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Books
By gzt (Tue Dec 20, 2022 at 11:53:05 AM EST) gzt, french, pratchett, tweet (all tags)
I've been re-learning French a bit since perhaps September.

I've started reading Terry Pratchett since perhaps last week.

I've been following the collapse of awful things, as one does (Twitter, crypto, etc).



So far I've read the first six Pratchett books and have started Pyramids. I think after Guards! Guards! I will decouple from reading them in chronological order. I started with 3 and 4 and then decided I might as well go back and hit them all, since it wasn't clear which one I would do next and #5 (Sourcery) picks up the main character introduced in #1 and #2. The first book was definitely a lot rougher than the others and the second really did not hit its stride until the end, which explains why people recommend starting elsewhere. The third, Equal Rites, seemed like a good introduction, as did the fourth, Mort. Fine, light reading.

These have been e-books, which is a new thing for me to be doing. I started reading e-books as a result of the French stuff -- easy dictionary access, the classics I wanted to read were free as e-books but annoying to get as physical books, and frankly physical books can be very disappointing. Using an old tablet. I'm enjoying this enough that I might get an actual e-book reader. I do get rather particular about the physical setup of text -- I can go quite a bit faster if the lines are short enough that I can see them in one glance because then I just have to move down. It's easier then to drive myself to keep going at a fast speed, too. It takes an expenditure of will to keep going! This probably means I can get rid of piles of crummy trade paperbacks of classics.

French: I've been reading Les Misérables. I'm through the first two books and have started on the third. So far, he's waxing poetic about les gamins and it's slower to go through than parts where something actually happens. I also have a physical book I'm working through, a dual-language reader of classic short stories. First one is from Voltaire (currently reading), goes up through some Camus. I considered following my Pratchett reading with French translations, but there's enough wordplay, uncommon words, coined words, etc to make it a little bit of a pain.

I've also been reading some works in Esperanto, mostly in translation, mostly things I've read before. Right now is The Wizard of Oz.

All of this has cut into my chess time.

As will not be a surprise to anybody following my stuff elsewhere over the last decade, I'm firmly opposed to cryptocurrency, "rationalism", and billionaires like Musk. And financiers in general strip-mining the masses. While I've appreciated some of the benisons of Web 2.0, the absurd wealth it generates for that utility (while destroying so much else in the world) has left a bad taste in my mouth. Web 3, of course, is a farce. These last six weeks have been interesting to watch on those fronts. Am I turning into an old, close-minded crank??? I ask because I draw these things all together, which is the sort of maneuver cranks do.

Of course, the weather prophets are conspiring to ruin christmas travel. thanks brandon.

< Books I've Read This Year 2022
throwing in a diary | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)
E-reader by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #1 Tue Dec 20, 2022 at 05:14:32 PM EST
Years ago I started on the Nook, but it was looking like B&N were walking away from it, so when my Aunt gave me a kindle I didn’t look back. Between Gutenberg and calibre I’ve had no trouble finding free content. I still prefer physical books but, well, storage space. My current To Be Read pile takes about a foot and a half of shelf space. Hope to reduce it a bit over Christmas break.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)

storage space by gzt (2.00 / 0) #2 Tue Dec 20, 2022 at 09:58:47 PM EST
Especially when it comes to books you might just read once!

[ Parent ]
I buy new books in hardcover by wiredog (4.00 / 1) #4 Wed Dec 21, 2022 at 06:54:13 AM EST
After I finish them, if I know they’re a read once book, I give them to the library.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)

[ Parent ]
Calibre for the win. by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #7 Wed Dec 21, 2022 at 03:20:04 PM EST
I'm just so frustrated that my very first eReader, a Sony, was so much better at organizing (and letting Calibre organize) ebooks than anything I've owned since. I went Kobo for a while till I dropped one a literal 3 feet and it died, then its replacement died in the exact. same. manner. That... said the problem wasn't me.
 

[ Parent ]
crypto by garlic (4.00 / 1) #3 Tue Dec 20, 2022 at 10:54:12 PM EST
i found myself telling a coworker that the Luddites had a good point! when we were talking about crypto and the modern world. I'm guessing it is probably crankdom as well, but i'm not too worried.


There are lots of ways to read discworld by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #5 Wed Dec 21, 2022 at 09:42:53 AM EST
many people recommend picking a group (Watch, Unseen University, the Witches, Industrialization, Feegles) and going that way.

The first two are best appreciated after you've read most of the other ones, just to see how he grew as a writer.


Apart from them being an evil near monopoly by TheophileEscargot (2.00 / 0) #6 Wed Dec 21, 2022 at 12:26:02 PM EST
I really like my e-ink Kindle Paperwhite. It cuts out the temptation to look at the Internet so I can just switch off the phone and focus on reading.
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It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?
Kindles by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #8 Wed Dec 21, 2022 at 08:53:10 PM EST
I've gotten way too used to me Kindle, and feel bad because of the whole "supports evil monopolies" thing.  I got in the habit on the train, where not having to haul a library around was nice.   Also, the seamless synching to the phone is amazing as it means I can read whatever I'm currently reading instead of wasting time on social media when I have random downtime away from home.

Originally "Web 2.0" was just JavaScript and server interaction.   I guess we've retroactively applied the term to social media.

Cryptocurrency is pure fraud, from top to bottom, as are NFTs and anything else "Web 3.0".
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[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman

throwing in a diary | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)