Books I read in December 2022

Books I finished reading (or rereading) in December 2022…

• AI 2041, Chen Qiufan & Kai-Fu Lee (technology, sci fi)
• The Investigator, John Sandford (thriller)
• The Dark Hours, Michael Connelly (thriller)
• Bottom of the 33rd, Dan Barry (baseball)
• Nightfall and Other Stories, Isaac Asimov (sci fi)
• The Ghost Brigades, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• The Last Colony, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• Zoe’s Tale, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• The Human Division, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• The End of All Things, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• Magician: Apprentice, Raymond Feist (fantasy)
• Magician: Master, Raymond Feist (fantasy)
• Expendable, James Alan Gardner (sci fi)
• The Flaw in All Magic, Ben Dobson (fantasy)
• First Contract, Greg Costikyan (sci fi)

AI 2041 was very interesting. A collection of ten short science fiction stories meant to illustrate how artificial intelligence (AI) might influence society in 20 years, each followed by a more-detailed, technical explanation of the computer science and societal issues illustrated in that story…

TOTAL FOR 2022 = 116 books

Hope you’re reading something fun too!

Books I read in November 2022

Books I finished reading (or rereading) in November 2022…

• Annotation, Remi Kalir & Antero Garcia (writing)
• A Search for Common Ground, Rick Hess & Pedro Noguera (education)
• Old Man’s War, John Scalzi (sci fi)
• Brother John, Rutledge Etheridge (sci fi)
• Qalea Drop, Joel Shepherd (sci fi)
• Ceephay Queen, Joel Shepherd (sci fi)
• The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn, Tyler Whitesides (fantasy)
• Economics in Wonderland, Robert Reich (economics)
• Accidental Warrior, Colin Alexander (fantasy)
• The Way Back, A. Bertram Chandler (sci fi)
• The Mirror Man, J. B. Manas (thriller)

Hope you’re reading something fun too!

Book Review: Annotation

I finally had a chance to read Annotation by Remi Kalir and Antero Garcia. Although I’ve never met Antero, Remi is my faculty colleague here at the University of Colorado Denver. Remi tells fascinating stories about annotation (no, really!), so I was excited to read his thoughts in print.

The book highlights five key functions of annotation: providing information, sharing commentary, sparking conversation, expressing power, and aiding learning. Chapter 5 on expressing power probably was my favorite, particularly the sections on the #MeToo poetry of Isobel O’Hare and Alexandra Bell’s use of posters to challenge racial stereotypes in The New York Times. The book has numerous interesting examples of annotation in action (hint: it’s not just people writing notes in the margins of printed books) and is at its best when it is discussing these real world exemplars.

Although I am an active reader, I’m not much of an annotator other than highlighting passages or quotes for later. Until I met Remi, I hadn’t really given much thought to the practice of annotation. The book gave me some new lenses through which to think about this practice.

Whether you’re a reading geek or not, Annotation is a quick read that should spark your thinking in some new directions. If you want to get a taste beforehand, here are a couple of podcasts with Remi to get you started:

• Thriving on Overload, Episode 39: Remi Kalir on social annotation, self curation, the connective tissue of ideas, annotation tools, and nuance for synthesis
• OEG Voices, Episode 26: Talking annotation with Remi Kalir

Be sure to also check out the #SharpieActivism hashtag for another fascinating story of annotation. And, as always, I hope that you’re reading something fun and interesting too!

Image credit: Annotation, Remi Kalir

Books I read in October 2022

Books I finished reading (or rereading) in October 2022…

• Not Impossible, Mick Ebeling (memoir)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (sci fi)
• Centers of Gravity, Marko Kloos (sci fi)
• Murder Under Another Sun, Colin Alexander (sci fi)
• Croma Venture, Joel Shepherd (sci fi)
• Rando Splicer, Joel Shepherd (sci fi)
• Phaid the Gambler, Mick Farren (sci fi)

Hope you’re reading something fun too!