As for my first Watching post, I am just going to scan through some of my recent reads before circling back for deeper dives of the more compelling stuff. Although as I look back at some of my recent consumption and what I’m about to mention, I’ve been on a pretty good streak of high quality reads.
Fiction
Exiles by Mason Coile – A solid piece of sci-fi that, like most good examples of the genre, use the genre to go beyond future tech and speculative fiction into deeper themes and ideas. This one is a first human toehold on Mars complete with almost intelligent robots and maybe – or maybe not – a native being that might – or might not – be a monster. Also exploring stereotypes of astronaut culture, mainly sexism and hierarchy along with issues of perfectionism and self-doubt. It was very gripping if occasionally a little dense and overall a good read. At the very least I will be seeking out other works by the author.
Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen – Ah, yes, always psyched for a new Hiaasen. This guy has been cranking out legitimately hysterical and outrageous flights of Florida fancy for decades. He always has a wild slant on stuff so fits naturally into Florida and has some of my favorite characters ever. A bunch of his stuff has been adapted for TV and film and he also writes great children’s books, notably the immensely popular “Hoot”. This was not my favorite of his, but that only means it was merely excellent instead of outstanding. He worked more politics than usual into the theme – sending up MAGA in the best possible ways – which might have distracted a bit. But read it, read all of his books, and discover the American treasure that is Carl Hiaasen.
Non-Fiction
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson – This book straight up blew me away. I have mentioned before that Ezra Klein is crazy smart and I think one of the best wonk journalists working. This book was so good, and original, that it spawned a legitimate new branch of political thought and election strategy. No shit. And it was hugely divisive which in this genre for me is almost always a good sign. I will make no attempt to summarize or even sketch the themes – way above my mental gymnastic ability. But as a timely and provocative piece of social and political theory I highly recommend it.
Enshittification by Cory Doctorow – If you have been around me at all in the last couple of years who read any of my substack, you know that I stand in awe of Mr. Doctorow. A gifted writer, passionate advocate for digital user rights, world renowned expert on the digital frontier and just all-around insanely smart person, I can learn more reading and listening to him than most anybody. Enshittification, besides being the American Dialect Society’s word of the year in 2023, is a brilliant encapsulation of what has gone terribly wrong with the internet and the people who run it. It will shock, anger, amaze and frustrate you right down to your toes. Thankfully, he also outlines what can be done to unshittify things and take the net back from the greedy, unscrupulous and morally bankrupt bastards who swiped it right out from under our routers. And as dry as it may sound, he makes it easy, engaging and at times even fun to read – until you start getting pissed off again. It should be required reading for everyone and used as a call to arms for a real digital revolution.
Now go read and thanks for reading this.