Weekend Reading: The Politics-Free Edition

I am in LA for a conference. I decided to buy Hamilton for the drive north, and see what you guys have all been talking about. It took me about 2/3 of the way through the drive, and WOW, I get it now. It is really brilliant. The little bits and pieces I'd listened to so far don't do it justice. You really need to listen to it straight through to get just how brilliant it is.

So that's my number 1 recommendation for your weekend.

But you were probably expecting things to read, not things to listen to, so here are you go:

First of all, I posted something over at the Annorlunda site about the three new books I'm working on right now. They're all great, and all quite different from each other. I'll have more to say about each as the release dates near, but I have already set up the sign up forms for advance readers, if anyone is interested. Here are the links:

• Advance readers of Don't Call It Bollywood
• Advance readers of Academaze
• Advance readers of The Lilies of Dawn

In other publishing news, I've put Unspotted on sale for $0.99. If you've been tempted to check it out, now's a great time. Purchase links are available on the Annorlunda site.

On to other things...

I've decided to avoid politics in my links this week (unless you count the Hamilton recommendation as politics!) mostly because I need a break.

Here's Syreeta McFadden on why the recent Hamilton performance at thw White House means so much.

Awhile back, California had to release a bunch of low level offenders due to prison overcrowding. It did not unleash a crime wave.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher on what the big tech companies get wrong about design is great. She's got a book out (written with Eric Meyer) about designing for real life, and I may just need to read it.

In other horrifying news, Dune Lawrence's story of being targeted by a smear campaign is scary, and represents another important scenario that the tech companies blithely ignore or wave away as not their problem, even though it is their products that make this sort of campaign possible and effective.

Microsoft screwed up at a big game developers' conference. 

There is nasty new exploit targeting Macs. If you use iCloud, consider setting up two-factor authentication. Really, we should all be using 2FA on everything. I know, it is a pain. And I'm not all the way through putting 2FA on all my accounts, either. But it is worth doing.

I'm feeling very unobservant because I do not remember ever noticing men in mini skirts on Star Trek TNG.

This is silly, but fun: exploring the hypothesis that The Walk of Life works for all movie endings.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher also has a great new way to sign emails. If you enjoy puns, click through and read the replies.

Today I accidentally signed an email "Cheese!" instead of "Cheers!" and I'm pretty sure I'm never going back.

Cheese,
Sara

— SaraWachterBoettcher (@sara_ann_marie) March 17, 2016

Happy weekend, everyone! Cheese!