3 book recommendations from Eliot Peper
Two years ago, I received a cold email from a guy named Matt Hannus. Matt was a voracious reader and veteran of the gaming industry. He was starting a company called Bound to develop a new format for reading fiction on the internet. He asked whether I'd be open to seeing one of my novels adapted.
Matt's project fascinated me. On the internet, we overwhelming read nonfiction: blog posts, news articles, essays, etc. But we buy and read many more novels than nonfiction books. Why is there such a dramatic gap in our reading habits? Everyone has a pet explanation, but I was curious to see whether Bound could create a format that could empower internet fiction. So we arranged for them to adapt my science fiction thriller, Cumulus.
Matt and his team spent two years working nonstop on their app and Bound officially launched this past summer. Cumulus was a part of their launch slate alongside series from science fiction legend Neal Stephenson, award-winning game writer Matt Entin, former Pixar and Telltale Games creative Stephan Bugaj, and linguist Nick Farmer, creator of the Belter conlang for SyFy's The Expanse (and subscriber to this humble newsletter!). Bound breaks up long stories into short serialized episodes, almost like a TV show, and pairs them with art and extras that enrich the reading experience.
Bound's adaptation of Cumulus deepens the world of the story with extensive sourcebook material and brings it to life with captivating art. Bound readers have many things at their fingertips that no other format offers: never-before-seen biographical details of the protagonists, investigative reports on the future history of economic inequality, press coverage that illuminates how Cumulus became the dominant tech monopoly, interludes that give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of secondary characters, and transcripts of clandestine conversations. If you loved the book, this is a perfect complement.
Bound has been releasing episodes of Cumulus over the past few months and today marks the official season finale. I've had a blast following the series and I'd love to hear what you think. You can download the iOS Bound app for free right here and check it out. (It'll make for a nice escape from holiday travel shenanigans.)
And now, books I love that you might too:
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey is a deep and moving novel that follows a trio of astronauts preparing for the first manned mission to Mars. As her protagonists struggle through a brutal seventeen month training exercise that simulates every aspect of the impending journey, Howrey reveals the inner lives of these extraordinary people with clarity and precision. In doing so, she shows that our dreams of exploring the final frontier reveal as much about human nature as they do about the cosmos.
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday dissects the process of making and marketing classics. Drawing on examples ranging from To Kill a Mockingbird to Craigslist and Iron Maiden, Holiday distills the timeless principles shared by Winston Churchill, Lady Gaga, and Stefan Zweig (whose biography of Magellan I recommended in a of this newsletter). I have a shortlist of resources I share with writers, entrepreneurs, or creators who reach out asking for advice. Perennial Seller just shot to #1 on that list and I expect it to make good on its title.
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz is a zany science fiction adventure that maps out the future of biotech, AI, and robotics. The story is fun, fast-paced, and jam-packed with sharp speculation on everything from patent law to human trafficking. I loved getting to know the diverse, quirky cast and following them through countless unexpected plot twists. This is an entertaining brainteaser of a novel and I hope Newitz is working on a new one.
Bonus recommendation: My wife and I are midway through binging Mr. Robot and I can't recommend it more highly. The show features brilliant writing, acting, and production that brings hackers to life with far more authenticity than anything I've seen before. You can watch it on USA or Amazon Prime Video.
In other news, I just approved the cover (it's gorgeous!) for my next novel, Bandwidth (coming May 2018). I'm currently 33k words into the rough draft of the sequel and will be writing a new chapter after sending off this missive to you. Michael Garfield interviewed me about writing, science fiction, and making sense of the future for his Future Fossils podcast, which you can listen to right here. I interviewed bestselling author Daniel Suarez for Scout's Incoming Transmission. We discuss the scientific, economic, and political implications of CRISPR and how speculative fiction can illuminate the social impacts of tech. Daniel shares details on how he goes about rigorously researching his novels to make them "science fiction for scientists" and how he maps out different scenarios for the near future, exploring the second and third order effects of innovation (I recommended Daniel's latest technothriller, Change Agent, in a previous edition of this newsletter). Read the interview right here. If you want to make sense of how biotech will change the world, you'll find his ideas provocative, compelling, and counterintuitive.
If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support it, forward this email to a friend. I love sharing amazing stories that explore the intersection of technology and culture. The goal of this newsletter is to recommend books, both fiction and nonfiction, that crackle and fizz with big ideas, keep us turning pages deep into the night, challenge our assumptions, help us find meaning in a changing world, and make us think, feel, and ask hard questions. In an age of digital abundance, quality is the new scarcity. The right book at the right time can change your life.
I also pull back the curtain on my creative process. When I'm not reading books, I'm writing them. If you're interested, you can find my books right here. They've been praised by Businessweek, Popular Science, TechCrunch, io9, and Ars Technica. I'd love to hear what you think if you give them a read.
Cheers, Eliot
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