April 2024 Reading
Another month, another set of books read. I finished more in April than I did in March and I'm going to attribute that to spring break at the start of the month.
Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization - Ed Conway
This is a thoroughly researched, in depth look at the substances which make modern life possible. It's full of on-site descriptions of places the public can't go which turn the raw stuff of the earth into the products we buy. It's a little staggering how much of what we rely on day to day depends on just a few minerals coming out of the ground.
The Mountain in the Sea: A Novel - Ray Nayler
The cover art for this book is striking (seriously, go look at it). Set decades into the future, this is a dystopian(ish) view of humans with advanced AI technology trying to understand emergent consciousness in different organisms. One is a culture developing in octopi, the other is a highly advanced android.
Overall, I enjoyed the book which includes a lot of exploration of the idea of consciousness as well as a couple twists I didn't see coming.
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel - Shelby Van Pelt
I did not mean to read two books featuring octopi in the same month, but things happen, ya know? This is very different from the books I normally read, but I enjoyed it a lot. It explores hurt - and healing - from three different stories in parallel.
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