Designing Data-Intensive Applications — Martin Kleppmann
★★★★★2017
The single best book on the trade-offs in modern data systems. Re-read every couple of years; new things land each time.
Reading
Books I’ve read recently, with short notes on what stuck. No through-line — data systems, LitRPG, and whatever else caught me.
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Series) — Matt Dinniman
★★★★★2020
LitRPG isn’t a genre I expected to enjoy. This one snuck up on me — sharp humor, real stakes, and a narrator (Donut) who steals every scene. Comfort reading I’m not embarrassed about.
Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson
★★★★★1992
I pick up a new Stephenson every year or so. You always come away knowing far more about some random subject than you bargained for — that’s the tax, and the story’s worth it. No exception here.