Having no good topic to write for this month’s blog post, I decided to write about the books I plan on reading for the year and why I chose to read them. I never was an avid reader. The books I read in Highschool for fun were typically old computer books I could find in the library or get as gifts. Although there were better books to read from, I learned a lot from them. I started to read and explore books of varying genres during my internship, which led me to read on a somewhat regular schedule. Visit the last section, if you want to see the list without any commentary.
Computer Related
As a former student in Computer Science, it naturally makes sense that I read one or two books on the subject. While I have a large list of books I plan on reading on this subject, the two I plan on reading from start to finish are:
- Algorithmic Thinking: A Problem-Based Introduction
- Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions
Although the first two contains “Algorithm” in the title, the two books approach the topic of algorithm differently. Algorithmic Thinking is a book that requires the readers to think and work on problems that are extracted from International Programming Competitions to learn various concepts in Computer Science such as recursion, dynamic programming, graphs, and data structures. While the latter, Algorithms To Live By, is a book that displays how algorithms used by computers can also be applied to our everyday lives. I recall this book from a replay on the youtube channel Talks at Google where the author talks about his book to the employees at Google and ever since then, it has been on my list for a few years.
The two copies of Algorithmic Thinking I own. I plan to gift one copy to a friend once the pandemic is over
Algorithmic Thinking is a book written by Daniel Zingaro, a professor at my University. Although I never formally took a course under him, he was often either the course coordinator or the other lecturer, so I am very familiar with the way he teaches. I often attended his lectures for a Data Structures Course since I was so behind and continued to attend his lectures even after I dropped from the course because the way he teaches the subject was very clear. Upon hearing the news from my friends of a new book Zingaro was writing, I preordered the book. If I find anything compelling, I may write a book review so stay tuned.
Endless Loop is a history book about BASIC, a programming language I often hear about among senior programmers and computer enthusiasts. From the few computer/tech history books I have read, I thought I would continue the tradition of reading some tech history books each year. Books specifically on Computer History I’ve read includes Computer: A History of the Information Machine and UNIX: A History and a Memoir. I am hoping Endless Loop will be excellent as the other two.
STEM Related
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need - Climate Change is one of the biggest threats to the stability of human civilization. The fact that humans can accelerate the warming of Earth is concerning. Yet, I have little knowledge on the subject and the technologies that exist or are being developed to tackle an issue that affects the entire planet. Bill Gates, a man whom I know as the founder of Microsoft, is a big philanthropist and cares a lot about health care and climate change. His experience in technology and philanthropy makes him a good choice to learn the problems climate change poses and its solutions. At least that is what I am hoping for. The previous book I read on climate change was very technical and difficult to read, so I am hoping Gates’ book will not bottleneck the reader in the technicalities while giving readers a fair understanding of the potential these technologies have to combat climate change.
How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems is a book that supposedly approaches problems in absurd ways that make readers think and learn science. Although unorthodox, I think this approach of teaching may be effective to think about concepts in ways we would not think of to solve problems which leads us to understand the concept itself in a much deeper or more expansive manner. I wonder if I will rage at the approaches or be intrigued.
The Outer Limits of Reason: What Science, Mathematics, and Logic Cannot Tell Us is a book I saw being recommended on Youtube by Zach Star, a youtuber who loves Math and Physics. The book intrigued me because it approaches in high level the limitations of science, math, and logic. Normally books approach how much potential the concepts they cover have but this does the opposite. Sorts of reminds me of the idea of computational complexity, where you can classify problems into different classes and whether problems can be solved or not (within a reasonable amount of time).
The Infinite Retina: Spatial Computing, Augmented Reality, and how a collision of new technologies are bringing about the next tech revolution is a book that talks about the potential and future of technologies. This contrasts the previous book on my list, whereby it does not say what are the limitations. This is also another book Zach Star recommended, and from what I understood, the book covers what the future technologies will be within the next 5-10 years and their impacts on the industry and society.
Based on the description, Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors sounds like a book that is both comedic and informative. We should always learn from the past mistakes and avoid them in the future. I am looking into this book as a way to tell myself why I should care about Math and why I should learn from the mistakes I make in Math seriously. I think this book will be a nice light read while I am prepping for my studies in Math and Physics.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is a book that is supposedly will change the way I view the world. I want to view the world more positively, learning that the world we live in is much better than how I see it. Of course, the world is imperfect and there are lots of improvements to be worked on. Perhaps it’s just me but when I think about the future, I just think things are just going to end up terribly. So let’s see if this book can change my mind.
Religion and Philosophy
As a human who grew up in the church, I often feel doubts and uncertain where I stand. Therefore, I want to read the Bible more and learn more about the faith. The Screwtape Letters seems like an enjoyable piece of work that combines religion and satire together. Another reason why I choose this book was because it was written by C.S Lewis who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, a children’s literature I greatly enjoyed.
Beyond Order: 12 More Rules For Life is Jordan Peterson’s latest book that is coming in the spring which builds from his previous book 12 Rules for Life by laying out another 12 rules for humans to follow to establish a balance between order and chaos. I first learned about his book from a classmate of mine who suggested I should take a read. I normally do not read non-fiction that delves into philosophy and psychology, but after reading 12 Rules for Life, it made me appreciate how much philosophy and psychology can offer. The detailed analysis Peterson makes on myths and the world around him amazed me. His lecture series on the book of Genesis from the bible astounded me because I never approached Genesis in the manner he does. So I am excited to see what he has to offer in his book Beyond Order.
Light Novels (English Translated novels of Japanese fiction)
Growing up, I was fascinated with the characters and stories from anime. However, I sometimes find it hard to watch anime as I grow older (I still watch anime but not as much as I used to), I started to appreciate manga and novels a lot more. Each medium portrays the story and character in a different light. I just found that novels in general do a better job in telling the psyche of the characters and the story better and manga offers a mix of what anime and novels provide with the visualizations and depth. At least that’s the general pattern I found between the three mediums.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a very popular anime and novel series. The eccentricity and comedic characters make the series very enjoyable. The physical copies are usually hard to obtain due to the limited print which makes the cost of each novel too expensive for the average reader. Fortunately, readers have the option to buy a physical copy rather than torrenting the novel online because the novel is being reprinted. Oddly enough, I will have two physical copies of the novel. Except one is in Korean which is way out of my comfort zone.
Banner of the Stars Volumes 1-3 Collector’s Edition is a SF (Science Fiction) about a human male and his time in the Ahb (a genetically modified race that has a long life span), space force. This series is the sequel to the Crest of the Stars which was filled with the usual space opera and SF action.
Full Metal Panic! Volumes 4-6 Collector’s Edition is a mecha school life series that has a good balance between comedy and action. I enjoyed the anime series as a kid and found it enjoyable to see the MC, Sousuke, struggling to fit in a place where war and terrorism are foreign to the average human.
Tempest and Desolation are books 7 and 8 from the renowned Japanese SF series The Legend of the Galactic Heroes. The series is filled with the good element that SF and Space Opera provides, the space battles, politics, and war tactics. I absolutely love the series and the anime remake. I like how in these two volumes, the protagonist is put in a difficult situation where he must outwit the autocratic empire led by a brilliant and fair kaiser despite being in a hopeless case where he is both outnumbered and stuck in the manmade fortress with no political power as all other democratic governments fell. It’s interesting to see the protagonist view why the principle of democracy must be preserved despite all the weakness in a democratic nation and the fact that the autocratic empire has shown itself to be more just and fair in dealing with its citizens compared to the democratic alliance.
Good Luck Yukikaze is another SF novel I enjoy reading. The book is the sequel to Yukikaze which focuses on the struggle of a lonely anti-social pilot trying to reconcile the danger of Earth’s machine and the mysterious alien race whose purpose and identity are unknown.
Slayers Volumes 1-3 Collector’s Edition is the novel adaption for the anime Slayers I grew up with. Although I don’t remember much, it’s a story about a sorcerer and her adventures around the continent. I thought it would be a nice revisit to the series since I have no interest in rewatching the anime.
List [In Text]
Computer:
- Algorithmic Thinking: A Problem-Based Introduction
- Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions
- Endless Loop: The History of the BASIC Programming Language
STEM:
- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
- How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- The Outer Limits of Reason: What Science, Mathematics, and Logic Cannot Tell Us
- The Infinite Retina: Spatial Computing, Augmented Reality, and how a collision of new technologies are bringing about the next tech revolution
- Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors
- Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
Religion and Philosophy
Light Novels