It’s a sad affair when the no-doubt-AI-generated summary of a book has a higher rating than the actual book.
The book itself, A Very Agreeable Murder, is a very fluffy mash-up of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, pure escapist fun…I can’t see what the point of reading a summary of it would be. You either want the experience of fluffy escapist fun, or you just don’t read it all, surely 🤷♀️
@wendypalmer@bookstodon is there a way to report these to Goodreads? I've seen so much bs on there. They make reporting comments really easy, but I don't know if there's a way to report a book?
I just finished my 1st book "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. I really liked it. Does anyone know if this book can be compared to his other work? And what books would you recommend? (I'd rather not start on long (unfinished) series though.
@ramonvandam@bookstodon I have commitment issues 😉
(although mist born is on my to-read list) Better to try a new standalone book out first before I start a series. Thanks for the recommendation.
I mostly keep track of books on #StoryGraph so I was a little surprised after finishing All The Light We Cannot See by #AnthonyDoerr that of all the people who answered ‘Flaws of characters a main focus’ only 38% said Yes 🤔 I mean Werner is a complex sympathetic character but the ways he is complicit in Nazism is a major driver of the plot. If that ain’t a character flaw I don’t know what is! Nevertheless that complexity is part of why it’s a great book that avoids cliche @bookstodon
@bookstodon@diazona I 100% agree with you on both. That question could be interpreted many ways. Werner’s unease over his actions as a member of the German army is absolutely the driving force of his section of the novel though!
As to other ways character flaws can drive a novel: I just read The Prestige which has an unreliable narrator and 91% said flaws are a main driver of plot. Plus it is a great book.
As a science-fiction reader I had a little trouble with in ascension
At first I was happy to read a big dumb object book that focuses on the psychology of the characters more than on the science.
But as I went on reading I had more and more trouble with the lack of scientific curiosity and engineering prowess in a book about scientists and astronauts.
In Ascension is the opposite of a competence porn novel. The protagonists are cogs in a machine they don't control. While this is more true to life, it is less true to the lives of scientists, engineers and astronauts.
The scientific information peppered throughout the book is given as exposition, and while it's worth paying attention to and is the best way to try and figour out what's going on, it has little to do with the characters thoughts and behavior. The only people who try to find anything out, who actually do research, are relatives trying to figure out what happened.
For example, after an inexplicable incident the crew finds that everything is covered in a layer of dust. What do they do? Do they attempt to find out what it's made of? No. They make an effort to clean things up and that's it.
Where is the curiosity and sence of wonder of people that worked so hard to go beyond where man has gone before?
I understand that living with our impotence when facing large systems that don't care about us as individuals is what this novel is about. But it is hard for me to relinquish the illusion of control the scientific method gives us.
Project Hail Mary is fucking good. Someone online, maybe here, maybe elsewhere, said it was boring. Idk how someone thought that. I’m enjoying this book thoroughly. #bookstodon@bookstodon
@sbattey@bookstodon
Thanks for the review. I've been delaying and pushing back, adding "Project Hail Mary" to my want to read list. It goes on that list today.
I finally read Ancillary Justice last night. Late to the party, but glad to have gotten here! I enjoyed the book but it also sort of felt complete to me. Can anyone tell me how the sequels are? @bookstodon#books
44 Travels with Herodotus, Ryszard Kapuściński
Written by a Polish journalist this is a book in two strands. In one he reviews some of his past assignments, in the other he reviews his reading and relationship to Herodotus and his Histories. His interpretation of Herodotus was fascinating. He examines technique and proposes that Herodotus should be known as the first journalist and The Histories is the first piece of reportage.
I must re-read Herodotus. #books@bookstodon
@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon this makes me think of Anne Elliott telling Mrs. Smith that She doesn't believe Mr. Elliott can be trusted - because He always says the right thing, and is consistently agreeable and never offends anyone.
@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon when Elizabeth's aunt writes and says how much She really likes Darcy- it dawned on me what perfect complements They are for each other. and when Elizabeth shuts down Lady Catherine- it became certain. but just now, i was thinking of the real point. Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins are blind. because Their hearts are closed. and the promise of prodigious joy for Darcy and Elizabeth- is exactly because Their hearts are open. reserved is really closed, isn't it?
@bookstodon and other avid readers, either I'm terrible at searching, or what I am looking for doesn't exist (in the U.S.)
I am interested in a print-only (no digital) adult graphic novel subscription service, not comics, and not the superhero stuff. Do I need to search by bookstores? Cratejoy is for the U.K. only, and I thought Panels would be perfect: quarterly, indie pubs, but I can only find their digital app. I would like physical copies, in a monthly or quarterly box subscription.
@kimlockhartga@bookstodon and the nice thing about a local comic shop is once they get to know your preferences they often will tell you about forthcoming works by creators you have read in the past or similar works by newer creators. A lot of the individual issues/ graphic novels I am reading currently were via such recommendations. I pick them up in person but the store is just 15 mins away.
“Since the Egyptian scribe Ahmes put pen to papyrus some time around 1550BC to explain how to calculate the slope of a pyramid, we’ve had over three millennia of maths literature. So within some level of statistical confidence: here are a subset of the best ever maths books.”
@StonerMetal@bookstodon Great choice. Every progressive owes in part our perspective, at least on economics, to Karl Marx and Das Kapital. Took me over two years to trudge through all three volumes, but it was worth it. The observations are as true today as they were when it was first published. Of course, the Communist Manifesto needs to make an appearance at some point. 😀
@eaterofsnacks@bookstodon My pleasure. Currently, I'm reading the Time Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter.
I'm near the end of the first book (Time's eye), I love it too.
Last year on Mastodon we featured this story from the BBC about Gladstone's Library, the U.K.'s only residential library. Fediverse folk were so enthusiastic that when we discovered the library is offering scholarships to be taken in 2025, we had to share the information (see the second link in this post for all the details).
@CultureDesk@bookstodon It is worth warning folks who are thinking of visiting that it is full of the raceism (both casual and overt) of the time. Think carefully who you take there and go with that in mind.