Wants to read Working on a Song: The Lyrics of HADESTOWN
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Wants to read Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All
Rated The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line 8/10
This likely would have been a solid three-star audiobook for me: a nice page-turner with all the loops and misdirections one can expect from a Veronica Mars story. What pushed it to four stars was Kristen Bell's narration. It makes sense that she's the best person to voice Veronica herself, but there are also moments where her portrayals of Mac and Wallace are eerily recognizable from the show. Fun read!<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-thousand-dollar-tan-line-veronica-mars-1---rob-thomas/
Rated Wind and Truth 8/10
Wind and Truth is a solid entry in The Stormlight Archive and a good capstone to its first main story arc. The writing is good and engaging, and the long build-up is very eventful. Still, at 1,330 pages, there is just so much of it. This could easily have been two decent-sized books, and I was somewhat glad to be done with it by the end.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/wind-and-truth---brandon-sanderson/<br/><br/>All my book reviews: https://puf.io/books/
Since I read Cory’s blog (on https://pluralistic.net) regularly, the themes and even the wording in The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI were very familiar, but it was good to read them in a more condensed and better edited format.<br/><br/>As with Cory’s recent non-fiction, I still wanted more concrete solutions, but this book does offer more than just warnings and problem diagnosis. A good, entertaining overview of the current AI landscape/bubble, and I’m here to read future installments.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-reverse-centaur's-guide-to-life-after-ai---cory-doctorow/
Rated System Collapse 8/10
I found the first half of the book a bit slow-going, but the pace picked up after that. I like how we continue to see Murderbot struggling with its place in society, while its human allies treat it more and more as part of the team and as a friend. The continued freeing of bots from their governor modules is both cool to see and opens up plot opportunities for future books.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/system-collapse---martha-wells/
Wants to read Pride and Pistons: A Steampunk Little Mermaid
Rated Hogfather 6/10
While I really (REALLY) miss Stephen Briggs' character work, I love that Bill Nighy is so present as Death in this one, along with the main narration and other characters by Sian Clifford.<br/><br/>The novel itself is fun as usual for Pratchett and there are plenty of new, memorable characters here, but Nighy's Hooo, hooo, hooooos are what made me laugh frequently.<br/><br/>Susan, the Death of Rats (squeak), and Quoth the raven were all great additions to spend time with as well.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/hogfather---terry-pratchett/<br/><br/>All my reviews: https://puf.io/books/
Rated The Correspondent 8/10
I found the story itself rather simplistic and the wrap-up a bit too sudden and smooth, but the execution through letters and emails is very well done.<br/><br/>The almost-full-cast narration is well done and really supports the epistolary format, though I found some of the ethnic/regional character accents a bit too in-your-face.
Rated For We Are Many 6/10
As fast-paced and engaging as the first book in the series, but still felt shallow. Some plotlines stood out more than others, especially the longer, more emotional ones. Enjoyable overall, though I wish there was more depth to the character arcs and themes.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/for-we-are-many---dennis-e.-taylor/<br/>All my reviews: https://puf.io/books/
Wants to read Next Level: Making Games That Make Themselves
Rated Mr. Kiss and Tell 6/10
liked that this book picks up an annoying loose thread from the TV show: whatever happened to Meg Manning's little sister Grace?<br/><br/>Unfortunately the book's main plot didn't grip me very much, and Veronica herself is all over the place - in an annoying way. Wallace and Mac also feel too much like caricatures this time around.<br/><br/>The narration by Rebecca Lowman was fine, but a notch below Kristen Bell's narration in book 1.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/mr.-kiss-and-tell-veronica-mars-2---rob-thomas/
Rated Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity 8/10
Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture shows its age, but its core argument about copyright, creativity, and cultural freedom still lands. A good read for those who care about such things.<br/><br/>My full review: https://puf.io/books/free-culture---lawrence-lessig/