Wants to read Slaughterhouse-Five
book
Wants to read Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
Since I read Cory’s blog (on https://pluralistic.net) regularly, the themes and even the wording in The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI were very familiar, but it was good to read them in a more condensed and better edited format.<br/><br/>As with Cory’s recent non-fiction, I still wanted more concrete solutions, but this book does offer more than just warnings and problem diagnosis. A good, entertaining overview of the current AI landscape/bubble, and I’m here to read future installments.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-reverse-centaur's-guide-to-life-after-ai---cory-doctorow/
Wants to read The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection
Rated Mr. Kiss and Tell 6/10
liked that this book picks up an annoying loose thread from the TV show: whatever happened to Meg Manning's little sister Grace?<br/><br/>Unfortunately the book's main plot didn't grip me very much, and Veronica herself is all over the place - in an annoying way. Wallace and Mac also feel too much like caricatures this time around.<br/><br/>The narration by Rebecca Lowman was fine, but a notch below Kristen Bell's narration in book 1.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/mr.-kiss-and-tell-veronica-mars-2---rob-thomas/
Rated Tooth and Nail: A Steampunk Sleeping Beauty 6/10
Fast-paced YA steampunk pulp that mixes classic fairy tales with vampires, gargoyles, and other traditional lore. The initial mystique of the setting is wearing a bit thin by book 3, and the romance is a bit overindulgent, but I still immediately put book 4 on my Kindle. 😄<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/tooth-and-nail---c.i.-chevron/
Rated System Collapse 8/10
I found the first half of the book a bit slow-going, but the pace picked up after that. I like how we continue to see Murderbot struggling with its place in society, while its human allies treat it more and more as part of the team and as a friend. The continued freeing of bots from their governor modules is both cool to see and opens up plot opportunities for future books.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/system-collapse---martha-wells/
Rated The Humem State: The Emergence and Establishment of Our Extended Presence 6/10
The concepts Alan Brook covers in The Humem State are fascinating, and the book feels more relevant today than I can imagine it being 10+ years ago. As we pour more of ourselves into online presences and agents, we will at some point have to consider where I end and the humem or agent begins.<br/><br/>That said, I found the book overly optimistic, mostly highlighting the great things that might happen while ignoring potential downsides and risks. I also found the writing style overly academic, which made it borderline unreadable to me at times.<br/><br/>Overall, I am glad that I read it for its interesting ideas, but I kept wondering how the same concepts would read as science fiction stories.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-humem-state---alan-brook/
Rated De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang 6/10
I stumbled upon Bregman’s writing through Humankind, which I really liked for its optimistic view of history and then-current affairs.<br/><br/>I like the topic this book explores, and the examples of progress through the ages help put things into perspective. Bregman also spends a lot of time comparing the opinions of other writers, which is not my favorite style.
Rated Daisy Jones & The Six 8/10
A few years ago I bounced off the TV series Daisy Jones & The Six… turns out I just didn’t like it in a visual format.<br/><br/>The audiobook? Loved it. Full cast, great cadence, and a real page-turner. Even if the reveal felt a bit anticlimactic, the ending was well timed and satisfying.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/daisy-jones-&-the-six---taylor-jenkins-reid/
Wants to read Enough: Climbing Toward a True Self on Mount Everest
Rated Equal Rites 8/10
An early Discworld novel where Pratchett is still finding his voice. The jokes are less frequent and often simpler than in later books - funny for sure, but more predictable than what I'm used to from his later works.<br/><br/>This was also my first Discworld audiobook narrated by Indira Varma. It took a while to get used to her narration after Stephen Briggs, though by the end I was recognizing the character voices more easily.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/equal-rites---terry-pratchett/
Rated Armageddon 8/10
This book still delivers as a page-turner, but it’s where the series starts to feel overly convoluted, with characters becoming too powerful. That said, the plot developments that *do* happen are satisfying - especially Alex and Dom's arcs. One more book to go!<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/armageddon---travis-bagwell/
Rated For We Are Many 6/10
As fast-paced and engaging as the first book in the series, but still felt shallow. Some plotlines stood out more than others, especially the longer, more emotional ones. Enjoyable overall, though I wish there was more depth to the character arcs and themes.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/for-we-are-many---dennis-e.-taylor/<br/>All my reviews: https://puf.io/books/
Rated Unity 8/10
I thoroughly enjoyed this book in the series, and by now consider these Awaken Online side quest books a must-read as they deepen out the character arcs and provide immersive side stories.<br/><br/>The repeated “sickening pop” that I complained about in my review of book #4 hardly occurs in this book, so yay for that too. With Frank’s character now having reached a godly level in the game too - I remain a bit fearful for the further developments in the main story arc.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/unity-awaken-online-4.5----travis-bagwell-/