Here are a few books that helped me enjoy myself on the refs. Comments and recommendations are always welcome!


CU Reading Room

Opened on July 19th, 1997. Articles and pages about CU that are NOT tech pages or help pages.

The Moon is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

The section about women on the lunar colony has a lot of parallels in the way women are regarded on Cu-SeeMe.

microserfs by Douglas Coupland

"...Mom was telling me about this conversation she heard between two people with Alzheimer's down at the seniors home where she volunteers: 
		A: How you doin'?
		B: Pretty good. You?
		A: How you doin'?
		B: I'm okay.
		A: So you're doing okay?
		B: How you doin'?
I laughed and she asked me why, and I said, "It reminds me of America Online chat rooms!" She demanded an example, so I gave her one: 
		A: Hey there.
		B: Hi, A.
		A: Hi, B
		C: Hi
		B: Look, C's here.
		A: Hi, C!
		B: CCCCCCCCCC
		C: A+B=A+B
		A: Gotta go
		B: Bye, A
		C: Bye, A
		B: Poo
		C: Poo poo"

The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

I have met some cu-users that try to meet in person, but for the most part, we seem content to make and maintain our friendships on line. "The Naked Sun" is one possible projection of this trend into the future.

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson

This book should be considered required reading before picking a favorite ref to hang out on.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

What makes us 'real'?

Idoru by William Gibson

This is his latest book but any of his books are good for making you think about the future of interaction on the net.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

It's not tech-talk -sigh- but it is still a great book just for having fun by playing with words. It sure beats begging and pleading
And Mr Seesaw's variation on this classic title

Kilobyte by Piers Anthony

We have all met a nasty character like Phreak online. Piers Anthony tries his best to give us some insight into who they are.

Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein

This book has done more to shape my attitude towards others on CU than any other book. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untraveled, the naive, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as "empty," "meaningless," or "dishonest," and scorn to use them. No matter how "pure" their motives, they thereby throw sand into machinery that does not work too well at best."

"This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply."

"It is impossible for a man to love his wife wholeheartedly without loving all women somewhat. I suppose that the converse must be true of women."

The title of the book comes from this quote: "The more you love, the more you can love -- and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just."

The Sleeping Beauty Novels by Anne Rice writing as A.N. Roquelaure

"...a hypnotic and seductive adult fairytale." Very erotic, but not for the faint-hearted.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

"Each carries within himself the all; therefore it may be sought and discovered within. The differentiations of sex, age, and occupation are not essential to our character, but mere costumes which we wear for a time on the stage of the world. The image of man within is not to be confounded with the garments. We think of ourselves as Americans, children of the twentieth century, Occidentals, civilized Christians. We are virtuous or sinful. Yet such designations do not tell what it is to be man, they denote only the accidents of geography, birth-date, and income. What is the core of us? What is the basic character of our being?"

Amazon Books

A great source. Take a look at the "Eyes and Editors Notification Service"