Hii, I am trying to get into reading books but don’t know what to read. I like programming, tech, DIY stuff and science and would love to read about it.
Which book should I read that is not overwhelming for a begginer like me?
Edit: Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions :)
Books
- 1984
- The Disappearing Spoon
- The Tetris Effect
- A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
- Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!
- Immune
- The Murderbot Diaries
- Children of Time
- Neuromancer
- Bobyverse Series
- Project Hail Mary
Authors
- Mary Roach
- Marthe Wells
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’m going to have to re-read Project Hail Mary cause I’ve seen it recommended so many times, but I personally didn’t love it. I’m 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.
I also highly recommend the audibook
Jazz hands
This one
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.
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 😂
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 apératif 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.
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
We are talking non fiction here?
Masters of Doom by David Kushner
Have you read 1984 yet? It’s a work of fiction, but very insightful.
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/
It ignores a couple of important facts about Futurama to make the point is trying to make through a lens of today, though.
Ignoring the obvious “it’s a cartoon” is that the ship in Futurama moves the universe around itself rather than moving through the universe. And the other being the article limits itself to today’s technology, in general.
I love his books! You might check out Joel Achenbach too - https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Joel-Achenbach/1162553
This is what I was thinking too based on OP’s requirements.
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.
“Phantoms in the Brain” by V.S. Ramachandran.
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
Maybe you would enjoy “Every tool’s a hammer” by Adam Savage.
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
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!
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.
Hate to ask this but is there a video series or version of this?
Not to shill and Im not even sure they’re on Android but SpeechCentral is excellent for turning any epub/pdf into audiobooks with highlighting to read along if you like both visual and aural delivery of content.
