phildini, while reading started reading The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Colour of Magic is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is …
New podcast is coming. Brace yourselves.
Reviews and Comments
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So far this has the feel of a podcast about podcasting, in book form.
phildini, while reading reviewed Staff Engineer by Will Larson
Fundamentals, padded out
3 stars
There are not a lot of great books on how to be a Staff+ Engineer, because there are not a lot of books on being a Staff Engineer, period. I really enjoyed Larson's book on Engineering Management (An Elegant Puzzle) and so was hopeful I'd get a similar volume equally packed with good strategies and information.
This is... not that. It's not bad by any means, and the first third, the section that synthesizes everything gleaned in interviews with Larson's own thoughts, was excellent and insightful. The issue is that the Staff Engineer interviews, making up somewhere around the back two-thirds of the book, started feeling repetitive to me very quickly. Were there insights there? Yes. Were they worth the time spent reading them? Unclear. The book does make it clear that Staff Engineering is more art than science, more ✨vibes✨ than a clear path, and I think the book's …
There are not a lot of great books on how to be a Staff+ Engineer, because there are not a lot of books on being a Staff Engineer, period. I really enjoyed Larson's book on Engineering Management (An Elegant Puzzle) and so was hopeful I'd get a similar volume equally packed with good strategies and information.
This is... not that. It's not bad by any means, and the first third, the section that synthesizes everything gleaned in interviews with Larson's own thoughts, was excellent and insightful. The issue is that the Staff Engineer interviews, making up somewhere around the back two-thirds of the book, started feeling repetitive to me very quickly. Were there insights there? Yes. Were they worth the time spent reading them? Unclear. The book does make it clear that Staff Engineering is more art than science, more ✨vibes✨ than a clear path, and I think the book's structure tries to reflect that.
As with An Elegant Puzzle, the collection of Resources in the back of the book makes up for a lot, and makes this a solid reference for anyone interested in Staff Engineering. Do I recommend reading it cover to cover? No.
phildini, while reading rated The Memory Librarian: 5 stars
The Memory Librarian by Eve L. Ewing, Janelle Monáe, Yohanca Delgado
In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, and worldwide superstar Janelle Monáe …
phildini, while reading finished reading The Memory Librarian by Eve L. Ewing
In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, …
Incredible start to finish
phildini, while reading commented on The Memory Librarian by Eve L. Ewing
In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, …
This book has really gone places, and I'm a sucker for a short story collection that weaves in on itself.
phildini, while reading started reading Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You) by Griffin McElroy
I podcast, and I like the McElroys, this was inevitable
phildini, while reading commented on The Memory Librarian by Eve L. Ewing
In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, …
The third story in this collection is a punch to the gut, but staggeringly well-written
phildini, while reading wants to read Astrology and Storytelling by Alice Sparkly Kat
An astrology workbook, Astrology and Storytelling can be used on your own or with friends. …
Apparently no-one in the entire bookwyrm network has ever come across this book
phildini, while reading finished reading Batman by Neil Gaiman
Best-selling author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) joins a murderer's row of talented artists in lending …
The best book about heroes, and how they end, that I think has been published. Still makes me tear up.
phildini, while reading commented on Staff Engineer by Will Larson
Deep into the stories now... hi nelhage
phildini, while reading finished reading Radiant Sin by Katee Robert
Things... are heating up 😎
I read this a few pages at a time, and by doing so begin to reflect what Steen is saying about tasting wine -- trying to have general thoughts is hard-to-impossible, because so much is tied up in the experience of the doing.
phildini, while reading finished reading Love Letters to Jane's World by Paige Braddock
This essential Jane's World collection debuts twenty years after Jane Wyatt first appeared in Paige …
Cute!
phildini, while reading stopped reading River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan
Award-winning Mexican-American and Indigenous author Jennifer Givhan brings us an exquisitely written, spell-binding psychological thriller …
Content warning Mid-plot twist that soured me
This book opened so well, the world-building and the characters were immediately gripping, and the book seemed to have something to say in the commingling of magic and racial politics in the U.S.
But then an infidelity subplot popped up halfway through, and I just couldn’t anymore.