Category: Books

Everyone In Silico

Tonight I’ll be attending the launch of Jim Munroe’s new sci-fi novel Everyone in Silico. Though I’ve never met Jim, we attended York University around the same time. He always volunteered to help with the literary magazine I helped edit, and he never turned up. Now he’s a famous sci-fi writer and publisher. I guess he had better things to do with his time! For those in Toronto, the launch is at Rancho Relaxo (300 College St., west of Spadina) at 9pm, and it’s free. Join me!

Alternate Histories

Rebecca helpfully points out this site which is all about alternate histories. Like her, the only sci-fi I really enjoy is of this type. A book I read in this vein a long time ago, and which I would like to read again, is The Probability Broach, by L. Neil Smith. I’m not sure if it’s considered a good book, but I enjoyed the revisiting of American revolutionary history. Oh, and the gorillas, too. Funny that it’s considered “the definitive libertarian novel.” But I guess libertarians are all about alternate histories…

Library Wish Lists

I’ve been thinking about something Dinah mentioned. Public libraries are great. And Amazon wish lists are great, too. Wouldn’t it be great2 if someone could write a little program that could search online public library databases within a certain radius from our homes to see if any of our wish list books are available at the library? Have at it, webgeeks!! (In fact, it sounds like a job for that brainy pb).

Bookwatch

That pb is brilliant. His Bookwatch feature tracks the 10 most popular books being mentioned on weblogs by checking for links to Amazon.com. (via anil)

And now, to help do my part, I’ll mention some books:

  • Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser has changed the way I look at the entire prepared food industry. More than just a critique of fast food, it documents the processes behind the “malling” of America (and the world). Compelling reading.
  • The Global Soul by Pico Iyer looks to be a sort of postmodern travel book in which our author globetrots and then philosophizes about the world. I picked it up mostly because it has a chapter on Toronto called “The Multiculture” which supports the generally-held assertion that my city is one of the most multicultural in the world. The reader reviews on Amazon, however, aren’t too kind, and so I might have to read something else first.