3 book recommendations from Eliot Peper
First of all, I'd like to take a moment to say hi to all the new subscribers to join our little cadre over the past two weeks. I think many of you may have arrived here after discovering Bandwidth through the Amazon First Reads program where it was selected as an Editors' Pick leading up to the official release on May 1.
Welcome to the newsletter! I hope you enjoy these reading recommendations and glimpses into my creative process.
My first novel came out four years ago and quickly grew into a trilogy. The Uncommon Series a fast-paced, deeply-researched near-future thriller that follows the irrepressible Mara Winkel as she leads her brand new tech startup from garage to IPO and gets caught up in an international conspiracy along the way. The series remains the #1 top-rate financial thriller on Amazon and wrestles with the challenges of entrepreneurship and the social implications of technology. A few months back, I talked to the original cover designer about updating the visual identity of the series. The results blew me away and we "stealth" launched them last week.
Check out the gorgeous new editions and let me know what you think. The design is based on a flow snake fractal and the "static" type was originally the product of an error in the design software that we immediately fell in love with. You can see more details about the art direction and side-by-sides with the original covers here. If you haven't read Mara's story yet, now's the time.
And now, books I love that you might too:
How Music Works by David Byrne is fascinating guide to every aspect of how we make and experience music. Byrne explores the creative impulses behind songwriting, the industry dynamics that shape the business of music, the impact of technology and cultural context on music's evolution, how music can help us access deep beauty and meaning, and much, much more. This book is stuffed to the gills with insights, wisdom, and fun facts that illuminate human creativity and ingenuity. I will never listen to music the same way again.
Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer is a lush, riveting science fiction thrill ride through a complex and nuanced future. This is book two of Palmer's Terra Ignota series and The story is packed with intrigue, philosophy, and an enormously compelling cast. One of my favorite things about Palmer's work is that while many science fiction novels extrapolate technological evolution, she brings the same level of thoughtfulness and creativity to social, cultural, and political evolution.
WTF? by Tim O'Reilly takes in the sweeping changes wrought by the advent of computing and the internet and puts the future in perspective. O'Reilly's ideas have major implications for everything from deciding on your career path and what skills to develop, to making sense of the headlines and choosing who to vote for. The mental models outlined in this book are maps that will help you search the present for clues to the future.
Bonus recommendation: This beautiful and thought-provoking science fiction short story perfectly captures the human experience of accelerating technological paradigm shifts. It's a profound reminder of the magic and pain of impermanence.
In other news, last week I interviewed John Hanke, CEO of Niantic and creator of Google Maps and Pokémon Go, about science fiction and tech at the GamesBeat Summit (details here). I also flew out to Boulder, CO to speak at the Conference on World Affairs. Here are some takeaways about monetizing creativity, institutions as technology, and the power of storytelling. For any Uncommon Series fans out there, while in Boulder, I visited Mara's favorite hangout: The Laughing Goat.
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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