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sifuCJC

sifuCJC@bookwyrm.social

Joined 3 years, 2 months ago

I read only nonfiction for years. Now, I'm getting back into fiction. (he/him)

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sifuCJC's books

To Read (View all 9)

Currently Reading

Michael Chabon: Gentlemen of the road (Hardcover, 2007, Del Rey/Ballantine Books) 4 stars

In the Kingdom of Aran, in the Caucasus Mountains in 950 A.D., two adventurers wander …

Dense and full writing

4 stars

A short novel, but the writing is so dense, there's a full epic inside.

That said, I could barely parse the sentences. Make sure you have a broad vocabulary and knowledge the Khazar empire before you embark.

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Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith: A City on Mars (Hardcover, 2023, Penguin Press, Penguin Publishing Group) 4 stars

Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away - …

Yes, we could live in space, on Mars, etc. but not so soon.

4 stars

A fascinating book that examines whether we can live in outer space or on other planets. In short, the answer is: probably, but it will take a lot of time. Questions about how we can live safety and peacefully in space need answers before we even try, in contrast to various 'space techno' advocates that say we can and should colonize space now.

The book is divided into several parts, each looking at what we know and don't know about living in space, and what answers are needed before we even try.

Part 1, on caring for the spacefaring, covers the effect space can have on bodies, from radiation exposure and a microgravity environment. Sex and reproduction are also covered. The ethics of populations in space on topics like eugenics (with limited resources, what do you do with people that don't 'fit') and mental health are also covered.

Part 2, …

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Deb Chachra: How Infrastructure Works (2023, Penguin Publishing Group) 5 stars

A new way of seeing the essential systems hidden inside our walls, under our streets, …

...we know that making a personal decision, like deciding to leave the car at home or replace the gas furnace in our house with a heat pump, doesn't necessarily help anyone else make the sane decision, and because these are collective systems, our individual contribution is minuscule. Many of us have come to the disheartening conclusion that, no matter how great our individual sacrifice of time, money, or energy, no matter how much we radically change our own lives and homes in order to reduce our personal emissions, we can't move the needle alone.

How Infrastructure Works by  (Page 191)

Exhausting as it sounds, collective action is the only way forward. You could literally cease to exist, dropping your environmental impact to zero, and it wouldn't move the needle. Systems change is the only way.

Lisa Jewell: None of This Is True (Paperback, 2023, Atria Books) 5 stars

Secrets unfold thrillingly

5 stars

I don't know if I was just in the right space for this book, but I found it was crafted beautifully. With narratives that dole out secrets sparingly, I've found many of them to be frustrating. But Jewell uses only podcast scripts and taped interviews for the flash-forwards. This keeps the 'current' narrative sequential. It worked well.

Also she initially develops the two main characters gently and with care. So as the deterioration implied by the title unfolds, it is gripping. So many emotions. Love it.

Charmaine Wilkerson: Black Cake (Hardcover, 2022, Ballantine Books) 4 stars

Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. When …

Great story but the impact kinda faltered

3 stars

Great story. The flashbacks are a bit jarring, but okay.

I had a problem with the style; it kept pulling me out of the emotional journey. Something like it was dramatic in the wrong places, when the narrative held enough drama itself. (That's a horrible way to put it....you know when the music is wrong for a movie scene and pulls you out of the immersion? Something like that.)

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reviewed The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (Books of the Raksura, #1)

Martha Wells: The Cloud Roads (Paperback, 2019, Night Shade) 4 stars

Moon has spent his life hiding what he is--a shape-shifter able to transform himself into …

Found Family in a delightfully imaginative setting

5 stars

Moon, the main character of the Raksura series, shares a great many characteristics with Murderbot: he's isolated, traumatized, often inspires fear in others through no fault of his own, and doesn't know where he belongs or how to fit in. Naturally, the first book is mostly concerned with reuniting Moon with his people and chronicling the joys and pains of integrating into this complex society. The plot is slightly predictable, but this is easily compensated for by the sheer originality of the setting: one of the few fantasy books/series I've read that does not bother with the conceit of fitting human society into a world where magic exists, but rather imagines a world where magic is just another routine natural force. There are no humans in this world but there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of sentient humanoid species, and just as many sentient non-humanoids. There are also floating islands, flying …

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