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Walaka

Walaka

Joined January 2023

review
Walaka
Pickpick

The path to a calculator takes us from counting rods to abacuses to slide rules and through mechanical and electrical adding machines to get to the glory days of the late 20th century and the ubiquitous TI-81. Houston rides us into the sunset as well, detailing the calculators replacement by - and assimilation into - the computer and mobile device. A great read all the way through, and I will be looking for his works on Punctuation and The Book.

review
Walaka
An Astronomer in Love | Antoine Laurain
Pickpick

An exquisitely crafted story of love, loss, disappointment, and resilience that spans the struggles of characters from the mid 18th century and the early 21st. Achingly human and highly recommended for anyone with a heart.

review
Walaka
Head on | John Scalzi
Pickpick

I usually try to avoid dropping into a series after the first installment, but Scalzi delineates his world of “threeps“ so well that it was easily to be swept away in a murder mystery involving investigators, suspects, and victims whose consciousnesses reside in artificial bodies. So far, Scalzi has ever disappointed.

BookmarkTavern I love this series! 💖 3mo
Walaka I need to get the first one! 2mo
4 likes2 comments
review
Walaka
Pickpick

This collection of hard science fiction short stories was a throwback to my youthful engagement with the genre in the best possible way. The selections were well-curated and the stories high-quality; and, as with most anthologies (and boxes of chocolates), if one offering doesn't particularly appeal to your taste the next one will likely hit that sweet spot dead on.

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Walaka
Pickpick

In my mind, Scalzi is the spiritual heir to Ron Goulart and with every book I read is creating a as strong on hold on my aged heart as Goulart ever did on my young one. This rollicking tale of a kaiju NGO (think Save the Monsters instead of Save the Whales) packs more humor, wit, adventure, and pathos in its relatively short length than it has a right to.

review
Walaka
Pickpick

A North Korean boy is exposed to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide and the trajectory of his life is changed forever. The D&D game features not so much as nerd service as it does as an extended metaphor for luck, agency, and destiny. A great read for anyone.

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Walaka
Death Comes to Marlow | Robert Thorogood
Pickpick

I usually try not to start a series with a book later than the first, but this second adventure of these older women amateur (but quite capable) detectives pulled me right in. A great locked-room cozy with witty writing and fun characters. I will certainly seek out the rest.

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Walaka
Pickpick

The SMBC cartoonist and his much smarter wife take us through a journey of technicalities that could exist, might exist, and maybe shouldn't exist. Enough science to be creditable and useful and enough fun and funny pictures to be accessible.

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Walaka
Pickpick

Not since Suburban Nation have I read a book that so clearly explains and illustrates how land-use regulations -- some well-intentioned and some the result of greed -- have so drastically shaped our landscape and our lifescapes. A must-read for anyone who has ever complained about about parking.

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Walaka
Pickpick

An engaging and ultimately delightful story not without its perils. Haldeman's story reads like he has given H.G. Wells's Time Traveller and name and updated his adventure for modern times - a rousing success.

review
Walaka
The Tumbling Girl | Bridget Walsh
Mehso-so

Wonderful evocation of late nineteenth century, appealing characters, and a suitably macabre mystery marred by a slightly unsatisfying resolution that does our protagonists no justice. I'll check out the second in the series, but warily.

review
Walaka
Pickpick

Ice is a fun book that gives a well-researched but accessible account of its topic substance through the lenses of social, political, and economic history. The book is well-organized,always holding the reader's interest.

Special kudos go to Brady for recognizing and mentioning the often overlooked contexts of capitalism, colonialism, and racism that play such an important if unfortunate part in human history.

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Walaka
The Golem and the Jinni | Helene Wecker
Pickpick

A masterless golem who can pass for a human woman (albeit a tall one) and a jinni freed from captivity but bound to human form find themselves in 1899 New York City and cross paths with a Syrian tinsmith, a Jewish social worker, a rich ingenue, a wise rabbi, a cursed ice cream vendor, and a mad wizard. The story is one of exploring desire, regret, identity and love, all while providing enough suspense, danger, and mystery to make it a page-turner.

review
Walaka
Tales from the Cafe (Original) | Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Sunmark Publishing Inc
Mehso-so

The first book in the series was charming and insightful in its examination of human emotions through the conceit of time travel; the sequel attempts the same lyricism but hits some false notes. Part of the joy of the original stories was how much was left unexplained; this volume tries too hard to fill in the blanks. And it seems to be shifting focus to an annoying child. A bit of a sophomore slump here but I will still check out the next volume.

booklover3258 I'm reading the third book now and the child is not as annoying as in the second book. :) 10mo
Walaka @booklover3258 Good to hear! 😁 10mo
9 likes2 comments
blurb
Walaka
Before the Coffee Gets Cold | Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A small coffee shop has an unusual feature: it lets you travel through time. But you can only stay in the shop, anything you do in the past won't change anything, and you had better finish your coffee before it gets cold or there will be consequences. The book is less about people trying to change fate and more about how revisiting events can change one's emotional responses Full of understanding human complexity and generosity for our failings.

MariettaSG Generosity of our failings- nice line 11mo
Walaka @MariettaSG Thanks! 3mo
10 likes2 comments
review
Walaka
The Man Who Was Thursday | G.K. Chesterton
Pickpick

The book starts out as a detective thriller, as a police officer infiltrates a cabal of anarchists, and the story gets more and more outrageous until it seems to become farce, but then it takes a very dark turn, and finally is maddeningly opaque at the close of the narrative. No wonder Chesterton subtitled the book “A Nightmare“. Yet, the story pulls the reader along without let-up -- I never considered not finishing it, as lost as I might be.

review
Walaka
Questland | Carrie Vaughn
Pickpick

A damaged but resilient uber-nerd professor of popular culture is sent to assist a colorful team of mercenaries with the retaking of a hijacked pleasure resort, a sort of Westworld for Dungeons and Dragons. There's so much geeky fanservice that I wonder whether the book can reach beyond its nerdy niche, but here's also high-tech hijinks galore, just enough sex, and some surprising twists at the end to satisfy the more normcore reader.

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Walaka
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Pickpick

A private investigator looking into the affairs of a diamond heiress disappears right after a badly beaten and comatose man is found in his office, and it is up to his secretary to solve the crime, clear his name, and tie up all the loose ends the investigation has frayed. Not exactly a playfair mystery, but close enough, with a multi-layered mystery, an interesting cast of characters, and a real sense of place in the depiction of 1950 New York.

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Walaka
Pickpick

In this hefty tome, 21 respected historians provide heavily-researched, evidence-based, fully-cited chapters debunking commonly-held misconceptions about the United States. One must wonder how much it matters. The people who need to read this book will not read it, and even if they did they would ignore the historical record and choose to believe the narrative that makes them feel comforted and victimized and justifies their continual rancor.

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Walaka
Pickpick

Scientists still aren't quite sure just what the definition of intelligence is, but Gregg is pretty sure that whatever it is, humans having developed it is at best a two-edged sword and at worst the stupidest thing ever.

The book functions as primer on what it means to think and feel, and Gregg's snappy writing keeps it grounded, accessible, and entertaining on every page.

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Walaka
American Gods | Neil Gaiman
Pickpick

If Harry Stephen Keeler had ever written one his webwork novels that wasn't totally insane, it might have come out something like American Gods. This long sprawling novel never fails to captivate as it tells the story of a new world, old gods on the wane, new gods on the rise, and the universal feelings that lie in gods and humans alike. Gaiman grounds his characters in emotional truth while spinning a most fantastical tale. Well worth the time.

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Walaka
Elizabeth Finch: A novel | Julian Barnes
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Pickpick

I got this from the library because I heard a radio interview with Barnes, who theretofore had not been on my radar; it is an elegantly written exceedingly intelligent book. Like the narrator himself, I am not 100% certain of the conclusions I have drawn with regard to any of it, but the journey of understanding was mesmerizing.