This year's been a pretty great one in terms of reading. Some of my
highlights:
Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist <http://www.roxanegay.com/bad-feminist/> - A
great collection of essays on pop culture, feminism, race, and professional
Scrabble.
bell hooks' Writing Beyond Race
<http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Beyond-Race-Living-Practice/dp/0415539153> -
With everything happening around the US and as the Code4Lib Journal ramps
up to put out our first special issue on diversity, I've been re-reading
hooks' work, and especially love this book.
Matt Kirschenbaum's Mechanisms : New Media and the Forensic Imagination
<http://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-New-Media-Forensic-Imagination/dp/026251740X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418218683&sr=1-3&keywords=mechanisms>
- Words cannot describe. Another book that I'm reading that's in the same
vein (though a bit older and more theoretical) is Embodying Technesis by
Mark Hansen.
Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and Homeland - The first one is by far
better, but both are great, quick reads.
Books I'm really excited to read, but haven't had time yet:
Martin Paul Eve's Open Access and the Humanities
<http://www.cambridge.org/nl/academic/subjects/general/open-access-and-humanities-contexts-controversies-and-future?utm_source=print+book&utm_medium=cover&utm_campaign=open+access>
Doctorow's Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age
<http://www.amazon.com/Information-Doesnt-Want-Be-Free/dp/1940450284>
Biella Coleman's Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of
Anonymous
<http://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Hoaxer-Whistleblower-Spy-Faces/dp/1781685835/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418219027&sr=1-1&keywords=hacker+hoaxer+whistleblower+spy>
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 2:03 PM, Henry, Catherine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Video games: Seconding Dragon Age: Inquisition. I've logged over 80 hours,
> and there's still tons to do. Running an inquisition is hard work!
>
> Not from this year, but I played a bunch of the Lego games near the
> beginning of the year. The Harry Potter ones were my favorites, followed
> closely by Star Wars.
>
> Also seconding Guardians of the Galaxy. Best comic book movie yet!
>
> Books I enjoyed:
>
> - Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin. It was so good I took the time to
> write a short review on Goodreads. It was a nice standalone novel amidst
> all the ridiculously huge series I usually read. Great for people who like
> the steamboat/Mark Twain era of U.S. history -or heck, even if you don't.
> It might be a good gateway book from historical fiction to
> fantasy/paranormal. It had kind of a gothic, Anne Rice-ish feel to it.
>
> - Mike Carey's Lucifer graphic novel series, based on Neil Gaiman's
> amazing Sandman series
>
> - Gillian Flynn's three books, Sharp Objects, Dark Places and Gone Girl
>
> L. Catherine Henry, MLS, Assistant Systems Librarian
> Beaufort County Library
> 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
> Phone 843.255.6444 [log in to unmask]
> www.beaufortcountylibrary.org
> For Learning ♦ For Leisure ♦ For Life
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Matthew Sherman
> Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2014 2:06 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] what good books did you read in 2014?
>
> Nothing professional comes to mind but here are some fun stuff in no
> particular order:
>
>
> Books:
>
> Skin Game by Jim Butcher
> - Another in the consistently great Dresden Files series. For those
> unfamiliar urban fantasy novels that are always just a fun read.
>
> The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks
> - The third in the Lightbringer series from a newer but really good fantasy
> author.
>
>
> Comics:
>
> Avengers vol. 5 and New Avengers vol. 3 by Jonathan Hickman
> - The current run on Avengers and New Avengers, both written by Jonathan
> Hickman who is good at playing the long game and paying off well as proven
> by his run on Fantastic Four.
>
> Batman vol. 2 by Scott Snyder
> - The current run on Batman by Scott Snyder who has been consistently a
> great batman author, and currently doing a very interesting Joker story.
>
>
> Movies:
>
> Guardians of the Galaxy
> - Great movie as Andromeda mentioned. As a fan of the book it was based on
> I was afraid this was going to be awful and was pleasantly surprised.
>
>
> TV:
>
> The Flash
> - The new Flash show has been one of the most fun TV shows I have seen in
> quite some time, they have a very fun dynamic and surprisingly good
> production values.
>
>
> Games:
>
> Dragon Age: Inquisition
> - Another great Bioware RPG, with real pay off if you have played the
> previous games. Even if you haven't it is a lot of fun and a pretty good
> story. Admittedly I am only part way in, but when it took the reviewers 80
> hours to finish the story it is not something you will finish within the
> first month of getting it.
>
> On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 1:34 PM, Mark Pernotto <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Fun question - thanks!
> >
> > In no particular order:
> >
> > *What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions*
> by
> > Randall Munroe
> > - *I really enjoy the physics, as well as the absurdity.*
> >
> > *Two Scoops of Django 1.6*
> > - *based on Andromeda's recommendation - thanks! Looks like I have
> another
> > Django book to read now. Really appreciate it!*
> >
> > *Invincible Compendium Volume 2* by Robert Kirkman
> > - *someone had gifted me Compendium 1 last Christmas - I just had to
> > continue. I feel accomplished after reading such a large book*
> >
> > *Wonders of Life* by Brian Cox
> > - *I know there's a lot of hype surrounding Neil Degrasse Tyson's
> "Cosmos",
> > but I prefer Cox's presentation. He also did a series "Wonders of the
> > Universe" and "Wonders of the Solar System" years ago. If you hurry, you
> > can get the 3-series BluRay set for $0.12 cheaper than just "Wonders of
> > Life"*
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 6:47 AM, Andromeda Yelton <
> > [log in to unmask]
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > Hey, code4lib! I bet you consume fascinating media. What good books did
> > you
> > > read in 2014 that you think your colleagues would like, too? (And hey,
> > > we're all digital, so feel free to include movies and video games and
> so
> > > forth.)
> > >
> > > Mine:
> > > http://www.obeythetestinggoat.com/ (O'Reilly book, plus read free
> > online)
> > > -
> > > a book on testing from a Django-centric, front end perspective.
> > *Finally* I
> > > get how testing works. This book rewrote my brain.
> > >
> > > _The Warmth of Other Suns_ - finally got around to reading this magnum
> > opus
> > > history of the Great Migration, am halfway through, it's amazing. If
> > you're
> > > looking for some historical context on how we got to Ferguson, Isabel
> > > Wilkerson has you covered.
> > >
> > > _Her_ - Imma let you finish, Citzenfour and Big Hero 6 and LEGO movie
> and
> > > Guardians of the Galaxy - you were all good - but I walked out of the
> > > theater and literally couldn't speak after this one. Plus, funniest
> > > throwaway scene ever. Almost fell out of my chair.
> > >
> > > _Tim's Vermeer_ - wait, no, watch that one too. Weird tinkering genius
> > who
> > > can't paint obsesses over recreating a Vermeer with startling,
> > > physics-driven results. Also, Penn Jillette.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Andromeda Yelton
> > > Board of Directors, Library & Information Technology Association:
> > > http://www.lita.org
> > > Advisor, Ada Initiative: http://adainitiative.org
> > > http://andromedayelton.com
> > > @ThatAndromeda <http://twitter.com/ThatAndromeda>
> > >
> >
>
--
*Heidi Elaine Dowding, MLIS*
www.thegloballibrarian.com | @theglobal_lib
<http://twitter.com/theglobal_lib>
|
