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First Principles

Thomas E. Ricks

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Ricks knocks it out of the park with this jewel of a book. On every page I learned something new....

Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Canadian Alternative: Cartoonists, Comics, and Graphic Novels in Books

Aug 21, 2018

https://diaryofdifference.com/2018/04/04/the-canadian-alternative-cartoonists-comics-and-graphic-novels-dominick-grace-editor-eric-hoffman-editor-review/

A huge thanks to the author for sending me this book for an honest review through Netgalley.

I started read this book with no knowledge about the background of comics, especially for Canada. I have always loved comics, but never really read anything that speaks behind the scenes of how it started, what is the philosophy behind it.

I expected this book to teach me a lot of new things, and help me see the world in a different point of view, and I wasn’t disappointing at all. This is not a book that will deprive you from your sleep at night – in fact, it is one of those books where you read to learn, and it might seem boring at times, but that is only because it is full with information at all times. Wonderful read.

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Marylegs (44 KP) rated Call Me By Your Name in Books

Aug 14, 2019

Call Me By Your Name

André Aciman | 2007 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+

6.6

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

So I heard lots of good things about this book. It was being (has been) made into a film. So I thought I'll give this a go. And after the effort it was to read this book, all I can say is, meh.

The were elements I really enjoyed, where I started to go "Ooo its starting to get good" and then I would be dragged back into really abstract ways to describe the scene. I honestly don't mind a bit of well done descriptions of visuals of feeling etc. But this just felt pointless. I think its a very, arty, type of writing and honestly its just not my cup of tea.

The story as a whole, is interesting and would normally be my cup of tea. Over a beautiful hot summer in Italy a young professor finishing off his philosophy book and the son of the people housing him in Italy begin a romantic affair in secret. The concept of the story brilliant and refreshingly new. The execution... honestly, not my style and the writing style really stopped me following the story easily. I just like a bit more instant gratification from my books.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Long War in Books

Nov 20, 2019

The Long War

Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Taking up the story a generation after the events in The Long Earth, this book investigates the impact of human expansion on the races that already inhabit the stepwise worlds, in particular the Trolls and Beagles.

As with human colonisation throughout history, mankind has embraced the Long Earth and made the assumption that it is 'theirs' to do with as they want. And as history shows, this usually doesn't end well for the existing natives.

This then is an exploration of this in the context of the Long Earth, the potential for conflict arising from both mankind and the other sentient races and raising questions about how to co-exist. The title is a little misleading as there is no war as such, but it does set the tone.

As with the first book, the main interest in this is with the investigation of the different Earths that can be conceived, and how sentient races could be very different from us not only physically but also in their social norms, philosophy and ambitions.

This didn't measure up to the first book but it's not a bad sequel by any means

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek Adventures in Tabletop Games

Apr 26, 2020

The latest in a very long line of Star Trek role-playing games is also one of the best. You too can don the velour jumpsuit of a Starfleet officer, explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilisations, etc. Not a good choice if you are looking for a generic science fiction roleplaying experience, as the game is specifically designed to replicate the feel and philosophy of classic Star Trek - phasering the opposition into submission is unlikely to work, using your brains and working together should produce better results.

The basic system is sound and relatively straightforward, with players and GMs having a number of ways to influence the action. However, some of the more complex mechanics and systems do take a little bit of effort to get your head around (it's generally worth it though), and I wouldn't want to embark upon even a simple ship-to-ship combat engagement without everyone involved having some kind of cheat sheet to hand. I'm not sure how many people will be looking for a 'classic' Star Trek role-playing experience, but for those who are, this is a very good bet.