I dipped into a couple of the links. I can recommend <i>The 'Shamanification' of the Tech CEO</i> (<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/health-business-deprivation-technology/" rel="nofollow">https://www.wired.com/story/health-business-deprivation-tech...</a>)<p>The author, an anthropologist, argues that the fads we see tech CEOs indulging in today (nootropics, intermittent fasting, weird diets) are similar to the practices used by shamans in hunter-gatherer societies to show how special they are, making them credible interfaces with the supernatural powers they claim to channel.
<i>The Hill of Dreams</i> is a great recommendation, it doesn't get mentioned often enough (or at all :-) I think. I think his <i>The Three Impostors</i> is even better.<p>If you like this sort of weird early 1900's mystic book, be sure to also check out David Lindsay's <i>Voyage to Arcturus</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Voyage_to_Arcturus" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Voyage_to_Arcturus</a>).
I _llooovveee_ these end of year lists of yours and read them every year, thanks for posting them!!<p>EDIT: And to anyone else who might consider writing one, especially if it has a Books or long-form article list, do it!
> <i>ZX81 Goes Nuclear – Controlling a Nuclear Power Plant</i><p>I'm going to have to read that one and very carefully. The ZX81 may the single most unstable thing I've ever come across.<p>My resounding childhood recollection was that if someone sneezed in the next town the connection to the 16Kb RAM Pack (required to do anything) would shift and everything would be lost.<p>Even Sir Clive's suggestion of using a "small piece of Blu Tack" couldn't save it.
Every year I become less and less interested in "verifying" what I can learn from each of this "best" things from Fogus. Hooray for me! Perhaps I'm starting to tame my FOMO?<p>This is not to rate or devalue the efforts of Fogus in publishing these lists.<p>A different way of saying the same thing: I wish the first time I saw these lists, it was prefixed by something like:<p>"The main value of these lists is not for the general public, but for myself. Don't be afraid to have your own favorite things of the last year. Build your own lists! Go crazy. Creating is complementary to consuming and both are necessary for growth. Be Happy!"<p>This is my interpretation, but I'm pretty confident in this conclusion. Prove me wrong in replies! Or agree with me! Both kinds of reactions should be fun to engage with :-).
Very nice little list, thanks for posting!<p>One complaint I do have is that I didn't like Birth of Violence at all. Chelsea's other music sounds so much better to me. BoV was the same sounds from other albums re-hashed and it felt very bland.
I still have the Magic Realm board game. I never worked out how to play it as a kid but I loved reading the manual and playing with the board and game pieces. Very atmospheric.