Welcome

This website is based on my idea of Plato's Academy (~300 BCE), brought forward to the 21st century. It provides a forum to review and analyze books in several areas of interest, and also allow online discussions related to the books' topics.

The current interest areas for this site include history, software development and computer composed music. We will add more areas in the future as interest and time allow. We invite you to join the exploration and add to our discussions - we can all learn from each other.

In the beginning...

The idea for this website was hatched when Dave and I couldn't meet face-to-face any more during our history book-club.

A couple of years ago, we started a monthly book-club to discuss a book on some aspect of history. In late spring 2004, however, Dave took a new job in another state and we wondered how to keep the club going. We decided to set up meetings in both Idaho and Texas, and use a website to publish our book reviews and discussions.

Other sections added

I work as an engineer developing computer software. I am particularly interested in the overall development process, especially quality assurance (QA) and testing. I have reviewed several books for Software Quality and Test Engineering's website, and thought to add those reviews here as well. They are in the Software QA/Testing section.

The latest section to be added is near to my heart as both an amateur musician and computer programmer. I wonder if it would be possible to teach a computer to compose music? Could you (figuratively) turn a few knobs and get a four-part fugue in the style of JS Bach? How about different settings for a Romantic style piano sonata or a jazz piece? The Computer-Composed Music area explores these ideas.

Summary

As you can see, this is an eclectic discussion and book-review site. It started as a means of keeping a book club going, and grew with the authors' interests and visitors' feedback. Explore the site, let us know what you think, and what we should add.