Yet Another Book Club

"Values" by Mark Carney

I'm glad I read this book; it made me more hopeful for Canada! It's always a good feeling when adults drive the country in a boring, nonpopulist fashion. Instead of slogans, we now have a politician who can at least maintain a deep dialogue between the

"The Naked Sun" by Isaac Asimov

God forbid you search the name of this book on the Internet, lol. Anyway, another title by Isaac is down, and it is brilliant. In the late Foundation, there is less stuff about robot intelligence and a bit more towards the "humans." The detective story is decent, too,

"Uncertain" by Maggie Jackson

I don't know how I feel about this book. On one hand, it is full of little insides; on the other, I'm unsure if the structure is coherent or if putting it all under the "uncertain" umbrella makes sense. Huh, I guess I'

"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke

I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the preface about how the book was conceived. It is a unique approach to write both the novel and the screenplay simultaneously! Interestingly, I found many parallels between 2001 and Contact in the endings. Maybe Sagan was even inspired by Clarke! This is

"Tesla: Wizard at War" by W. Bernard Carlson

This might as well be the most complete biography of Tesla without any omissions. I'm not sure how I feel about Nicola now, though. From the book, it seems that even though he built the AC motor, he was also following many fringe beliefs to either capitalize on

"The Caves of Steel" by Isaac Asimov

I'm back at the robot series by Asimov! Turning Sci-Fi into a detective story with multiple people under suspicion was a nice move. Up until the end, I didn't know who the murderer was (but, again, I'm here for Sci-Fi and don't

"Determined" by Robert Sapolsky

This book explores the implications of a world without free will. I know there are still believers that free will exists, as does Robert, so he first goes over the main arguments for and against this hypothesis. Then, when the illusion of free will is shattered, he outlines how to

"The Molecule of More" by Daniel Z. Lieberman

This is a book on Dopamine — the molecule that makes you want stuff. It doesn't make you high or give pleasure, yet we all crave it because of evolution. Here're my outtakes from the book: * Dopamine is about anticipation. * What's familiar doesn't

"Delay, Deny, Defend" by Jay M. Feinman

God, this book is depressing. The author summarizes tons of books documenting the transition of insurance companies in the United States from policyholders to shareholders. Essentially, insurance companies turned from public goods to profit-seeking industry giants. Unfortunately, one of the most obvious and sure ways for an insurance company to

"I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

I vividly remember getting tired of Asimov's style, putting American suburbia in the most ridiculous sci-fi settings. However, recently, I decided to finally give the robot series a go (after all, it seems like Isaac first used the word "robotics"). "I, Robot" is a

"The Way of the Superior Man" by David Deida

This book is a perfect "pill" for restoring masculinity in men in the year 2025, when masculinity suppressors are rampant. The author explains in plain language how to become a more confident and happier man by embracing the masculine nature and understanding the feminine energy on a higher

"48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene

I hated this book as much as I liked it. On one hand, I despise the laws outlined by Robert. On the other hand, I can see how they truly reflect power struggles in the higher-ups. "48 Laws of Power is a guidebook of what to do (and not

"Contact" by Carl Sagan

I did not expect this Sci-Fi book to be this good! I am familiar with Carl's works and admire him as an educator; however, I'm also sad that he won't be writing any more fiction. The book takes you on a wild journey: for

"The Company" by Stephen R. Bown

I thoroughly enjoyed Stephen's retelling of the Hudson's Bay Company story. He focused on a more balanced perspective in terms of what exactly was going on between the British, the Americans, and the indigenous people. Besides the atrocities of Simpson (the head of the company in

"The Man from the Future" by Ananyo Bhattacharya

"The Man from the Future" is a biography of John von Neumann. He was behind nuclear bombs and a few other cool things, like modern computing. The book reads less like a biography and more like a history of events that tangent into many places. Don't

"The Hungry Brain" by Stephan Guyenet

I've recently hit a good streak with books packed with wisdom and science. I sincerely hope I don't jinx it. Even though it feels like the list of my "best books of 2025" will be lengthy, I'm happy to add "The

"Abandon" by Blake Crouch

Here we go again with Blake. Kindle recommended one of his first books, and I didn't think twice about purchasing it. Well, it's definitely what we can call an "early Crouch." It doesn't have any sci-fi at all, it's a

"Outraged" by Kurt Gray

"Outraged" is a solid contender for my book of the year title. The author explained so many peculiar things about human behaviour using simple facts. You know my style of books—I love it when authors clear up misconceptions. Here's the list of the most essential

"Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein

Till the very end of the book, I didn't know if this was fascist propaganda or satire. The author depicts the main ideas in a favourable light, yet he also creates a world where these ideas fail—i.e., humans are losing the war. There are some elements

"Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams

I think everybody should read this book to understand what's happening in the executive meeting rooms at the companies that control our everyday lives. What started as a beautiful story of an outsider getting into Facebook and leading its government relations quickly turned into a dystopian nightmare. After

"SuperFreakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

I'm a fan of the first "Freakonomics" book. I had low expectations for the sequel, especially seeing that it came out in 2009. Here are the main points: * Incentives matter, and the law of unintended incentives is unshakable. * Data helps economists and statisticians do better jobs,

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

I'm a fan of both Blade Runner movies and wanted to read the source material. I'm glad I did because the character is more like John Wick (from the first movie) or Jason Bourne (again, from the first movie) than what we mostly get nowadays. Today,

"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

After the first few chapters, I had high hopes for this book. However, what started as a colourful description of the USA in the 1950s became a teenage boy fantasy about how hitchhiking and adventuring would look across North America. The main characters get together, party, find some random work,

Review

"Down with the System" by Serj Tankian

Review by Borodutch

Review

"House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review by Borodutch