Free Culture

by Lawrence Lessig

This book is about American copyright law and how it affects free culture. This of course covers mostly the internet and how its use has affected the current mode of distribution for music, books, art, movies and so on. Obviously piracy is a big issue right now. This book elucidates the particular issues on this matter not in terms of the regular talking points of the media such as 'piracy is killing creativity' or 'piracy will bankrupt the industry'. It goes into a much more deeper level than this and explains the wider implication and puts into context what this advent of digital distribution has meant, what it means now and what it will mean in the future. Overall, it is a very good and insightful book.

I actually finished this book several days ago, took me 2 months or so because it was something that I put down and stopped reading, but continued reading again after some time. I put it down not because it wasn't good, but I was reading some other things at the same time too.

In-line with the values of this book, you can download the book from this link.

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

This was a book that I really wanted to read and just completed it during my trip to Beijing and Harbin, China. It is the autobiography on Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple and Pixar Studios. It is a wonderful book on the creative genius and his process, his temperament, relationships and life. Before I never understood all the hype about Apple products but after reading this book I have a better appreciation for the philosophy behind Apple products and where they sit within the technosphere. Steve Jobs is a truly enigmatic and unique individual and one could just wonder what wonderful things he would have come up with if he was still alive. Isaacson does Jobs justice with a comprehensive and detailed account of his life's achievements, events and tribulations. A wonderful read; an inspiring and insightful book.

Rage of Angels

by Sidney Sheldon

I started reading this book 2 days ago and finished this morning. I must say Sheldon books always read like soap dramas, and they are really easy to read and finish. It was 500 pages but they are such quick books. Feels a bit like junk food, in the sense that you just keep munching and munching away and when you finish you still end up with a slightly empty feeling like you didn't eat much at all. The content doesn't feel all that feeling, but that doesn't mean that the ride wasn't entertaining.

This book is about Jessica Parker, a lawyer and she gets intertwined with the lives of Michael Moretti, a Mafioso and a Adam Warner, an aspiring lawyer and politician. Their lives become complicated when Jessica Parker struggles to hold her ideals while dealing with the reality of the real world.

Actually, I was 200 pages in when I asked myself whether I read this story before. Sheldon's story set ups are quite similar for most of his books and it read very much like other stories I have read from him. But about midpoint, I realised that no, I have never read this story. The pacing of the story is decent and character development is mainly focused on Jessica while less focus is given to the other characters. This isn't a criticism of character development, just an observation. As a whole, it just felt like a run-of-the-mill Sheldon story of a heroine's initial struggle, rise to power and eventual falling back in to reality. Nothing more and nothing less.