What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? July 08

Just finished Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". Enjoyed it for the most part, though some of the stuff towards the end I got lost in/annoyed by. I've always found Dick's more surreal bits to be very hard to follow, though thankfully this time things stayed (mostly) grounded/sober. My bigger issue is that it ended up feeling too much like a ham-fisted faith allegory, of which I've had more than a lifetime's fill of. Maybe that's just my current state and not the common vibe or intention from it though.

I'm also stumbling around William Gibson's "Neuromancer" but having a very hard time with it, despite being well acclimated to the cyberpunk tropes it popularized. Something about Gibson's style/flow just isn't clicking and I find myself completely lost in what the point of anything he's describing is, only sometimes realizing in retrospect. Perhaps most unexpectedly it's not the cyberspace interpretation (or jargon, etc) that throws me either. The whole thing just feels very disjointed.

Finally, and seemingly perpetually, I'm picking my way through my battered copy of Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves" that I've trucked around for the past 25 years. Not necessarily a fun read, but nonetheless a fascinating puzzlebox of literary art that my brain is the perfect/worst fit for. I'm very glad I don't smoke anymore because the paranoia this journey would cause would obliterate what few bits of me remain.

I'm currently just finishing Ruinstorm, book 46 of the Horus Heresy series of Warhammer 40k lore.

It's been a good series on the whole, but it's marred by a few absolute slogs of books, and generally trends worse as the series drags on.

I'm pretty ready for it to be over, but there have been some standout good books in the last few!

I finished reading Anna Karenina and opted to follow up with The Brothers Karamazov. I inadvertently chose to continue reading Russian period classics.

Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by V.I. Lenin, and

An Introduction To Marxist Economic Theory by Ernest Mandel.

Although I've read lots of excerpts and essays in ML literature, it happens that I never touched some of the most basic and influential works, especially in economics and political economy. I find Ernest Mandel’s introduction to be quite accessible and comprehensible. My goal is to take on Das Kapital eventually.

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. My understanding is that it is a woefully misunderstood book, and that people keep getting angry with the content without understanding it (or worse, without reading it).

So far, I actually really like it just a handful of chapters in. I think they make incredibly salient points and have very convincing rationales.

Stopped reading "children of time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it wasn't the kind of book for me. I am now reading AE van Vogt's "the universe maker". Not his best book, but the fast pacing is nice. It's also an old Dutch translation, so the archaic language use is... different. I started listening to Matt Dinniman's "the bedlam bride" on my commute, I got fed up listening to the radio. I read the previous books in the series, but so far I think it lends itself better to listening. And I've read the short story "the marching morons" by Cyril Kornbluth during some down time this week, which I liked. Didn't know this writer, so might check out some of his other work.

Finished up Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs - sometimes leans towards enthusiasm over precision, but overall a very good read!

About two thirds through Tender Is The Flesh. Not for the faint of heart... Wow.

Just finished Antifragile by Nassim Taleb for the third time.

Product Driven by Matt Watson (book is out on the 17th, got it early for review purposes), it's fantastic!

The Black Death by Dorsey Armstrong and it's also fantastic! I learned so much I didn't know. Like the plague lasted 300+ years and reoccurred every ~10 years. And some would argue over 1000 years. Wild!

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson in my attempt to get caught up on all things cosmere. 7 more books and I'm all caught up!

Currently enjoying Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki

Cynicism is a perfectly understandable response to a world full of injustice and inequality. But in many cases, it is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realize how kind, generous, and open-minded others really are. Cynical thinking worsens social problems, because our beliefs don’t just interpret the world—they change it. When we expect the worst in people, we often bring it out of them. Cynicism is a disease, with a history, symptoms—and a cure. Through science and storytelling, Jamil Zaki imparts the secret for beating back cynicism: hopeful skepticism. This approach doesn’t mean putting our faith in every politician or influencer. It means thinking critically about people and our problems, while simultaneously acknowledging and encouraging our strengths. Far from being naïve, hopeful skepticism is a more precise way of understanding others, and paying closer attention re-balances how you think about human nature. As more of us do this, we can take steps towards building the world we truly want.

I'm about to finish Toward Eternity by Anton Hur:

In a near-future world, a new technological therapy is quickly eradicating cancer. The body's cells are entirely replaced with nanites—robot or android cells which not only cure those afflicted but leaves them virtually immortal.

Literary researcher Yonghun teaches an AI how to understand poetry and creates a living, thinking machine he names Panit, meaning Beloved, in honor of his husband. When Yonghun—himself a recipient of nanotherapy—mysteriously vanishes into thin air and then just as suddenly reappears, the event raises disturbing questions. What happened to Yonghun, and though he's returned, is he really himself anymore?

When Dr. Beeko, the scientist who holds the patent to the nanotherapy technology, learns of Panit, he transfers its consciousness from the machine into an android body, giving it freedom and life. As Yonghun, Panit, and other nano humans thrive—and begin to replicate—their development will lead them to a crossroads and a choice with existential consequences.

Exploring the nature of intelligence and the unexpected consequences of progress, the meaning of personhood and life, and what we really have to fear from technology and the future, Toward Eternity is a gorgeous, thought-provoking novel that challenges the notion of what makes us human—and how love survives even the end of that humanity.

This is a generational story, that follows a concept rather than a person. It kind of reminds me of Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark.

Raft by Stephen Baxter and War Bodies by Neal Asher. Both are pretty fun so far

“He who fights with monsters”.

I was shocked at how well developed the world/universe is and by how much I’m enjoying it.

When I first heard of it, and of “LitRPG”, I thought it sounded stupid.

Have you seen the meme where the angry parakeet hates the cracker until he bites it and then he’s really happy? That’s me, with this series.

I’m still ignorant of whether the rest of the genre is good or not, but this series definitely is.

I’m ready to book a flight to Australia to help nursemaid the author back to health from whatever thing recently almost took him from us.

The last book series I enjoyed this much was The Dresden Files before the 5 year book gap followed by it going completely off the rails.

I read the first several books in the series (which is currently 12 books long) until I realized how much fun listening to them would be. I was right. So now for my second “read” I’m listening to them, and just having the best time doing so.

I’ve expressed myself poorly here, but tl;dr: That series great. Me like very much. Me super happy to have tried it after all.

I read three books at the same time. I have focusing problems so it helps me.

-The Last Ten Seconds by Simon Kernick (75%) -The DaVinci Code: A Quest for Answers by Josh McDowell (42%) -Unconscious Memory by Terrell Bainbridge (5%)

Heavenly Tyrant, the 2nd book in the Iron Widow series by Xiran Jay Zhou.

I stumbled onto it randomly but it has all the things I love. It’s sci-fi with fantasy elements, anti-imperialism, and pro worker class warfare.

The protagonist is a teen girl who is flawed but strong-willed. She doesn’t have all the right answers, she makes mistakes, and there are certainly people better than her. She seems real.

There’s a kind of pacific rim meets starship troopers aspect to it. They use chi-powered “mechs” to fight alien invaders.

The first book has some surprise revelations at the end that the 2nd book addresses.

Recently finished The Housemaid. It felt more like chick-lit than what I'd normally go for, but someone said I should read it and lent me a copy. The main plot premise was solid. The reveals were less surprising than perhaps the author intended, but well written regardless. I've scored it under film adaptation which is cheating, but I'm told Sydney Sweeny will make it valid before the bingo closes.

Up next I think is going to be Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan. Not far enough into it to recommend yet, but looks as if it could be interesting, and set in a part of the world I'm underinformed about.

Recently started The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Not too far into it, but it's fun so far.

Currently trying to get through The Fisherman by John Langan, to help expand my ability to recommend cosmic horror.

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Finished:

The Thief by Claire North (speculative historical thriller | bingo squares: another continent, minority author, orange, short, game)

A man stakes his memory on a game of hide and seek in Thailand in the 1930s, forcing him into the wilderness to avoid discovery by his opponent's many pawns. Second in the Gameshouse trilogy.

I didn't love the tense-switching within paragraphs, but I can't object to a story about a desperate protagonist trying to cleverly outmaneuver their foes. Enjoyed; will read the third at some point.