After a long run of disappointments and a lot of reading in other genres I'm finally hitting a run of good modern #sff#books I can recommend. First across the finish line is The Future by Naomi Alderman. It starts off in a pre-apocalyptic, more hopeful Bill Gibson mode with a highly capable young female protagonist getting dragged into an oligarchic power struggle by means of a Macguffin. Very readable, enjoyable catnip for anyone who despises tech billionaires.
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There's a lot going on in this book but it moves along quickly. I suppose it is in the style I've seen called "hopepunk" but people need to stop trying to make fetch happen with that. There were a couple minor things about it that I personally didn't love, like too much time spent retconning the Bible and a primitivist-Romantic cultural vibe I can't buy into but these are nitpicks. Mostly it's a smart, well told story of resistance to the looming tech driven disaster.🧵
Some other bullet point/keyword type notes on The Future by Alderman:
forcefully, thematically feminist
lesbian main character
diverse characters
very on trend/current in its tech biz references
None of the above feels forced or anything at all though. And the politics in the book are interesting, being anti techbro capitalist but not anti technology. I'm not really buying it but it's enjoyable to read and think about.
In Search of Lost Time (book 1: Swann’s Way), by Marcel Proust.
You are thinking a lot about your (late 18th century) childhood, in an astounding amount of detail, where love of various kinds happens all around you, but to your recollection not satisfactorily for you, at least per your memories. @bookstodon#bookstodon#books#reading#france#madelaines
I just finished reading "A fellowship of bakers and magic" by J. Penner. The book was good, but it was missing a spark of magic that would make it amazing.
The premise sounded great, which was Great British Bake Off meets cozy fantasy, but it felt like the heart of the book was missing.
I just checked, and it was self published. I think a good editor might have made it an even better book. #bookstodon
From Harif - Association of UK Jews from MENA - a London event:
*Why is the ethnic cleansing of MENA Jews more relevant than ever? Monday 20 May, 7:30 pm. Appeal for Yad Sarah. Lyn Julius will present her book UPROOTED. Donors get a free signed copy. Maida Vale Venue.
For complimentary tickets please email Michael Marks at michael@yadsarah.org.uk.
Reading through #pressreset by Jason Schreier and it triggers me so much.
That’s an essence of what is wrong with this world. This obsessiveness over exponential growth. #capitalism with no safeguards that can burn the world to ashes. Exterminating every authentic bit for the sake of optimizing for raw profit.
That’s not what games should be about. That’s not what business should be about.
Hannah Arendt Explains How Propaganda Uses Lies to Erode All Truth & Morality: Insights from The Origins of Totalitarianism
I finally read this book about a year ago as I was trying to process past basic anger about the Trump regime & MAGA phenomenon. I came away from the book feeling depressed. But I'll probably read it again. It just has so, so much in it. #bookstodon#fascism#HannahArendt
Isn't it funny, I don't remember being impatient to get home to watch TV when binging series. But now that I'm reading more, the last couple of hours at work I just wanted to get home and read the next book in my Discworld binge.
This book is so intriguing and it is on the very top of my TBR to be my next read. Expect a review next week or so 😁 I am totally in love with the cover, especially all these purple tones.
Alice Munro, the Canadian writer, has died at age 92. In 2013, she became the first Nobel winner cited exclusively for short fiction — an achievement that came after her retirement from her 60-year writing career. Prior to that, she had won Canada's Giller Prize twice, then disqualified herself in 2009 to make way for younger writers. Ms. Munro “brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels,” the jury of the Man Booker International Prize declared in 2009, awarding her the prize for her overall contribution to fiction. Here's a tribute to her from the Globe & Mail. [Story may be paywalled]
Still reading The Great Game, and a meeting between Younghusband and Gromchevsky, mortal enemies getting slashed and talking world politics on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, thinking this should be a two-handed play. Absolutely electrifying. #books#bookstodon@bookstodon 📖
Bin gerade an jener Stelle von Austers Buch angelangt, die von #IreneVallejo in #Papyrus zitiert wird. Sie will damit ihren Leser:innen den Verfall der antiken Bibliotheken illustrieren.
Die Bibliothek, Sinnbild intellektueller Ordnung; Ein Zufluchtsort, in stetiger Auflösung begriffen und doch Symbol der Hoffnung - falls es diese heute noch zu geben vermag.
Ich lese weiter, wohin mich die Lektüre auch zu führen vermag.
I love reading fantasy novels, but sometimes I just get tired by all the world building. Do you know any fast paced Fantasy books where I don't need to learn about 12 different languages, 6 countries and 4 types of magic before the book gets interesting? 🤣 I need a palate cleanser. #Books#Bookstodon
I've been looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It wasn't quite a five star read, but a solid four star bath read. Uplifting story, lovely characters, and of course, a fantastically snarky octopus who is the best part of the whole book; I loved him.
If only we all had smart, snarky octopi to solve our problems.
"The people in this book might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California."
Less of a novel and more of an anthology of the lives and communities of these people, the Kesh. Virtually no plot, but a gentle, immersive read that will make you think about the human condition, where we are and where we're going.
This quote from Richard Powers at the back of my copy sums up the importance of this book better than I could in my own words.