Things I’ve read or planned to
Do you know I buy a lot of books? Not sure if I read a lot of books, but I do buy a lot of books. Perhaps I need to get on and read them, but there’s a lot of books. What’s good? What’s bad? Dunno. There’s too many to read.
What’s a list of the great American novels for? Only to add them to your other books.
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2024/03/best-books-american-fiction/677479/
Did the usual Sunday thing and headed to the bookstore, the new, improved B&N, just to check it out. Eventually, I did buy the latest issue of Monocle to make the trip worth it, but the new store isn’t a place to hang out any more. No cafe and barely any seating. It’s slightly cramped. It’s missing the technology/computing section.
It reminds me of the bookstores you used to find in a mall, B. Dalton’s or Walden Books. They had the latest best seller, not a deep back catalog, magazines, and limited selections of various genres. We’ve gone back in time.
The most bothering thing is missing many of the familiar faces that I was used to. The one gentlemen who moved over from the Borders that closed a few years ago. The baristas in the cafe. So now its just a smaller crew a few new faces, too. Just wonder if they landed on their feet somewhere.
I am going to have to break my habit of going there often. Maybe twice a month?
I spent the usual hour on a Sunday at my local Barnes & Noble. I bought a book, a cook book, and some ice tea in bags. It was all on sale about 40% off because they are closing out the store. In month, they will be moving into their new digs just across the parking lot. They’re downsizing and converting to a different store format.
If you’ve been in an brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, then you’ll know what it will be like. It will be an end to wandering on Sundays amongst the shelves just browsing for everything and nothing. It will be the end of white mocas because they will no longer have a cafe. It will be the end of the semi-annually Criterion sale because they will not have music and video section. It will be a smaller selection of books to browse. It won’t have the bookstore feeling anymore to it. It will be just a store.
It will save me money, but I’ll be more sad. I won’t have a place to wander around anymore. I won’t have a place to go when bored. It’s an end of an era.
I wandered over to my local book store as is my wont on a Sunday afternoon and I found signs signifying the closing of the store — 25% off of everything. It’s not really closing. It’s moving to a new, smaller location. Downsizing because book selling in the digital age is a challenge.
They also definitely going to change the format. From one suited to browsing aisles to that of the best sellers. It’s going to be highly similar to an Amazon brick and mortar book store. Only the highlights and not a deep catalog. I only think this to be true, because of the smaller storefront where they have the signs up for the move. Parking is also going to be an issue in that it will share their lot with Trader Joe’s who are notorious for choosing small spaces.
This has been my bookstore for the past ten years. I hope it will still stay. But seeing the signs up, and even knowing of the move, I was bummed out about it that I bought $100 worth of merchandise discounted to $83 with tax.
I’ve said before that I am bored of television. Bored with YouTube. Bored with the internet. So I am trying to read. There’s the stack of books on my nightstand (and on shelves, and even on the floor) that I have not read. I’m trying to get to a few of those.
Currently, I am reading both Developer Testing and Working Effectively with Legacy Code. Both are very good reads and contain important points to think about while programming. Previously, I had only skimmed portions of the books. I’m trying to be more thorough now with the infinite time on my hands.
In the former, the book describes the roles of testing code from a programmer’s perspective. What to test, how to test, why test are topics covered. I’m reading it, because at work, I am running into the absurdity of failing tests indicating the product isn’t working where the failure is cosmetic in nature. It is perfection as the enemy of the good. I understand their point, but it is a hole we dug for ourselves because of a non-iterative approach.
In the latter, the book describes how to approach legacy code and systems when dealing with changes. It really sharpens the idea that all code is legacy code even the code you wrote five minutes ago. You have to be aware that it will change, and you have to make it ready to be changed. If not, legacy code gets rough. I’m reading it because of the code we’ve got is legacy and needs changing. Unfortunately, we changed it via throwing the baby out with the bath water and started from fresh. Jesus is that a mess.
Finally, I think I glanced at a few chapters in Clean Architecture. It’s really next on the list. I’m finding it useful as I approach my work. Our architecture isn’t clean, it’s dirty like a Big Ball of Mud.
Weird to write about software development at a time like this. Weird that I am reading books about it. Weird that I’ll tag it with the rona tag. It is just a weird time.
Books? I’ve got books out the ying-yang. I’ve got fiction. I’ve got non-fiction. I’ve got travel journals. I’ve got cook books. I’ve got novels. I’ve got graphic novels. I’ve got text books. I’ve got instruction manuals. I’ve got books on the night stand, on the floor, on shelves, and under the bed. They’re overflowing.
Today’s link gives you a peek at more books for programmers. It’s a list compiled by programmers. I would suggest you read any of the ones on there.
No palindromes today… 🙁
I’ve been watching some Jdoramas lately. Things on Crunchyroll, but also out there on the intertubes. While the ones I’ve watched were already complete, I’ve been catching up to a Spring 2015 Jdorama, and I can’t wait to finish this one.
It features AKB48 cutie Mayu Watanabe as an ojo-sama working in a bookstore falling in love and all. Why couldn’t she be the bookstores I haunt?
Anyhow, I thought I’d let you know why I end up not watching any American dramas. Not enough kawaii.
“All ghost stories are ‘true’ stories. We love them, if we love them, from the depth and antiquity of our willingness to believe them.”
Michael Chabon, “The Other James”
This past weekend was the big anime convention in Baltimore, Otakon. One of their guests was the infamous Aya Hirano. She’s the voice actress for Haruhi Suzumiya. While there is no word about a third season of Haruhi, we still got the light novels. The latest light novel, The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Now the light novels in this series have followed a pattern after the first installment. There are two books of short stories followed by one book with a feature length story. The last feature length book, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, was the best so far. It featured Yuki in moe mode. The Intrigues comes a close second, and it featured Mikuru Asahina the moe maid of the SOS Brigade. While she could never beat out Yuki, Mikuru is so moe that you just got to love her like Kyon does.
The Intrigues follows Kyon as he finally goes back to save himself as he had done in Disappearance. Then he comes back to meet a version of Mikuru from eight days in the future sent back to the past by his future self. The bulk of the book involves adventures with eight day future Mikuru. Why did Kyon send her back from the future? And how does any of this have to do with the older, future, curvier Mikuru? Read the book as it was a great read.
This book added depth to the Haruhi universe. It expands the cast with the addition of an opposing faction against each of the SOS Brigade members. There’s a faction of time travelers who oppose Mikuru’s group. There’s a faction of ESPers that oppose Itsuki’s Agency. There’s another sentient alien being — Yuki watch out! It plays as a set up for the latter novels and makes the setting greater.
I sped through this book on my trip to Germany. I finished it up early in the week and I regret not having reread it again immediately. I even read it after having a few litres of beer!
After reading this installment of Haruhi, I wish to see another season of the anime. It would be awesome to get the rest of the short stories filled out, then we can get another Haruhi movie from this book. Please, please, please Kyo-ani, more Haruhi anime.
I don't think of myself as a reader of Science Fiction. I consider myself a reader of stories first and foremost. If the book happens to be Science Fiction, then I am reading Science Fiction. I read Science Fiction. I read Science Fiction. You should, too. Get thee to the Science Fiction Encyclopedia and pick out something; an author, a book, a theme, something to read and read it.http://sf-encyclopedia.com/
