stevegattuso

Hi, I'm Steve! This site is an always-in-progress repository for my thoughts and ideas. You'll generally find me writing about sustainability 🍃, urbanism 🏙️, programming 💾, vegan cooking 🍛, and whatever else pops into my mind ✨.

Wiki » Books

I love reading, sometimes in physical books and other times on my Kobo eReader when it's more convenient. In general I try to do the hip thing of shopping at local bookstores, direct from publishers I enjoy and in general avoiding DRM e-books books but I'm not always perfect and sometimes just order from Amazon.

Lays down the argument that economic planning is all around us, contrary to the popular orthodoxies that markets are the only way to allocate scarce resources. It provides a compelling case for coming up with democratic means of economic planning and expanding it throughout our economy rather than relying on the current mechanism of having private islands of authoritarianism linked together by profit-driven markets.

The goal of this book is to fill a void of utopian thought in leftist literature around climate change. It paints a picture of what a more sustainable and just economic system could look like if it were centered around human and ecological goals rather than purely profit.

A word of warning: I walked into this book thinking it would be fiction and quickly realized that two thirds are relatively dense academic analysis (mostly focusing on the viability of planned economies). If you're interested in the topic I'd say it's well worth the read, though if you just want to get the fictional utopian tl;dr you can probably just read through that one chapter and take in the socialist sights.

This book altered my thinking about the way modern society runs, specifically regarding our relationship with nature and resources. I really enjoyed the distinction between those who are Takers and those who are Leavers. The former make up our society as of the agricultural revolution, as we decided that the world and its resources should be ours for the taking. The latter are those who have lived alongside nature, being a member of its ranks rather than an external actor trying to conquer it to its desires.

Evan Prodromou, one of the creators of the ActivityPub protocol, recommended this book on during a discussion of how Mastodon is currently a rare force of decentralization in a media platform. The book does a great job providing the history behind the cycles of centralization and decentralization of mediums in the past. I agree with Evan, the book is well worth your time.

When one of my friends recommended this book, he told me "you don't really read it for any plot; moreso the vibes." I second his advice: approach this book with a mind open to absurdity and humor. You might like where it takes you.

If you enjoy Talking To My Daughter About The Economy this book is an excellent follow up. Varoufakis delivers his vision for a more democratic and just economic system via a scifi tale that keeps what may otherwise be a relatively dry subject quite interesting and fun to read.

Those who have read critiques of capitalism in the past may not learn many new details from this book, however the approachable way Yanis articulates economic concepts is incredibly powerful and novel. I think this book is worthwhile and entertaining for anybody to read- no matter their experience with economics.

Why is it that, as we've increased the amount of automation in our economy, we're still working ourselves to death? This book gives some great arguments for why private enterprise doesn't always offer the perfect efficiency advantages that its proponents claim.

Inspired my post on illegibility in tech.

One of thoses books that I read in high school and hated at the time but thoroughly enjoyed reading as an adult.

Very interesting to hear about the experiences that would serve as the foundation for Orwell's later novels. Also fascinating to learn about the brief period of a seemingly classless society formed in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War.

The travelogue of 100 Rabbits sailing from Japan to Vancouver.

I'm a sucker for Andy Weir novels and this one is no exception. I love the way he strikes a balance between fantasy and a believable reality.

This book is beautiful but it is in no way uplifting- reader beware.

If you even have the smallest desire to open a restaurant you should probably read this book first.

A short (100 pgs) and very approachable introduction to the ideas behind Marxism.

Presents a compelling argument for smaller political entities rather than large empires.

An amazing photojournal and travelogue exploring a Japanese comfort food: pizza toast.