Book Review: The Feywild Job by C. L. Polk
@DrEddieClark has our review to round out the week at Nerds of a Feather
#bookstodon #books @bookstodon
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/07/book-review-feywild-job-by-c-l-polk.html
books
But no, not Miller, instead, his scruffy twin remained glued to the news whilst feeding the pet hamster, Mr Chippy, who lived in his shirt pocket. With each passing day, Miller seemed to resemble his furry little lodger more and more.
A British scifi comedy in the Hitchhiker's mould, where one idiot with too much power can destroy the world. It happens a lot. Read the rest of Chapter 1 by downloading the book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F8VG16RP
The Summer War. Naomi Novik.
You are a 12 year old sorceress and future princess enamored of your older gay brother, and when he says he’s leaving your abusive father to find love, you curse him to never find love and force him to live a life of killing others in battle; eventually you manipulate him to secure power for yourself.
0 of 5 library cats. (My first 0 rating ever!)
@bookstodon #bookstodon #books #reading #fantasy #magic #queerbaiting
I’ve been reading “Ferns: Lessons in Survival From Earth's Most Adaptable Plants” by Fay-Wei Li this weekend.
It’s a deep dive into how these plants have survived for 400 million years and counting.
I feel like there will be some folks here on Mastodon who would adore this book. 🌱
Which books do you wish would be made into tv shows or films?
My vote goes to “The Deep” by Rivers Solomon.
It’s the best mermaid story I’ve ever read, and the plot twists in it would look amazing on the big or small screen.
The Satire and Style of Vanity Fair is as Relevant as Ever
Roshan Sethi on William Makepeace Thackeray’s Famous Novel
Vanity Fair at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/599
Check out this guide for buying DRM free ebooks in 2026 😁
https://getbookshelves.app/guides/drm-free-ebook-stores/
And go follow the writers of the guide at https://mastodon.art/@getbookshelves@mastodon.social
@reading @bookstodon @books @worldbuilding
#Recommendation
#AmWriting #IndieAuthor #eBook #eBooks
#Reading #Readers #ReadingCommunity
#Litterature #Novel #Novels #Bookshelf
#Books #Bookstodon #FantasyBooks
Faust: Part One (as I understood)
A bet between God and the Devil.
A shrewdness beyond comprehension to the mind of a man.
A tragedy.
If only this were the case, the oldest of all stories of Christianity, then Goethe probably wouldn’t have ventured to write Faust.
Faust is a blueprint. A blueprint of tragedy that an intellectual, curious, and rigorous philosopher may have to navigate in his life.
At the beginning, when we meet Faust the polymath, he was in Loevinger’s Ego Development Stage 4/5 (Self-Questioning/Individualist/Pluralist). The notions of reality and truth are fractured, yet not in complete disharmony. We can find the evidence for it in Scene IV:
This life of earth, whatever my attire, Would pain me in its wonted fashion. Too old am I to play with passion; Too young, to be without desire.
and,
The God that in my breast is owned Can deeply stir the inner sources; The God, above my powers enthroned, He cannot change external forces. So, by the burden of my days oppressed, Death is desired, and Life a thing unblest!
This stage comes with acute existential dread and distress, as Goethe portrayed them so faithfully.
We need to make a clear distinction here. This distress is not the work of the Devil. Every sincere person, at some point in their life, must stomach this. In consensus, Christianity allows free will; therefore, free exploration of knowledge is allowed. With that exploration, considering the depth and breadth a philosopher may navigate, comes obvious distress.
At this lowest of the moments, Faust made a pact with Mephistopheles. Here, we can see the brilliance of Faust’s mind. While Mephistopheles wanted to give all possible earthly pleasure in return for his soul, Faust’s counter-offer was to forfeit his soul only when he is content. And if you consider his state of mind at this point, bringing contentment to him is a formidable task, even for Mephistopheles— if Mephistopheles is a man.
But Mephistopheles is no man. While a man, with his short span of life, and probably by the very architecture of our mind, cannot help thinking from the perspective where we are the centre of everything. This egocentrism is the Devil’s playground. He runs a whole gamut of tests on all of our feelings to catch us off guard:
MEPHISTOPHELES
Yes, thou findest that unpleasant! Thou hast the moral right to cry me “shame!” at present. One dares not that before chaste ears declare, Which chaste hearts, notwithstanding, cannot spare; And, once for all, I grudge thee not the pleasure Of lying to thyself in moderate measure.
Indeed, he is right when he declares:
MEPHISTOPHELES
Poor Son of Earth, how couldst thou thus alone Have led thy life, bereft of me?
For he is the first rebel in the Bible, and he, also, is the scapegoat for all our dubitable actions.
But Mephistopheles is an egoist too. Soon, it became a chess match of ego. In every turn, one superseding another’s strategy. Although by narrow means, Faust conquered all the traps and lures. You may disagree with me on this point. But this conquering happens in such a bloody, agonising way that it often may feel like a defeat.
We can see their battle externalised in Walpurgis Night:
Tell me, if we still are standing,
Or if further we’re ascending?
All is turning, whirling, blending,
Trees and rocks with grinning faces,
Wandering lights that spin in mazes,
Still increasing and expanding!
MEPHISTOPHELES
Grasp my skirt with heart undaunted! Here a middle–peak is planted, Whence one seeth, with amaze, Mammon in the mountain blaze.
First, we find Faust’s mind-bending philosophical investigation being externalised by a metaphor of Will-O-Wisp.
Then we see the satanic promise of remedy, but not through philosophy, but through materialism, by promising Mammon’s treasure.
Despite every attempt, despite a tragic end, we can see Faust keeping his intellectual sovereignty intact. A prime example of this is when Gretchen, the innocent lover of Faust, asked him about his faith; he replied:
FAUST
My darling, who shall dare “I believe in God!” to say? Ask priest or sage the answer to declare, And it will seem a mocking play, A sarcasm on the asker.
This is not a lack of faith, but a sincerity. A sincerity that the person should show if his faith or belief is not handed down to him and accepted as is.
Faust was right in thinking that Mephistopheles, indeed, cannot make him content. No worldly pleasure (or, even woe) can deter him, ultimately, from the philosophical distress of his soul, a tragedy most intimate, a tragedy wrought in his soul, which no diversion can touch.
It was a stalemate, at least, at the end of this book.
Page
· lemmy.world
A bet between God and the Devil.
A shrewdness beyond comprehension to the mind of a man.
A tragedy.
If only this were the case, the oldest of all stories of Christianity, then Goethe probably wouldn’t have ventured to write Faust.
Faust is a blueprint. A blueprint of tragedy that an intellectual, curious, and rigorous philosopher may have to navigate in his life.
At the beginning, when we meet Faust the polymath, he was in Loevinger’s Ego Development Stage 4/5 (Self-Questioning/Individualist/Pluralist). The notions of reality and truth are fractured, yet not in complete disharmony. We can find the evidence for it in Scene IV:
This life of earth, whatever my attire, Would pain me in its wonted fashion. Too old am I to play with passion; Too young, to be without desire.
and,
The God that in my breast is owned Can deeply stir the inner sources; The God, above my powers enthroned, He cannot change external forces. So, by the burden of my days oppressed, Death is desired, and Life a thing unblest!
This stage comes with acute existential dread and distress, as Goethe portrayed them so faithfully.
We need to make a clear distinction here. This distress is not the work of the Devil. Every sincere person, at some point in their life, must stomach this. In consensus, Christianity allows free will; therefore, free exploration of knowledge is allowed. With that exploration, considering the depth and breadth a philosopher may navigate, comes obvious distress.
At this lowest of the moments, Faust made a pact with Mephistopheles. Here, we can see the brilliance of Faust’s mind. While Mephistopheles wanted to give all possible earthly pleasure in return for his soul, Faust’s counter-offer was to forfeit his soul only when he is content. And if you consider his state of mind at this point, bringing contentment to him is a formidable task, even for Mephistopheles— if Mephistopheles is a man.
But Mephistopheles is no man. While a man, with his short span of life, and probably by the very architecture of our mind, cannot help thinking from the perspective where we are the centre of everything. This egocentrism is the Devil’s playground. He runs a whole gamut of tests on all of our feelings to catch us off guard:
MEPHISTOPHELES
Yes, thou findest that unpleasant! Thou hast the moral right to cry me “shame!” at present. One dares not that before chaste ears declare, Which chaste hearts, notwithstanding, cannot spare; And, once for all, I grudge thee not the pleasure Of lying to thyself in moderate measure.
Indeed, he is right when he declares:
MEPHISTOPHELES
Poor Son of Earth, how couldst thou thus alone Have led thy life, bereft of me?
For he is the first rebel in the Bible, and he, also, is the scapegoat for all our dubitable actions.
But Mephistopheles is an egoist too. Soon, it became a chess match of ego. In every turn, one superseding another’s strategy. Although by narrow means, Faust conquered all the traps and lures. You may disagree with me on this point. But this conquering happens in such a bloody, agonising way that it often may feel like a defeat.
We can see their battle externalised in Walpurgis Night:
Tell me, if we still are standing,
Or if further we’re ascending?
All is turning, whirling, blending,
Trees and rocks with grinning faces,
Wandering lights that spin in mazes,
Still increasing and expanding!MEPHISTOPHELES
Grasp my skirt with heart undaunted! Here a middle–peak is planted, Whence one seeth, with amaze, Mammon in the mountain blaze.
First, we find Faust’s mind-bending philosophical investigation being externalised by a metaphor of Will-O-Wisp.
Then we see the satanic promise of remedy, but not through philosophy, but through materialism, by promising Mammon’s treasure.
Despite every attempt, despite a tragic end, we can see Faust keeping his intellectual sovereignty intact. A prime example of this is when Gretchen, the innocent lover of Faust, asked him about his faith; he replied:
FAUST
My darling, who shall dare “I believe in God!” to say? Ask priest or sage the answer to declare, And it will seem a mocking play, A sarcasm on the asker.
This is not a lack of faith, but a sincerity. A sincerity that the person should show if his faith or belief is not handed down to him and accepted as is.
Faust was right in thinking that Mephistopheles, indeed, cannot make him content. No worldly pleasure (or, even woe) can deter him, ultimately, from the philosophical distress of his soul, a tragedy most intimate, a tragedy wrought in his soul, which no diversion can touch.
It was a stalemate, at least, at the end of this book.
Faust: Part One (as I understood)
Are we living through the end of reading?
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/11/nx-s1-5886268/are-we-living-through-the-end-of-reading
New at my blog, a review of Seers in a Broken Season by Jonathan Olfert!
An Ice Age tale of Stone & Sorcery starring a warrior wooly mammoth!
(As always, boosts are appreciated!)
https://robinmarx.writeas.com/review-seers-in-a-broken-season-by-jonathan-olfert
#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #Booksky #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #StoneAndSorcery #Blog #SmallWeb #IndieWeb @bookstodon
'In the face of loud and insistent warnings, President Joe #Biden and his team of best-and-brightest advisers wrapped Benjamin Netanyahu in a “bear hug,” as #Palestinians were slaughtered by the thousands with American bombs, American diplomatic support and American intelligence.'
interview w/ #AkbarShahidAhmed, author of #CrossingTheRedLine
https://www.equator.org/articles/biden-gaza-war-crimes-akbar-shahid-ahmed
#Gaza #GazaGenocide #warOnGaza #Palestine #USpol #USpolitics #shitlibs #niOubliNiPardon #books @bookstodon
Edited 27d ago
"The spaces are organised into thematic rooms that reflect the layout of the original library and evoke the main areas of Eco's thought."
Sigh. It would be wonderful to visit and tour the newly opened Umberto Eco library at the University of Bologna where he taught for many years. So far it contains 32,000 of his books from his home and study in Milan, the rest of his books from his country house are yet to be added. Eco's way of organizing his books is preserved in the library.
#libraries #books #UmbertoEco @bookstodon
https://magazine.unibo.it/en/articles/eco-library-opens-in-bologna
What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? May 12
![Avatar for tetrabrick [xey/xem, she/her]](/proxy/identity_icon/599248127267446794/7fe78e4e03.png){kind=icon}
A Short Stay In Hell. Steven Peck.
You just died, and the hell assigned to you - it’s temporary the demon explains- is an endless library that contains all the books that ever could be written, and all you have to do is find the book that describes your life; you initially muse that things could be worse, but are soon forced to reconsider that.
4 of 5 library cats 📕 📕 📕 📕.
#bookstodon #books #library #libraries #reading #hell #religion #literature #amreading @bookstodon
Jung’s archetypes are a mirror that shows who and what we are
Psychedelics and neuroscience seem to support his ideas about ancestral dreams and fears – but with an evolutionary twist
by Hugh McGovern
Books by Carl Jung at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/44679
What Tradwife “Influencers” of Centuries Past Share With Their Social Media Contemporaries
Maia Chance on the Age-Old Phenomenon of Toxic Nostalgia For a Nonexistent Past
At PG:
"The American Frugal Housewife"
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13493
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21829
American Woman's Home
50% off @ #Smashwords : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1845438
Two soldiers on opposite sides, pixie Commander Stargazer Candleflash and human Sergeant Edwin Harris, find their fates forever entwined, first by revenge, but as they crash in a dangerous rainforest, they’re forced to work together, just to survive. Will they make it or will their bickering get them killed?
@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books
I read a lot. Mostly SF and fantasy. Something which has been 'taking over' a lot of online communities about those genres (probably also in other genres) in recent years is the concept of #reading challenges.
I finally figured out something which bothers me about them. They turn reading specific #books into something which you do because you're extrinsically motivated!
For me, reading has always been something I do because I'm intrinsically motivated, but I recently caught myself thinking far too much on how to make books fit into such challenges, including picking up books which I didn't actually feel like.
I'm all in favor of people reading more - and more broadly - than they would've done without these challenges, but I already was reading exactly as much as I want to!
Going forward, I'm going to stay far away from the inherent reward-loop from these challenges, and just read what I feel like, when I feel like it. Much healthier for my brain, which is far too susceptible to such things.
NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOK TO READ
My latest book - THE WILD - takes the view that "anarchy", often extrapolated in and through the historical, socially-derived politics of anarchism, should instead be characterized on a naturalistic and queer basis as "the wild" (in much the same way as Kropotkin observed nature and came up with the principle of "mutual aid" in fact).
Through thirteen chapters this idea is then teased out, explained and extrapolated as something both ethical and political that is contrary to patriarchal, capitalist, industrial and technological human civilization as it has developed.
As such, this book is both a call to the wild (and to the truth and reality of the wild) and to the assertion that in feralness there is an authenticity of the mutual co-existence of all things to be found.
The book can be downloaded FOR FREE from the link below in multiple formats or read online. It can also be read to you via text to speech on that page.
https://archive.org/details/the-wild-ethics-and-anti-politics
#politics #anarchism #anarchy #wild #wildlife #feral #nature #books #writing #queer #nihilism #indigenous #civilization
Edited 103d ago
What Are the Routines of So-Called Super-Readers?
Kelsey Rexroat Investigates the Mindsets of People Who Read Hundreds of Books a Year
https://lithub.com/what-are-the-routines-of-so-called-super-readers/
How a forgotten Toronto story shows Hemingway beginning to invent himself as a fiction writer
During his four years with the Toronto Star, Hemingway produced nearly 200 pieces, 170 under his own name plus around 30 with verified pseudonym bylines.
by Irene Gammel
Books by Hemingway
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50533
![Avatar for Vampire [any]](/proxy/identity_icon/601988933390853946/539129b660.jpeg){kind=icon}
Have you read Machiavelli?
I just read Chapter 17 of The Prince only, the famous “Is it better to be loved or feared” chapter
Pretty good, might read the rest now.
Page
· hexbear.net
I just read Chapter 17 of The Prince only, the famous “Is it better to be loved or feared” chapter
Pretty good, might read the rest now.
Have you read Machiavelli?
What is the most unique book you have read?
Let’s discuss unique books. What is the first one that comes to your mind? The uniqueness can be about the book’s plot, structure, ideas, themes, topics etc.
For me such a book is Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It’s been a while since I’ve read it but I remember how mindblowing it was for me. Every time I thought it couldn’t surprise me more, it actually did. There’s a bit of everything there: peculiar characters, a substance called ice-nine that can freeze water on contact (as humans are around 60% water, it can instantly kill them), a fictional religion called Bokononism based on the idea that human life has no absolute truth or meaning, a tiny island nation with its own bizarre world. All of these come together to show us a satire of the absurdity of humanity.
As for a unique book structure, I have to say it’s Cain’s Jawbone by Edward Mathers. It’s a kind of puzzle book where pages are not in order and you need to arrange them in order to guess whodunnit. I haven’t finished this one yet but it’s a cool challenge.
Page
· lemmy.zip
Let’s discuss unique books. What is the first one that comes to your mind? The uniqueness can be about the book’s plot, structure, ideas, themes, topics etc.
For me such a book is Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It’s been a while since I’ve read it but I remember how mindblowing it was for me. Every time I thought it couldn’t surprise me more, it actually did. There’s a bit of everything there: peculiar characters, a substance called ice-nine that can freeze water on contact (as humans are around 60% water, it can instantly kill them), a fictional religion called Bokononism based on the idea that human life has no absolute truth or meaning, a tiny island nation with its own bizarre world. All of these come together to show us a satire of the absurdity of humanity.
As for a unique book structure, I have to say it’s Cain’s Jawbone by Edward Mathers. It’s a kind of puzzle book where pages are not in order and you need to arrange them in order to guess whodunnit. I haven’t finished this one yet but it’s a cool challenge.
What is the most unique book you have read?
Edited 74d ago