norb finished reading Witch King by Martha Wells
Witch King by Martha Wells
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always been Kai-Enna!
After being murdered, …
just a guy who reads sometimes
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26% complete! norb has read 4 of 15 books.
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always been Kai-Enna!
After being murdered, …
What a strange book. Many questions posed, few answered. Conversations that you have to follow on your own. Punctuation optional. If you don't like how thick McCarthy's writing can get, you definitely do not want to read this one. I found that I could only handle a chapter (or less) at a time because I had to think so hard and pay attention to what was going on. I re-read many lines to try to understand them. Re-read entire passages to figure out who was actually speaking.
I've read a number of other McCarthy books, so I knew what I was getting into, vocabulary wise. I think as you get used to his style it gets easier to read, though.
A lot of philosophical ideas presented in the conversations between the main character and his cast of "friends." Western's role in the story felt more like a sponge for pain …
What a strange book. Many questions posed, few answered. Conversations that you have to follow on your own. Punctuation optional. If you don't like how thick McCarthy's writing can get, you definitely do not want to read this one. I found that I could only handle a chapter (or less) at a time because I had to think so hard and pay attention to what was going on. I re-read many lines to try to understand them. Re-read entire passages to figure out who was actually speaking.
I've read a number of other McCarthy books, so I knew what I was getting into, vocabulary wise. I think as you get used to his style it gets easier to read, though.
A lot of philosophical ideas presented in the conversations between the main character and his cast of "friends." Western's role in the story felt more like a sponge for pain than an actual part of the plot. He seems to move along without much driving him, outside of avoiding something or someone or somewhere. There isn't much there there, when it comes to him. The real interesting characters are those around him. If you want a hero, he is not that. If you want a vessel for yourself, then you're on to something.
There were times that I felt like McCarthy was speaking directly to the reader. Times where he seems to apologize that the story isn't what we expect. Maybe even times where he talks down to us. Does Cormac McCarthy secretly hold a doctorate in mathematics or physics? He clearly has an idea who shot Kennedy.
Would I say this was as good as The Road? No. Suttree? Maybe. Better than Child of God, IMHO. A book I could see myself coming back to in 10 years and finding new things to learn. I enjoyed the challenge, which I always do with McCarthy's books.
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always been Kai-Enna!
After being murdered, …
Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2022) 1980, PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips …
Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2022) 1980, PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips …
I've had this book recommended to me personally as well on several lists of "cybersecurity books everyone should read" so I finally got around to reading it.
The story, while slightly repetitive, unfolds in a first person, linear style. I found the book easy to read, and while the cybersecurity ideas presented seems commonplace today, I think they were probably groundbreaking when the book came out.
I found it fascinating that Cliff's use of a logbook, external monitoring systems, a pager, a very early form of a "canary token," and a few other technical ideas are still in use today. (OK, maybe not the pager exactly but lots of IT people get text alerts on their phones!)
His inability to get any help from the 3 Letter Federal Agencies was not surprising. It took 9/11 to fix some of those communication problems (but not all from what I understand).
Anyways, …
I've had this book recommended to me personally as well on several lists of "cybersecurity books everyone should read" so I finally got around to reading it.
The story, while slightly repetitive, unfolds in a first person, linear style. I found the book easy to read, and while the cybersecurity ideas presented seems commonplace today, I think they were probably groundbreaking when the book came out.
I found it fascinating that Cliff's use of a logbook, external monitoring systems, a pager, a very early form of a "canary token," and a few other technical ideas are still in use today. (OK, maybe not the pager exactly but lots of IT people get text alerts on their phones!)
His inability to get any help from the 3 Letter Federal Agencies was not surprising. It took 9/11 to fix some of those communication problems (but not all from what I understand).
Anyways, this is a fascinating look at how one person laid the path for the future of cybersecurity incident response. While the technical details probably aren't relevant in this day and age (1200 baud modems, anyone?) this book should be required reading for anyone that has a personal or professional interest in cybersecurity.
In the days when the presence of a computer did NOT presume the presence of a network (they used to …
Content warning Maybe a little bit of a spoiler ahead but probably not much. Nothing to ruin the plot, anyways.
I've never read any Nabokov before. Had never been really interested in Lolita, just due to the noise around it. Decided to read this book on a whim because it was available at my local library and I needed something for a trip.
I am glad I picked this one! I found this book confusing in a good way. What is the point? I think it's meant to be a bit of a lark on Russian emigres, and university culture in general (something I have first hand knowledge of). It was much funnier than I expected (a bit more on that later).
Pnin is a very interesting character. His description really reminded me of Gru from Despicable Me, down to the funny accent and way of speaking. (Maybe they cribbed him for the movie? I have no idea.)
The little vignettes give a view into this man's strange world. His past is interwoven with his present, kind of. The narrator/writer clearly has a fondness for the main character, and you kind of find out why by the end.
There isn't much conflict to the story. There aren't many big, dramatic moments. There are some very funny bits - to whit "The evolution of sense is, in a sense, the evolution of nonsense." I had to read it 3 or 4 times to get it, but when I did HA! Other little one liners and "throw away" jokes abound. There are bits of other languages (especially Russian), mostly phonetically written in English, and I think probably a few jokes in those snippets that I didn't get.
Overall, it was a pretty lighthearted read about a character that is both believable and unbelievable at the same time. By the end, you are kind of left to question if the stories are actually true or not since they are being recounted second- and possibly third-hand, but it probably doesn't really matter, which is maybe the point.
I will definitely check out more Nabokov. The Luzhin Defense seems interesting for sure!
In the days when the presence of a computer did NOT presume the presence of a network (they used to …
Content warning Maybe a little bit of a spoiler ahead but probably not much. Nothing to ruin the plot anyways,
Once again, Martha Wells spins out a fun Muderbot tale.
I've enjoyed the journey that Wells has taken us on in regards to Murderbot's progress to more "humanity."
In many ways, Murderbot is often the most humane of characters in these stories as it is always putting itself in danger before the "real" humans.
I enjoyed that as these books have progressed, SecUnit has had to become more human for survival, but also apparently for it's own self improvement. As it ran out of more and more drones in this story, it even commented on how being a human must be terrible.
I'm always impressed with Wells' ability to put the reader into the shoes of something that is inherently not human, but yet still shows us a better side of humanity.
A City on Mars (EBook, 2023, Penguin Press) 5 stars
I really enjoyed the breadth (and depth) of the analysis the Weinersmith's make in this book. The science-y bits were great, but the law related pieces were the most interesting in my opinion.
I think their point about how space exploration geeks just completely skip over law was really insightful. The fact that we already have international law that most likely applies to the moon, and the different reasons why powerful countries agree to international law or not, was interesting.
After reading this book, I came away significantly less enthusiastic about a settlement on Mars (or the Moon) however I still, like the authors, think it is a good use of time and money if done the right way.