Tootfinder

Next on my list to read, after I finish Tom Holt "In Your Dreams".

What are you reading? #reading

Nice thoughtful article on modern literacies
"The choice isn’t between books and screens. The choice is between intentional design and profitable chaos. Between habitats that cultivate human potential and platforms that extract human attention"
What we think is a decline in literacy is a design problem
#literacy #design #reading

Oh, here's an interesting perspective on buying #books. #reading

Just finished "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas. In an unusual twist of fate, I had read "Concrete Rose" earlier, which gave me a rich backstory to relate things to. "The Hate U Give" is really good, but I found the resolution of King's arc slightly disappointing, even though the ending was strong. It's definitely not my place to judge Thomas' perspective here, but I do think that the book's broad popularity including among more liberal audiences probably stems at least in part from the way it allows a "the cops have issues but are ultimately-necessary/sometimes-positive" reading that undermines the strength of the core message.
In the end I like Concrete Rose better, but they're both great and I'll be putting Thomas' other books on my to-read list.
#AmReading #ReadingNow

Reading lineup looking good, so glad Marriotts back #efl #readingfc #fedifc

Read the second of the Murder Bot novellas by Martha Wells, Artificial Condition.
Our hacked security droid takes a job looking after more idiots in order to get a ride to investigate his missing memories.
And they get into trouble of course.
Enjoyed it more than the first one. The ship intelligence he teams up with sure does have a lot of ability for an auto-pilot. The Secunit's sarcasm and reluctant disdain of his charges seems better written and deepening.
#reading #books #murderBot

Yesterday I finished "The Other Side of Tomorrow" written by Tina Cho and illustrated by Deb JJ Lee. Lee's "In Limbo" was an excellent graphic memoir, and this similarly has wonderful art, although I didn't make the connection until checking the authors after reading to the end.
This book is a realistic fictional account of two childrens' escape from North Korea via China, Laos, and ultimately Thailand where they could declare themselves refugees at a US embassy and get sponsored to live in America. Along the way they're helped by various members of the Asian Underground Railroad. I'll avoid spoilers but yet definitely encounter difficulties along the way.
The ending definitely hits different now (while also accentuating my disgust with the current US regime). Like "Libertad" that I also finished recently, the "escape to the US at the end" plot line is going to become less prevalent going forward, although Libertad involved a good measure of complexity around that point.
I was a bit disappointed in one of the later plot points where a different and more-real-world-probable turn of events could have served as a better message for society, with the "lucky" outcome as written reinforcing regressive notions of family, and as an ex-Christian the Christian elements of the story made me feel a way. I'm an agnostic, not an atheist though, and can respect the idea that those willing to risk torture and death for their faith have every right to stand by it and take inspiration from it. Most (very valid) critiques of big western Church institutions just don't apply to underground churches in northern China who are helping people escape the horrors of deep fascism.
Overall a really good book.
#AmReading #ReadingNow

Read "How To Survive In A Science Fiction Universe" by Charles Yu, a novel about a time-machine repair-man getting stuck in a loop during his search for his father.
First person narrated, in a fictional universe in which you can travel in time but you can't change anything about the past.
It was fun and an easy read, lots of interludes about the physics of fictional universes and explanations of acausal items causing their own existence, including the book itself that you read in your hands.
Its nice if you'd like something with experimental narrative form twisting the usual story format.
#reading #books #charlesYu