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cryptix's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
varshiniramaraj's review against another edition
5.0
I want to give this book 10 stars. Or give the authors a way to access cheap space travel so they can collect all the stars from there.
(Look, it me trying to be relatable by referencing a chapter from the book).
1) Which book gives you not only well-written chapters with understandable analogies for you to wrap around it, but also chapters which didn't make the mark and mourn for them?
2) Which book mixes up cannibalism, telepathy, technology, and other t-words all in the same book?
3) Which book has 9 pages of references?
4) Which book is the one to change your life?
The answer (because this is in a review) is Soonish.
I picked up this book after my friend recommended it to me because we both are nerds.
I took about 2 months exactly to read it , but I am so happy I took the time to pore through these pages because this is such a good book.
I found so many references to other books/academics through this one, and I know I shall go through all of those as well, although I'm not sure if I'll get the same "my world has changed" viewpoint as I did with this book.
ALL THE STARS.
(Look, it me trying to be relatable by referencing a chapter from the book).
1) Which book gives you not only well-written chapters with understandable analogies for you to wrap around it, but also chapters which didn't make the mark and mourn for them?
2) Which book mixes up cannibalism, telepathy, technology, and other t-words all in the same book?
3) Which book has 9 pages of references?
4) Which book is the one to change your life?
The answer (because this is in a review) is Soonish.
I picked up this book after my friend recommended it to me because we both are nerds.
I took about 2 months exactly to read it , but I am so happy I took the time to pore through these pages because this is such a good book.
I found so many references to other books/academics through this one, and I know I shall go through all of those as well, although I'm not sure if I'll get the same "my world has changed" viewpoint as I did with this book.
ALL THE STARS.
7anooch's review against another edition
4.0
Nice funny book to listen to. Though I’m not sure I really learned anything.
mkesten's review against another edition
2.0
This book was fun, but obsolete about five minutes after it was published.
arousse's review against another edition
5.0
As a self-described "future optimist," I quickly engrossed myself in Soonish, which I won in a Goodreads Giveaway.
Each chapter was laid out in a similar structure, with a layman's term description of an emerging technology, the current state of progress, concerns, and finally the expected benefits. Plenty of interesting thoughts and puns were riddled throughout, causing me to "hm!" out loud, to the bane of my husband who had to endure my constant anecdotes.
Some of the most interesting parts of each chapter were the focus on the concerns. In each case, the technology was viewed in the actual environment of reality--a world that has terrorists, ethically-ambiguous rich bankers, and hackers--which I often find to be ignored in many discussions on technology. Although the concerns were touched upon, the authors clearly share my "future optimist" mindset, so a more conservative adopter of technology would perhaps find the depth of the downsides lacking.
It goes without saying that lovers of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal will find themselves in this book, but I would like to also relate the content and style to Wait But Why, another repository for light-hearted and easy to understand investigations into technology. Having been a reader of both websites for years, Soonish was a perfect book for me to devour in only a few sittings.
Each chapter was laid out in a similar structure, with a layman's term description of an emerging technology, the current state of progress, concerns, and finally the expected benefits. Plenty of interesting thoughts and puns were riddled throughout, causing me to "hm!" out loud, to the bane of my husband who had to endure my constant anecdotes.
Some of the most interesting parts of each chapter were the focus on the concerns. In each case, the technology was viewed in the actual environment of reality--a world that has terrorists, ethically-ambiguous rich bankers, and hackers--which I often find to be ignored in many discussions on technology. Although the concerns were touched upon, the authors clearly share my "future optimist" mindset, so a more conservative adopter of technology would perhaps find the depth of the downsides lacking.
It goes without saying that lovers of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal will find themselves in this book, but I would like to also relate the content and style to Wait But Why, another repository for light-hearted and easy to understand investigations into technology. Having been a reader of both websites for years, Soonish was a perfect book for me to devour in only a few sittings.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2017 staff favorite recommended by Joe. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Ssoonish%20weinersmith__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
wandering_not_lost's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Solid 4-star popular science book. I really liked how they got into not just the technologies themselves, but also pointed out some of the societal reasons things have NOT yet happened, as well as some of the downsides of particularly promising technologies that could nonetheless go horribly wrong. I also think they did a pretty good job of picking the topics, so that it's not just "3D printing", but specifically topics like bioprinting and 3D construction. There were places where I thought they could have gone into more depth, but overall this was a pretty entertaining book.
sam_ayem's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable. Entertaining, snarky, and quick-witted.