jmtd → log → media → books → reading, at present

Reading has slowed down a bit - this is mostly because I am reading several things in parallel.

Last month I commented that I was finding Bill Bryson's prose pretty impenetrable so far. I'm not quite sure how I had that impression - I am now in the last few chapters of A Short History of Nearly Everything and I have really enjoyed it. It's a shame that computer science (and related disciplines) don't feature. Are they simply too young, in the grand scheme of things, or not interesting enough?

I've also started reading The Art of Unix Programming, by Eric Raymond. I have found it difficult to put down and I'm reading it cover-to-cover, which is pretty rare for a technical book. It's taught me lots of interesting things about UNIX programming tools and conventions that I doubt I'd read anywhere else (except maybe mailing lists logs). In particular, where other UNIX books I've read describe how to use a given concept in some detail, this book will provide a mere summary, but explain that you shouldn't use it.

Finally, I've been reading some short SF stories from anthologies and Interzone back-issues. I will describe two authors who I have enjoyed. One is Dominic Green, who doesn't appear to have a web presence (or a published book). His stories regularly appear in Interzone and Dozois' SF anthologies. Ones to look out for: blue water, grey death; news from hilaria; send me a mentagram.

Finally, the recent "omni-present media mogul" story arc that Dr Who has featured this season reminded me strongly of the Planet Management universe, penned by Daniel Kaysen. Again, no published novels, but at least he has a web page with a bibliography! I enjoyed The Director's Cut, and I'm looking forward to reading The Jenna Set.