Library Post, 6/26/2012

Two books this week:

David J. Kowalski - The Company of the Dead


This is a monster of a book - 750 pages - the sort of book you don't want to drop on your foot, even though it's a paperback. It's an alt-history. The back matter looks intriguing. In March 1912, a man saves Titanic, which prevents the US from entering WWI. In April, 2012, the grand-nephew of John F. Kennedy lives in occupied United States - Germans on the East Coast, Japanese on the West - and might be able to "fix" history. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, but it really is a monster of a book. I hope it's the sort of book that goes quickly.

Stephen Segal - Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture


Segal argues that the geek subculture has the trappings of religion, and sets out to unpack some of the iconic quotations which geeks revel in, presenting them as wise sayings about how one ought to live one's life. Which is interesting enough for me to flip through.