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<details open>
<summary>2025</summary>
<main>
<h2 id="now">now</h2>
<ul>
<li>Freiheitsschock, Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="nov25">november</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tod in Venedig, Thomas Mann</li>
<blockquote>
at the start the style of writing was preventing me from getting into
the story fully, as i was reading i got used to it and by the end found
myself quite enjoying it. apart from the style i find nothing
particularly special about it. the conclusion is quite unexpected
though. i found the epilog by terence james reed contextualised the
writing of the book in thomas manns life really useful.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="oct25">october</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Burning Shore, Wilbur Smith</li>
<blockquote>
while it kept me awake until 3am for 3 days i really disliked the
tonal shift between the second and third acts. how can he portray the
lifestyle of the san the way he does and then have centaine tear up
their sacred place of ancestor worship for diamonds. then the in-world
justification, that it will provide "good water" for her son. to me is
just blatant sugarcoating of an act that clearly violates the memory
and principles of the people she has her life to thank for. though she
had already all but forgotten them, when it was time for the story to
move on from including o'wa and h'ani.
<br>
another gripe with the writing i've had is the way the female lead is
written. it is so obvious, that the author is a man of the last
century... centaine in both instances immediately falls for the male,
that is so clearly set up to be her love-interest.
<br>
The book
<i>is</i>
from 1985, that might put some of this into perspective.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="sep25">september</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Passage, Justin Cronin</li>
<blockquote>
i can't quite remember where i even found this book. specifically the
part after the timeskip pulled me in and i just needed to know what
happens next. the book sets up a series and i am quite curious what
else they are going to do with the characters - i am personally happy
with what they did and wouldn't
<i>need</i>
more.
<br>
one small detail from the epilog i like is that apparently he co-wrote
the concept for the book together with his daughter.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="aug25">august</h2>
<ul>
<li>Abroad in Japan, Chris Broad</li>
<blockquote>
after reading the first half, i would already recommend this
book. even without any context on the author or japan, this has
some really funny stories. i also like how i can almost hear
chris' voice in the writing.
</blockquote>
<li>The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury</li>
<blockquote>
this one took a while. started reading pretty much right after
Native Tongue at the end of march. the book works well for piece
meal reading, since it's a collection of stories set in a
shared world. my favorites were the one where 'and the moon be
still as bright' and 'the million year picnic'.
overall i think i prefer this over fahrenheit if i had to
recommend one. this one executes the almost educational tone
better while telling actually great scifi stories, which often
left me thinking about them later.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="mar25">march</h2>
<ul>
<li>Native Tongue, Suzette Haden Elgin</li>
<blockquote>
read most of this in two long sessions while we were in
turkey. after a bit of a slow start i liked the spin on
"dystopian future-not-future society"; the world building
is reminiscent of handmaid's tale, but i felt like there
was more exploration of the inner workings of
<i>why</i>
society is that way; the feminist context shines through
especially towards the end, when the plot only works because the
men are all arrogant assholes, which was satisfying but a
bit one-dimensional.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="feb25">february</h2>
<p class="notice">
started reading a weekly newspaper which had quite the
impact on my reading time. i have a test subscription for
10 weeks, let's see if i can figure out how to balance my
reading out...
</p>
<h2 id="jan25">january</h2>
<ul>
<li>Record of a Night too brief, Hiromi Kawakami</li>
<blockquote>
the first half consists of surreal dreamlike short stories
that only refer to their protagonists as 'me' and 'the
girl'. second half is two longer stories. i enjoyed
interpreting what everything might mean, but wasn't
particularly drawn to the book because of the episodic
nature at the start. read the second half in one afternoon.
</blockquote>
</ul>
</main>
</details>
<details>
<summary>2024</summary>
<main>
<h2 id="dec24">december</h2>
<ul>
<li>Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson</li>
<blockquote>
had I not read Ready Player One and Neuromancer before,
this would surely have left a better impression.
the part about the sumarian virus is creative but feels
forced at the end when it is used to resolve
everything.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="nov24">november</h2>
<ul>
<li>Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi</li>
<blockquote>
read this while in iceland. basically a family history
focused on the women. i had no background on oman's
history or society. super interesting from that angle.
sometimes a bit slow and confusing, since it's jumping
around the timeline.
</blockquote>
<li>Snow Country, Kawabata Yasunari</li>
<blockquote>
i am a sucker for japanese novels and their erie vibe.
this one has it too. so many small details that feel
meaningless on the surface but add some much to the
experience of the book.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="oct24">october</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="//100r.co/site/busy_doing_nothing.html">Busy Doing Nothing</a>,
Rek Bellum & Devine Lu Linvega</li>
<blockquote>
somehow i fell down the rabbithole (lol) of rek &
devine's world this month. their log is fascinating and
inspiring. much of their stuff makes you want to set
out to sail yourself, and much of this book does too,
but then there is also details (like the wave incident)
that make you say: hell no.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="aug24">august</h2>
<ul>
<li><code>DROPPED</code>
<i>Illuminatus! Part 1: The Eye in the Pyramid, Robert Shea</i></li>
<blockquote>
I did not like the meandering writing and whacky
storylines that kept looping back onto each other.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="jul24">july</h2>
<ul>
<li>Der stumme Tod, Volker Kutscher</li>
<li>At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft</li>
<blockquote>
the story was mildly scary but entertaining. he kind of
overused "scary" adjective-noun pairs: cosmic fear,
blasphemous mountains. i don't understand how the pov
character thinks his report will hold back further
exploration of that region of antarctica. i would actually
expect it to inspire more attention.
</blockquote>
<li>Only Human (Themis Files #3), Sylvain Neuvel</li>
<blockquote>
i did not like this compared to the other two entries
to the series. mostly takes place on the world of the
creators of the "mechs". the style feels off compared
to the first novel when we were seeing the story evolve
through the eyes of the unnamed character.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<h2 id="jun24">june</h2>
<ul>
<li>Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut</li>
<li>Neuromancer, William Gibson</li>
<li>Convenience Store Woman, Murata Sayaka</li>
<blockquote>
i admit, i probably started this out of nostalgia after
coming back from japan. it's a cute little story that
nicely shows how weird japanese society can be.
</blockquote>
</ul>
<p class="notice">
i left my ereader at a cafe on the 1st of january of this year
while traveling in south korea. i only got a replacement in june.
that's why there is a 6 month gap where i did not read anything
this year.
</p>
</main>
</details>
|
