It’s rare to find a book that can take complex concepts about math, algorithms, and more and convincingly tie them into stories that can be read for pleasure. One of my favorite books of all time, Godel, Escher, and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstader, did this better than any book I’ve ever come across. The way Hofstader was able to tie so many ideas into vignettes featuring Lewis Carroll’s Tortoise and Achilles will always astound me. So inventive, enjoyable, and enlightening at the same time.

This week I read Once Upon an Algorithm by Martin Erwig. Once Upon an Algorithm (OUA) is cut from the same cloth as Godel, Escher, and Bach (GEB). OUA doesn’t feature the same breadth of topics as GEB, but the way it explains the basic concepts of algorithms and the foundations of computing through famous stories is inventive, enjoyable, and at times enlightening. The book’s coverage of ideas from computing is accessible and engaging. My favorite portion of the book is how it teaches control structures and loops via Groundhog Day. Once Upon an Algorithm would be a great addition to any introductory Computer Science course’s reading list, I wish I had it back when I was starting to learn this stuff.

Dev-eryday

I read a lot of ASP.NET Core in Action. Digging in deeply to ASP.NET Core has solidified my knowledge of .NET Core’s web development solution. .NET Core is doing a lot of things right and I’m enjoying my time with it. There a few conventions that are different in core than the old MVC project from regular .NET. The book has been helpful in identifying the differences from the ground up.

Finished

Pluralsight Course(s): Good Parts of JavaScript and the Web

Book(s): Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing

Currents

Pluralsight Course(s): Securing ASP.NET Core with OAuth2 and OpenID Connect, React 16 - The Complete Guide

Book(s): ASP.NET Core in Action

On the Next…

I’m going to take it easy this week. MLB is starting back up so it’s a good time to take a little break. I’ll still be learning, but maybe not pushing quite as hard. In the time not learning, I’ll be watching baseball. 2018 should be an interesting season.