Exploding the Phone

A pair of books I’d recommend for 2024, which I didn’t get the chance to reread this year, would be: - The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Gaiman), which is beautiful in a way I can’t quite describe - Century Rain (Reynolds), which is best described as a hard boiled 1930’s noir hard science fiction novel. Books I read this year which I really enjoyed:’ - Exploding The Phone (Lapsley): Super engrossing description of the phone phreak scene almost from its start to its end - Hyperion and sequels (Simmons): Probably one of my favourite science fiction series now, and I’ve already felt the need to go back and re-read passages from it. Also really enjoy how each part of the series (Hyperion, then Fall of Hyperion, then the Endymion books) re-invent the style and the story. - The Annotated American Gods (Gaiman, Klinger): 1000’s of footnotes is a great way to revisit the story :)

Exploding the Phone (Phil Lapsley): A history of the Phone Phreak phenomenon. If you've browsed around ancient hacker lore or read textfiles.com, you'll enjoy it. Giving Good Weight (John McPhee): Some John McPhee articles. They're very good, as usual, the title article being about farmers markets and told in an experimental style. Rust: The Longest War (Jonathan Waldman): Explores several different stories tied together by the theme of metal corrosion and the people who contend with it. Hallucinations (Oliver Sacks): Mostly about what malfunctions of the brains of a few can tell us about how all of our brains are structured. Designers & Dragons: A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry (Parts 1 and 2 so far) (Shannon Appelcline) The history of a bunch of start-ups.

Exploding The Phone covers phone phreaking and the phone company investigations into it.

LoTR is not something I can recommend. When I read it, it was a miserable trek, and I read obsessively. It was a book written by somebody who cares more about the language then they do they story, and it shows. That's not necessarily bad, but unless you share that point of view, I'd give it a miss. Anyways, in the same vein as Ghost in the Wires, I recommend The Cuckoo's Egg and Exploding the phone, which are both fantastic.