26 Books
See allOne sentence synopsis... The history of the internet - from forums, to Friendster, and eventually Facebook - from the perspective of the user.
Read it if you like... ‘Halt and Catch Fire'. Both the show and this book look at the early stages of building communities online and how the utopian dreams of the World Wide Web have failed to play out in reality.
Further reading... for another personal story told against the backdrop of Silicon Valley and Big Tech try Anna Wiener's ‘Uncanny Valley'.
One sentence synopsis... An exploration of absurdity through the life of Meursault, a French Algerian whose apathetic responses to society's standards of behaviour lead him to his death.
Read it if you like... nothing. And dislike nothing. And have no feelings for anything at all. Perfect book for you. Far stretch comparison but at times Meursault gives off some very Patrick Bateman, dead-behind-the-eyes vibes.
Dream casting... I don't think a film version of this book makes any sense but somehow I'd trust Joaquin Phoenix to find a way to make it work.
One sentence synopsis... Through their parallel searches for love, two sisters learn to balance personal happiness with the rules that govern their society.
Read it if you like... “Little Women”. Both feature a similar de-romanticizing of what marriage represented to women of the time.
Dream casting... just watch Emma Thompson's version. It's honestly better.
One sentence synopsis... A critique of the dysfunctional power dynamics of relationships under capitalism disguised as a will-they-won't-they love story between two millennial Irish intellectuals. .
Read it if you liked... ‘One Day' by Dave Nicholls (the book, not the movie... the movie was a disaster, Anne Hathaway's accent is a disgrace, it's painful to watch). .
Dream casting... turns out Hulu is already all over this casting Daisy Edgar-Jones as bookish and strange Marianne and Paul Mescal as popular jock Connell.