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My Favorite Books of 2019
2 months ago
- The author read more books in 2019 thanks to the Goodreads Reading Challenge, which helped establish a daily reading habit.
- He started the year with a goal of 12 books and is finishing with 20, shifting from non-fiction to fiction over time.
- Reading fiction at bedtime helps him wind down and sleep better, unlike non-fiction which keeps his mind active.
- Favorite book #1: 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss – an exciting story that led him to audiobooks and the next book in the series.
- Favorite book #2: 'What Doesn't Kill Us' by Scott Carney – explores human adaptation and the Wim Hof Method, inspiring the author to take cold showers.
- Favorite book #3: 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card – a compelling story about a child prodigy facing alien threats and personal growth.
- Favorite book #4: 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' by Neil Gaiman – a unique childhood perspective exploring differences between childhood and adulthood.
- Favorite book #5: 'The Selfish Gene' by Richard Dawkins – a deep dive into evolutionary psychology that challenges views on life and behavior.
Totemic Books for Many Fields - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- The author collects the most important books in various scientific fields, referring to them as 'totemic tomes' that are essential reading.
- Many books remain relevant, but some have been overtaken by new discoveries yet retain their epic status, often drawing criticism for minor flaws.
- The list includes fields such as biology, business/economics, chemistry, climate, computing, data, defense/military, electronics, GNSS/GPS, philosophy, history, security/cryptography, intelligence/spying, networking, physics, politics, renewable energy, rocketry/spaceflight/aviation, and writing.
- Key criteria for inclusion: a book must be so meaningful that it becomes part of the vocabulary and has been around for at least 10 years, often with its own Wikipedia page.
- Some outdated classics (e.g., Applied Cryptography) are noted as no longer recommended, while historical treasures (e.g., Newton's Principia) are not used for learning today.
- The page also lists 'unevaluated suggestions' from readers that the author has not yet assessed.
Books I Enjoyed in 2025
2 months ago
- The text is a collection of mini-reviews of various books, spanning fiction, non-fiction, horror, mathematics, and historical accounts.
- The author enjoys books that provide insight into historical mindsets, such as Dante's 'De Monarchia' and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's 'Paul and Virginia'.
- Books like 'Building SimCity' are praised for unexpectedly weaving together cybernetics, system dynamics, and other technical fields.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer's works are highlighted for their disarming innocence, high quality per page, and magical realism set in historical Poland.
- The author appreciates clever reasoning in 'What Is Life?' by Schrödinger, which estimated genetic information storage before modern techniques.
- Other notable mentions include 'Term Rewriting and All That' for understanding computation, and 'Knowledge Representation' for its historical logic coverage.
Quality non-fiction books are the antithesis of AI slop
2 months ago
- The author's college library shelving job led to serendipitous discovery of quality non-fiction books, which became a formative intellectual experience.
- To address the decline of physical libraries and the rise of AI-generated content, the author created a free tool called Book Prize Index that aggregates prize-winning non-fiction books.
- The tool uses semantic search to help users find books similar to ones they like, mimicking the experience of browsing curated library stacks.
- The author argues that non-fiction writing quality peaked between the 1980s and early 2000s, aided by technological and social changes like jet travel and open access to libraries.
- The Book Prize Index includes data visualizations, such as book covers by color and publisher rankings, and aims to promote the discovery of high-quality non-fiction.
AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop
2 months ago
- Pre-2022 print books are a clean source of AI training data, free from AI-generated text and poisoning.
- ISBNdb offers bulk book acquisition services for AI companies, with strict NDAs to keep client identity secret.
- Bulk purchases of books by AI companies have spiked since 2024, causing unusual sales patterns recognized by booksellers.
- Destructive scanning of books for AI training is faster and cheaper, and has been ruled as fair use in a lawsuit.
- Books sold for training data are from the secondary market, giving no compensation to original creators.
The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth
3 months ago
- The Art of Computer Programming (TAOCP) books were named among the best twelve physical-science monographs of the century in 1999.
- Electronic PDF versions are authorized and recommended; non-PDF eBook formats (e.g., Kindle) are warned to be problematic and may be replaced.
- Volumes 1-4B are published, with translations in multiple languages; Volume 4C and future volumes (5-7) are planned or in preparation.
- Updates and corrections are managed through errata lists, with rewards offered for reporting errors.
- TAOCP uses a RISC machine called MMIX, replacing the older MIX, especially in new editions and Volume 4A.

books

My Favorite Books of 2019

Totemic Books for Many Fields - Bert Hubert's writings

Books I Enjoyed in 2025

Quality non-fiction books are the antithesis of AI slop

AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop

The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth