Reading | Blog

In light of the recent announcements of Australian Car Manufacturing ending in the next few years, and commensurate loss of jobs (directly and indirectly) and changing Government support and funding for manufacturing more generally here is an interesting TED Talk by Erik Brynjolfsson on our Digital Age http://gjscomp.com/NwP6QR. Erik talks about Big Data, Robot and Machine Learning, Innovation, Productivity and its decoupling from Employment.

He makes the point, readily understood by many, and across all industries and professions that technology has resulted in the loss of many jobs globally, and this will continue unabated, which means humans have to re-skill and innovate. As he concludes his talk “Technology is not destiny, we (humans) shape our destiny“.

Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee have authored a new book called “The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies“.

Here is a review of the Book from The Huffington Post http://gjscomp.com/1jrKQiu.

As many customers are aware I have a wide variety of interests, one of which is reading.

I have long recommended LibraryThing http://bit.ly/1hyvyID to customers as an excellent method to catalogue books read, as well as the ability to review books, read others reviews, create wish lists and participate in Early Reviewers/Member Giveaways (although many books listed here each month are not available in Australia).

I only noticed today that the LibraryThing free service is limited to cataloguing 200 books, but costs only US$10.00 p.a., or any amount from US$19.00 up for a Lifetime Membership to add unlimited books.

Despite predictions to the contrary “the overall number of books sold dipped from 56.6 million in 2012 to 54.1 million last year (2103), a drop in value from $978 million to $917 million” (Jason Steger, Literary Editor, The Age, 4 January 2014).

If you are interested in what I have been reading here is the link http://bit.ly/13kf90e.

I am old-fashioned in so much as I love the feel of real books, turning pages etc. At the same time I read e-Books on my Kindle, particularly work-related material.

IMHO The Amazon Kindle Device(s) is one of the best electronic inventions ever!

Other sites related to reading that you might be interested in:

What Should I Read Next http://gjscomp.com/1cz4WhM.

GoodReads http://gjscomp.com/1i6fnz1.

Book Depository http://gjscomp.com/KqSOcy.

Amazon Australia http://gjscomp.com/KrLfTp.

Calibre E-Book Management http://bit.ly/1bx3w6Y.

Project Gutenberg http://bit.ly/u0nE7s.

If you are looking for Software to run on your Computer then CollectorZ Book Software is for you http://gjscomp.com/1a8rHNw. Cost $29.95 for the Standard Edition. Mac/Windows.

WikiHow – How to Learn Speed Reading http://gjscomp.com/1i6h27O.

Speed Reading Test Online http://gjscomp.com/1e8gDyC.

Improve Reading Speed & Comprehension http://gjscomp.com/1d8l4gy.

Sydney Morning Herald Books http://gjscomp.com/1axiJG1.

ABC TV The Book Club with Jennifer Byrne http://gjscomp.com/1kjzC0G.

If you have any great reading and/or book websites or wish to share the books you are currently reading and recommend others should read please share here.

Category Archives: Reading

Erik Brynjolfsson: The key to growth? Race with the machines

Books & Reading