Time to obsess over blogging and social networking has been several restricted lately due to the unwelcome intrusion of… you know… the real world.
“Blogging and Social Networking” almost makes it sound intelligent. In reality it’s just me, sat in front of the computer, chatting with friends. I was going to write “wasting time”, but then that labels my friends as a waste of time, which isn’t true at all.
The World Cup is about to kick off. I’m not going to complain. I’ve promised myself I won’t be too pissy about all forms of communication in europe being swamped with the activities of the great british overpaid, under-educated, under-achievers for the next few weeks.
Nothing on the telly means I’ll probably be writing more - not that I really watch television any more anyway. My goggle box habits are pretty much confined to breakfast news - while madly turning out sandwiches, toast, and cereals for our little eating machines - and evening news - while clearing the wreckage from dinner.
I invariably end up sat with a laptop most evenings - probably too often, given that I sit in front of a computer all day too.
(finally I get to the part of the post referencing the photo!)
I have been sorting out a pile of books just recently to read throughout the summer. They have been bought at various times over the last few years, and for one reason or another were only partly read, or not touched.
I began re-reading “Microserfs” over the last couple of evenings, and was pleasantly surprised at just how good it is/was. It tells the story of a group of Microsoft developers in the early 1990s. Working in the industry myself, it’s entertaining to read about another oddball group of clever asses fighting with unrealistic deadlines, strange colleagues, and obsessing over all manner of rubbish… it doesn’t match my life at all, honest.
Still sat on the bookshelf is “War and Peace”. I bought it perhaps three years ago now, in a fit of enthusiasm about reading the classics. I did read Anna Karenina, and while considering burning it at perhaps the 100 page mark, carried on regardless (we were on holiday, and I had nothing better to read). I am glad I did - turns out Anna is one of the best books I’ve ever read - I now understand why it has such a lofty reputation.
So what’s in the photo above?
A Modern Utopia, by H G Wells
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
Generation X, by Douglas Coupland
Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley
Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
There should have been another book in the photo too - which I found on the floor of our study after a little searching - “Stranger in a Strange Land”, by Robert Heinlein.
There’s probably some kind of “alternate society” theme running through most of the books above, isn’t there. Perhaps I have some kind of deep seated anarchist bent in my personality?
No doubt I will be writing about the books as and when I finish each one - if you’ve read any of them, feel free to either encourage or discourage me as appropriate… encouragement is preferred of course.
p.s. my better half is blogging again!