Hild
Books are a special format: a complete exploration of a particular territory.
Articles are easy to read and share—and I love them!—but when you encounter the right book at the right time, it can can alter your life trajectory, become a part of who you are becoming.
And now, a book I love that you might too:
Hild by Nicola Griffith follows a girl growing up in seventh century Britain who uses her keen powers of observation to carve out a precarious space for herself as the King’s seer. I described this book to a friend as “a perfect novel” because it will suck you in, touch your heart, open your mind, keep you reading late into the night, and leave you breathless, satisfied, and unable to look at the world in quite the same way as you did before reading it.
Things worth sharing:
I went on the Lux Capital podcast to talk to the inimitable Danny Crichton about writing Foundry, semiconductor espionage, and what it takes to defeat pessimism and build a future worth striving for.
Every year, the American Geophysical Union organizes the planet’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists. This year’s meeting took place in San Francisco last week, and included a stage adaptation of Victory Condition along with stories from Kim Stanley Robinson and Mark Alpert. The performance was accompanied by original animations and a live string quartet—a creative format that was tremendous fun. If you’re curious about the creative process behind the short story, here’s how I wrote Victory Condition.
When anyone can make an app, the only way to win is to make an app people want to use. When anyone can publish a book, the only way to win is to publish a book people want to read. When anyone can produce a video, the only way to win is to produce a video people want to watch. As better and better tools make it easier to do things, it becomes more and more valuable to do the right things—the relative importance of taste scales with the power of technology.
How I’ve done 10+ years of independent consulting: I share my best stories and ideas in novels, essays, talks, conversations, etc. People reach out asking to pay me to do things. If the project sounds interesting, pays well, and fits in my schedule, I say yes. That’s it! Some projects take hours, some take years. You can see a few examples here.
Imagine the Reader: “When you sit down to write something, your first act of imagination is not ‘what should I say,’ but ‘who is this for.’”
Pixar started out selling high-end graphics computers, but only succeeded after leveraging its own technology to make feature films. Steve Jobs explained why they went all-in on making Toy Story: “We wanted to use our technology to make something where nobody needed to know anything about the technology to love it.” Mapping this to the current moment, I wonder what AI startups will win, not by building and selling tools, but by building and using those tools to make something extraordinary?
John Mayer improvises a song while explaining his creative process.
Peers make the best teachers. Experts know so much they've forgotten what it's like to be a beginner. Fellow students know your struggle. So learn together, and then teach what you learn to each other.
If your book club is reading Foundry, I'll Zoom into your discussion for a 30 min Q&A. Just hit reply and we can get it on the calendar.
Thanks for reading. We all find our next favorite book because someone we trust recommends it. So when you fall in love with a story, tell your friends. Culture is a collective project in which we all have a stake and a voice.
Best, Eliot
Eliot Peper is the author of Foundry, Reap3r, Veil, Breach, Borderless, Bandwidth, Neon Fever Dream, Cumulus, Exit Strategy, Power Play, and Version 1.0. He also consults on special projects.
“Clever, prescient, and stylish, Foundry is a fascinating examination of modern power wrapped in a propulsive, page-turning story.”
-Mario Gabriele, The Generalist