<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/1BQWlcaJf3gEZfpEg0t066" rel="nofollow">Prophet Song</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 <br>by Paul Lynch.</p><p>A horrifying realistic account of an everyday Western country being gradually consumed by an authoritarian regime. Every moment of encroaching terror is disturbingly relatable. Writing style felt like a monotone ramble, which masked its poignancy.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
books
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/70XlcW3yOC6eqiuF3NniX1" rel="nofollow">The World We Make</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 <br>by NK Jemisin.</p><p>New York finishes the job against the Multiverse, despite the conservative reticence of the Old Cities. Clunkier and without the freshness of the original. But fun to see more city avatars. I think Mamdani could easily be a character in these books!</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#SFF</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
Waterstones would sell books written by AI [if labelled as such], says chain's boss
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/1dlVcNvNvYmEc8TtoI7yZX" rel="nofollow">Wind and Truth</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 <br>by Brandon Sanderson.</p><p>An absolute brick of a book - possibly the longest I've ever read. Could certainly have been shorter (successful authors get way too much latitude), with too frequent changes in PoV, and while I appreciate his use of mental health to disrupt tired fantasy tropes, after three weeks of amateur therapy I was a bit over it. But he does pull together sprawling plotlines to a satisfying climax, with an appealing set up for a fresh take on the second half of the series.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#SFF</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/5RBsycpka556c9Y0QQcQHE" rel="nofollow">Contact</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 <br>by Carl Sagan.</p><p>A message from outer space is detected, and humanity sets about decoding it, then attempts to make contact with the originators. Delves into the nexus of science & religion, the complexity of international collaboration, and the social upheaval of such a paradigm-shifting discovery. Some excruciating elite-level gaslighting. Surprising ending!</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#SFF</a> <a href="/tags/sleepstory/" rel="tag">#SleepStory</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/5hXIs6JnwMoQ0hzU9ZhfhU" rel="nofollow">We Are the Stars</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 <br>by Gina Chick.</p><p>That wild woman who captivated us on Alone Australia is the product of genes, a generous upbringing, and intense tempering in the crucible of life. A remarkable range of life experience, and an impressive capacity to learn & evolve from life's challenges. Heavy on nebulous metaphor, but fitting. I envy her capacity to inhabit her emotions & body so fully.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/biography/" rel="tag">#Biography</a> <a href="/tags/aloneaustralia/" rel="tag">#AloneAustralia</a> <a href="/tags/alonetv/" rel="tag">#AloneTV</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/5S4yKmVcm79ecwyluQe0YT" rel="nofollow">Blackout</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 <br>by Connie Willis.</p><p>The Oxford time travellers are back, back to the London Blitz in WW2. But they are having trouble returning home, and getting caught up in all sorts of trouble in the meantime. Slow moving and overly detailed, but the near slapstick humour saves it. Only the first half of the story, so unfulfilling.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#SFF</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/7l2bTmR61oDRKqQHkFJxrd" rel="nofollow">Once There Were Wolves</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 <br>by Charlotte McConaghy.</p><p>An attempt to reintroduce wolves to the Scottish Highlands faces strong pushback from the locals. In wilderness we fear monsters, but perhaps the true monsters are within. A thoroughly enjoyable thriller featuring the deep connection of twins, a remarkable form of empathy, the evil of domestic & ecological abuse and resultant trauma, and a little mystery. A strange lack of consequences.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/08QU3am6XzC5FGQQgLcOYO" rel="nofollow">A Room of One’s Own</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 <br>by Virginia Woolf.</p><p>A classic that is actually good! An essay on women & fiction (thus, feminism) that rambles along in a relaxed fashion without losing any of its coherency or piercing insight. And damn she can write. Sadly still relevant, nearly 100 years on. (For reference her £500/yr is A$55k/yr today.)</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/nonfiction/" rel="tag">#NonFiction</a> <a href="/tags/feminism/" rel="tag">#Feminism</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>My top favourite books</p><p>Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer</p><p>Human Acts, Han Kang</p><p>No Friend but the Mountains, Berhouz Boochani</p><p>The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams</p><p>Am open to recommendations 😊 </p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <a href="/tags/amreading/" rel="tag">#AmReading</a></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/0xmDtaF6UOzYrHmESh0dau" rel="nofollow">To Be Taught, If Fortunate</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 <br>by Becky Chambers.</p><p>A small crew of scientists leave Earth, and their time period, forever to explore life on distant planets. But what will they do when Earth goes silent? An ode to science, discovery and the inherent worth of knowledge. The lack of interpersonal conflict under such trying conditions feels unrealistic.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/scifi/" rel="tag">#SciFi</a> </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/1K96Lbx17KNZhgebh4brNu" rel="nofollow">The Strangest Criminals: A Funny and Heartwarming Cosy Fantasy Mystery About Crime, Magic, and Found Family</a> 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 <br>by Blake Polden.</p><p>In a world where the Occult lives along side the Ordinary, a magical mafia family turns bad. Has potential, with some fresh creativity, but the writing is too choppy & disrupted.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#Fantasy</a> <a href="/tags/sff/" rel="tag">#SFF</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/40lLKnj7017mT5Nbq1DmX6" rel="nofollow">Before the Coffee Gets Cold</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 <br>by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.</p><p>In a particular seat in an otherwise unremarkable cafe, it is possible to travel through time. Despite stringent limitations, the customers and workers nonetheless find solace from the travails of life. Its a pleasing enough community of everyday people, but nothing special.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> </p><p> @wildwoila@wyrms.de <span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span><br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/285jz09giIlViRRSkhMEBA" rel="nofollow">I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 <br>by Ed Yong.</p><p>Delves into the many varied & amazing ways humans & animals have evolved to depend upon microbes. Most of this was familiar to me already, though told in the author's excellent clear & awed way. New was the incredible nesting of microbes within high-order animal cells, with each doing distinct jobs, such that none can survive without the others. Yong is always good for a celebration of life & its complexity.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/nonfiction/" rel="tag">#NonFiction</a> <a href="/tags/sciencewriting/" rel="tag">#ScienceWriting</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/7MLmYj9vugHeZDTHRJYVdh" rel="nofollow">Becoming Mrs Mulberry</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 <br>by Jackie French.</p><p>In the aftermath of WW1, a woman strives to build a new life despite the sacrifices she has made. Eventful & enjoyable, if implausible, with an excellent cast of characters and strong Miss Fisher vibes.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/historicfiction/" rel="tag">#HistoricFiction</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/2G3htL7jOiEzcAHQtNoYuw" rel="nofollow">The Shadow of the Wind</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 <br>by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.</p><p>A rare book sets a teenage boy on a path of mystery, love & revenge. This was nearly great, with an intriguing setup, smooth prose, vibrant characters and an evocative sense of time & place (mid-century Barcelona). But it ran out of steam with repetitive storytelling and too much exposition. And nearly all the men were incorrigible womanisers.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/historicfiction/" rel="tag">#HistoricFiction</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/1BbYbJnlN9zxNIUWJzpRpH" rel="nofollow">The Lebs</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 <br>by Michael Mohammed Ahmad.</p><p>A deeply uncomfortable portrayal of Lebanese teenage boys in western Sydney as dumb, racist, misogynistic, sex-obsessed fundamentalists. The last third was more interesting, as the protagonist struggles with the foreignness & ugliness of the White world that he has always idolised.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/1onVykHO8cWR9T8KXDwYXB" rel="nofollow">Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 <br>by Gabrielle Zevin.</p><p>Two friends become productive creative partners in computer game design, but their emotional blocks cause regular estrangements (gets a bit frustrating - grow up already!). I enjoyed the nostalgia of old-school gaming, but would probably still be enjoyable for non-gamers. Now, off to play Oregon Trail ... <a href="https://oregontrail.run/" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>oregontrail.run/</a></p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> </p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>
<p>finished reading <a href="https://reviewdb.app/search?r=1&q=https://reviewdb.app/book/6aLdwI044RquLmAqSQ9PS1" rel="nofollow">Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society</a> 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 <br>by Eric Posner & Glen Weyl.</p><p>Proposes a number of dramatic reforms to foundational institutions: including property, voting & migration. A perennial auction of property would result in shared public ownership funding a basic income and ensuring more efficient use of capital - this one challenged my deep set conception of ownership & control. Quadratic voting would enable citizens to give more democratic weight to issues of more concern to them - fantastic, we should do this! Would love to see these ideas get consideration and trial runs. We desperately need more creative thinking along these lines. No consideration given to environmental limits.</p><p><a href="/tags/bookreview/" rel="tag">#BookReview</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="/tags/nonfiction/" rel="tag">#NonFiction</a> <a href="/tags/radicalxchange/" rel="tag">#RadicalxChange</a></p><p><span class="h-card"><a href="https://aus.social/@wildwoila" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>WildWoila</span></a></span> @wildwoila@wyrms.de<br></p>