Finished reading: The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty 📚it took me a bit to finish this one, but I am glad I did. This is a proper end to the 3-part series. 4/5
Watched: Ladies First 🍿 it was suggested by friends. Based on the description, I felt like I had already seen it, but I did not. It was OK, or would it be not done to give it a 3/5? 🫣
Finished reading: The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty 📚quite different from the first book in the series. I liked it, but didn’t get through the book as I stopped listening in the evening. Still, I’d give it a 4/5 and have the third book as next on the list.
Finished reading: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty 📚 I finished listening this book within a week or 2; refreshing to hear about story inspired by Arabic folklore, and set in the Arabic world. I didn’t realize this was a trilogy (actually with 4 books out), so the end wasn’t really the end. On to part 2 then… 4/5
Finished reading: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua 📚 suggested by a co-worker. She once read it and was reminded of how some of her Chinese colleagues would be relentless in their roles. For a long time I wasn’t sure if the book was parody in some way, but I do think it was written true, yet also aware by the author that it might come across as alien for non Chinese readers (and that it played into that). Still, an interesting read, especially after I got the ‘why’ for the recommendation while close to the end of the book. 3/5
Finished reading: Morning Star by Pierce Brown 📚This the last book of the trilogy, but not of the series. It was another entertaining read, but enough for now. 3/5
Finished reading: Golden Son by Pierce Brown📚 OK, and different from the first book. Engaging enough to buy book 3 of the trilogy. 3/5
Finished reading: Red Rising by Pierce Brown 📚 recommended by a co-worker. The book was slow to start, but I got into it. I will listen to the second part in the series. 3/5
Finished reading: When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson 📚A quick listen. I was drawn to this based on some reviews of people I follow. The book was OK; I enjoyed the setting in some kind of Eastern German society (spies, secret service, state security, etc), and the story was interesting enough to follow in a few listening sessions. 3/5
Finished reading: Onyx Storm (Wing and Claw Collection) by Rebecca Yarros 📚Now I have to wait for another year or so to read up on the next part in the series… 4/5
Finished reading: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 📚 it took me less than 2 weeks to finish the second book in this series. I’m already thinking of the cliffhanger the 3rd book will have, as part 4 isn’t yet out…
Finished reading: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 📚 it took me 8 days to listen to 22h of book. I didn’t expect a book dragons and magic would keep me hooked. 4/5
Finished reading: Trickster Makes this World by Lewis Hyde 📚 5/5 amazing stories and perspectives. I’ll need to reread/listen this again some day.
Finished reading: Ghost on the Throne by James Romm 📚— An actual game of Thrones. Fascinating and even though this is all historical facts, it was a thrill to listen. 4/5
Finished reading: TIME/LIFE by Catherine Mayer 📚 — I have been waiting for this audiobook to become available after reading good reviews on the book. The audiobook is good too, with many accents and voice types done by the narrator. Good story too, and very much set in the now of time. 5/5
Finished reading: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 📚suggested by a colleague. I took time to read this book, but should have read it in one go. I like how the story fits together, and enjoyed the book. 4/5
SXSW 2026 as an indicator of next years general themes
I’ve submitted 2 proposals for SXSW 2026 and I’m now combing through the other submissions. Till August 24 people can vote on the sessions they think are most interesting (you can heart mine if you like the ideas).
SXSW usually is an interesting melting pot of opinions, visions, etc around what’s going to be current over the next year or so. Therefore the proposals carry some signal in what will dominate the industry for 2026.
Also, SXSW has been morphing over the years; the audience is evolving, emphasis is shifting, popularity is in flux, etc.
This is the first time since 2020 I’m looking at the makeup of the sessions. It’s interesting to see how the amount of submissions dropped from over 6000 (incl. EDU) to about 4500 proposals. Back in 2020, Austin was the only location for SXSW, now there are 3 across the globe.
When looking at the proposals, the most popular formats are panels, and presentations. It’s too bad I don’t have the data for last years panel picker submissions, but from the program I know that the majority of the sessions was panels, not presentations.
The Advertising & Brands track is the most popular track, closely followed by the AI track when it comes to volume of proposals. Health and Wellness is at a close third. Quantum continues to be a niche (only 5 proposals).
I’ll be posting a little more on the findings from the proposals over the next week or two.
I’ve been beta testing Macrowave, a peer-to-peer pirate broadcaster. The app launched 2 days ago, so whenever I put on my work music, you can listen along. I’m live now if you like to listen along.