What are you reading?

Also, caught this new anniversary book cover in the store this weekend. Love the illustration.

I really want to know what the fireman’s salamander logo would look like. I’m surprised that’s not on the cover.

I’ve read the trifecta of dystopian novels: Brave New World, 1984 and now F 451. I think F 451 is the best of the three. It’s a page turner, which the second half of 1984 is not. There is a certain literary quality to the writing, which BNW gets a little amateurish at times. Last, I felt like the plot was solid through out, where BNW and 1984 feel like they run out of steam at the end. It’s as though Huxley and Orwell were having so much fun describing their worlds that they forgot they had to end the stories. F451 feels like it was heading towards the ending the whole way through.

the book that turns into the matchbook is a way better cover illustration than the salamander logo Ray! :slight_smile:

I agree that’s a better cover, but I still want to know what it would look like!

I’m half way through “Critical Chain” by Eliyahu Goldratt. It’s written as a novel rather than case studies or theory. It’s a more pleasurable way to learn. However, I’m still not sure how to apply anything yet.

On the downside, even though the female characters in the book are probably the smartest ones, the way he writes them feels sexist. For example, they are the only characters in the book that he describes physically. Having said that, the book is 20 years old.

I am reading this book about Steve Jobs. Quite interesting life and destiny of a genious person. To my surprise it’s an easy read.

I am reafing “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown.
The best thing about the book is that it maintains the tempo throughout the storyline and keeps you engaged, unlike other books you do not loose interest at one chapter end and it moves towards culmination at about 3/4th the read.
Must read and i’ll also suggest you read other book by the author.
If someone interested, here is a critical Analysis of it:

By the way, does anyone here prefer ereaders? Which one would you recommend?

This is supposed to be a good book:

“Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less” by Sam Carpenter

Has anyone read it?

https://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Rediscovering-Greatest-Human-Strength/dp/0143122231

Trying to find the will to read this again, and finish it this time. Here is the summary: willpower = glucose levels in the brain. Before doing something mentally taxing, drink some lemonade.

I bought it for kindle and regret it. I need spatial, tangible locations and progress through a book.

my morning favorite.

LOL, Chevis for the win!

I just finished The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. Very strange premise. It read something between an alien encounter and an arctic travel log.

Finished Critical Chain. Now I understand how to apply the principles to multiple projects. I wish I worked in an environment where critical chain was robustly utilized to see how well it stands up in reality. It sure fit my common sense of project management though.

One of the most satisfying parts was when a character advises someone to give a price cap and lead time cap in a request for quote. I’ve done that before with great success, but so many business people have told me not to. They believe if you give a cap, people will just quote slightly below the cap. My experience is that some suppliers will still quote lower if they can, but the noncompetitive ones will appreciate the way out you give them. Also, negotiating lead time is a great idea that I see seldom used. Often people try to make up lost time in shipping that could have been bought in tooling lead time for a fraction the cost.

@Mr-914 - Critical Chain sounds like a good resource for project managers or operations people. Or perhaps even start-ups. Do you see practical applications to the industrial design process itself, or perhaps ID within a product development organization?

When I’m asked to quote on a project the first thing I ask is what is your budget and schedule? To date no one has ever told me their budget and very few have said a schedule. I tell them that I am going to scope it at the maximum and we can go from there, but it would be so much easier if I had a sense of where they wanted to be so I could say “no thanks”, or “I can give you this much for that much”…

What I find weird is that everyone tells me that one of their business advantages is “speed to market”. That’s great, but then you have no idea when the product needs to hit the floor and it inevitably stalls out until your competitor launches their version and it becomes you number one priority. Very strange.

I see a practical application everywhere and anywhere! It has more effect if the organization can recognize the advantages and adopt it too, but you can make just your department more productive by using the methodology.

For example, I used to give deadlines for everything, even projects that were on the back burner or uncertain to advance outside of design. Moreover, I would limit the department work-in-progress so that the designers could focus on actually finishing projects. Those two small things that seem so common sense boost productivity at least 100% in my experience.

The difficult part after that is getting management to understand what one is doing. Because at the same time, I had to ignore daily emergencies to continue the focus. That requires political skill to pull off over an extended period of time.

The Guggenheim just released their digitized book collection for download, here is a great one on motorcycles:

I’ve bought this because it sounds really good in reviews etc. but do not have the time to read it any time soon.

Halfway through ‘DUNE’, the masterpiece from Frank Herbert. Having seen the film at least a dozen times I initially had the unpleasant experience of comparing scenes with chapters, but that effect has diminished over the pages, and now I can absorb the writing and story for its own merits. It is astounding in scope, detail, and the creation of a consistent universe. I love how the prevailing thought or backstory is the law of the Butlerian Jihad - that machines should not replace humans. Computers and AI are outlawed, and as the story shows, are inferior to human intellect, instinct, and ingenuity.

I went ahead and got the hardcover with the foreword by Neil Gaiman; the cover design and embossing is very nice.

Revolution from Above, the Demise of the Soviet System by David Kotz and Fred Weir. An academic book on the collapse of the Soviet Union. It’s weird that I have lived through the event and know almost nothing about it.

The Global Brain, by Howard Bloom.
If you read it carefully, and without ego, it will change your view on life completely.

It changed my religion also.

I now believe that humans are like radio receivers - and consciousness is like WiFi. Reincarnation is not yourself entering a new body - it’s a new body connecting with the old data cloud.