Here are 99 books that A Prayer for the Crown-Shy fans have personally recommended if you like
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
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I believe that spiritual awakening is a service to the universe, and not just for our own enlightenment. Spirituality generally has been viewed as a return to some other realm of consciousness, rather than a means to awakening what we think of as divinity in life. There can never be a “finish line” to spirituality, as there is no end to the possibilities which collective co-evolution can bring about. The only way that intractable problems of humanity will ever be resolved is if a large number of people awaken to higher states of consciousness, while firmly grounded in life.
This opened up new insights into my spiritual journey. Dr. Tiller presents amazing research that shows that when there is a link between subtle energy and ordinary physical space, the physical properties of that space are changed, such that disorder decreases, rather than increases. He has done experiments in which experienced meditators are asked to store an intention in a bit of circuitry that is not connected to anything, such that the pH in water in another laboratory that the circuitry is placed near will increase by one point. This happens, and the experiment has been replicated many times. This is already amazing enough, but the entropy (disorder) in the laboratory decreases, which is contrary to the 2nd law of thermodynamics in ordinary physical space. My inspiration from this research was that any time we bring about a connection between subtle energy and our environment, new possibilities become available.
Overall this book is a paradigm-breaking book for science in that it reveals in some detail a viable larger perspective and framework for scientific description of nature and human evolvement in that framework. It is also a conscious-raising book and a hope-raising book for humanity in that it shows people how to use their own intentionality to bring about...beneficial...changes...in their own bodies. Such changes naturally lead to significant growth in the individual's consciousness.
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
My primary interest is in brain function. Because the principal job of
the brain is to process information, it is necessary to define exactly
what information is. For that, there is no substitute for Claude
Shannon’s theory of information. This theory is not only quite
remarkable in its own right, but it is essential for telecoms,
computers, machine learning (and understanding brain function).
I have written ten "tutorial introduction" books, on topics which vary
from quantum mechanics to AI.
In a parallel universe, I am still an Associate Professor at the
University of Sheffield, England.
Pierce was a contemporary of Claude Shannon (inventor of information theory), so he learned information theory shortly after it was published in 1949. Pierce writes in an informal style, but does not flinch from presenting the fundamental theorems of information theory. Some would say his style is too wordy, and the ratio of words/equations is certainly very high. Nevertheless, this book provides a solid introduction to information theory. It was originally published in 1961, so it is a little dated in terms of topics covered. However, because it was re-published by Dover in 1981, it is also fairly cheap. Overall, this is a sensible first book to read on information theory.
"Uncommonly good...the most satisfying discussion to be found." — Scientific American. Behind the familiar surfaces of the telephone, radio, and television lies a sophisticated and intriguing body of knowledge known as information theory. This is the theory that has permitted the rapid development of all sorts of communication, from color television to the clear transmission of photographs from the vicinity of Jupiter. Even more revolutionary progress is expected in the future. To give a solid introduction to this burgeoning field, J. R. Pierce has revised his well-received 1961 study of information theory for a second edition. Beginning with the origins…
My primary interest is in brain function. Because the principal job of
the brain is to process information, it is necessary to define exactly
what information is. For that, there is no substitute for Claude
Shannon’s theory of information. This theory is not only quite
remarkable in its own right, but it is essential for telecoms,
computers, machine learning (and understanding brain function).
I have written ten "tutorial introduction" books, on topics which vary
from quantum mechanics to AI.
In a parallel universe, I am still an Associate Professor at the
University of Sheffield, England.
This is the modern standard text on information theory. It is both comprehensive and highly technical. The layout is spacey, and the authors make good use of the occasional diagram to explain geometric aspects of information theory. One feature I really like is the set of historical notes and a summary of equations at the end of each chapter.
The latest edition of this classic is updated with new problem sets and material The Second Edition of this fundamental textbook maintains the book's tradition of clear, thought-provoking instruction. Readers are provided once again with an instructive mix of mathematics, physics, statistics, and information theory. All the essential topics in information theory are covered in detail, including entropy, data compression, channel capacity, rate distortion, network information theory, and hypothesis testing. The authors provide readers with a solid understanding of the underlying theory and applications. Problem sets and a telegraphic summary at the end of each chapter further assist readers. The…
An ancient Roman temple terraforming Mars. An android longing for his human wife. Will their epic clash bring Earth to its knees?
Android Y1 is heartbroken. He was once a neuroscientist who uploaded his own brain to study it. Now he hates watching his human self take his wife and…
My kid side loves robots and the possibilities they bring! My author side enjoys exploring what makes a reader “care” for a character that’s human, animal, and machine alike. And my parent side is ever interested in childhood with technology – the bad AND the good. Childhood today is very different from the childhood I experienced, but that doesn’t mean my experience was better, more correct, or even healthier. It’s just different! Kids today will remember their childhoods just as fondly as I remember mine. I aim to celebrate kids today and not to demonize the reality of their tech-infused world. I believe this list does just that!
I included this book to counterbalance all the machinery and tech in my list. And while I am super intrigued by robots being robots, it’s also okay to go against expectations like the character in this book does! This robot actually unplugs (against his parent’s will) to explore what’s lies beyond his digital world.
**Check out the Doug Unplugs animated series on Apple TV!**
It's easy being a robot, if you play by all the rules—but when Doug gets curious, he decides to unplug and forge his own path. And he discovers a whole world of what's possible.
Doug is a robot. His parents want him to be smart, so each morning they plug him in and start the information download. After a morning spent learning facts about the city, Doug suspects he could learn even more about the city by going outside and exploring it. And so Doug . . . unplugs. What…
I’ve always loved fairytales. What little girl with a growing romantic heart doesn’t? By the time I was eight, I told people I was Cinderella because of all the work I did at home. An exaggeration, even for the oldest child, but still. My first prom dress, during a year I won’t mention, was reminiscent of Cinderella’s blue ballgown. As I became a writer myself, I noticed my stories held themes I learned from fairytales. Love, loyalty, courage, and a dose of magic. I simply add space or aliens to the mix.
A Snow White who lives on a cold mining planet and often enters the fighting ring to earn cash? What’s not to love? Princess Essie fled her homeworld after the death of her mother, but the new queen isn’t the darkest threat she faced in the palace. She learned to survive by fighting, coding drones on a mining planet, and not trusting anyone. When Dane crash lands on her planet in the search of a lost treasure, she’s pulled into the war she tried so desperately to avoid. There is great world-building, exciting chases, and near escapes.
R.C. Lewis also tackles an ugly truth about child abuse in a way that keeps it real without splaying the guts all over the page. We can’t fix our world if we continue to pretend such things never happen.
Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back-but that's assuming she wants to return at all.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot…
When I look at the challenges our world faces, I find myself imagining how things could be better. For years, I've been captivated by the solutions that could bring about a better future. Through science fiction, especially in the books on this list, I seek out visions of better societies and ideas that could help shape a more hopeful world.
I found this book to be a masterful blend of murder mystery and science fiction, taking us on a journey through a future world where robots are beginning to take over jobs. The ethical and social questions raised by the integration of robots into everyday life are more relevant today than they were when the book was first published in 1953.
I liked Asimov's insights into the effects of robotics, offering a reflection into our own world as the AI revolution unfolds. Asimov's writing style is engaging, balancing technical detail with compelling storytelling.
I enjoyed this book immensely, not just for its intriguing plot but also for its thought-provoking exploration of a future that in many ways feels increasingly plausible.
Isaac Asimov's Robot series - from the iconic collection I, Robot to four classic novels - contains some of the most influential works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day.
In the vast, domed cities of Earth, artificial intelligence is strictly controlled; in the distant Outer Worlds, colonists and robots live side by side.
A Spacer ambassador is found dead and detective Elijah Baley is assigned to find the killer. But with relations between the two cultures…
Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander
by
Christian Hurst,
When seventeen-year-old Lily Starling is found in San Francisco with no memory of who she is, her search for answers pulls her into a future she never imagined. Taken aboard the Union starship Salamander, she becomes entangled in a mission that will test the limits of identity, loyalty, and courage.
I’m fascinated by robots. As a former computer programmer, systems analyst, and consultant, I’ve had an interest in technology since my first programming class in high school. I’ve been to robotics labs in Boston, Massachusetts, and Lausanne, Switzerland. My husband is a mechanical/software engineer, so STEM is a big part of our lives. In addition to Robo-Motion, I’m the author of a number of Minecraft books with STEM and coding sidebars. I’ve also published many magazine articles, one of which was the inspiration for this book. I wrote about the CRAM cockroach robot for the March 2017 issue of MUSE.
The robots in this book are cute and funny. In comic book format, a red robot and a blue robot get upset with each other but still maintain their friendship. In each of the three stories, the robots deal with misunderstandings, bad advice, hurt feelings, and apologies. The book made me laugh, which is never a bad thing.
Meet two robots who are best friends and learn through their mistakes and make-ups that even robots aren't perfect in this silly and sweet three-part picture book.
Red Robot and Blue Robot are very good friends. But sometimes friends say the wrong thing. And sometimes friends don't understand. And, very often, friends make mistakes. In three hilarious and heartwarming stories, Red Robot and Blue Robot find out that even robots aren't perfect but that doesn't mean they aren't perfectly best friends.
I remember the first season of Black Mirror—how fascinated I was. Even though a lot of it was uncomfortable, I couldn’t look away. It was a perfect intersection of the subjects that excited my mind: technology that could exist in the future intertwined with social and political issues and human psychology. It provided a very personal look into how technology would affect people’s daily lives and how it could shape the world we live in. Well, the series has become what it has become, but I still remember the thrill of the first episodes. It always gave me food for thought.
I loved the cyberpunk setting, the tension of not knowing who was going to win, the fact that a lot of characters were activists and belonged to the counterculture, the futuristic technology, and the complexity of the protagonists. I also loved how even though a pair of antagonists represented the side my values go against, I couldn't perceive them as villains. I experienced such intimate and vulnerable moments with them that I ended up accepting them for who they were.
The book explores issues of freedom and slavery, human relationships and the relationship between humans and bots, gender, love, the dangers of patented science, and more. It was very intense, brimming with ideas, feelings, technology (some of which went over my head), science, and action.
'Autonomous is to biotech and AI what Neuromancer was to the internet' NEAL STEPHENSON
'Something genuinely and thrillingly new' WILLIAM GIBSON
'Holy hell. Autonomous is remarkable' LAUREN BEUKES
WINNER OF THE 2018 LAMBDA AWARD FOR SFF SHORTLISTED FOR THE NEBULA AWARD 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE LOCUS AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT 2018
Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap medicines for those who can't otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their…
I’m fascinated by robots. As a former computer programmer, systems analyst, and consultant, I’ve had an interest in technology since my first programming class in high school. I’ve been to robotics labs in Boston, Massachusetts, and Lausanne, Switzerland. My husband is a mechanical/software engineer, so STEM is a big part of our lives. In addition to Robo-Motion, I’m the author of a number of Minecraft books with STEM and coding sidebars. I’ve also published many magazine articles, one of which was the inspiration for this book. I wrote about the CRAM cockroach robot for the March 2017 issue of MUSE.
The artwork in this colorful book is detailed and amazing. It’s a big job to move letters of the alphabet and the expressions on these robots’ faces are priceless, especially the gleeful ones. This action-packed book is filled with fun sounds and a variety of skinny-limbed robots hauling letters in every color of the rainbow. At times it’s a challenge to find the small item that begins with the letter. There is a lot packed into each page.
These noisy robots make the alphabet a hilarious adventure!
In this noisy alphabet book, Adam F. Watkins's silly robots are building the alphabet. Featuring hilarious robots making goofy noises, this alphabet book is perfect for young readers.
What if the gods could be FORCED to answer our prayers? Amelia and her friends were once DnD-style fantasy adventurers, who found themselves launched into science fiction when they discovered their medieval world’s “gods” just have access to space-age biomech.
Since ascending to "godhood" herself—that is, earning a place on…
I grew up when the space race was starting, and I became fascinated by all things regarding the planets, rockets, and the cosmos. For several years, I lived in the Houston area and spent hours and hours at the Johnson Space Center, where the history and future of space exploration are on display. The books on my list represent a major theme in my writing, which is futuristic in concept and asks the question: what we would do if our planet became uninhabitable. The answer provides the canvas to explore the advantages of technology, but most importantly, the determination of the human spirit.
I love books that are clever, imaginative, and portray a particular person or character as the main theme. This book does it for me.
The character is a murderer robot, but I came to like him and his weird but insightful perspective. I could see his world through his eyes. I felt sorry for him by the end of the book and was rooting for him. That was great.
I always like a bit of technology thrown in, but not have it be the main story or too complicated that it gets in the way of the characters. The writing was especially good, and I found myself turning page after page, engrossed in the story.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or lain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate dominated s pa cef a ring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by…
