Reading

I read almost every night before I go to sleep.  It's how I shut down at the end of the day.

I keep up with current events by reading Newsweek.  For keeping up with the cool stuff in science and technology, Wired is my magazine of choice.

For non-fiction, I like books that tell a historic tale, even if it's recent.  I've read extensively on the history of the computer industry, and on the Manhattan project.  For non-fiction, it's usually something like Tom Clancy.

Some of my favorite books:

The Age Of Spiritual Machines, by Ray Kurzweil.    A truly mind expanding book.  Awhile back, Sun's Bill Joy started a huge debate about how we might doom ourselves if we let technology advance unabated.  This book was the genesis of Bill Joy's argument, though the book has a more optimistic outlook.  It leads you through a very compelling argument that humans and their technology will start to merge, but we won't lose our humanity.  This sounds nutty until you read Ray's arguments.

Cryptonomicom, by Neal Stephenson.  Like a great Tom Clancy novel, but much more intellectually challenging.  A great story set in WW II and the present.  One of the few books that don't make me cringe when they discuss computers.

The Nudist On The Late Shift, by Po Bronson.  An extremely engaging look at life in Silicon Valley.  The true tales and weird stories of real workers caught up in the technology gold rush of the '90s.  Po's new book, What Should I Do With My Life looks good from the excerpts I've read.

Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland.  A hysterical, but all too truthful look into the life of programmers at Microsoft.  You don't have to be a geek to howl at the humor in this book.

Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota, by Chuck Klosterman.  Extremely funny if you've ever listened to heavy metal and wondered what its significance in society was.

The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band, by Motley Crue and Neil Strauss.  I couldn't put this book down.  Not only is it a great look into the 80's metal scene in L.A., the behind the scenes stories are over the top.

The Only Way To Cross, by John Maxtone-Graham.  I have a thing for ships and their history.  This is a fabulous look at the ocean liners that traveled the Atlantic before the advent of jet airplanes.