Currently an International Studies/Software Development student with a love of speculative fiction. I also read a decent amount of nonfiction focusing on politics and philosophy. I read in French, Spanish, and (mostly) English with the potential for a foray into Esperanto.
Catch any full reviews or other random posts at my blog below: specual.me
My mastodon account: Humbly7362@todon.eu
This link opens in a pop-up window
The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, …
Felt like it'll be a massive load of set up for subsequent books which unfortunately wasn't always the most interesting read.
Felt like it'll be a massive load of set up for subsequent books which unfortunately wasn't always the most interesting read.
Face aux signaux alarmants de la crise globale ? croissance en berne, tensions sur l’énergie …
Took me forever to read but well worth it.
C’était au début du printemps, par un jour de pluie. Ce jour-là, elle m’a recueilli. …
Full review here: specual.me/posts/elleetsonchat/
Deeply unsettling so far
C’était au début du printemps, par un jour de pluie. Ce jour-là, elle m’a recueilli. …
Wonderful, cozy read (a little bit sad too.)
Full review here: specual.me/posts/elleetsonchat/
La mondialisation a radicalement modifié l’industrie de l’habillement et le rapport au corps. Le contenu …
(Review in English -le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle, donc je peux m'exprimer d'une façonne plus efficace en anglais.)
This book provides what I think is a very comprehensive look into the key issues facing the fashion industry- labour, environment and consumerism. In each topic explored, Millet takes care to thoroughly examine the key issues, causes and where possible, potential solutions. There is no doubt that anyone could learn something new from this book.
As someone who had already previously done a lot of research on these topics, there were parts where I feel I didn't learn much. Nevertheless, I think the vast majority of people would have almost no idea about the true effect and scale of the fashion industry. In particular I was shocked to learn of the horrendous impact of the cotton industry internationally, as well as of the American predominance in it. I …
(Review in English -le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle, donc je peux m'exprimer d'une façonne plus efficace en anglais.)
This book provides what I think is a very comprehensive look into the key issues facing the fashion industry- labour, environment and consumerism. In each topic explored, Millet takes care to thoroughly examine the key issues, causes and where possible, potential solutions. There is no doubt that anyone could learn something new from this book.
As someone who had already previously done a lot of research on these topics, there were parts where I feel I didn't learn much. Nevertheless, I think the vast majority of people would have almost no idea about the true effect and scale of the fashion industry. In particular I was shocked to learn of the horrendous impact of the cotton industry internationally, as well as of the American predominance in it. I would be interested to see a further discussion on the effects of other materials (wool, linen, polyester) in this detail. However, the ever strong popularity of cotton meant the emphasis on cotton was entirely reasonable.
Highly recommend this book for anyone looking to know more (not sure if there is an English edition out yet.)
Improve your Spanish and expand your vocabulary with topics that matter.
When it comes …
Some sacrifices are made in the content to fit the format. Would definitely work for some people but the conversational format just wasn't what I was looking for.
Full review: specual.me/posts/westernphilosophyinspanish/
Some sacrifices are made in the content to fit the format. Would definitely work for some people but the conversational format just wasn't what I was looking for.
Full review: specual.me/posts/westernphilosophyinspanish/
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories …
Reading in Spanish this time!
Overly casual, brief and (at times) biased. Would recommend looking elsewhere as I will be.
Full review here: specual.me/posts/judaismvsi/
In 1905 the young Swiss writer Robert Walser arrived in Berlin to join his older …
Writing like this makes you love life. It made me want to write about any mundane thing with the same romanticism and positivity Walser approached his life with. What more can you want from a book than that?
Full review: specual.me/posts/berlinstories/
In the far future, Earth is a worn-out backwater and humanity is spread across the …
For me, the repetitive objectification of women was infuriating with little payoff. Perhaps it is true that his inability to evaluate women by any measure other than their attractiveness is symptomatic of the general lack of self-expression and open communication in the society, but this doesn't change at all after he experiences the souls of women through psychedelic use (even as his understanding of others in general grows.) The second half of the book was more interesting than the first as he starts to explore psychedelics, but there are probably better books out there if a fictional representation of 60s/70s drug culture is what you're looking for.
Full review: specual.me/posts/timeofchanges/
For me, the repetitive objectification of women was infuriating with little payoff. Perhaps it is true that his inability to evaluate women by any measure other than their attractiveness is symptomatic of the general lack of self-expression and open communication in the society, but this doesn't change at all after he experiences the souls of women through psychedelic use (even as his understanding of others in general grows.) The second half of the book was more interesting than the first as he starts to explore psychedelics, but there are probably better books out there if a fictional representation of 60s/70s drug culture is what you're looking for.
Full review: specual.me/posts/timeofchanges/
As the twentieth century draws to a close, the United States has emerged as the …
Is The Grand Chessboard still worth reading? Mostly, I think so. The Grand Chessboard provides fascinating and prescient geopolitical analysis from a very historically influential figure. It is, however, outdated given its 1997 publication.
Full review here: specual.me/posts/thegrandchessboard/
Norman Spinrad's 1972 alternate history, gives us both a metafictional what-if novel and a cutting …
What if Hitler had written science fiction?
This is the question that Norman Spinrad asks in The Iron Dream, and one I can't say I'd ever thought of exploring the answer to before. This story within a story contains an entertaining, homoerotic exploration of a post-Nuclear future where the quest for human genomic purity is centred by a Hitler self-insert. The satire of Nazism simply doesn't miss, even as we have passed the Cold War context in which it was written. Highly recommend giving it a shot if weird/bizarro fiction ever floats your boat.
Full review here: specual.me/posts/theirondream/
What if Hitler had written science fiction?
This is the question that Norman Spinrad asks in The Iron Dream, and one I can't say I'd ever thought of exploring the answer to before. This story within a story contains an entertaining, homoerotic exploration of a post-Nuclear future where the quest for human genomic purity is centred by a Hitler self-insert. The satire of Nazism simply doesn't miss, even as we have passed the Cold War context in which it was written. Highly recommend giving it a shot if weird/bizarro fiction ever floats your boat.
Full review here: specual.me/posts/theirondream/
"Shoshana Zuboff, named "the true prophet of the information age" by the Financial Times, has always been ahead of her …
Eliot Rosewater—drunk, volunteer fireman, and President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation—is about to attempt a noble experiment with human …