Hii, I am trying to get into reading books but don’t know what to read. I like programming, tech, DIY stuff and science and would love to read about it.
Which book should I read that is not overwhelming for a begginer like me?
Edit: Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions :)
Books
- 1984
- The Disappearing Spoon
- The Tetris Effect
- A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
- Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!
- Immune
- The Murderbot Diaries
- Children of Time
- Neuromancer
- Bobyverse Series
- Project Hail Mary
Authors
- Mary Roach
- Marthe Wells
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Bobiverse series, if you like programming and science you’ll love it.
I came here to recommend this book series. Very fun, compelling, and breaks down complex ideas into smaller digestible plot devices that actually mean something later in the series.
Bit late to this, but you might enjoy The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton - later turned into a great movie and a TV show I’ve not seen so can’t comment on. It’s about scientists dealing with something dangerous brought back from space.
Check out Snowcrash. Not the best book ever written, but is definitely interesting and is a major influence for Mark Zuckerberg. (Which if you do read the book may lead you to think he has very little reading comprehension imo)
I think any of the books Mary Roach would suit you. They are easy to read, yet are brimming with science explained in a fascinating and unintimidating way.
Her book Stiff is prolly my favorite. It explains what happens to the body starting with death, and covers medical, forensic, and funerary subjects (among others). Fascinating.
Maybe you would enjoy “Every tool’s a hammer” by Adam Savage.
“Phantoms in the Brain” by V.S. Ramachandran.
Here is a decision tree for NPR’s best scifi/fantasy books. I just started crossing these out with the phone’s image editor when I finish one.
AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee.
If black mirror was a book this would be it. It blends the current and upcoming AI/tech trends with sci-fi that allows you to explore different worlds and give you perspective on how they can really affect us. There is an analysis at the end of each story and explainds the tech used and where we are in terms of achieving that tech.
Good luck on your reading journey!
The Tetris Effect by Dan Ackerman is a lot of fun, a pretty breezy read, and is fairly unbelievable for how true the story is. It involves (in varying amounts) programming, science, and DIY, mostly from an early-80s perspective (since a lot of it is about the development of the game), plus some corporate espionage and Soviet meddling.
There are some book/literature focused instances that might have communities you could be interested in.
A general “books” instance: https://literature.cafe/
And the instance I’m on (https://sffa.community) for science fiction/fantasy stuff
We are talking non fiction here?
Yes, though I don’t mind finction books too :)
I don’t really read much non-fiction, but if you want something entertaining and kinda sciencey look at the books “What if” and “How to” by the XKCD comic’s author: https://what-if.xkcd.com/
I love his books! You might check out Joel Achenbach too - https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Joel-Achenbach/1162553
This is what I was thinking too based on OP’s requirements.
Wow that’s interesting!
It ignores a couple of important facts about Futurama to make the point is trying to make through a lens of today, though.
Ignoring the obvious “it’s a cartoon” is that the ship in Futurama moves the universe around itself rather than moving through the universe. And the other being the article limits itself to today’s technology, in general.
Have you read 1984 yet? It’s a work of fiction, but very insightful.
Masters of Doom by David Kushner
Series of Unfortunate Events is hilarious and digestable.
Also has one of the better TV adaptations
I encourage folks to power thru the books tho. Both experiences are distinct and idiosyncratically amazing, but obv its more work to work through the physical books.
Oh yeah, books first then the Netflix series afterwards. I think the show does a lot to expand the world of the books while not compromising its overall story and message. But you gotta read the books first.
Incredible, actually always wished for it and was disappointed that the movie adaptation only encapsulated the first 3 books.
Although nobody plays Count Olaf better than Jim Carrey in my respectful view. NPH was incredible but I’m partial to Carrey’s portrayal. That scene with him “gently letting Meryl Streep go quietly into the sad night/lake to join the the human-eating carnivorous leeches and her late husband” was so fucking sadistic and yet comedically beyond compare. Chef’s kiss, I love her just for her portrayal of Aunt Josephine, I literally cannot imagine anyone else/better for the role.
Top shelf casting!
Edit: it would be darkly humorous if Streep made the same ulimatum to the Unfortunate Events showrunner or director or whatever about only doing the scene once like when she has to make Sophie’s (impossible) Choice in that namesake film due to the emotional turmoil she purported to experience in the method acting/nature aspect of her performance in such an emotionally outrageous dilemma but in this case because of the sheer lunacy/dark humor of the situation
The casting for the movie was incredible, they really set themselves up for a great trilogy and it’s a shame there was only one movie. The show is a magnificent achievement in tone and design but some of the casting choices left a bit to be desired. Off the top of my head I wasn’t too fond of Sir, Josephine, or Nero. But gotta give them some credit, Jacques and Esme in particular were perfect imo. I also loved Jerome but I have the biggest crush on Tony Hale so I’m probably coming at that one with a bias 😂
Nah Aunt Josephine was perfect, I would equate her casting to like Daniel Radcliffe as fucking Harry Potter even though Josephine is a far more minute character even in the book but also in the grand scheme of things
Edit: also, now that I think about it, I feel like the movie was purposelly or at least played out in the continuity of its real life journey to Netflix development/syndication as like more of an apératif to get people interested in what was (at the time) a popular but still sorta niche tome of a series with like the weirdest humor that’s accessible to not unsharp children
I agree that Meryl Streep was absolutely perfect, as she always is. I was speaking on the casting for the TV show. I didn’t hate her or anything I just thought she coulda been better
I thought Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon was a really interesting read for nonfiction
