A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
Search asklemmy π
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. A scientist is on a mission to save the world. The science stuff is accurate and easy to understand in my opinion (but I'm a physicist, lol).
The author also wrote the Martian, that was adapted as a movie, you probably know it.
My colleague recommends it to everyone, and she reads a lot. I read a little and also liked it. Not only because of the science, but also because of the story.
I also highly recommend the audibook
Jazz hands
Iβm going to have to re-read Project Hail Mary cause Iβve seen it recommended so many times, but I personally didnβt love it. Iβm big Andy Wier fan - and absolutely loved The Martian.
With PHM, it felt like there were too many situations/problems that were created and then easily solved by the narrator. Each problem was a little too outlandish to then have a convenient solution right away.
Martha Wells and her Murderbot series is hilarious. It really made me laugh out loud and I read every book back to back.
It's about a robot that thinks he's a psychopath and a murderer, who hacked his own circuits so he can pirate TV shows and watch them while on missions.
I won't tell more, just read.
I think Murderbot is specifically genderless. But yes, excellent read. Audio book adaptations are also excellent if you prefer to listen.
"The Disappearing Spoon" by Sam Kean goes through the entire periodic table with fun and often very funny vignettes about each of the elements.
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
Series of Unfortunate Events is hilarious and digestable.
Also has one of the better TV adaptations
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 π
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 apΓ©ratif 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 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.
Immune by Philipp Dettmer is a very good and easily digestible book about the human immune system.
He's also the founder of Kurzgesagt.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
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.
Neuromancer by William Gibson, it's a great book that is easy to follow, well written, and extremely fun.
A great book but I don't know if I'd recommend it as a "get into reading" book.
What makes you hesitant? I certainly wouldn't recommend something like Snowcrash... but Neuromancer is exceedingly well written and concise.
Huh, I'd go the opposite way.
I think because there's more for the reader to infer in Neuromancer, and getting those inferences affects enjoyment.
Snow Crash is a bunch of episodes that add up to a story and even if your mind wandered for a few pages in the middle you'll still be entertained by what's on the page, and be able to follow the ending.
Interesting, I see the logic in what you're saying but I generally find it harder to carry through seemingly unrelated stories to a final conclusion. So I found Seveneves extremely readable but Cryptonomicon completely befuddled me.
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/
Wow that's interesting!
This is what I was thinking too based on OP's requirements.
Masters of Doom by David Kushner
Have you read 1984 yet? Itβs a work of fiction, but very insightful.
Nonfiction oldies that still hold up: The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll and The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder.
Soul of a New Machine is a classic.
Id add Hackers by Steven Levy and Cryptonomicon/Snow Crash by Stephenson
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky could be up your alley. One of the best books I've read in recent memory
I think you and I have somewhat different tastes in books. Most of my favorites don't fall under programming, tech, DIY, and science, but some do. I've shared some below broken into your taste and other in case you want to venture out and try something new.
Programming, Tech, DIY, & Science
One, Two, Three...Infinity by George Gamov
Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews
Other
Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano
A Field Guide to Earthlings by Ian Ford
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupΓ©ry
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
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.
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.
Maybe you would enjoy "Every tool's a hammer" by Adam Savage.
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)
Are you interested in fiction or nonfiction?
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!
I really enjoyed The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan. Black powder style weaponry and some types of people get magical powers from ingesting black powder. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it really hooked me pretty quick
"Phantoms in the Brain" by V.S. Ramachandran.
Prisoner of Trebekistan by Bob Harris. It's about the Jeopardy! champion's life and journey through the game, and shares his memorization techniques. It's quite funny and insightful.
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. It's a bit coming-of-age but it's lite, interesting, tech sci-fi.
Only other i read that is close is the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.