Reading brings people together. I really believe that. It might even be one of the things I believe in most. Don’t get me wrong, I think TV, music, and movies can do the same thing. So can affinity for a certain dog breed (I’m particularly inclined toward St. Bernard mutts) or any number of other things.
But, I don’t know if there’s a quicker way to make a friend than connecting over a mutually-loved book. I recently interviewed author (and my friend/brother-in-law/partner in crime) S. D. Smith about a book he’s got coming out. My favorite question was definitely the one about books he remembered from his childhood. There are shared experiences there. They provide common language, common emotion. It’s the same for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Foundation Trilogy, Dune, Ender’s game, Harry Potter, and more. It’s probably even true for fans of the Twilight Saga, although I wouldn’t know it.
So, it occurs to me, why not share a little bit about what I’m reading? And I’m going to. I’m going to call it fun reads. It’s going to be focused on reading I’m doing to help me stay on top of what’s current and classic in sci-fi and fantasy. Occasionally you’ll see titles that don’t fit that, but that’ll be unusual.
Connecting over books is magic. I hope I can connect you to some great books. Maybe you can connect me to some great books, too. Leave a comment — my reading list is always growing.
reading
Life without Books
Internet Silos
In 2013, Edge asked a bunch of people (people who are probably ideologically different than me in a lot of ways) what we should be worried about. The most fascinating answer to me was “Internet Silos.” Here’s a short excerpt:
We should be worried about online silos. They make us stupid and hostile toward each other.
Internet silos are news, information, opinion, and discussion communities that are dominated by a single point of view. Examples are the Huffington Post on the left and National Review Online on the right, but these are only a couple of examples, and not the worst, either. In technology, Slashdot is a different kind of silo of geek attitudes.
Information silos in general are nothing new and not limited to the Internet; talk radio works this way, churches and academia are often silos, and businesses and organizations study how to avoid a silo culture. But Internet communities are particularly subject to a silo mentality because they are virtually instant, meaning have no history of competing, diverse traditions, and are also self-selecting and thus self-reinforcing. The differences between online communities tend to be quite stark. That’s why there are so many silos online.
It shouldn’t be surprising that silos are fun and compelling for a lot of us. They make us feel like we belong. They reinforce our core assumptions, and give us easily-digestible talking points, obviating the necessity of difficult individual thought. They appeal to our epistemic vanity and laziness.
I worry about this. It’s easier than ever to exist in a world where you’re fed only your own opinions in a regurgitating cycle. That sounds gross, right? It is.
(you can read all 150 responses here)