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reading recs

Here some writing that have left a lasting impression on me.

Nonfiction

The Tell-Tale Brain

V.S. Ramachandran

Dr. Ramachandran is a neurologist and neuroscientist who uses Sherlock Holmes-esque deductive reasoning to investigate the nature of the mind. Each chapter is a case study of what happens when our brains malfunction, and how this informs our understanding of consciousness.

Trying Not to Try

Edward Slingerland

An exploration of spontaneity, skill and ways of being grounded in modern neuroscience and the history of eastern philosophy.

How to Do Nothing

Jenny Odell

An exploration of what attention can become when it's directed toward place, community, and the act of noticing.

Fiction

The Silo Trilogy

Hugh Howey

A science fiction story about a human civilisation that's weathering a global catastrophe in an underground bunker. How does one act on imperfect information, especially when technology makes the consequences and immediacy of those actions more and more intense?

Solaris

Stanisław Lem

A vivid portrayal of a truly alien intelligence.

Children of Time

Adrian Tchaikovsky

A civilization evolves from a different starting point, highlighting the evolutionary foundations of human society and morality.

Roadside Picnic

Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

Aliens have a pit stop on earth, leaving behind an incomprehensible and dangerous Zone. Stalkers are scavengers who gamble their lives to pick over the alien's trash. An exploration of human experience when faced with a perplexing and uncaring universe.

The Earthsea Series

Ursula K. Le Guin

A YA series about patience, adulthood and positive masculinity.