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I caved after the recent discussion and finally read Blindsight. I'm now obsessed with Blindsight.
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Apr 3, 2023 22:53
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zerofiend posted:I caved after the recent discussion and finally read Blindsight. I'm now obsessed with Blindsight. Yesssss
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Apr 3, 2023 22:59
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pradmer posted:Senlin Ascends (Books of Babel #1) by Josiah Bancroft - $2.99 Just wanted to say I appreciate the work you do in finding and posting these specials. I've picked up a few books that needed reading thanks to you. And of course thanks to anyone else who does it as well and I don't mean to leave anyone off, just that pradmer is the name I've seen on the recent dumps that I remember.
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Apr 3, 2023 23:43
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I also appreciate these and Pradmer for putting the effort into posting them, and would like to once again mention for anyone who doesn't know, these deals are often also on Google Play, which is useful if you, like me, happen to use the Google Rewards app and have a semi regular flow of $.25 in Google money for answering surveys.
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Apr 4, 2023 00:15
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zerofiend posted:I caved after the recent discussion and finally read Blindsight. I'm now obsessed with Blindsight. Imagine that you encounter a forum thread. It is structured, and dense with information. It meets all the criteria of an intelligent conversation. Your internet browser offers a variety of paths to follow, links and buttons in the GUI that handles these forums. Sometimes these posts come from people who have humor or insight to share, whose posts you'll enjoy according to your own preference for "irony" and "smart people pretending to be stupid". Sometimes these posts just make you rate 1 and close the tab. Some threads even appear to be tedious and hundreds of pages long, only to contain goldmines of good posts on page 481. You can derive appropriate responses to any of those threads, and even respond with 'gas thread ban op' and  emotes if you want to weigh in.You begin reading the thread, and stumble: not this novel though, with monsters in it this is the no comprehension zone he’s in a vampire-like half sentient state well damnit now I have to reread Blindsight. Thanks you fuckers it's simply a Chinese Room scramblerize yourself Great, now I need to read Blindsight again the ladies love it Ok you nerds have convinced me. I’ll read Blindsight There is no humor or meaning in these posts. They are needlessly recursive. They contain no useful advice, yet they are structured as advice; there is no chance they are meant ironically. The only explanation is that a book has created posts in a way that convinces people to read it; only after wasting time and effort on the book does the deception become apparent. The book functions to consume the time of a recipient for cynical payoff and reduced will to live. The book is a virus. The posts about it are an attack. And they're coming from right about...there.
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Apr 4, 2023 02:39
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Meanwhile Echopraxia is Look at this alien. It is so much smarter than you. Look at how smart it is, and how stupid you are by comparison. So stupid. So very, very smart.
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Apr 4, 2023 05:24
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I've got a hardcover of Blindsight + Echopraxia and you could deffo use that thing as a weapon
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Apr 4, 2023 05:28
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pseudorandom name posted:Meanwhile Echopraxia is Look at this alien. It is so much smarter than you. Look at how smart it is, and how stupid you are by comparison. So stupid. So very, very smart.
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Apr 4, 2023 08:10
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quantumfoam posted:Looking to update the OP of this thread. Bookpilled is good https://www.youtube.com/@Bookpilled
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Apr 4, 2023 13:01
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I don't like any booktubers, unfortunately. What I'd like to watch is a tightly-scripted, funny review show that's not afraid of spoilers in the style of Zero Punctuation, SsethTzeentach, MandaloreGaming, Casually Explained, etc, that is actually interesting to watch even if you're not interested in the book. Instead, all of booktube is like "*holds up book* hey there so I read this book, I'm not going to offer a lot of specific details because spoilers, but I really like this, this is a good book *fifteen more minutes of someone offering impromptu generalities and trying to avoid saying anything actually engaging*" On the other hand, here's my list of sources I check for "what new genre books have come out each month?": https://transfer-orbit.ghost.io/ https://www.tor.com/tag/fiction-affliction/ io9 used to have its own tag for these lists - 'bookshelf injection' - but unfortunately doesn't anymore while still publishing the lists, so I just search for "io9 books [month] [year]" http://www.robjhayes.co.uk/category/upcoming-releases/ https://www.pastemagazine.com/search?q=fantasy https://amazingstories.com/author/ernlilley/ If you're one of those people who are like "oh I've read literally everything, how do I find more books?!?" - this should have you covered. Megazver fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 13:33
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Book tubers are generally annoying but I've watched a few Merphy Napier videos because 
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Apr 4, 2023 14:23
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Megazver posted:I don't like any booktubers, unfortunately. Lolling at the thought of SsethTzeentach doing a review of Blindsight.
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Apr 4, 2023 14:26
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Megazver posted:On the other hand, here's my list of sources I check for "what new genre books have come out each month?": Thanks for this, been looking for some good sources for keeping tabs on new sci-fi releases. SF Signal was my go to for the longest time but they shut down years ago and I stopped frequenting io9 after it became some weird zombie sub-blog of Gizmodo.
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Apr 4, 2023 15:30
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The poorly named Quinn's Ideas (It started as an AsoIAF channel named Ideas of Ice and Fire but that well is truly dry now) is pretty good, the guy reads the good scifi, probably has the best Dune-related content on Youtube. He definitely focuses on concepts more than plot. Here's a vid on a little gem of a book that y'all might not have heard of... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPLk1Zt1-U zoux fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 15:49
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Solaris kicks rear end.
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Apr 4, 2023 17:44
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Megazver posted:On the other hand, here's my list of sources I check for "what new genre books have come out each month?": Locus's 'Forthcoming books' is now partially behind a paywall, but it's still great for big-name releases: https://locusmag.com/forthcomingbooks/
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Apr 4, 2023 17:44
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About 20% through Janny Wurt's Curse of the Mistwraith I've never read it before, but it's still making me nostalgic because it's exactly the kind of book I would have nabbed from the school library and read all the way through in a week. It's not blowing me away, but it's solid and easy to read. I'll probably read this and the next 2 before deciding to continue all the way to the end
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Apr 4, 2023 18:19
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I used to read dozens of books a year, but for whatever reason I pretty much stopped reading anything other than internet garbage entirely and hadn't finished a book for a few years until I picked up A Memory Called Empire on Sunday and just finished it now. It owned, and I can't wait to read the sequel very soon. I'm pretty relieved to discover my attention span didn't completely go to poo poo during my extended break from reading too.
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Apr 4, 2023 20:37
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fritz posted:Locus's 'Forthcoming books' is now partially behind a paywall, but it's still great for big-name releases: I prefer lists where there's a blurb for what the book is about and not just the title, so I don't need to search over and over only to go "oh it's romance YA again".
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Apr 4, 2023 21:05
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I'll probably keep posting deals until people get tired of it. I'm sure there's plenty of good books on sale I miss just because I don't read as much as I used to. Thanks to the thread for discussing new and interesting books. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0865TSTWM/ The Player of Games (Culture #2) by Iain M Banks - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WM3HC2/ Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BFJCB9/ The Magician King (Magicians #2) by Lev Grossman - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XFZ8X2/ Dr Futurity by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LQ1EUK/
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Apr 4, 2023 22:48
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pradmer posted:I'll probably keep posting deals until people get tired of it. I'm sure there's plenty of good books on sale I miss just because I don't read as much as I used to. Thanks to the thread for discussing new and interesting books. Everyone's homework assignment is to read Piranesi.
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Apr 5, 2023 01:59
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RDM posted:Everyone's homework assignment is to read Piranesi. I started it right after finishing A Memory Called Empire.
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Apr 5, 2023 02:09
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Piranesi is great! Currently reading Philip Pullmans la Belle sausage, which is a prequel to northern lights: ironically this is after reading the secret Commonwealth (book 2 in that series) which I found in a bus shelter. It's quite good, and the whole daemon idea continues to kick rear end.
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Apr 5, 2023 02:40
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RDM posted:Everyone's homework assignment is to read Piranesi. I refuse (because I listened to the audiobook instead, which was great, I really recommend it)
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Apr 5, 2023 04:01
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sebmojo posted:Currently reading Philip Pullmans la Belle sausage, which is a prequel to northern lights Huh, I figured it would be a French-language remake of Good Burger.
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Apr 5, 2023 04:02
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I forgot I had read the first half of lable sausage until you guys started talking about it. It's pretty good. I wasn't keen on reading more after the last trilogy, but the prose is better than most popular fantasy.
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Apr 5, 2023 04:07
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You people forced me to remember that dumb Godard Sausage movie.
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Apr 5, 2023 04:14
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Labile sosig
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Apr 5, 2023 06:58
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Lawman 0 posted:Solaris kicks rear end. FACT pradmer posted:I'll probably keep posting deals until people get tired of it. Not gonna happen, you've steered me towards a lot of excellent but cheap books. Okay. I read the preview of Martha Wells Witch King yesterday. It's good and also free to check out. I've got the full book on pre-order. This should easily be on at least Murderbot's level, just fantasy and with an incredibly powerful demon in human form as the protagonist. quote:"I'm starting to think that a mortal Prince-heir who wanted to consort with a demon in human form may not be a completely trustworthy person.
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Apr 5, 2023 07:51
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zoux posted:The poorly named Quinn's Ideas (It started as an AsoIAF channel named Ideas of Ice and Fire but that well is truly dry now) is pretty good, the guy reads the good scifi, probably has the best Dune-related content on Youtube. He definitely focuses on concepts more than plot. I like that guy's channel. I think the heat death of the universe will occur before I read any more Dune novels and he does a good job of summing up all the cool worldbuildy poo poo without me having to endure the tedium of reading those snoozefests. I also enjoyed his videos on The Three Body Problem and Revelation Space.
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Apr 5, 2023 08:33
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I consumed Three Body Problem by reading a very detailed summary and then watching the fanmade show made in minecraft. Was way better than it sounds. Bet it was better than the book.
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Apr 5, 2023 12:12
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Brendan Rodgers posted:I consumed Three Body Problem by reading a very detailed summary and then watching the fanmade show made in minecraft. Was way better than it sounds. Bet it was better than the book.
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Apr 5, 2023 12:35
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Brendan Rodgers posted:I consumed Three Body Problem by reading a very detailed summary and then watching the fanmade show made in minecraft. Was way better than it sounds. Bet it was better than the book. 
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Apr 5, 2023 12:44
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DACK FAYDEN posted:omg how did they do the loving space murder scene The Dark Forest part was much higher budget than the first and wasn't a literal minecraft server. Basically just a weird cube movie. 
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Apr 5, 2023 13:27
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I'm watching Scott Manley's playthrough of the hacking game Exapunks. Story goes from basic things like hacking the local pizza shop for a free delivery to increasingly difficult heists and culturejamming. Any fun books with cool hacking not by Gibson or Stephenson? Realism doesn't matter a whit to me.
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Apr 5, 2023 14:13
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there’s a book whose title im blanking on right now, it’s about a female journalist in Russia, cyberpunk-esque, she has some kind of implant that gives her net access and there’s a fair amount of hacking. Really well done. I keep thinking it’s when gravity falls but I know that’s different (also good, also cyberpunk but more implants and no hacking). I’m sure someone will know it…it’s a good one Edit: the fortunate fall by Raphael carter!! China Mountain Zhang is also a good hacker book iirc
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Apr 5, 2023 14:32
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FPyat posted:I'm watching Scott Manley's playthrough of the hacking game Exapunks. Story goes from basic things like hacking the local pizza shop for a free delivery to increasingly difficult heists and culturejamming. Any fun books with cool hacking not by Gibson or Stephenson? Realism doesn't matter a whit to me. Trouble and her Friends by Melissa Scott. It's not a major focus of This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman but where it does appear it's pretty cool.
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Apr 5, 2023 14:38
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RDM posted:Everyone's homework assignment is to read Piranesi. I like it. It's as good of an an analogy for being in the grips of depression as I have ever read.
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Apr 5, 2023 14:44
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Brendan Rodgers posted:I consumed Three Body Problem by reading a very detailed summary and then watching the fanmade show made in minecraft. Was way better than it sounds. Bet it was better than the book. I want a link to that fanmade minecraft three body problem video.
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Apr 5, 2023 15:14
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platero posted:I want a link to that fanmade minecraft three body problem video. It's not hard to find on youtube. Season 1 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCzzDQIop9Ax4AUETSFQNQEb3LObUOCg7 Season 2 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ1-YFDG-WNqa3YQBK1m3PGzqok6m2LZV Season 3 https://www.youtube.com/@hiroyamashoto235
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Apr 5, 2023 15:31
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