#books

Winner of the World Fantasy Award in 1975, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is a truly lyrical, magical book. Back in those days most fantasy wasn't much more than retellings of "The Lord of the Rings" with a few gender or race-swaps; they were, pretty much without exception, awful.

Patricia McKillip considers this her LOTR copy, but I don't see that at all. This is the story of Sybel, a sorceress and the last of a line of wizards. Her sorcery consists primarily in summoning unique magical beasts to her service. They include:

"BOAR CYRIN Keeper of Wisdom, who knew the answers to all riddles... save one.

THE BLACK SWAN OF TIRLITH Who had carried a king’s daughter from the stone tower of exile.

GYLD Green-winged Dragon who dreamt for eons over the cold fire of gold.

FALCON TER Immortal Lord of Air, who had torn to bloody pieces the seven murderers of the wizard Aer."

All serve Sybel, who spends her time seeking lost knowledge of rare magical beasts...until she seeks in the wrong wizard's library, and finds herself the hunted rather than the hunter.

There's love, betrayal, revenge, death, and redemption here. It's a relatively short book, but very full and extremely well-written with a thoughtful depth of feeling to it. It's also, unusually (for those times and these) a singleton; no sequels were ever published. Nor written, as far as I know.

You can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive, but personally I'd say this one is well worth owning.

archive.org/details/forgottenbeastso0000mcki_x1p4

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #fantasy #BookRecommendation

This is one of my "secret lore" books; my oldest friend introduced me to it when I was in my early teens. He also introduced me to "The Young Ones", "Young Lust Magazine" (it's a parody), and a LOT of comic books. He ended up working at Marvel and DC later on, although not at the same time.

"Those of you who remember how great it was to be a little kid, gang, don't •remember• how it was to be a little kid..."

Drawn and written by the brilliant Gahan Wilson, this book is one of the most accurate representations of what childhood was really like that I've ever seen. Which is probably why it's also the funniest.

The Kid (as he's referred to) is an ordinary kid with the usual experiences. His parents don't understand. His friends (some of them, at least) are idiots. And he WANTS things so desperately much. Toys, and candy, and comic books...

Individual strips of "Nuts" appeared in National Lampoon during their golden era. The book was rare; I treasured my copy. Luckily you can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive. And there are PDFs of it out on the high, seas, too. I'm sure the Kid would understand.

archive.org/details/nuts0000wils_q2w6

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #humor #ComicStrip #BookRecommendation #BookRecs

Are there any books that made you a different person? Particularly when you were a kid or young teen? There were for me, and this was one of them. The funny thing is that it was •written• by a teen, too: Harry Medved was 17 years old when he wrote "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time".

Specifically it had a HUGE impact on my sense of humor. It covers fifty films which, if not STILL the worst of all time, are certainly still among the worst of the worst. You probably haven't heard of most of them, although some are so awful that they've earned a sort of perverse immortality and even fans. Of course the book was written long before MST3K, but it has much of the same spirit: a twisted enjoyment of the biggest flops, the stupidest scripts, the dumbest concepts, and the most painful acting.

At least a few of these films were also given the MST3K treatment years later, such as "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" and (I think) "Robot Monster". You can probably find them on YouTube or the Internet Archive.

Each film gets a thorough (and thoroughly funny) writeup, including stills, plot summaries, "Unforgettable Performances", "Immortal Dialogue", the story behind the film, and more.

One example from "The Ambushers" (1967) starring Dean Martin:

MATT HELM: Oh, when you say you're a “38” you ain't just kidding! LINDA: It’s not a gun, Mr. Helm. It’s the new weapon they gave me, developed right here in our labs. MATT: Developed pretty well, too! LINDA: May I point out... MATT: You already do! LINDA: ... that that’s why you're here. To become familiar with our latest equipment. MATT: You're right. An agent should always keep •abreast• of the times!

Feel free to cringe.

This is the book that CREATED bad film fandom. It inspired MST3K, as well as two excellent sequels and a lot of other professional film mockers. Its cultural impact has been enormous.

I've only ever seen the book as a large paperback; I have a copy, of course. But it was never released as an ebook. Luckily it's available to borrow for free online at the Internet Archive, every bad film buff's best friend!

archive.org/details/fiftyworstfilmso0000medv

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #Movies #Films #BookRecommendation #BookRecs

This is one of the most precious books I know. It's one of the rare books which brings tears to my eyes every time I finish it. In other words, it's one of the three books which are closest to my heart.

Kipling has a bad reputation as a colonialist author, these days. In fact he's been despised in some circles for many decades now. But "Kim" is the novel which shows that even a colonialist can be a human being with a very human love for the culture of the colonized.

"Kim" is the story of a boy in 1890s India: Kimball O'Hara, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier and an English nanny. Growing up as a native in the city of Lahore, no one except he knows that he's not a native—and he doesn't care about it himself. He lives for fun and excitement, known to the people of the city as "The Little Friend of All the World".

"He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher⁠—the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lahore Museum. Who hold Zam-Zammah, that 'fire-breathing dragon,' hold the Punjab, for the great green-bronze piece is always first of the conqueror’s loot."

Incidentally, Kipling himself grew up in Lahore. His father was the curator of the Wonder-House of Lahore, a museum. And Kipling included his father and the museum itself at the start of the novel.

Kim meets an ancient Tibetan lama who has left his monastery in the Himalayas to find a sacred river. The two become friends and travel together across India; the sheer richness of the many cultures that Kim experiences as he travels across India and up into the lower Himalayas with the lama is mind-blowing. Kipling paints the India of the time with such passionate depth of feeling that it serves as a character in itself. The variety of peoples and customs is simply amazing. Ever since I read this book I've wished I could travel to India in that time.

But "Kim" isn't just a travelogue. There's adventure, intrigue, espionage, humor, and one of the most perfect coming-of-age stories ever written. Kim is drawn into the "Great Game" of spying between the European powers, and is educated as an agent by masters of the craft.

What can I say? It's a deeply moving and beautiful book. And you can download it for free in all the major ebook formats from Standard Ebooks.

standardebooks.org/ebooks/rudyard-kipling/kim

I've often thought that "Kim" is proof that a book doesn't have to be science fiction or fantasy to be breathtakingly exotic and magical, while retaining a core of incredibly touching humanity.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #HistoricalFiction #Classics #Adventure #ComingOfAge

I watched a vid on Zen Buddhism, and got further interested in it. So I tried to find as good a book as I could. This was a good look into Zen Buddhism. At least from my perspective. It was odd hearing a very British voice reading it. It almost felt culturally voyeuristic.

The book goes over the history and believes and methods of Zen Buddhism.

I was surprised to learn how violent some of the prominent Zen figures of the history were. 30 lashes with a stick, someone thrown off a building, even a brutal death of a cat to make a point. Also be ready for some rather blunt language from some anecdotes.

Also be ready for inconsistent themes. Zen is not so much about a peaceful mind. As it is freedom from a consistent mind. Defying definitions, and logic. Even defying Buddhism.

It was a fine read. Still churning on some of the ideas.

CW: physical harm, rough language, death of an animal

#Books #Bookstodon #Buddhism #Zen

This was well written and well read by the author. It defines its characters well. And makes them rise out of the page. It knows what it wants to do, it gets to the business of doing it, but doesnt get to heavy on the way of getting there.

A really affecting story of race, queerness, history, and freeing one's self.

CW: US-South slavery, queer outing, alcoholism

#Books #Bookstodon

Getting awkward at times.

The book starts as if you started reading 1/4 in. There are some concepts explained well enough. But to this point, I am unsure if there is another species besides human and gryphon. Or if something is just an ethnicity of human? I'm confused. The prose is pretty thick.

Also some awkward sexual situations. And a gryphon breeding program. Which, like, the gryphons are sentient and vocal. So... I'm hoping that is revealed as a bad thing.

Still good gryphon stuff otherwise, and decent worlds building. I guess I'm at a net neutral right now. #Books #Bookstodon #Fantasy

This book has frank discussions of sex and masculinity. It fully acknowledges that teenagers have sex, but does not glorify nor damn it.

This was a really interesting book. As a guy, who was/is struggling with this subject. And as a guy who avoided all of this in his teens and 20s. Mostly because I was scared about how any of it could go bad. But reading this, I find out even the guys doing them regularly are not sure what they're doing. And are worried about it still. Some interesting insights with good journalistic work. #Books #Bookstodon #Gender #Masculinity

This is very much meant for a kid audience, but it's not flimsy. If you can put yourself back to your 12yo self, and can adjust for technological inflation, I think this can be enjoyed. But these kids act like 12yo's. They get frustrated by things adults might not bat an eye at. It's still early chapters on it. But it's going ok. No #GoGame yet tho. #Bookstodon #Books #Baduk @Bookstodon@a.gup.pe

A pretty well told biography. This tells the life story from birth, childhood, before stardom, and the breadth of the career, and to the death, of Roc Hudson. I feel like it tries to be fair to the sources used. It doesnt seem to play favorites much.

It also talks about the many sig-Os Roc had. Both serious and hot and heavy. Rock liked to party, but he was also looking constatly for something steady.

It's a pretty good book. I feel like I know him well. And have some movies I should watch now. #Bookstodon #Books #RocHudson #LGBTQ #Queer #Gay #MLM

Listening on Everand. And It's Another Full Cast Performance!

Very ready for more #Redwall stories. Always fun yet serious. And this time, it's a generation after the first. So some of my fav chars are back (Yay, Constance the badger). Tho I am going to have to catch up on things. It's been a while since this era of Mossflower. #Fantasy #books @bookstodon@a.gup.pe

9.5 star Yet another great book by Natalie H. This one is a series of essays about goddesses Natalie has not gone in-depth about before. Except for her fav, Athene, who she goes further in-depth on.

But all is well told. As usual, she simultaneously rehabilitates them. AND shines a light on their damning qualities. She doesnt treat the transmogrifications and other odd punishments as "quirky things gods do sometimes". But as the cruel and unusual acts they are, that sometimes are beyond the wrong done.

However, the essays also acknowledge the cruel wrongs done to them. The effects that would have on a person. She also does an excellent job of bringing these stories not only in to context of where they came from, but somehow also into our modern context too. And again, she also excels at reading her own work for the audiobook.

CW: talk of rape, kidnapping, depression, violence, abusive relationships #Bookstodon #Books #GreekMythology #Mythology #NonFiction #NatalieHaynes

I was on a train to Edinburgh for a short break and rapidly running out of pages of Zoe Schiffer's book Extremely Hardcore. Not wanting to carry two large hardbacks with me, I'd left my copy of Character Limit by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac back home; now I was going to need something else to feed my appetite for Twitter meltdown reading material over the next few days. There was a book I'd remembered reading a particular review of citing its lack of any sort of insight but at least it was about the Twitter buyout. And it was long enough ago that I figured there was a good chance by now I'd be able to pick up a cheap paperback of it to fill the void. That book was Ben Mezrich's Breaking Twitter and, now having finished it, I wanted to write a cautionary warning to anyone else tempted to buy it.

Before tackling the main issue of the author being generally sympathetic to Musk, there is another major stumbling block with this book. Despite the numerous Amazon reviews praising it as well-written, it didn't take long for the alarm bells to start ringing about the style of writing. Already in the second paragraph of the prologue, Esther Crawford is introduced with the sentence, "Esther had her laptop open in the front of her, the screen casting a cone of light across her porcelain skin." This is maybe an improvement on her later being described as, "a beautiful implement, like a high-quality torque wrench or an elegantly tuned slide rule," but immediately I could tell I might struggle reading this after all. And sure enough the book is full of this overwrought, tortured prose - often each chapter starts with some laboured, unnecessary description of a character or scene (and is usually completely imagined by the author rather than being based on the actual truth) but at least sometimes, over the course of the chapter, he thankfully runs out of steam with this writing style. He also at times tries to suggest a half metaphor without actually giving it any meaning - there's a chapter where he goes on and on about squares within squares within squares but without any sort of significance or meaning. Or another chapter where he's seemingly so amazed by Musk's mother being a model that it jams his caps lock key and causes him to list out celebrity names in all caps for a couple of pages for no reason.

Maybe Mezrich's opinion of Musk at least slightly falters over the course of book (at one point he counters the suggestion that Musk is afraid of the FCC by saying that he definitely seems scared of something by the way he surrounds himself with bodyguards and his general paranoia about (and treatment of) Twitter employees) but his general admiration and repeated references to his "genius" are a bit difficult to stomach. When Musk went off on a monologue about buying Twitter to improve society and further civilisation and even talking about aliens at his first all-hands meeting, Zoe Schiffer reported engineers responding with, "what the hell is going on? I thought this guy was meant to be a genius?" Mezrich's take on the same meeting seems to be that Musk genuinely bought Twitter with intent to further civilisation and the belief that he could. Early in the book he states that Musk "knows how to tweet" yet one of his biggest meltdowns comes when he fails to grasp why his banal Super Bowl tweet ("GO EAGLES") garners less attention than the US president's which includes not only a photo but also a playful message about being deferential to his wife. We're also unfortunately subjected to a load of Musk's tweets from a World Cup match which fail to offer much more interest than the incredible insight of "GO EAGLES".

Perhaps the most egregious example of fawning comes when describing a video call where he says Musk, if he wanted to, could the see the code of the video-streaming software for the webcam flowing down the screen as if he were a character in The Matrix (no, seriously). And in the chapter about the stalker following Grimes, he forgets to mention that there was no evidence of @ElonJet@mastodon.social being used by this person and Mezrich seems to think that all the action taken (banning Jack Sweeney, journalists critical of Musk/Tesla, links to Mastodon etc) was done out of genuine fear for his son's safety rather than it rather obviously being an excuse to silence people and accounts he didn't like. Hilariously, at the end of the book, there is a tweet from 20 Dec 2022 saying Musk will "just run the software & servers teams" after the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as CEO. This paperback was published in June 2024 but it was probably already apparent even when the hardback was published in November 2023 that the new CEO was just for show and that Musk was still fully focused on using Twitter as his own plaything rather than running the "software & servers teams."

The only saving grace of this book is that it's hilariously bad enough to at least be entertaining ironically. If you are looking to spend money on a book about the Twitter takeover that is actually well-written and insightful then I'd highly recommend reading Extremely Hardcore instead.

#BenMezrich #BreakingTwitter #books #bookReviews