly as good as it was in 2016.  3/5 Stars.

Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef (2010)

This poorly-written but interesting autobiography has risen in popularity again since the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, the ensuing depraved torture, rape, and mass murder of civilians, and Israel's reaction to the modern-day mass slaughter. The context is interesting and I did learn a few things but the book is not that good. 2/5 Stars. 

starter villain by John Scalzi (2023)

The author suffered terribly from the lockdowns in 2020 and his writing suffered.  This book is not among his best work but it is still very good. The dialog and characters are fun but the plot is a little discombobulated, 4/5 Stars.

Discovery by B. V. Larson (2023)

I probably would have enjoyed this book in 1963 but my tastes have changed.  2/5 Stars, not good.

System Collapse by Martha Wells (2023)

Drop what you are doing and read this book.  It is the best murderbot book yet. 5/5 Stars. If the judges have teenaged children Martha Wells will win all of the awards again for this one.

ShipStar by Larry Niven & Gregory Benford (2014)

I am glad I picked up the series again.  The second book is slightly better with the introduction of new space alien species and mysterious tech stuff.  The character arcs are poorly motivated but I liked the story. 4/5 Stars.

Callsign Valkyrie by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole, Walt Robillard (2023)

Self-contained, backstory of factions during the reign of the evil "House of Reason" era of Galaxy's Edge. Not bad. 4/5 Stars.

Redshirts: A novel with three Codas by John Scalzi (2012)

Funny, clever, fourth-wall breaking book that becomes "meta" as bizarre metaphysical paradoxes intermingle.  Fun stories, good characters, very entertaining, 5/5 Stars.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (2022)

Nebula award winner 2023, well-written, clever fantasy. I don't like fantasy, though. 3/5 Stars.

A City on Mars by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith (2023)

This book is well-researched and comprehensive. My personal experience with International Law is that there basically are no rules. Nation State leaders do whatever they want.  Therefore, I don't completely buy into the detailed analysis of the policies and laws of nation state actors in space. I do agree with the game theoretic analysis, including the "company towns" analogies.  The data and tech are very interesting.  And, of course, the snarky prose is wonderful. 4/5 Stars.

Always Legion by Jason Anspach, Peter Nealen, & Nick Cole (2023)

I needed something light, fun, humorous to recover from that terrible Peter H Kim book.  This one is a little disappointing; the close combat is good as always. This era and setting in the Galaxy's Edge universe is dark and depressing, though.  3/5 Stars.

How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships are built, broken, repaired by Peter H Kim (2023)

This book is terrible. The Science in it is shockingly bad.  The topics covered are about taking offense, unrelated to trust. I kept hoping it would get better and it just got worse.  1/5 Stars.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (175 AD)

I enjoyed this collection of the Roman emperor's personal journal snippets.  They are short, dense, and unambiguous. It's interesting how the fundamentals of Stoical Roman ethics of Aurelius' era have so much in common with other civilizations' ethics, e.g. Zoroastrianism's good deeds from good thought. Civic duty, and aligning our conscious decisions to the Logos (divine, cosmic consciousness) is also repeatedly and well-articulated with examples.  I learned a lot in a short time. 4/5 Stars.

Taken to the Stars by J N Chaney * Rick Partlow (2023)

I enjoy the Anspach / Chaney books so I tried this one by Chaney.  It's a juvenile book written for young teenagers and not very good. I shall not read the rest of the series. 2/5 Stars.

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (2007)

Clever, well-crafted, immersive, and fun.  I did not like the end of the story-in-the-story. 4/5 Stars.

Homo Faber von Max Frisch (1957)

Ich habe diese Geschichte wirklich genossen. Es ist unvorhersehbar, subtil und gut gemacht. Das philosophische Thema der anti-humanistischen amoralischen Wissenschaft und Technologie im Vergleich zu Mythen, Kunst und Transzendentalismus ist großartig. 5/5 Sterne

Play Dead by Harlan Coben (1/1/2010)

Harlan Coben wrote this book when he was 19 and 20 years old, as an undergrad in college.  The values, perspectives, hormones, and perspectives of a 20-year-old shine through the fantastic (though somewhat melodramatic) plotting and dialog.  It's always great to catch up on the early works of a good writer.I really enjoyed this book, despite the terrible, cardboard 2-D characters. In particular, the end is well-crafted and well-edited. 5/5 Stars.

Holly by Stephen King (2023)

I am very grateful to live in a time when Stephen King is still writing new, thrilling books that are so carefully and skillfully crafted. The universe is conspiring to make me happy.  5/5 Stars.

Der Prozess von Franz Kafka (1925)

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Ich habe dieses Buch langsam gelesen, weil mir die Prosa und der Stil gefallen haben. Die bürgerlichen und sozialen Interaktionen sind schrecklich, frustrierend und erschreckend. Die Hauptfigur K hat gesunden Menschenverstand und stellt unschuldige, vernünftige Fragen. Der Dialog und die detaillierte Darstellung der Bewegungen, Ereignisse und Schauplätze sind fantastisch. Die Geschichte ist natürlich sehr deprimierend. 4/5 Sterne.

Yesterday's Spy by Tom Bradby (2022)

An "impulse borrow" from the library the last time I was there, this book reads like a James Bond film script set in 1953.  The author really should have availed himself of professor Amanat's fantastic history book; he made some blunders about the leaders and factions in the 1953 chaos in which the story takes place. But the thriller aspects of the story were fun and it was wildly entertaining, despite how depressing the situation was. 3/5 Stars.

Silos, Politics, & Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni (2006)

It's another interesting story; however the "model" (prescriptive methods of overcoming the problems), is not (at all) appropriate to my own situation; so I was disappointed. 3/5 Stars.

This is my God by Herman Wouk 2nd ed. (1992)

Here is another book I found on the shelf of one of my children whose former-bedroom is now my home office. I did not get most of this information in my own education or research, so this overview was very helpful to me personally.  I do not recommend the book for folks whose mom is not Jewish. 3.5 Stars.

The rise of the Wobos

I sometimes read transcripts of, or listen to Yascha Mounk's interviews.  His latest interview is with New York TImes columnist David Brooks.  Mr. Brooks is hawking his latest book. Among the interesting topics discussed by Dr. Mounk and Mr. Brooks is the rise of the "Woke Bourgeois," (WoBos).  Some find our current geopolitical situation analogous to the conditions that led to the 12 million Ukrainians murdered by Stalin (see Live Not by Lies and the Netflix Film "Mr. Jones."

Heaven's Bowl by Larry Niven and Gregory Benford

I read this book in 2013 and did not like it; I don't think I read the rest of the trilogy. I pulled the hardback off the shelf and re-read it.  I still don't like the book but I do intend to read the rest of the trilogy this time. 3/5 Stars.

14 by Peter Clines (2012)

This odd horror / mystery story is well-crafted and fun.  Clines' use of the H.P. Lovecraft's magic system is consistent and extremely well done. I was completely engrossed and trying to solve the mystery. Recommended. 5/5 Stars.

Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2023)

A decent ending that ties up all the loose ends of the trilogy. The unspace magic system and inhabitants is a little bit too contrived in the final reveal at the boss level, though.  Fun story, 4/5 Stars.

Going Dark by Linda Nagata (2015)

I enjoyed the ending of this trilogy, despite all of the ambiguity and continued mystery of "The Red." It is a good story.  I hope Ms. Nagata picks up the story line and writes more stories or books in this world (after she recovers from the fires in Maui, of course).

Learning from Hamas Apologists

Dan Gardner's post about how we are all susceptible to losing our own capability to reason is fantastic.  How can these very smart people defend their support of such atrocities?  Gardner explains the thought process and phenomenon well.  One unique element of the Hamas Apologist example that Gardner is missing from this analysis is the Quranic concept that deception is essential to the righteous struggle for all good people to overcome the abomination of the world outside of strict Sharia law.  The intelligent, articulate Hamas Apologists have a slightly richer set of beliefs and motivations than the people from the past secular examples Gardner cites.  I highly recommend Gardner's post.  It explains a lot.

The Killing Star by by Charles Pellegrino & George Zebrowski (1995)

Amazing story, great subplots and themes. Odd, distracting theology and mysticism. 5/5 Stars.  Fantastic!

Vivid Tomorrows by David Brin (2021)

I finally bought and read this book.  David does cover the Zeitgeist of the public and world leaders -- how cinema and TV are correlated  with policies and priorities. But most of the book is David's repeated rants about how important civilization, civics, and society are.  We do not spend enough time celebrating the progress in all measures of better lives and outcomes.  The Enlightenment and Humanism that led to better forms of governance, social justice, and society are only rarely put on TV and cinema.  The fantasy and most sci-fi on our screens is about feudal societies, patriarchies, monarchies, and evil institutions.  David thinks we should celebrate how well we all work together.  The essays are worthwhile, of course.  David's ideas are always worth reading. 4/5 Stars.

The Final Detail by Harlan Coben (2023)

Great mystery; tightly-woven.  Big hearted characters.  Fun, gritty action. 5/5 Stars.

The Trials by Linda Nagata (2015)

The ongoing story has some more interesting twists, as more clues emerge about the mysterious awe-and-wonder AI ("The Red").  Melodramatic, fun. 5/5 Stars.

I will find you by Harlan Coben (2023)

Gritty, violent thriller with fun big hearted bad guy characters.  The story is a little bit too melodramatic but the ending makes it worthwhile. 4/5 Stars. 

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson (2023)

Fascinating biography of Elon's life so far.  The deep horrors and darkness of Elon's internal demons that cause much of his subjective experience to be so miserable are the most interesting parts.  The reader can't help but feel sorry for him.

". . . electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you also think I was gonna be a chill, normal dude?"

We don't (yet) hear much about x.ai, his 7th companyI; I personally find it likely Elon will create a half dozen more companies in the next 30 years. 4/5 Stars.

Israel in 2048: The Rejuvenated State by Michael Oren (2023)

Oren is a pragmatic politician with deep understanding of the difficult politics in the middle east. He has what most westerners might consider an odd take on informal international agreements. His concept aligns with Ibn Khaldum's The Muqaddimah (Introduction)  as well as modern middle eastern statecraft.in general. This book outlines a handful of serious issues and Oren's vision for addressing them.  I always enjoy Oren's analysis.  This book is somewhat less well researched as his history or fiction books but is good, none-the-less. 4/5 Stars.

Interstellar by Avi Loeb (2023)

Professor Loeb is a great astronomer, scientist, and organizer.  He has some interesting philosophical ideas and fun speculations about society and the nature of existence. This book sometimes drifts into odd rants unrelated to his speculations but his reformulations of the Drake equation and sci-fi ideas are fun.  3/5 Stars.