By Collection Management Librarian Kathy
I love how much our community uses the library. Sometimes that means waiting for the hottest titles. Don’t fret! I can help you find a similar reading experience to THAT book you are waiting for or that you finally read and loved.
Burn Book readalikes
Bad Blood: Secrets & Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Why you should try it: Think a book about a biotech company and corruption sounds dull? Think again! This will leave you on the edge of your seat. It's also a great choice for anyone who loves good investigative journalism.
Description: In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes' startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work. For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees.
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Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang
Why you should try it: If what you want is a deep dive into the sleazy underbelly of Silicon Valley (and I assume you do if you are waiting for or loved Burn Book), this is for you.
Description: In this powerful expose, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don't Be Evil! Connect the World!), and how women are finally starting to speak out and fight back.
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Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism & the World by Malcolm Harris
Why you should try it: If you want a more comprehensive, historical take on the seat of capitalism and technology, this is it.
Description: Malcolm Harris examines how and why Northern California evolved in the particular, consequential way it did, tracing the ideologies, technologies, and policies that have been engineered there over the course of 150 years of Anglo settler colonialism—from IQ tests to the "tragedy of the commons," racial genetics, and "broken windows" theory. The Internet and computers, too. It's a story about how a small American suburb became a powerful engine for economic growth and war, and how it came to lead the world into a surprisingly disastrous 21st century.
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Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos & the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans
Why you should try it: A compelling and heartbreaking "rags-to-riches, genius-to-madness story" (Kirkus Reviews).
Description: A riveting investigation into the turbulent life of Zappos visionary Tony Hsieh, whose radical business strategies revolutionized both the tech world and corporate culture, based on rigorous research and reporting by two seasoned journalists.
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Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires by Douglas Rushkoff
Why you should try it: Here is an example of one of the (many?) deeply strange and unsettling aspects of Silicon Valley and its billionaire denizens.
Description: Five mysterious billionaires summoned theorist Douglas Rushkoff to a desert resort for a private talk. The topic? How to survive the "Event": the societal catastrophe they know is coming. Rushkoff came to understand that these men were under the influence of The Mindset, a Silicon Valley-style certainty that they and their cohort can break the laws of physics, economics, and morality to escape a disaster of their own making—as long as they have enough money and the right technology.
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About Kathy
Kathy is a Collection Management Librarian who loves reading, sharing, and talking about books. Her missions in life are to: create communities of readers, convince folks that her official title should be "Book Pusher," and refute that "disco" is a dirty word.
