User Profile

NathanU

NathanU@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 9 months, 1 week ago

So many interests, so little time and money. Always interested in talking to more like-minded people!

Dual national: from Scotland, currently living in the USA.

Relevant tags:

ADHD #arch #atheist #chicago #design #endeavouros #exmo #ExMormon #FLOSS #FOSS #GNU #incense #indieweb #KDE #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #libregraphics #leftist #linux #music #scotland #trombone #vegan #vegancooking #webdev #writing

Blog / Other Profiles: nathanupchurch.com/me Keyoxide: keyoxide.org/31E809FAEA1532AC91BBDCF1EC499D3513F69340

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NathanU's books

finished reading Wool Trilogy by Hugh Howey

Hugh Howey: Wool Trilogy (Paperback, 2014, Penguin Random House) 4 stars

Wool In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough …

Sometimes, a book or show will start off with a strong, novel concept. Often, the novelty will wear off, leaving a mediocre story. This isn't the case with the Wool Trilogy. The intrigue keeps going; a fun read.

Cory Doctorow: The Internet Con (Hardcover, 2023, Verso) 4 stars

When the tech platforms promised a future of "connection," they were lying. They said their …

A fascinating read that not only neatly articulates the problem with tech monopolies and the unjustified power they have over our lives, but also explains the legal underpinnings of how this came to be. Doctorow handily overcomes common objections to a liberated internet, and finishes with a list of further reading broken down by topic. Everyone who ever engages with technology needs to read this.

Christopher Kemp: Floating gold (2012, The University of Chicago Press) 4 stars

A natural and social history of ambergris, which arises from the impacted intestines of sperm …

Fun and Informative

4 stars

A delightful primer on ambergris delivered through a series of personal and historical anecdotes, I was always keen to read on throughout "Floating Gold" despite sections testing the limits of my attention as the author expounds on long, cold days at the beach spent sniffing rocks. While the author's propensity for tactlessness and badgering those interviewed does nothing to make him likeable, Kemp does manage to secure some interesting material for the reader, and retell it in a compelling manner.