The last chapter, "John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner", is the best one. Don't stop reading after the first two mediocre stories.
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Software PM, bridge teacher, board game geek. Interested in stock markets and rational thinking.
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Maxim's books
2025 Reading Goal
58% complete! Maxim has read 17 of 29 books.
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Maxim started reading Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and has never been resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical …
Maxim reviewed The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
For sixty years, Jews have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe …
Decent writing but horribly tedious plot
2 stars
Maxim finished reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
For sixty years, Jews have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake …
Maxim started reading Critical Thinking by Tom Chatfield
Maxim started reading Design for how people learn by Julie Dirksen
Maxim wants to read Design for how people learn by Julie Dirksen
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, published in October 2006, is a collection …
Not bad
3 stars
Maxim started reading The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, published in October 2006, is a collection of eight short stories by …
Maxim reviewed Reamde by Neal Stephenson
Reamde is a speculative fiction novel by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011. The story, set …
Unexpected
3 stars
Expectations: a thoughtful, magnificent mind-blowing world similar to those in "Snowcrash", "The Diamond age", "Cryptonomicon", or "Anathem".
Reality: a scenario for a Guy Ritchie criminal action movie. Russian mafia, Chinese hackers, and a manhunting puma assaulting islamic terrorists.
Reamde is still a fine piece of prose, just don't expect Platonic philosophy in this one.
Maxim finished reading Reamde by Neal Stephenson
Reamde by Neal Stephenson
Reamde is a speculative fiction novel by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011. The story, set in the present day, centers …
Maxim started reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
For sixty years, Jews have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake …
Controversial
3 stars
Lots and lots of murky water. Should have asked chatgpt for a brief instead.
After filtering out murky waters, the remainder is a few good points, and a few questionable ones. Thinking of economic downturns as an ultimate evil to be eliminated is... dubious.
Maxim finished reading Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles by Jesús Huerta de Soto
Maxim wants to read The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
For sixty years, Jews have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake …