@toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se
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toxy

@[email protected]

Cytologist. Based in Central Sweden. Tech hobbyist. Spent decades winging it & hoping things work out which I suspect is like most people. Brit/Swede dual-national. He/him. Interests: #SciFi #Horror #Fantasy
#SelfSabotage Interested in learning: #Infosec, #Languages, #Mainframes

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toxy, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon Just finished the fifth book so going to pivot to science nonfiction for a bit. by . It’s about parasitic mind-control in nature. Should be horrific.

toxy, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon Just finished the 10th and final book of The Shadows of the Apt by and am genuinely heartbroken it’s over. After nearly 200 hours spent with these characters I almost feel bereaved. Amazing, epic fantasy series.

toxy,
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@Judeet88 @bookstodon It’s not just me then! 😢

fictionable, to bookstodon
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… we've checked and it's definitely In fact, for those who celebrate, it's

So let's do it again: tell us three you've enjoyed recently and we'll see if we can come up with something else you might like.

Who knows? You might even be able to find it in a

@bookstodon

toxy,
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@fictionable @bookstodon

Seal of the Worm - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Exit Strategy - Martha Wells

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William L Shirer

Determined - Robert M Sapolsky

toxy,
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@Jennifer @fictionable @bookstodon Thanks for that. Will check it out.

zkrisher, to bookstodon
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I've finished: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin is one of those rare authors that stand the test of time. Unlike Heinlein, Asimov, Niven and others her social science background allowed her to envision future societies that reflect progressive ideals that are still relevant today.

The Lathe of Heaven was published in 1971 and unlike many of her other novels is set on Earth. There are many references to years that are long in our past, and to technologies that are out of sync with the developments we've witnessed in the 1980s and 90s, the fact that this is a multiverse novel helps makes this less anachronistic.

The constant threat of global warming, present throughout the novel helps ground it in current apocalyptic threat concerns and mitigate other predictions that seem antiquated today.

Sadly, predictions of war in the Middle East, never seem to go stale

The Lathe of Heaven is an interesting take on the Djinn or Monkey's Paw trope, of wishes going wrong. Bringing it into the realm of science fiction by placing the power to change the world in the chaotic realm of dreams. Making the science of psychology and the struggle to control these dreams the focus of the novel.

Very much worth reading even more then 50 years later.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c5bd8c8b-94d8-42ab-a4ac-384033927e5d

@bookstodon

toxy,
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@hwyaden @zkrisher @bookstodon What would be the best introduction to her work?

toxy,
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@zkrisher @hwyaden @bookstodon Thank you. It’s going on the list.

toxy, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon Had heard so many allusions to and in this group so just started the first book this morning. It’s fabulous and I love it!

toxy,
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@fsnk @bookstodon Oh no! I was just taking a short pause from my series mega-binge by . Now I’ll have two simultaneous addictions on the go! Aaargh!

toxy,
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@Jennifer @bookstodon Thanks for that. I’ll skip the bot for now as I am just starting out & want to avoid the slightest chance of spoiler! 🙂

toxy,
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@rebelrebel62 @fsnk @bookstodon I agree. Children of Time is very good, as is its sequel Children of Ruin; Children of Memory is a little weaker IMHO. If you prefer fantasy to SciFi then start with Empire of Black and Gold. With both genres it can take a little time to “buy in” to the world he builds but after that it’s great.

The_BookishWolf, to bookstodon
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I don't use apple books anymore. What I'd love to do is have a list of all of the books that I purchased on apple books in a spreadsheet or something, so I could see if they're on amazon. @a.gup.pe @bookstodon

toxy,
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@Eceni @The_BookishWolf @bookstodon I would say that Amazon’s selling of counterfeit goods, destruction of independent high-street traders and general enshittification of online retail means they have been overall worse for society than Apple. Then again I am not the poor sod working for Foxconn where they employed safety nets between accommodation blocks as the best solution to high employee suicide rates so it’s all a matter of perspective I guess.

pgcd, to linguistics
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@linguistics while (re)reading Pratchett I have developed the strong feeling that when one of the characters says "our Nellie" or "our Jason", the effect is similar to Northern Italian "la Agnese" o "il Gianni" - that is, a colloquialism when referring to a common acquaintance, not necessarily a family member.
Can somebody who speaks both confirm or deny this?

toxy,
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@pneumaculturist @pgcd @linguistics Pratchett had a fondness for the north of England. I grew up in Lancaster and Pratchett had a hippy friend there who ran a small SciFi and Fantasy bookshop. Rumour is that this hairy hippy was the inspiration for the orangutan librarian and “Ankh-Morpork” was inspired by Lancaster-Morecambe and the River Lune which nominally separated them.

toxy,
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@pneumaculturist @pgcd @linguistics and the “our Jason” is definitely northern in flavour.

toxy,
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@pgcd @pneumaculturist @linguistics It is truly just a rumour so I have zero evidence. Would be nice if true though; I spent all my pocket money in that fantastic bookshop.

appassionato, to bookstodon
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A Stroke of the Pen

A delightfully funny, fantastically inventive collection of twenty newly unearthed short stories by Sir Terry Pratchett, the award-winning and bestselling author of the phenomenally successful Discworld fantasy series. This special trove—featuring charming woodcut illustrations—is a must-have for Pratchett fans of all ages.

stories @bookstodon

toxy,
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@buriedinprint @appassionato @bookstodon 6 months ago I started reading all the Discworld novels again (in order) having last read them in the 80s/90s. I don’t regret it. If anything they are actually even better than I remember. Tezza was a true genius.

DocCarms, to bookstodon
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There was a poll that stated—Rowling’s opening line in the HP series is one of best in the world. Someone posted about how there are a bunch of other opening statements that are better.

Here’s one of my personal favorites, from Gabriel Garcia Marquez (English translated):
“It is inevitable. The scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.”

What are some of your favorite opening lines in literature? 😊
@bookstodon

toxy,
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@DocCarms @bookstodon Great thread!

LALegault, to random
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Man, I don’t want to be in the middle of server wars, what instance is universally unproblematic?

toxy,
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@jerry @buherator What / who is the HOA?

toxy,
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@BenAveling @jerry @buherator In general. I have no idea what the acronym means. I’m old.

toxy,
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@jerry @BenAveling @buherator Thank you. I’m weak on American lingo.

rabbit_fighter, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon I'm looking for book recommendations for an 11yo who reads at a much more advanced level. He likes sci-fi. He has read the Hitchhiker's Guide series and loved them. I think he would enjoy some more 'hard' sci-fi as well. He needs something challenging but without subject matter that is too mature. Thanks for any help!

toxy,
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@sentient_water @rabbit_fighter @bookstodon Iain M Banks is too mature for 11 year olds, in my opinion. Quite bloody & baddies are often really bad. Take “Player of Games”. You have widespread violence plus mention of genocide, torture, sexual abuse. They are excellent books but probably 15+ would be a more appropriate age.

lunalein, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon folks, do you listen to audiobooks? If so:

  • Do you have favorite narrators? Or the opposite? Ever started or quit listening to something because of the voice?
  • if you’re talking about a book, do you say you’ve read it?

toxy,
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@lunalein @bookstodon I have many favourite narrators and have tried new genres because of them. , , & to name but a few. They can often flatter a book.

toxy,
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@lunalein @bookstodon I tend to day I listened to them. It’s not really reading in the strict verbal sense.

tim, to bookstodon
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"The Last Policeman" (book one of The Last Policeman trilogy) by Ben H. Winters @bookstodon

toxy,
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@tim @bookstodon Interesting. Had never heard of this one but will be sure to check it out.

babylontales, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon I finished reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker Friday night. I'll be turning from Hellraiser to a lesser known piece by Anya K. Jordan, a yet to be published book. Hoping I can keep a solid pace on my reading and give Anya some solid feedback.

What are y'all reading? 🤔 📚

toxy,
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@babylontales @bookstodon I’m going historical with “” by . About the Julio-Claudian clan of Rome so more Livia Drusilla than Crystal Carrington and better for all that.

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