Just this guy, you know?

Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll came recommended from at least two podcasters/comedians (Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and Elis James) and it’s superb. Not as un-put-downable as Nuclear War was but I still devoured it. I love a book that tells events in detail. Carroll also has a wonderful turn of phrase, for example describing Scotland as a “Celtic Ho Chi Minh trail”.

Carroll follows the threads of many players very closely whilst avoiding Space Opera style “who the hell is this guy and why have we had three chapters on him?”. He also covers all sides with an even hand, even Thatcher herself.

A friend posted on Twitter that they’d started reading Slow Productivity and just the title piqued my interest.

It’s a short book which builds on the idea of Bullshit Jobs, pseudo productivity, and presenteeism by putting forward an idea of a more humane way of working in the current economic system. Newport uses many examples where people (scientists, authors, musicians, etc) were able to spend lots of time on their projects which allowed them to create great works. Newport argues that the pandemic accelerated the way the work day for many is filled with meetings and interruptions which makes it harder to actually deliver value from Deep Work.

I love the meme that men are always thinking about Rome. For a guy who reads non fiction I barely think about Rome. For example it took me far too long to see the obvious inspiration in Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire. I’ve tried to fix this obvious character flaw by reading Mary Beard’s tome SPQR. Now, after finishing it, I think about Rome a lot more.

SPQR is incredibly dense, in a good way, and required me to create a timeline of key people and events because the scale and detail is fast. I will go back and re-read it as I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface.

You can’t look away from this page turning book which imagines one way a nuclear war could play out.

I devoured it in two sittings. This future is so bleak you just can’t look away. My only complaint is with the writing style. I can live with the short punchy sentences, but I can do without the long lists of details that seem to go on and on without adding value. The descriptions of fires and detonations are also excessive. I get it, nuclear war is bad, now please get back to the discussions of strategy and cold logic.

This is another one from Book Club at work. It’s 97 short essays/blog posts that cover a wide variety of topics related to The Cloud. It’s really hit and miss. There are really specific articles on the nuances of AWS which contrasted with some quite vague articles. Thankfully the titles are very descriptive. The essays on monitoring and alerting are very solid.

I wouldn’t not recommend it but I think you should have a flick through the titles to see if anything piques your interest.

Cat Jarman did a cracking job on this. It’s a superb way to catch up on the modern understanding of who the Vikings were, what they did, and where they ended up. At times it’s quite academic and I liked that. There’s cool stuff about how eating fish affects radiocarbon dating your remains.

I have had a copy of Red Devils since its release in 2022. I took a while to start, and a while to finish. That might normally indicate a lack of quality, but just shows my Book Butterfly nature and distractability.

Red Devils by Mark Urban is superb. It follows the founding of the Regiment through to the end of the war (and a little beyond). As I settle into my 30s I am sure you have noticed I love reading history and particularly the Second World War, like some sort of wargaming stereotype. To that I say: fair play, you have got me there. I have read broad histories of events, books focusing on specific campaigns, but I have not read the history of a specific group of individuals like this. Urban follows the regiment in a broad chronological sense but also weaves the stories of a individuals in. The result is informative and page turning. Urban’s prose sits well with me and I will be sure to pick up another of his book soon, The Tank War looks to be my jam.

I finished Space Marine 2 this evening and these are my raw thoughts. Expect SPOILERS

I have incredibly fond memories of 2011’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. I was just about to move to Sheffield for university. I was weeks away from getting fully back into Warhammer after years away. Space Marine hit at exactly the right time. I kept the purity seal from the collectors edition for a decade. I have such love for a perfect 7/10 game.

Am I an autobiography guy now? I’ve read four in the last two years. My previous thirty odd years had a running total of exactly zero.

As a BudPod enjoyer I thought it was only fair to read Phil Wang’s book after raving Pierre’s. It’s a really entertaining read that has very well thought out and explained takes on life. Much like Phil’s stand-up this book talks a lot about rac. Here he focuses on his British Malaysian heritage, how his experiences differed in the two countries. Phil has a wonderful turn of phrase and sense of comedic timing which he brings to bear when touching on some very serious topics.

What a vibe!!! You might have noticed I’m on a big nostalgia kick at the moment. Part of that has been finally looking into Warhammer Fantasy. Not the Old World that launched recently but the real Old World published in 2000. So specifically 6th edition. Why? Well from some conversations I’m led to believe it’s a golden era for Warhammer Fantasy. Plus all that Blancheian goodness from that time.

I’ve never given Fantasy the time of day, thinking it’s some weirded up Tolkien nonsense. After reading the rulebook cover to cover I think I finally understand the appeal, it is weirded up Tolkien but that’s actually good. Safe to say I’ve fallen head over heels for the setting. I’m almost tempted to pick up some Black Library books set in the world. Almost.