Books
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That makes sense @goosehd.
I really should do more reading about the history of places I visit.
I am off to Japan next year. Any reading recommendations from the forum are welcome.
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@SKT can recommend anything by Portis.
The Coen Bros version is masterful. -
@steelworker I've started a list of his works and I loved the Coen bros version (but I love almost everything they do).
@popvulture finished The Tainted Cup and looking to read the sequel…have you read? Really enjoyed it but had to keep my mind sharp to follow the Holmes-esque attention to detail.
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Man that cover is cool!
I haven’t read the sequel to TC yet, been waiting til it comes out in paperback. I’ve gotten back to reading Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, which is enormous but hilarious and rewarding so far. I started it earlier this year but had to restart because I put it down to read a couple easier books

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Great name for a doom metal band
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A few audio books I have read of late. I have mentioned some of these no doubt:
- James: A Novel by Percival Everett. This one has gotten a lot of praise and recognition. Everyone should read it. It is a retelling of Huck Finn from Jim's perspective. The narration on the audiobook is fantastic by Dominic Hoffman
- Ray Porter is a gifted narrator, and several of his are great in the hard-ish sci-fi domain. These would be worth reading, but he brings them to life in the same way Hoffman does James:
** Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, soon to be adapted to film.
** The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor. Very nerdy sci-fi by a former software engineer about a man who becomes a von Neumann probe that explores the galaxy. One of my favorite pieces of sci fi I've ever experienced
** Flybot, also by Dennis E. Taylor. This is a one-off in a near future about an artificial intelligence. A bit of a detective story, similarly nerdy to Bobiverse but much more terrestrial
Nonfiction, I will skip most of the business and product strategy books I've been reading, but this one has general applicability to anyone and the others are interesting:
- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, by Chip and Dan Heath. This incorporates a lot of psychology and behavioral economics to reveal things that impact effective dexisionmaking and a framework to get around those things.
- The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber, David Wengrow
- Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
- Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder and One Man's Fight for Justice by Bill Browder: reads like a biography crossed with a suspense novel
- Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals by Gary Paul Nabhan Ph.D., David Suro Piñera: this one gets you so deep into the weeds about mezcal, amazing stuff
- Finding Mezcal: A Journey into the Liquid Soul of Mexico, with 40 Cocktails by Ron Cooper, Chantal Martineau: great coffee table book, kind of biographical by the founder of del Maguey
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@mclaincausey some great stuff. +1 for James, one of the best things I’ve read in the past few years. Will add some of your recommendations to my list
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That makes sense @goosehd.
I really should do more reading about the history of places I visit.
I am off to Japan next year. Any reading recommendations from the forum are welcome.
Any Japanese written whodunnits, You will learn a lot about social structure and behaviour. I wish I have read them 25 years ago.....
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@Bridger Ametora for some denim and japanese culture
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That makes sense @goosehd.
I really should do more reading about the history of places I visit.
I am off to Japan next year. Any reading recommendations from the forum are welcome.
Haruki Murakami
Michiko Aoyama
Satoshi Yagisawa
Hisashi Kashiwai
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Yuki Yoshida -
@SKT James really conveys the terror of being black in that era, which of course extended well beyond the Emancipation. That’s the main reason I think of it as requires reading, though it has all sorts of other merit as well.
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Just bought:
@Giles I'm glad you want to read this. It's certainly not light reading, although it's quite readable. I found the topic timeless. Hope you'll find it interesting.
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Unfortunately, we an look to the present for plenty of evidence these days as well
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I rolled my eyes at Folk Songs' title . What do I know.



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