Coffee Space – Coffee Space

Book Backlog

I believe it’s important to read, and recently I heard somebody say: “you can only read so many books in your life, so choose them carefully”. I’ve not really been reading for quite some time and really want to ramp this up, starting with a public list of books ¹.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s just as up to date as I can create at this moment.

To Read

The following is a collection of books I intend to read through:

On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines (2004) - Jeff Hawkins & Sandra Blakeslee [Link] – Years ago I listened to Jeff Hawkins on the Lex Fridman AI podcast and really found what he had to say interesting. I intend to investigate further his ideas. (Update: Purchased a copy of the book.)
Brave New World (1932) - Aldous Huxley [Link] – I found this one in a HackerNews comment, but I had also heard about it on the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters. There is also the afterword 30 years later that apparently checks what came to be verses what what predicted. There is also a poorly received TV series that will likely be worth checking out.
The Doors of Perception (1954) - Aldous Huxley [Link] – Again I saw this one in a HackerNews comment.
Mao’s Great Famine (2010) - Frank Dikötter [Link] – I had previously heard about this one from elsewhere, but ultimately this was another recommendation from the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters. We often hear about how bad the Nazis were, but in terms of brutality and death count, they had nothing on Mao’s Communist regime, the exact same party ruling modern China. I believe it is politically relevant and important to understand the background of the CCP, especially as Xi Jinping (Ryan) is now promoting nationalist propaganda and invoking ideas created by Mao. (Update: Located a copy of the audio book.)
Shooting an Elephant (1936) - George Orwell [Link] – Again a recommendation by the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters, but in this case I am particularly interested due to the Burmese culture and background.
Twilight over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess (1994) - Inge Sargent [Link] – This was a book given and recommended by a Burmese friend from Myanmar, a Country that has recently gone back under military occupation. (Update: Given a physical book as a gift.)

Reading

The following are books I am currently reading:

The Martian (2011) - Andy Weir [Link] – I really loved the film and wanted to learn more from the book.

Read

The following are books I have read, along with a small review of the books.

Animal Farm (1954)

Author(s): George Orwell [Link]

NOTE: The review will be a little light on details, it’s been a while since I read it.

I consumed this book via an audiobook which I listened to on my MP3 player. I believe I listened to this one in just two sessions, I was really gripped by it.

Probably the most enjoyable aspect of the story was likening it to current affairs. Thinking back, probably the most memorable detail was how ultra Capitalist the ultra Communists were in the story, there wasn’t really a difference. Probably the most depressing thing was how this idea of being “for all workers” ended up being the worst possible thing for them. I can relate this to current political ideas where the UK’s Labour Party have now turned on the workers they once represented, labelling them as “gammons”, “racists” and “sexists” - amongst many other things.

I look forward to consuming the 1954 animated film in the near future. If I have the time and capacity, I may do a review on it. Copyright allowing, I may even upload the entire film to the site.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Author(s): George Orwell [Link]

NOTE: The review will be a little light on details, it’s been a while since I read it.

Again I consumed this book via audiobook on my MP3 player, although this took more than a week to get through from memory. I distinctly remember there being many more details in this book and it sometimes taking me a while to get back into the setting of the story.

Even before watching the film, the imagery created in this book is vivid - I would say even more so than Animal Farm. Some of the most famous ideas regarding social commentary came out of this book, and I can fully see why.

Thinking back, the most gripping concepts for me were the memory hole - where information that contradicted the party lines was removed from existence. The idea that even the party founders were eventually enemies of the party. The dictionary of terminology that was forever changing and being reduced, to the point where it was no longer functional. The moment where the main character is tortured into accepting an illogical statement. It’s just filled to the brim with very potent concepts.

I also then went onto watch the 1984 film (created in 1956). I just found out from that Wikipedia article the following information:

Like the earlier film adaption of Animal Farm, 1984 was secretly funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Super cool! I guess that during this time, the red scare was still a very real idea (and still exists in Democrats of today), hence the CIA was very motivated to dispel ideas about Communism being a good idea.

At some point I want to build out a proper library, but this will take some time.↩︎