Interconnected

The following was first posted on the 3 Books Weekly email newsletter and has since been archived here.

Hullo folks – and please welcome Philipp Moehring to 3 Books Weekly!

Philipp’s an investor, and looks after everything Europe at AngelList. I’m always intrigued to see what people who are focused on the future (which an investor has to be) pick when they’re recommending books. This is a great mix, a bit of fiction and a bit of non-fiction… including one that I’ve had recommended to me so many times that I’m embarrassed I haven’t read it. I’m not going to say which it is.

Find Philipp on Twitter as @pmoe.

ALSO! You can find two of Philipp’s picks in the vending machine right now. Friday is new books day, and I stocked them just a couple hours ago. They’ll be there all week or until they sell out. Newsletter and machine in sync. It’s what they call OMNICHANNEL RETAIL, people. Full stock list, and a map so you can visit here.

Hey, a couple of requests…

• If you’re enjoying 3 Books Weekly, please share with your friends. They can subscribe here.
• I’m thinking about where Machine Supply should go in July and August. It has to be London so I can tend it. I’d love to have the vending machine in somewhere like a WeWork co-working space, or a big busy cafe. If you know someone who works in facilities or marketing at a place like that, can you put me in touch? Thanks!

Okay, onto the main event. Happy Friday all!

Matt

#1. The Stand, by Stephen King

This is the Stephen King version of the dystopian future. Wrecked by a superflu epidemic, the few survivors band together through a treck across the states and start building a community. All the while, the bad and ugly is collecting powers in a different place… This is Stephen King at his finest: Incredible characters, deep relationships, and the supernatural somehow believably weaved in. Caution: The new and extended version is another few hundred pages longer than the already “obese” first version. I liked it, because I like reading.

The Stand: Amazon / Amazon UK

#2. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Hey, saw how augmented reality is all the rage? Saw how the FBI tried to get access to that guy’s phone?? See how corporations control your f*cking life???

Ready Player One: Amazon / Amazon UK

#3. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality (Penguin Press Science), by Brian Greene

This is the hardest book I ever read (ok, maybe apart from “Accounting for Supernational Evil Corporations” in Bschool). It explains the somewhat-current status of physics research (string theory, time travel theories, relativity, and all the other things you have no real idea about) in “everyday language”. It took me about 10 minutes per page to read, but oh did I feel smart afterwards. I’m reading it again now because I realize how much I loved it, and how little of it I understood.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality (Penguin Press Science): Amazon / Amazon UK