𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲" 𝗯𝘆 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘆 -

3-Word Review:

Hook-driven
Romance-tropes
Predictable

Frictional Posture:

Which arbitrary details compel the novel's romantic and thriller plotting?

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #readinglist #literature #books #book #reading #bookstagram #frictionalreading #3words #kalianebradley #theministryoftime #scifi #sf #sciencefiction #timetravel #romance

Show that Americans love their libraries!
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#library #libraries #read #reading #book #books #librarylove #author #publiclibrary #literature #lit

Well, I don't know about "Best Book", but it's at least in the running for "Best Book Dedication" 😂

@reading @joinin @bookstodon @books @humor@fedigroups.social @humor@lemmy.world @aiop

#BookMemes #Meme #Humor #Humour #Funny
#ReadingMemes #Reading #Readers #ReadingCommunity
#Litterature #Novel #Bookshelf
#Books #Bookstodon #FantasyBooks

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Photo of a dedication in a book. "I want to thank everyone who helped me create this book, except for that guy who yelled at me in Kmart when I was eight because he thought I was being “too rowdy.” -You're an asshole, sir" Caption: BEST BOOK EVER

Just finished my advance reader copy of The Phantom Rogue by V. M. Couture, a romantasy adventure novel that takes place in an alternate magical version of feudal Japan. Goodreads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8830068575

#ThePhantomRogue #NetGalley #ARC #advancereader #amreading #books #reading #review #bookreview #romantasy #romanticfantasy #fantasyromance

A trip up north turns into an exchange in Robin Munby's story Of All Who Sorrow, Joy, but what does it mean?

https://www.fictionable.world/stories/of-all-who-sorrow-joy-robin-munby/

#books #reading #fiction #comics #ShortStories #translation #blog #bookstodon

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A portrait of the writer Robin Munby, with a quote from his short story Of All Who Sorrow, Joy: 'You're going to M— then?'

*NEW BLOG POST*

Today on #damppebbles I am sharing this week's #TopTenTuesday post. The theme for this week is 𝚃𝙴𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝙸 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙵𝚁𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙰𝚂 𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙺 🎨📚🖼️

Check out my list here...
➡️ https://buff.ly/J0lEqGB

#Booktoot #bookstodon #bookmastodon #bookish #books #bookrecommendations #booklovers #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #reading #book #bookblogger #bookblog

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑵𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 - 7.07 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 -

Do we really need to crop out the ugly stuff to make our vacation pics look fire? Does embracing the raw city make us better travelers ... or just a bunch of gawkers playing it safe?

https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/mapping-dreams/

#frictionalreading #bookpodcast #travelogues #literature #podcast #books #reading #bloomsday #edwardsaid #davidharvey #sherlockholmes #lahaine #londonorbital #italocalvino #invisiblecities

To generate a general interest in art, literature, etc, then art must be produced that appeals to many different kinds of people. Would more boys be into reading if there was good stuff like this available?

(Battle of Cesme at Night (1848) by Ivan Aivazovsky)

#art #books #reading #bookstodon

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Ships on fire at night. The dark skies and shadowed silhouettes of the ships contrast strongly with the bright red of the fire.

The Cosmic Dunce: Great Books That Never Were 🪐

The Cosmic Dance is a 2022 visual science book about the universe by Stephen Ellcock. It is a popular, clever, and excellent book about space mumbo jumbo and the like.

But did you you know there’s a space book called The Cosmic Dunce? First published in 1983 by pseudoscience conspiracy theorist Dr. Henry McDoctorson, it postulates the thesis planets are stupid and not worthy of scientific study (or visiting) at all.

Universal Waste of Space Time in The Cosmic Dunce

“It should go without saying that a planet such as Jupiter has a low IQ. Just look at it. Erratic, weird, with a Great Red Spot it can’t apply acne cream to for centuries on end. Only a FOOL would fail at such basic personal hygiene and I, for one, consider it offensive the gas giant is allowed to stay up there and Lord it all over our solar system. Jupiter should be shot out of the sky with missiles and such.”

The early chapters of the book involve Dr. McDoctorson ranting his inexplicable hatred about Jupiter. He argues vehemently it should be shot out of the sky, without offering much structure to his argument.

He also considers Saturn to be “silly” and its “disorderly” rings to be “messy” and a clear indication the gas giant doesn’t have its house in order.

By chapter three he target the rest of the solar system, his argument crumbling into a volatile selection of crude profanities and infantile rambling. To distract the readers’ various, respective, attentions he reminds everyone he studied physics at Oxford university, but had to drop out in 1969 due to a mixture of gout, scurvy, and longstanding accusations of cheating during exams.

He addresses the exam cheating directly in chapter four:

“I did not cheat during my physics exams, in the tedious, qualia-based reductionistic sense. Why would I? My genius is such the exams were beneath me, so whether I cheated or not, the result would have been the same—full marks, a standing ovation, and mandatory appointment as NASA’s lead Administrator. Therefore, ‘cheating’ in the exam in the way I did merely sped up the process of ensuring my inevitable status.”

Rumour has it his cheating led to his dismissal from Oxford university, but Dr. McDoctorson stated this was due to “maladies” such as gout and scurvy.

“I also had piles for the longest of times. Those were dark days.”

The Cosmic Dunce is a slight work. At only 150 pages, a big chunk of it doesn’t have much to do with science. Only in the final chapter (Space is Stupid) does the writer do any original thought, adding in a big bunch of confusing looking equations to distract readers from his lack of general clarity.

He concludes that space is, indeed, stupid and “establishments” such as NASA are wasting their time studying idiocy.

Mixing Up Epilogues & Prologues

The Cosmic Dunce is notable for beginning with an epilogue, then ending with a prologue, but also including an appendix listing out the planets Dr. McDoctorson considers the most stupid.

The prologue concludes what the epilogue stated first, by reconfirming what should have been confirmed last, in a conclusion complicated further as the appendix repeats much of what the two sections already clarify.

To add to the confusion, at the very close of the work (its final page) the writer added who the book is dedicated to (normally included at the start of a text), and he dedicated the book to:

“Jupiter, my favourite planet of them all.”

Having spent the previous 150 pages bitching non-stop about the gas giant, this ending has baffled even the greatest minds on the planet (Earth) since the book’s 1983 launch.

More Americans need to learn about the benefits of libraries, so help spread the word.
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August is Black Business Month. Here’s a great opportunity to support a Black-owned business…

Do you use Goodreads? If so, you can migrate to @thestorygraph. You can even import all of your Goodreads data.

Nadia Odunayo is the founder and sole developer. Together with her small team, they’re making a great product that’s slowly improving over time.

So go support Nadia and co. instead of a fascist billionaire.

https://thestorygraph.com

#BlackBusinessMonth #BlackMastodon #Books #Reading #TheStoryGraph #Goodreads

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑵𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒔 - 7.07 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 -

How do we navigate the space between the curated tourism experience and the raw concrete of the world beneath it?

We look into our habit of cropping out infrastructure and ask whether reading the raw city makes us better travelers or something worse.

https://waywordsstudio.com/.../waywords.../mapping-dreams/

#frictionalreading #bookpodcast #criticalreading #literature #books #reading #bloomsday #edwardsaid #sherlockholmes #lahaine #londonorbital #italocalvino

Like, follow, and share if you love libraries, literacy, and books!

#library #libraries #read #reading #book #books #librarylove #author #publiclibrary #literature #lit

In literary #chismes

> Publisher Cancels $2.4 Million Book Deal After AI Questions Surround Debut Novel https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle/books/publisher-cancels-2-4-million-book-deal-after-ai-questions-surround-debut-novel-article-155235266

A big issue is, one, they used an "AI detector," and that comes with its own issues including unreliability. But the real big deal was copyright issues. Once publishers, etc. felt there was no copyright to enforce, they fled. It is not conclusive if the guy used #AISlop or not.

#sloperator #cogsucker #books #reading #writing #Bookstodon

In literary #chismes

> Publisher Cancels $2.4 Million Book Deal After AI Questions Surround Debut Novel https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle/books/publisher-cancels-2-4-million-book-deal-after-ai-questions-surround-debut-novel-article-155235266

A big issue is, one, they used an "AI detector," and that comes with its own issues including unreliability. But the real big deal was copyright issues. Once publishers, etc. felt there was no copyright to enforce, they fled. It is not conclusive if the guy used #AISlop or not.

#sloperator #cogsucker #books #reading #writing #Bookstodon

**NEW BLOG POST**

@Cobaltdinosaur reviews #TheWomanWhoWasntThere by William Hussey on #damppebbles today!

This book will keep you guessing until the final pages. A great writer who delivers time and time again.

Check out Ryan's review...
➡️ https://buff.ly/dc589R1

#Booktoot #bookstodon #bookmastodon #bookish #books #bookrecommendations #booklovers #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #reading #book #bookblogger #bookblog

I finished book 44 which was Septimus Brown's, "No Country for Old Dragons: We've Come for Your Eggs II". This is the sequel to "We've Come for Your Eggs", a fantasy satire of the U.S.–Canada trade war (especially the bit about the egg shortage). Great satire and great book!

#Reading #Books #JimsBooks #BookLog

Less than a month until the Kickstart launch for book four. Now's a great time to jump into this series. You'll get a nice discount and have time to read them all before the finale arrives in March/April next year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dharrigon/desolation-the-hollow-drum

#books #reading #SciFi #Steampunk #bugs #series #bookstodon

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The splash graphic for Desolation: The Hollow Drum shows the book surrounded by callouts, saying, "Dark Secrets, Female lead, Punchy novella length, Into the nest," etc.

Read the Novels and Forget Everything Else

https://hedgehogreview.com/web-features/thr/posts/read-the-novels-and-forget-everything-else

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49129676

#HackerNews #novels #literature #reading #culture #storytelling

Like, follow, share to help support libraries!

#library #libraries #read #reading #book #books #librarylove #author #publiclibrary #literature #lit

#ICYMI what I was #writing on my #blog on a day like today in 2023.
> "Books Reviewed for July 2023."
https://itinerantlibrarian.wordpress.com/2023/08/02/books-reviewed-for-july-2023/

#books #reading #BookReview #reviews #AlchemicalThoughts #Bookstodon

#ICYMI what I was #writing on my #blog on a day like today in 2023.
> "Books Reviewed for July 2023."
https://itinerantlibrarian.wordpress.com/2023/08/02/books-reviewed-for-july-2023/

#books #reading #BookReview #reviews #AlchemicalThoughts #Bookstodon

July in Books

I had a good month, completed some great books that are easy to recommend.

Best books

1. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. I forgot to share a review here, shame on me. But the book is a clear 5*, and a slightly lighter (not in weight though) than the regular Abercrombie story. Some tropes here and there, features lots of random fantasy species. 760 pages and very memorable, well-built characters. You have a priest and a vampire joining forces, not the most common occurrence in literature.
2. Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – 1008 pages and a solid 5*/5. The sun stopped shining and the main deterrent to vampires spreading was gone. Also no review, pretty embarrassing, but at least I mentioned it. A must read.
3. The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman – I think that one was around 4.5*/5 but pretty good 4.5, one that would love to read once a second part shows up in the bookstores. The blacktongue thief is thief from a race that has black tongues. Epic fantasy with some drama.
4. Head Cases by John McMahon – a satisfying thriller about nerds solving crimes. It got 4.5* on Goodreads by me but looking back, I think it’s closer to 4. Despite being a good story, the other three above were much better.
5. Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World – pop-sci book about probabilities. I gave it 4*/5 but from the distance of time, I think it’s not up to the 4* bar.

Worst books

1. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell – Lisa Jewell is a gem, comparable to Freida McFadden. However, just like Freida McFadden, some of her books are pretty awful. Not that the book is poorly written, it’s just not a pleasant thing to read. I gave it 4/5, appreciating the good storytelling, translation and such. I hated this book so much that I’d rather not buy anything else by Lisa Jewell any time soon. Boo.