So, I'm back from a weeks holiday, spent with Ju in Parga, on the west coast of Greece. I'm not a sunshine kinda guy so spent most of it under a parasol either on the beach or by the pool, attacking selections from a pile of half-finished or particularly interesting-looking books:

For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The History of the World's Most Popular Soft Drink, courtesy of Dave. Fascinating, but left me the impression of a cultish and single-minded, rather than (with a couple of exceptions) actively evil, company. And it backs up (or was the source of) Mark Thomas' claims about Fanta being the work of Nazis.

Agile Software Development with Scrum: wow. I think this might be the most important software development-related book I read this year. I read it 4 times over the course of the weeks holiday, after being given the nod by the guys at the BBC Emerging Platforms team who we've been working with recently. Nodded vigorously so much whilst reading it that my head fell off.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds: you see that dot-com bubble? That's you that is. Goes into details of massed craziness over the centuries: tulipomania, alchemy, the crusades, prophecies, the South Sea Bubble, and so on. I'm only halfway through this, but it's confirmed for me that yes, we have ALWAYS been this stupid.

Remote and Controlled: Media Politics in an Uncertain Age: goes into detail of how politics is presented in the media and how this in turn influences political debate, with particular reference to the US system. Got me watching newspapers and counting stories which reference media coverage of events, as opposed to being about actual events themselves. And the coverage of checks and balances in the US system of governance, designed to prevent any branch of the executive doing bad things was interesting (bringing to mind Labour attempts to "reform" our crusty old House of Lords).

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Pernille pointed me at this one ages ago, and I'm ashamed to say it lurked on my reading list for far too long. Fantastic examination of why it is that people don't get together for the common good like they used to in the good ole days. Made me want to kill my television and join the girl guides.

The Business of Software: great book on the different directions a software business can take (service-oriented, product-oriented or hybrid) and how companies move between directions over time, referencing lots of good case studies. Made me think about what FP could be doing that's more product-based.

I also tried to attack some tome on game design, but gave up after wading through the first 40 pages. It just felt too much like a thesis.

What else? Oh yes, Parga provided the requisite number of local waifs and strays for a good holiday... photos soon.

Oh, and this weblog should now be spam comment-free, thanks to an MT-Blacklist install and an hour or so spent scanning, rebuilding, etc. If you spot any lurking, do let me know...