Reading Babel
Edited 27d ago
book
Rated The Golden Compass 6/10
A real page-turner! The story progresses quickly and constantly, with twists and turns every few chapters, making it a very easy read.<br/><br/>At times, though, I found it lacked depth. The witches, the aeronaut, and the college staff all seem fascinating, but we learn relatively little about them. Although we discover more about the backgrounds and motivations of some of the main characters, they mostly remain the same throughout the book.<br/><br/>It’s still a fun, fast-paced read though, and I’m eager to see what The Subtle Knife brings.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-golden-compass---philip-pullman/
Edited 32d ago
Rated The Martian Chronicles 8/10
Bradbury shows little interest in scientific plausibility here, using Mars instead as an imaginative setting for poetic, humorous, and emotionally charged storytelling. Some elements, including the treatment of the native Martians and certain racial and gender stereotypes, have aged poorly, but the collection still held up well for me.<br/><br/>(also: that cover here is gorgeous!)<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-martian-chronicles---ray-bradbury/
Rated The Land and Its People: Essays 8/10
The Land and Its People was my first full David Sedaris book, though I mostly knew him from Six to Eight Black Men. I listened to the audiobook, which is assembled from live recordings of Sedaris performing the essays at different appearances, and his narration made the stories even easier to enjoy.<br/><br/>The essays are witty, snarky, and very easy to absorb, but many also touch on deeper topics like affection, grief, mortality. His family, travels, and experiences with Duolingo all make recurring appearances.<br/><br/>Nothing earth-shattering, but quite entertaining.
Rated The Correspondent 8/10
I found the story itself rather simplistic and the wrap-up a bit too sudden and smooth, but the execution through letters and emails is very well done.<br/><br/>The almost-full-cast narration is well done and really supports the epistolary format, though I found some of the ethnic/regional character accents a bit too in-your-face.
Wants to read Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
Rated A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction 6/10
Much to my surprise, I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as most of Pratchett’s other works. Most likely, his short stories are just not my thing. In fact, the longer the story, the more I enjoyed it.<br/><br/>The Sea and Little Fishes was the clear standout for me, but I also liked The Hades Business. Stephen Briggs’s narration is excellent, as usual, and Michael Fenton Stevens handles the non-Discworld pieces well.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/a-blink-of-the-screen---terry-pratchett/
Wants to read Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
Wants to read Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All
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/
Rated Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity 8/10
Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture shows its age, but its core argument about copyright, creativity, and cultural freedom still lands. A good read for those who care about such things.<br/><br/>My full review: https://puf.io/books/free-culture---lawrence-lessig/
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 Aan het einde van de oorlog 8/10
A very interesting, fresh take on a deservedly well-covered period of history. Including many perspectives on the same events the book gives it breadth and depth, and make for a compelling read throughout its 640 pages. Easy four stars.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/aan-het-einde-van-de-oorlog---bert-natter/
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/
Wants to read Pride and Pistons: A Steampunk Little Mermaid
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/