Report Blog Entry
Hey Guys, today is gonna be a less, thought out First Reads than before? I'll be honest, First Reads are really first impressions of the book after I go through them once. I may have said that before (too lazy to check), but there's also another quirk of this series where I pump out these reviews typically a day or two after I finish the book. This is primarily due to the fact that for one, I have a ton of books I want to get into, and would typically read these things at a faster pace. I wouldn't say speed reading, but definitely not taking my sweet time. Second, I often check out these books at libraries rather than buying them, so there is a limited time for me to read them and get them out.
With that in mind, as I mentioned in a comment in the last blog post, I will be vastly winding down by blogs and interactions here on the platform (For what little I do interact with anyone here). I do struggle with a feeling of FOMO and choice overload, but sometimes you need to slow things down. These last two books were a product of my aforementioned issues with reading, since I am going to be busy for the next few months, and wanted to finish reading them beforehand. I'll mention this in the impressions, but please keep this in mind.
Without further ado, lets get into these First Reads!
Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons:
a Step-by-step Guide to Computer Security and Privacy for Non-techies
5th Edition
Review
As a privacy fan, I enjoy resources like these that help the average person (like myself), to feel more secure and free in life. Unfortunately, due to the nature of me borrowing this book, and the my own life priorities, I wasn't able to sink my teeth into this book as much as I wanted to. The book in a nutshell is split into chapters covering one specific aspect of (digital) privacy, with the over-arching analogy of a castle and town you rule, that you wish to protect. Each chapter is divided into explanations for the assigned aspect of privacy, and recommendations to do on that aspect. To that end, I was only able to read the recommendations as my time would allow me, and I am left feeling a bit dissatisfied in regards to how I tackled the book. Make no mistake however, I don't have a negative critique of this book. The other sections will tell you such. This review portion was more of a vent for me, and call to perhaps revisit this in the future.
Overall Recommendation: A crucial book from the tech literate to those who aren't. Even experts in the technological field may learn some thing from it. Privacy has been the overlooked systemic issue of the decade, and while it is gaining more traction in my view, I don't think its enough. Privacy is a right that we have, and we should fight for it as much as climate change, equality, etc.
Walkable City:
How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at A Time
10th Anniversary Edition
Review
From my childhood and even up to this day, traveling is awesome. My parents would take me to various malls and cities to explore, hike, and try out the food. The tool that made all of that happen? It was the car. To this day, I love riding on a vehicle for its limitations. I didn't have to do much, and that meant I can spend the time listening to hours and hours of music. However, this is coming from someone who likes riding a car, not driving it, and i've gotten sick and lethargic a number of times on longer trips. When the realities of cars in America and driving the car reared its ugly head, I slowly gained another perspective on life, or rather a future that's already here, just not where I live.
That was a lot of backstory for this book, but outside of rambling, I wanted to talk about this because I didn't want to demonize cars. They're a great invention, but much like other innovations like the internet or gunpowder, their is bound to some ill, or misplaced actions. For the car, that meant dominating the landscape so much, it was no longer a freedom, rather almost a necessity. That is what Walkable City is here to expose us to. The author, Jeff Speck, outlines how disastrous a car-dominated society like America is to the environment, and us both mentally and physically. From there, he offers compromises, or steps to not get rid of the car, but reel back its domination, so other modes of transportation can be fruitfully enjoyed, and make cities more livelier.
Overall Recommendation: I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic of city design, car history, and our future as a society. It's something that not many people have talked about from my perspective, and only now is it getting more widely-seen attention and acknowledgement. Furthermore, not only can the book explain why change needs to happen, but it can also explore solutions with proof to show. The 10th Anniversary Edition of this book, released last November (2022), offers updates, reflections, and corrections to the original text published back in 2012, and is right now, the most current and relevant literature that the average person can get.
Comments
Displaying 0 of 0 comments ( View all | Add Comment )