#bookrecommendation — Public Fediverse posts

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "To Reign In Hell" (1984) by Steven Brust

"To Reign In Hell" has a curious distinction: it is the most stolen (i.e. borrowed and never returned) book I've ever owned.

With good reason. When I was in college this was one of THE coolest books around (Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) was another, as was Alan Moore's "Watchmen" (1987)). The borrowing-and-not-returning continued for another ten years at least, which took me into a time period when the book was out of print. Fortunately it eventually came •back• into print, and I not only got a spare copy, I refused to lend it to anyone ever again.

It would be fair to call this Brust's "Zelazny" novel; in fact, Roger Zelazny actually wrote the introduction. It's a...not a retelling. Call it a complete •re-imagining• of the origin of the universe in Christian mythology, with a whole new system of supernatural physics.

Characters of all sorts from the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible are represented, although many aren't much like their namesakes: Satan, Lucifer, Asmodeus, Belial, Yahweh, Lilith...all of them, at this time, still angels. It may not be a surprise that particularly rigid Christians may find this book offensive. But it's •very• clever, witty, and fun.

[The Regent changed the subject. "I'll want to go back to the Hold soon. It's quite a walk."
"All right. But can you wait until tomorrow? It's been a long time since you've slept under my roof. We'll be having some pin-dancing. I would be pleased," he added.
"All right, old friend," said the other. "I'll stay the night. Have you brandy?"
Yaweh nodded. They both stood at once, as if a hidden message had come to them, and embraced. "I don't see you often enough," said Yaweh.
"Heaven has grown too large," said Satan.]

Need I explain that a snake enters the garden of happiness that is Heaven? Although it's not necessarily the snake you might have expected. Intrigue and deception turn out to be potent weapons against the innocent angels of Heaven.

Sadly this is one of the rare books that is NOT available to borrow via the Internet Archive. But your library should have it, and if they don't they should certainly be able to get it via interlibrary loan. Need I say that this one is very much worth buying? It is. And if you find a copy at a used bookstore, I'd strongly suggest snapping it up.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨⁨#Books⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#Bookstodon⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#humor⁩ ⁨#Fantasy⁩ ⁨⁩#Mythology ⁨⁨#BookRecommendation⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "To Reign In Hell" (1984) by Steven Brust

"To Reign In Hell" has a curious distinction: it is the most stolen (i.e. borrowed and never returned) book I've ever owned.

With good reason. When I was in college this was one of THE coolest books around (Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) was another, as was Alan Moore's "Watchmen" (1987)). The borrowing-and-not-returning continued for another ten years at least, which took me into a time period when the book was out of print. Fortunately it eventually came •back• into print, and I not only got a spare copy, I refused to lend it to anyone ever again.

It would be fair to call this Brust's "Zelazny" novel; in fact, Roger Zelazny actually wrote the introduction. It's a...not a retelling. Call it a complete •re-imagining• of the origin of the universe in Christian mythology, with a whole new system of supernatural physics.

Characters of all sorts from the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible are represented, although many aren't much like their namesakes: Satan, Lucifer, Asmodeus, Belial, Yahweh, Lilith...all of them, at this time, still angels. It may not be a surprise that particularly rigid Christians may find this book offensive. But it's •very• clever, witty, and fun.

[The Regent changed the subject. "I'll want to go back to the Hold soon. It's quite a walk."
"All right. But can you wait until tomorrow? It's been a long time since you've slept under my roof. We'll be having some pin-dancing. I would be pleased," he added.
"All right, old friend," said the other. "I'll stay the night. Have you brandy?"
Yaweh nodded. They both stood at once, as if a hidden message had come to them, and embraced. "I don't see you often enough," said Yaweh.
"Heaven has grown too large," said Satan.]

Need I explain that a snake enters the garden of happiness that is Heaven? Although it's not necessarily the snake you might have expected. Intrigue and deception turn out to be potent weapons against the innocent angels of Heaven.

Sadly this is one of the rare books that is NOT available to borrow via the Internet Archive. But your library should have it, and if they don't they should certainly be able to get it via interlibrary loan. Need I say that this one is very much worth buying? It is. And if you find a copy at a used bookstore, I'd strongly suggest snapping it up.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨⁨#Books⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#Bookstodon⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#humor⁩ ⁨#Fantasy⁩ ⁨⁩#Mythology ⁨⁨#BookRecommendation⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "To Reign In Hell" (1984) by Steven Brust

"To Reign In Hell" has a curious distinction: it is the most stolen (i.e. borrowed and never returned) book I've ever owned.

With good reason. When I was in college this was one of THE coolest books around (Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) was another, as was Alan Moore's "Watchmen" (1987)). The borrowing-and-not-returning continued for another ten years at least, which took me into a time period when the book was out of print. Fortunately it eventually came •back• into print, and I not only got a spare copy, I refused to lend it to anyone ever again.

It would be fair to call this Brust's "Zelazny" novel; in fact, Roger Zelazny actually wrote the introduction. It's a...not a retelling. Call it a complete •re-imagining• of the origin of the universe in Christian mythology, with a whole new system of supernatural physics.

Characters of all sorts from the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible are represented, although many aren't much like their namesakes: Satan, Lucifer, Asmodeus, Belial, Yahweh, Lilith...all of them, at this time, still angels. It may not be a surprise that particularly rigid Christians may find this book offensive. But it's •very• clever, witty, and fun.

[The Regent changed the subject. "I'll want to go back to the Hold soon. It's quite a walk."
"All right. But can you wait until tomorrow? It's been a long time since you've slept under my roof. We'll be having some pin-dancing. I would be pleased," he added.
"All right, old friend," said the other. "I'll stay the night. Have you brandy?"
Yaweh nodded. They both stood at once, as if a hidden message had come to them, and embraced. "I don't see you often enough," said Yaweh.
"Heaven has grown too large," said Satan.]

Need I explain that a snake enters the garden of happiness that is Heaven? Although it's not necessarily the snake you might have expected. Intrigue and deception turn out to be potent weapons against the innocent angels of Heaven.

Sadly this is one of the rare books that is NOT available to borrow via the Internet Archive. But your library should have it, and if they don't they should certainly be able to get it via interlibrary loan. Need I say that this one is very much worth buying? It is. And if you find a copy at a used bookstore, I'd strongly suggest snapping it up.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨⁨#Books⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#Bookstodon⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#humor⁩ ⁨#Fantasy⁩ ⁨⁩#Mythology ⁨⁨#BookRecommendation⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "To Reign In Hell" (1984) by Steven Brust

"To Reign In Hell" has a curious distinction: it is the most stolen (i.e. borrowed and never returned) book I've ever owned.

With good reason. When I was in college this was one of THE coolest books around (Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (1986) was another, as was Alan Moore's "Watchmen" (1987)). The borrowing-and-not-returning continued for another ten years at least, which took me into a time period when the book was out of print. Fortunately it eventually came •back• into print, and I not only got a spare copy, I refused to lend it to anyone ever again.

It would be fair to call this Brust's "Zelazny" novel; in fact, Roger Zelazny actually wrote the introduction. It's a...not a retelling. Call it a complete •re-imagining• of the origin of the universe in Christian mythology, with a whole new system of supernatural physics.

Characters of all sorts from the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible are represented, although many aren't much like their namesakes: Satan, Lucifer, Asmodeus, Belial, Yahweh, Lilith...all of them, at this time, still angels. It may not be a surprise that particularly rigid Christians may find this book offensive. But it's •very• clever, witty, and fun.

[The Regent changed the subject. "I'll want to go back to the Hold soon. It's quite a walk."
"All right. But can you wait until tomorrow? It's been a long time since you've slept under my roof. We'll be having some pin-dancing. I would be pleased," he added.
"All right, old friend," said the other. "I'll stay the night. Have you brandy?"
Yaweh nodded. They both stood at once, as if a hidden message had come to them, and embraced. "I don't see you often enough," said Yaweh.
"Heaven has grown too large," said Satan.]

Need I explain that a snake enters the garden of happiness that is Heaven? Although it's not necessarily the snake you might have expected. Intrigue and deception turn out to be potent weapons against the innocent angels of Heaven.

Sadly this is one of the rare books that is NOT available to borrow via the Internet Archive. But your library should have it, and if they don't they should certainly be able to get it via interlibrary loan. Need I say that this one is very much worth buying? It is. And if you find a copy at a used bookstore, I'd strongly suggest snapping it up.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨⁨#Books⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#Bookstodon⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#humor⁩ ⁨#Fantasy⁩ ⁨⁩#Mythology ⁨⁨#BookRecommendation⁩⁩ ⁨⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩⁩

No gadgets. No secret labs. Just courage. Spies of No Country shows how Israel’s first spies fought to protect a young nation.
#Mossad #SpyBooks #BookRecommendation #books #bookreviews
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/spies-of-no-country-book-review/

No gadgets. No secret labs. Just courage. Spies of No Country shows how Israel’s first spies fought to protect a young nation.
#Mossad #SpyBooks #BookRecommendation #books #bookreviews
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/spies-of-no-country-book-review/

No gadgets. No secret labs. Just courage. Spies of No Country shows how Israel’s first spies fought to protect a young nation.
#Mossad #SpyBooks #BookRecommendation #books #bookreviews
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/spies-of-no-country-book-review/

No gadgets. No secret labs. Just courage. Spies of No Country shows how Israel’s first spies fought to protect a young nation.
#Mossad #SpyBooks #BookRecommendation #books #bookreviews
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/spies-of-no-country-book-review/

No gadgets. No secret labs. Just courage. Spies of No Country shows how Israel’s first spies fought to protect a young nation.
#Mossad #SpyBooks #BookRecommendation #books #bookreviews
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/spies-of-no-country-book-review/

It’s not just about saving Catherine. It’s about survival. And proving the Slow Horses still have teeth.
#BookRecommendation #SpyThriller #books #ads
{aff} https://amzn.to/4bQK9NO

It mentions Stafford Beer's principle that “the purpose of a system is what it does” -not the promises/glossy brochure/sales pitch. It ends on a quote from Brian Merchant's book: "Some machines must be broken, so that they stop producing monsters." (Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech). #Booksky #Book #Recommendation #RecommendedReading #Books #BookRecommendation #BigTech #AgainstAI #anti-AI #AntiAI

Country Tides: Out Now

https://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/country-tides-out-now/

Country Tides: Out Now

https://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/country-tides-out-now/

Country Tides: Out Now

https://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/country-tides-out-now/

Country Tides: Out Now

https://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/country-tides-out-now/

Country Tides: Out Now

https://higginbothampublications.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/country-tides-out-now/

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Nightmare People" (1990) by Lawrence Watt-Evans is a good, imaginative horror story with a different slant; with the death of the last member of a classic horror species, a new species of horror gets to arise.

Ed Smith is awake one night when he sees the face of a horrifying •thing• outside his window. The next morning he's woken by the police. They tell him it's a missing persons case.

[“Who’s missing?” he asked.
The cop hesitated again, almost glanced at his partner, and then thought better of taking his eyes off the open door. “Your neighbors,” he said quietly.
“Which ones?”
That drew the longest hesitation yet.
Finally, the cop took a deep breath and answered, in a voice that almost shook.
“All of them,” he said.]

In the days that follow Ed discovers the truth behind that mysterious face and joins up with others who've encountered the Nightmare People as well. The supernatural aspect of evolution plays a VERY interesting role in the story; it's a neat idea, and I enjoy the way it's dealt with.

Watt-Evans has a very broad range, and this book really demonstrates that. He also tends to create protagonists who are intelligent and basically decent people, and that's certainly the case with Ed Smith. It's a refreshing and satisfying horror story.

I'm a long-time Watt-Evans fan; he's written a lot of great books, although this is the only horror novel he's written to date. Most of his books are fantasy, and I'll be recommending some of them soon.

"The Nightmare People" is available from the major ebook producers. There are also physical copies for sale, although I'm not sure if it's still in print. But you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/nightmarepeople0000watt

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨#Books⁩ ⁨#Bookstodon⁩ ⁨#horror⁩ ⁨⁩ ⁨#BookRecs⁩ ⁨#BookRecommendation⁩ ⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Nightmare People" (1990) by Lawrence Watt-Evans is a good, imaginative horror story with a different slant; with the death of the last member of a classic horror species, a new species of horror gets to arise.

Ed Smith is awake one night when he sees the face of a horrifying •thing• outside his window. The next morning he's woken by the police. They tell him it's a missing persons case.

[“Who’s missing?” he asked.
The cop hesitated again, almost glanced at his partner, and then thought better of taking his eyes off the open door. “Your neighbors,” he said quietly.
“Which ones?”
That drew the longest hesitation yet.
Finally, the cop took a deep breath and answered, in a voice that almost shook.
“All of them,” he said.]

In the days that follow Ed discovers the truth behind that mysterious face and joins up with others who've encountered the Nightmare People as well. The supernatural aspect of evolution plays a VERY interesting role in the story; it's a neat idea, and I enjoy the way it's dealt with.

Watt-Evans has a very broad range, and this book really demonstrates that. He also tends to create protagonists who are intelligent and basically decent people, and that's certainly the case with Ed Smith. It's a refreshing and satisfying horror story.

I'm a long-time Watt-Evans fan; he's written a lot of great books, although this is the only horror novel he's written to date. Most of his books are fantasy, and I'll be recommending some of them soon.

"The Nightmare People" is available from the major ebook producers. There are also physical copies for sale, although I'm not sure if it's still in print. But you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/nightmarepeople0000watt

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨#Books⁩ ⁨#Bookstodon⁩ ⁨#horror⁩ ⁨⁩ ⁨#BookRecs⁩ ⁨#BookRecommendation⁩ ⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Nightmare People" (1990) by Lawrence Watt-Evans is a good, imaginative horror story with a different slant; with the death of the last member of a classic horror species, a new species of horror gets to arise.

Ed Smith is awake one night when he sees the face of a horrifying •thing• outside his window. The next morning he's woken by the police. They tell him it's a missing persons case.

[“Who’s missing?” he asked.
The cop hesitated again, almost glanced at his partner, and then thought better of taking his eyes off the open door. “Your neighbors,” he said quietly.
“Which ones?”
That drew the longest hesitation yet.
Finally, the cop took a deep breath and answered, in a voice that almost shook.
“All of them,” he said.]

In the days that follow Ed discovers the truth behind that mysterious face and joins up with others who've encountered the Nightmare People as well. The supernatural aspect of evolution plays a VERY interesting role in the story; it's a neat idea, and I enjoy the way it's dealt with.

Watt-Evans has a very broad range, and this book really demonstrates that. He also tends to create protagonists who are intelligent and basically decent people, and that's certainly the case with Ed Smith. It's a refreshing and satisfying horror story.

I'm a long-time Watt-Evans fan; he's written a lot of great books, although this is the only horror novel he's written to date. Most of his books are fantasy, and I'll be recommending some of them soon.

"The Nightmare People" is available from the major ebook producers. There are also physical copies for sale, although I'm not sure if it's still in print. But you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/nightmarepeople0000watt

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨#Books⁩ ⁨#Bookstodon⁩ ⁨#horror⁩ ⁨⁩ ⁨#BookRecs⁩ ⁨#BookRecommendation⁩ ⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Nightmare People" (1990) by Lawrence Watt-Evans is a good, imaginative horror story with a different slant; with the death of the last member of a classic horror species, a new species of horror gets to arise.

Ed Smith is awake one night when he sees the face of a horrifying •thing• outside his window. The next morning he's woken by the police. They tell him it's a missing persons case.

[“Who’s missing?” he asked.
The cop hesitated again, almost glanced at his partner, and then thought better of taking his eyes off the open door. “Your neighbors,” he said quietly.
“Which ones?”
That drew the longest hesitation yet.
Finally, the cop took a deep breath and answered, in a voice that almost shook.
“All of them,” he said.]

In the days that follow Ed discovers the truth behind that mysterious face and joins up with others who've encountered the Nightmare People as well. The supernatural aspect of evolution plays a VERY interesting role in the story; it's a neat idea, and I enjoy the way it's dealt with.

Watt-Evans has a very broad range, and this book really demonstrates that. He also tends to create protagonists who are intelligent and basically decent people, and that's certainly the case with Ed Smith. It's a refreshing and satisfying horror story.

I'm a long-time Watt-Evans fan; he's written a lot of great books, although this is the only horror novel he's written to date. Most of his books are fantasy, and I'll be recommending some of them soon.

"The Nightmare People" is available from the major ebook producers. There are also physical copies for sale, although I'm not sure if it's still in print. But you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/nightmarepeople0000watt

Happy reading! 🤓📖

⁨#Books⁩ ⁨#Bookstodon⁩ ⁨#horror⁩ ⁨⁩ ⁨#BookRecs⁩ ⁨#BookRecommendation⁩ ⁨#QuasitBookRecs⁩

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Best of C. M. Kornbluth" (1976), edited by Frederik Pohl.

I already mentioned this today, so it might as well be my daily recommendation. For one thing, it's a great book!

Cyril Kornbluth was a brilliant author from the golden age of SF. His short stories were witty, clever, and memorable. In fact some of them are still influential to this day.

Two of them fit into the same fictional universe: "The Little Black Bag" (1950) and "The Marching Morons" (1951).

[After twenty generations of shilly-shallying and "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," genus homo had bred itself into an impasse. Dogged biometricians had pointed out with irrefutable logic that mental subnormals were outbreeding mental normals and supemormals, and that the process was occurring on an exponential curve. Every fact that could be mustered in the argument proved the biometricians' case, and led inevitably to the conclusion that genus homo was going to wind up in a preposterous jam quite soon. If you think that had any effect on breeding practices, you do not know genus homo.]

Have you ever seen the movie "Idiocracy"? You can thank Cyril Kornbluth for it; his stories laid out the basic concept with surgical precision.

How about RoboCop? The original, not the inferior remake. Do you remember the TV show that everyone seemed to love watching?

[“Now I’m gonna innaview the first contes-tant. Right here, honey. What’s your name?”

“Name? Uh—”

“Hoddaya like that, folks? She don’t remember her name! Hah? Would you buy that for a quarter?” The question was spoken with arch significance, and the audience shrieked, howled and whistled its appreciation.]

Does that sound at all familiar? It should!

These are polished, wonderfully-written short stories that are insightful and (more importantly) •fun• to read.

And luckily it's available to borrow for free from the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/bestofcmkornblut0000fred

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction #ShortStories #BookRecs #BookRecommendation #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" (1975) by Patricia McKillip

Winner of the World Fantasy Award in 1975, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is a truly lyrical, magical book. Back in those days most fantasy wasn't much more than retellings of "The Lord of the Rings" with a few gender or race-swaps; they were, pretty much without exception, awful.

Patricia McKillip considers this her LOTR copy, but I don't see that at all. This is the story of Sybel, a sorceress and the last of a line of wizards. Her sorcery consists primarily in summoning unique magical beasts to her service. They include:

"BOAR CYRIN
Keeper of Wisdom, who knew the answers to all riddles... save one.

THE BLACK SWAN OF TIRLITH
Who had carried a king’s daughter from the stone tower of exile.

GYLD
Green-winged Dragon who dreamt for eons over the cold fire of gold.

FALCON TER
Immortal Lord of Air, who had torn to bloody pieces the seven murderers of the wizard Aer."

All serve Sybel, who spends her time seeking lost knowledge of rare magical beasts...until she seeks in the wrong wizard's library, and finds herself the hunted rather than the hunter.

There's love, betrayal, revenge, death, and redemption here. It's a relatively short book, but very full and extremely well-written with a thoughtful depth of feeling to it. It's also, unusually (for those times and these) a singleton; no sequels were ever published. Nor written, as far as I know.

You can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive, but personally I'd say this one is well worth owning.

https://archive.org/details/forgottenbeastso0000mcki_x1p4

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #fantasy
#BookRecommendation #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Nuts" (1979) by Gahan Wilson

I just realized that yesterday was the thirtieth day since I started doing this! Time flies. ☺️

This is one of my "secret lore" books; my oldest friend introduced me to it when I was in my early teens. He also introduced me to "The Young Ones", "Young Lust Magazine" (it's a parody), and a LOT of comic books. He ended up working at Marvel and DC later on, although not at the same time.

"Those of you who remember how great it was to be a little kid, gang, don't •remember• how it was to be a little kid..."

Drawn and written by the brilliant Gahan Wilson, this book is one of the most accurate representations of what childhood was really like that I've ever seen. Which is probably why it's also the funniest.

The Kid (as he's referred to) is an ordinary kid with the usual experiences. His parents don't understand. His friends (some of them, at least) are idiots. And he WANTS things so desperately much. Toys, and candy, and comic books...

One of the things I particularly love about "Nuts" are the magazine, book, and comic book titles—literally the titles and back covers of the various books that sometimes appear. They're •incredibly• funny. "What secret power did this man possess?"

Individual strips of "Nuts" appeared in National Lampoon during their golden era. The book was rare; I treasured my copy. Luckily you can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive. And there are PDFs of it out on the high, seas, too. I'm sure the Kid would understand.

https://archive.org/details/nuts0000wils_q2w6

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #humor #ComicStrip #BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations:
"The Puppet Masters" (1951) by Robert A. Heinlein.

The Puppet Masters is, arguably, THE classic mind-controlling-aliens-invade story (if anyone has another candidate to suggest, please do). It might also be the •first• one, as far as I know. The Titans are small parasites that control their hosts (human and otherwise) through physical contact, most often at the top of the spine just below the neck. They reproduce extremely rapidly, and soon possess an extremely large percentage of the population of Earth—large enough that the protagonist, Sam, calls it a "saturation" point, and the Titans actually drop the masquerade in the areas that they control.

Sam is an agent for a mysterious agency that serves the President. When he first encounters the Titans, he's with his boss (the head of the agency) and another agent: a beautiful redhead that's an obvious representation of Heinlein's wife Virginia.

The invasion by the Titans is an existential threat to the human race, and turns into quite an exciting story. But unusually for Heinlein, it contains some serious plot holes.

Rather than discuss them here, I'll make a comment with a content warning. There will be a lot of spoilers. So if you want to read the book first, you can come back to the comment after. It's not that long a book.

And it's available free for borrowing from the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/bwb_P9-DGG-992

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction
#BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

Book Review: Death Comes To Matheran by Shabnam Minwalla

Tara and Sameer lost their father in an accident 11 years ago. After living through several difficult circumstances over the years, they return to their high-end area of El Camino in Mumbai from Oxel, Goa. The Jhaveris belonged to the rich and affluent — the kind of people nobody could touch, the ones who dined in the same restaurants as famous movie stars.

As the story begins, Tara and Sameer book an Airbnb in Mumbai after being invited by Pramila’s brother-in-law, Nimesh, to get their family wealth in order while the family feud remains divided into two sides. As the story moves ahead, more secrets unfold and the intentions of several characters are revealed.

A few pages in, we notice a change in formatting and design as letters and transcripts enter the storyline. The only giveaway is that they are specially written and saved for Sameer and Tara Jhaveri.

Then begins the puzzle of the Matheran accident — or was it really one? Tara was too young to understand, while Sameer is haunted by memories of losing two parents: one to death and one to memory. As their mother, Pramila, slowly starts recovering, things are no longer the same in El Camino. Throughout the story, we are introduced to several characters through conversations, phone calls, and passing moments.

In this book, Shabnam Minwalla makes the reader aware that somebody was collecting information. Somebody was gathering evidence. Somebody else, like Tara Jhaveri, wanted answers about what exactly happened on the fateful night when their father lost his life.

The beauty of the book lies in everything happening between the lines — the cracks, the hidden tensions, and the layered characters. Every character is written with finesse, and the reader constantly keeps guessing who is responsible and who is hiding secrets.

As Tara Jhaveri returns to her world in Mumbai and feels left out, the author introduces us to the affluent, the rich, and people living in a bubble. Shabnam Minwalla captures the behaviour of the well-off extremely well, especially their inner circles and the dynamics among young adults. Many readers may recognise behaviours similar to those in their own social circles, and the little nuggets Minwalla leaves in certain situations speak volumes about the elite.

The book does not end with a happily-ever-after. The world demands proof and evidence, and that is exactly what Shabnam Minwalla succeeds in portraying.

Aside from solving a crime, the author also dives into the relationship between a daughter and her mother, along with the emotional realities of being 17 years old.

The book becomes even more interesting because of the characters’ development and the realisations that slowly dawn upon them.

Towards the climax, the book becomes a tad theatrical, but it definitely grabs your attention again.

Shabnam Minwalla likes to tie things together well and does not leave behind invisible details.

That is exactly why the author remains on my auto-buy list. Thanks to HarperCollins for the media copy.

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" (1978) by Harry Medved with Randy Drayfuss

Are there any books that made you a different person? Particularly when you were a kid or young teen? There were for me, and this was one of them. The funny thing is that it was •written• by a teen, too: Harry Medved was 17 years old when he wrote "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time".

Specifically it had a HUGE impact on my sense of humor. It covers fifty films which, if not STILL the worst of all time, are certainly still among the worst of the worst. You probably haven't heard of most of them, although some are so awful that they've earned a sort of perverse immortality and even fans. Of course the book was written long before MST3K, but it has much of the same spirit: a twisted enjoyment of the biggest flops, the stupidest scripts, the dumbest concepts, and the most painful acting.

At least a few of these films were also given the MST3K treatment years later, such as "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" and (I think) "Robot Monster". You can probably find them on YouTube or the Internet Archive.

Each film gets a thorough (and thoroughly funny) writeup, including stills, plot summaries, "Unforgettable Performances", "Immortal Dialogue", the story behind the film, and more.

One example from "The Ambushers" (1967) starring Dean Martin:

[MATT HELM: Oh, when you say you're a “38” you ain't just kidding!
LINDA: It’s not a gun, Mr. Helm. It’s the new weapon they gave me, developed right here in our labs.
MATT: Developed pretty well, too!
LINDA: May I point out...
MATT: You already do!
LINDA: ... that that’s why you're here. To become familiar with our latest equipment.
MATT: You're right. An agent should always keep •abreast• of the times!]

Feel free to cringe.

This is the book that CREATED bad film fandom. It inspired MST3K, as well as two excellent sequels and a lot of other professional film mockers. It's cultural impact has been enormous.

I've only ever seen the book as a large paperback; I have a copy, of course. But it was never released as an ebook. Luckily it's available to borrow for free online at the Internet Archive, every bad film buff's best friend!

https://archive.org/details/fiftyworstfilmso0000medv

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor
#Movies #Films #BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

@TheBreadmonkey Internet use, all of it, fundamentally alters the neuroplasticity of the brain. Scientists have known this since at least 2010 and Nick Carr published a book on it called The Shallows, but when he was writing, algorithms weren't used to mine clicks for dopamine hits and ad revenue from users, and social media use was only just beginning, AI was unheard of... Fast forward to today and one should consider the effects considerably more damaging.

#bookrecommendation #neuroscience

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Tales From the White Hart" (1957) by Arthur C. Clarke

This is an odd book to recommend, and it's a little tricky to explain why. Have you ever seen a movie that was really great, but find yourself remembering it as boring a year or two later? Then you see it again, and find yourself amazed all over at how great and totally •not• boring it is.

That's "Tales From the White Hart" (also known as "Tales From the 'White Hart'"). It's a collection of humorous science fiction club stories centered around an odd pub called (unsurprisingly) the 'White Hart'.

Are you familiar with the tradition of the club story? It's VERY British, although of course there are examples from other countries including the USA. Isaac Asimov wrote several books worth based on a men's dining club he belonged to, in fact.

They're stories (often short mystery stories but in this case SF) told in the framing setting of a club or similar organization. Lord Dunsany may have pioneered the format; Clarke acknowledged Dunsany's "Jorkens" stories as an inspiration.

Speaking of which, I just found a lot of Dunsany's later short mystery story collections on FadedPage, the Canadian equivalent of Project Gutenberg. Why does that matter? Because Canada's copyright laws are DIFFERENT from Disney's—correction, the USA's— copyright laws, so some books are available via FadedPage that aren't available via Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks.

That's https://www.fadedpage.com/ . You might want to bookmark it.

Anyway, the White Hart is an English pub frequented by scientists and science fiction writers—two classes which overlap considerably, and did even more so in those days. Most of the stories are told by Harry Purvis, as narrated via an unnamed character I've always assumed was Clarke himself.

Other patrons are actual science fiction writers who were friends of Clarke's, so it's quite a fun book.

The stories are effectively science fiction tall tales, and they're VERY funny. In fact, there are lines throughout that I've been quoting for about 50 years ago—although I'd forgotten their source until I reread the book!

[And then Harry Purvis, who has an uncanny knack of following half a dozen conversations simultaneously, so that he can insert himself in the right one at the right time, said in his peculiarly penetrating and non-interruptable voice: “Censorship does raise some very difficult problems doesn’t it? I’ve always argued that there’s an inverse correlation between a country’s degree of civilisation and the restraints it puts on its press.”

A New England voice from the back of the room cut in: “On that argument, Paris is a more civilised place then Boston.”

“Precisely,” answered Purvis. For once, he waited for a reply.

“O.K.” said the New England voice mildly. “I’m not arguing. I just wanted to check.”]

Actually there's not a line in •that• passage that I've ever quoted, but I don't have time to go through the book before I post this. On the other hand, that gives me an excuse to re-read it! ☺️

Anyway, it's a VERY funny and relatively short book; I strongly recommend it. It's probably still in print, but most stores probably don't carry it. You can get it in ebook format either commercially from any of the giant ebook companies, via 🏴‍☠️(long may it fly), or you can borrow it for free via the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/talesfromwhiteha0000clar_g1y6 .

Your library might even have it! It's a classic of science fiction.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #English #ScienceFiction
#QuasitBookRecs #BookRecommendation

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The God Box" (1989) by Barry Longyear

This is the story of Korvas, a shifty rug merchant who receives a mysterious bequest: a box, a very special box.

Due to a scam that went wrong he has to flee his home city. The priestess who passed on his bequest tells him that she'll be accompanying him.

["Why are you coming?"

"That is my work," she answered.

"Your work?" I said. "What does that mean? What is your work?"

"I witness miracles."

Her answer was as clear as coal. It was true I needed to get out of town, and the drawers of Olassar's box were filled with gold. Still, I had this feeling that I was being moved into play by an unseen hand for unknown purposes.]

It turns into a strange adventure indeed, taking Korvas and the box across the continent and sometimes even through Time itself. The box, it turns out, gives him what he needs and takes what he doesn't want. But what Korvas thinks he needs isn't always the same as what he ACTUALLY needs...

[The box was pulled out of my grasp, there were shouts, and I felt the iron-strong arm of Natos beneath my chin, lifting my head far back. The blade flashed before my eyes, and I felt a scratch on my neck followed by the sensation of warm water washing down the front of my chest. I had a silly thought just then as the light drained from my head to be replaced with black fuzz: the box had been right all along. I didn't need the new boots after all.]

But Korvas •does• need another chance, and the box gives him that. It also takes from him the things that he gives it, most often fear.

Adventure, magic, love, loss...it's a funny book, but there's much more to it than that. It's deeply •moving•; the ending, as I find myself saying often in these recommendations, puts a lump in my throat. Longyear is a highly adept author.

The concept of the god box goes beyond that. I'm an atheist, but in times of anxiety I think about giving a god box my fear and it •helps•. I know it's just a metaphor, but that's okay; it works. I'll take it.

This is another rare one that didn't get the success it deserves. Sadly it's not being sold as an ebook these days (as far as I can tell), and only Amazon 🤮 seems to carry it; personally I WON'T do business with Amazon 🤮, because they've put far too many wonderful used book shops out of business, and they treat human beings like animals to enrich the already obscenely-wealthy Jeff Bezos.

But you can find used copies on Biblio.com, among other places. Also in ebook formats on the high seas. Best of all, it's available to borrow freely from the Internet Archive!

https://archive.org/details/godbox00long

Personally I've been looking for a hardcover copy. The book means that much to me. But if it was ever printed in hardcover, nobody is selling it now. Not even used.

I should mention that there are actually •several• books called "The God Box" by other authors. Look for the one written by Barry Longyear.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #fantasy #BookRecommendation #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Superstoe" (1968) by William Borden

I found a LOT of treasures in high school. One of my favorites was "Superstoe", a bitingly witty novel of political black humor.

It's the story of a group of extremely eccentric professors in North Dakota who decide to take over America and reform it. Their approach is the obvious one, combining clandestine germ warfare, manipulating one of their former students who became a US Senator, and murders.

"We'll join Knutson's staff," Superstoe continued, "and elect him President. He'll appoint me Secretary of State. Then we'll kill him, the Vice-President, and Congress, and I'll succeed to the presidency. Or Ben—you're the oldest. It's your prerogative. We'll have him appoint you Secretary of State. Then we'll reorganize things, and we'll be the first council of philosopher-kings to rule in America. Or anywhere."

You might call it The Revenge of the Intellectuals—which seems particularly appropriate in this particular day and age. In any case the intrepid revolutionaries are soon in the halls of power and on their way to reforming the USA...and the world.

The book is absolutely PACKED with brilliant, prescient ideas; for example, the internet is effectively predicted along with its use for direct democracy by the public. But one notion that really stuck in my mind was this:

"The prison-reform bill provided for the building of new prisons, which would not be known as prisons but as rehabilitation centers. Prisoners would live in comfortable, colorful, fully furnished cottages. Their families or girl friends could live with them. Prisoners would be given vocational training and psychological counseling. Most important, however, would be the facts that the environment would be pleasant and natural and that the members of the communities—as the prisoners would be called—would be allowed to satisfy their natural hungers: enjoy a pleasant shelter, wear ordinary clothes, eat home-cooked meals, and fulfill their sexual needs.

If anyone did not respond to this rehabilitation, he would undergo an operation on his brain."

And if you were wondering, that operation was a frontal lobotomy.

If you have a dark sense of humor, find politics infuriating and like to laugh, I'd definitely suggest giving this book a try.

Sadly it's out of print. Amazon 🤮 is listing a used hardcover copy at $1,096.00 (!) plus $3.99 for delivery. Biblio.com has two copies at the moment for $61 and $155. No ebook version was ever released, for some insane reason.

But the Internet Archive loans PDFs of the book for free. And you can find PDFs on the high seas as well.

https://archive.org/details/superstoe00bord

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor
#BookRecommendation #QuasitBookRecs

I posted today's book recommendation on my second account since kolektiva was down; you can see it at
https://beige.party/@Quasit/116581688707264674

But I plan to keep posting them here normally. Or should I post it on both? Would that be bad?

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #English
#QuasitBookRecs #BookRecommendation

🇬🇧 The book release I attended yesterday took place in Litteraturens hus (House of Litterature) in Uppsala. Sara Lilja Visén released the fifth, and last, book in her series Jade och bärnsten.
🇸🇪 Bokrelease för avslutningen i min kompis Saras bokserie på Litteraturens hus i Uppsala igår. Serien heter Jade och bärnsten och jag rekommenderar den varmt! Första boken heter En allians av siden och silver.
#Bok #Läsning #Boktips #Books #BookRecommendation #Reading #Bookstodon

The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel "A young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies" Sale: $18.99 to $2.99 by Kristin Harmel Rating: 4.6/5 (15,066 Reviews) #historicalfiction #worldwarii #books #booksky #survival #wwii #reading #novel #bookrecommendation

The Forest of Vanishing Stars:...

The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel "A young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies" Sale: $18.99 to $2.99 by Kristin Harmel Rating: 4.6/5 (15,066 Reviews) #historicalfiction #worldwarii #books #booksky #survival #wwii #reading #novel #bookrecommendation

The Forest of Vanishing Stars:...

The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel "A young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies" Sale: $18.99 to $2.99 by Kristin Harmel Rating: 4.6/5 (15,066 Reviews) #historicalfiction #worldwarii #books #booksky #survival #wwii #reading #novel #bookrecommendation

The Forest of Vanishing Stars:...

The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel "A young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies" Sale: $18.99 to $2.99 by Kristin Harmel Rating: 4.6/5 (15,066 Reviews) #historicalfiction #worldwarii #books #booksky #survival #wwii #reading #novel #bookrecommendation

The Forest of Vanishing Stars:...

This book isn’t about heroes. It’s not about villains either. It’s about lies. Big ones.
#books #SpyBooks #CambridgeSpies #BookRecommendation
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/deceiving-the-deceivers/

This book isn’t about heroes. It’s not about villains either. It’s about lies. Big ones.
#books #SpyBooks #CambridgeSpies #BookRecommendation
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/deceiving-the-deceivers/

This book isn’t about heroes. It’s not about villains either. It’s about lies. Big ones.
#books #SpyBooks #CambridgeSpies #BookRecommendation
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/deceiving-the-deceivers/

This book isn’t about heroes. It’s not about villains either. It’s about lies. Big ones.
#books #SpyBooks #CambridgeSpies #BookRecommendation
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/deceiving-the-deceivers/

This book isn’t about heroes. It’s not about villains either. It’s about lies. Big ones.
#books #SpyBooks #CambridgeSpies #BookRecommendation
https://thisgrandpablogs.com/deceiving-the-deceivers/

Cosy crime lovers, give me your recommendations. Favourite series? Favourite authors? Setting is unimportant, just needs to be cosy...

#CosyCrime #CozyCrime #CozyMystery #books #BookRecommendation #reading @bookstodon

Cosy crime lovers, give me your recommendations. Favourite series? Favourite authors? Setting is unimportant, just needs to be cosy...

#CosyCrime #CozyCrime #CozyMystery #books #BookRecommendation #reading @bookstodon

Cosy crime lovers, give me your recommendations. Favourite series? Favourite authors? Setting is unimportant, just needs to be cosy...

#CosyCrime #CozyCrime #CozyMystery #books #BookRecommendation #reading @bookstodon

Cosy crime lovers, give me your recommendations. Favourite series? Favourite authors? Setting is unimportant, just needs to be cosy...

#CosyCrime #CozyCrime #CozyMystery #books #BookRecommendation #reading @bookstodon