I found this as an audiobook on an old HDD, quite mysteriously. The premise is fun, but most of the short stories are presented in form of fluffy newspaper articles, which I found a bit tiresome after a while. The last two or so stories aren't, and I enjoyed them more.
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he/him, cis. ~37 years. journalism, podcasts, writing. and also reading, of course.
I like sci-fi, plants, public transport, ttrpgs, lasagna, birds. Thinking a lot about the apocalypse, the climate, monsters and queerness.
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joël's books
2025 Reading Goal
75% complete! joël has read 18 of 24 books.
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fun concept, but gets tiresome
3 stars
joël reviewed It Came from the Closet by Carmen Maria Machado
Through the lens of horror—from "Halloween" to "Hereditary"—queer and trans writers consider the films that …
a very interesting collection of personal essays
4 stars
I think I expected a less personal approach to the subject, but I found this very good and enlightening as well.
joël reviewed Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to …
interesting concept
4 stars
A friend recommended me this after I wrote a blog post about real-world towers that would be good magical towers in 1000 to 10 000 years. This is, in a way, a story about such a tower. It has also a protagonist that has some curious parallels with Murderbot, which I enjoyed. It is also quite short and doesn't overstay its welcome.
joël reviewed Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt
When a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As …
Disgusting and brilliant.
4 stars
Disgusting and brilliant. I liked this very much, I would have loved a little bit more of the "main plot", but I liked the rest a lot.
joël finished reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
I liked this a lot. It's been five years since the "official" start of the COVID 19 pandemic in western Europe, so this felt like a very timely lecture. Bonus: the cover has a very beautiful gold effect.
joël reviewed Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
thrilling, but ultimately very dystopian
4 stars
I liked this, but damn it is bleak.
joël started reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
So that's going to be it, isn't it? An audiobook, an ebook on the tablet, and a paperback to read on Saturday mornings while drinking coffee? Here, also, very small chapters, at least in the first … part(?). Reads very well. Kinda want to make another coffee, get back in bed read it all in one go.
joël finished reading The Death of Princes (Star Trek: The Next Generation, #44) by John Peel
The fact that this is a Star Trek novel from the 90s, and the paperback looks and feels that way – cheap and glamorous at the same time – seems more important than the stories. Typical Star Trek TNG stuff, not very surprising, but nice to read a few pages before going to sleep anyway.
joël started reading Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
My first Vandermeer. Not sure if I like the short chapters. But it seems intriguing.
joël started reading The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, …
(Listening to the audiobook)
joël reviewed firebugs by Paula Bulling
Sehr cute und intim
4 stars
Sehr cute und intim. Mir ist die Verbindung zur Klimakrise ein bisschen zu sehr im Hintergrund gewesen, aber irgendwie ist das ja auch für viele von uns mehr so ein Hintergrundrauschen.
joël finished reading firebugs by Paula Bulling
Sehr cute und intim. Mir ist die Verbindung zur Klimakrise ein bisschen zu sehr im Hintergrund gewesen, aber irgendwie ist das ja auch für viele von uns mehr so ein Hintergrundrauschen.
joël finished reading Network Effect by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries, #5)
Network Effect by Martha Wells, Kevin R. Free (Murderbot Diaries, #5)
You know that feeling when you’re at work and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in …
joël finished reading Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries, #6)
No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body …
O Murderbot <3