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Booknotes 3.2

Nonfiction

  • Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story, by Pamela Pfiffner (2003). I don’t particularly care about Adobe as it is now, but it was interesting reading the history of PostScript, digital typefaces, Illustrator, Photoshop, PDF, PageMaker, and InDesign. Particularly how uncertain PDF’s future was then, compared to how ubiquitous it has become.
  • In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson (2011). About Berlin in 1933–1934 (roughly). I read it for book group. Fascinating book, compelling and interesting throughout. I wasn’t well versed in that time period, so the Night of the Long Knives came as a bit of a shock. Whew. The potential parallels to today are admittedly frightening. Looking forward to reading Larson’s other books. (I’ve also read Isaac’s Storm.)

Fiction

  • Whispers Under Ground, by Ben Aaronovitch (2012, fantasy). Gritty, but other than that I liked it. Quite funny (much more than I remembered the series being), and I also enjoyed the London slang and the worldbuilding. Looking forward to the rest.
  • Priest of Bones, by Peter McLean (2018, fantasy). Quite gritty. Outside of that, though, I liked it, tragic though it is (in my view, anyway). Interested to see where the series arc goes.