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What are your favorite mashups?

That The Knack/Ting Tings/Toni Basil mashup got me thinking about other great mashups, so I'm wondering what your favorites are. Here are a few of mine:

21
A cool guide My girlfriend created a helpful infographic for her brother, who struggles with housekeeping.
  • Our house is a little obnoxious for them. When you come in the front door, you're on a tile floor. To the left there's a step down to a dining room that connects at the far end to the kitchen. At the end of the tile on the right is a step down to the living room, hall, and a bedroom we use as an office. Then there are stairs to the upper level with three bedrooms. So to cover the place with robot vacuums, we'd need four of them. I was tempted to get one for upstairs, but we have one for the dining room and kitchen and it's gotten so noisy. I don't want the noise upstairs. I'm sure a newer one would be quieter.

  • I'm so sick of every single medical-related question people have online constantly getting spammed with 'talk to your doctor!!!!'
  • The things is, the stakes can be really high, even for something that seems benign. The people who give you medical advice based on a text post really are being irresponsible. Doctors are trained to ask the right questions and do the right tests. Sure, we might like it if we could just crowd source our diagnosis, but it's a really, really bad idea for most things.

  • Chicken vs Egg
  • Yes, thank you, you're exactly right. The person you're responding to is correct that it's come to have science vs religion overtones, but that's not what the expression meant to people for ages and ages.

  • Seriously, why aren't most people using adblock these days
  • As I said elsewhere, for most products, the makers ask how much they think people would be willing to pay for it. If that price is lower than an amount that would generate reasonable profit, they'll either no go to market or they'll look for ways to reduce or offset costs. Ads are a common way of keeping the price within what people are willing to pay.

  • Removed
    A cool guide to survive bee attacks
  • I honestly wish this community would stop posting the fake guides, especially when safety is involved. There is going to be some percentage of people who think this is real, and doing this in an AHB swarm would be more than a little dangerous.

  • 4ish years ago when I bought a house I was convinced not to get a house inspection, would it be crazy to get one now just to make sure it's all good?
  • When you buy a used car through a private party, you have a mechanic check it over for two reasons:

    1. You want to make sure you aren't overpaying (because repairs are needed)
    2. You want to make sure it's safe and doesn't need immediate maintenance

    It's the same for a house. The first one is moot: you already bought it and can't go back. But the second one still applies - it would be good to get it looked over.

  • Sucks to suck!
  • I've said something similar in other threads - after seeing other people say it's worse in person, I was still surprised at how cartoonishly awful it looked when I first saw one. They look terrible in pictures, but so much worse in person. I saw one that was painted bright green and it was so bad that I burst out laughing.

  • 'Staring down little tyrants': Kristi Noem's book includes false anecdote about Kim Jong Un
    www.usatoday.com 'Staring down little tyrants': Kristi Noem's book includes false anecdote about Kim Jong Un

    Noem brags in her new book about her experience 'staring down little tyrants' in a meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Her spokesperson called it an error.

    'Staring down little tyrants': Kristi Noem's book includes false anecdote about Kim Jong Un

    >"I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un," she wrote in the book set to be released Tuesday. "I'm sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I'd been a children's pastor, after all)."

    >But Noem's spokesperson seemed to confirm to Politico and other news outlets that the story is not accurate and that the book will be corrected to remove it.

    She sounds like the perfect Trump VP candidate: she just says whatever she thinks people will eat up and doesn't worry about whether it's true or not.

    28
    Notes from a year of reading science fiction and fantasy [potentially minor spoilers]

    Below are books I've read over the last year, with notes about on what I thought of them. I started this list just to remind me what the books were about and if I thought they were worth reading. As the year went on, my notes became a little more substantial. The list was for me, but I thought I'd share in case it's useful to anyone. I recognize that it's very subjective.

    Project Hail Mary, Weir Don't want to describe it even a little because spoilers would spoil; it's a book you should read without knowing anything. It's really good.

    Fall, Stephenson Billionaire scanned into a digital world, and the people around him in the real world. Interesting and thought-provoking.

    The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman Little boy stumbles upon old magic and an old evil. Really good.

    The Ultimate Earth, Williamson Children on the moon are the latest in a long series of clones watching over the facility there, generations after the earth has all but forgotten them. A historian visits them.

    The first four Discworld books, Pratchett Silly fun - disc-shaped world that sits atop four elephants that stand on a giant turtle riding through space. Each book is in the world, but separate stories with mostly separate characters. Lots of magic, lots of humor.

    Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge, Resnick Long after humans are extinct, a group of alien archeologists uncover the origins and stories of mankind through the stories told by artifacts found in Olduvai gorge. Very unusual.

    A Memory Called Empire, Martine Galactic empire space opera. Ambassador from a large space station to the central planet of the empire has an old copy of her predecessor implanted in her head - a technology user for generations by the station people but not known to the empire. She wants to solve the mystery of her predecessor's death. Character-driven discs opera.

    A Desolation Called Peace, Martine Sequel to prior. Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass help the empire confront an alien that. Good.

    The first six Murderbot Diaries books, Wells Security unit - sort of a cyborg combination of a robot and cloned human tissue - has hacked the part that forces it to comply. It mostly wants to watch soap operas, but finds itself rescuing humans. Surprisingly funny and heartwarming. Mostly novellas, so quick reads.

    The Kingston Cycle trilogy, Polk Edwardian setting where magic is real but people are put in institutions for it if discovered. Each book from the vantage point of a different person, the first a psychologist who uses his powers to help his patients and seeks to discover why a witch was murdered. First is best, but all are good.

    Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword & Ancillary Mercy (imperial radch trilogy), Leckie From the perspective of a warship AI dealing with a galactic empire. Feels like it could have been an inspiration for murderbot. Good.

    Annihilation, Vandermeer A biologist is a member of a team trying to figure out what's happening in an area where investigative teams generally don't return from. Strangely paced, like a Lovecraft story. Wouldn't recommend to everyone. Very weird.

    Gideon the Ninth, Muir Girl raised by necromancers sent to protect the head of her world as they try to unlock the secrets of an old world. Surprised by how much I liked it.

    The Spare Man, Kowal The Thin Man in space - murder mystery on a space-going cruise ship. Not very deep, but enjoyable.

    Piranesi, Clark Man Who lives in a world that is entirely a castle with endless halls and rooms, populated by just one other person, trying to understand his world. Interesting.

    All Clear, Willis Sequel to Blackout - historians from Oxford in 2060 use time travel to see events surrounding WWII in person, but something is wrong. Not as light as some of her books, but very good.

    Blind Lake, Wilson Reporters visiting a facility that uses incomprehensible AI-written systems to view life on a planet 50 light years away get caught in a lockdown that separates the people of the facility from the rest of the world. Very interesting.

    Nettle and Bone, Kingfisher Fantasy - princess is sent to a convent, and eventually sets out to kill a powerful man who deserves it. Very enjoyable, and manages to be fun while also being dark.

    Harrow the Ninth Sequel to Gideon the Ninth. First half is very confusing. Not an easy book to read, but well crafted and interesting.

    WWW: Wake, Sawyer Blind teenage girl gets a computerized implant to restore her sight and ends up connected to a budding consciousness in webspace. Neat idea and an easy read but some parts felt unrealistic or cheesy.

    The Graveyard Book, Gaiman Boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts, protected by something else. Maybe written for teens, but wonderful regardless.

    The Three Body Problem, Liu Strange things are happening in the scientific community in China. Interesting premise and an unusual book, but some things felt very unrealistic.

    Saturn’s Children, Stross Humans built conscious robots to explore and develop the solar system, but they long outlast the now-extinct human race. Intrigue as one such robot gets in over her head.

    The Anomaly, Le Tellier A plane from Paris to New York takes off in March and lands after severe turbulence. Then the same plane, with the same people, lands again in June. Thought provoking with well drawn characters.

    The Daughter of Dr. Moreau, Moreno-Garcia Same/similar setting as The Island of, but focused on the daughter of the doctor as he conducts his experiments and his patron grows dissatisfied. Enjoyable.

    Leviathan Wakes, Corey First book of The Expanse series. A war starting between people of earth, people who settled Mars, and people who settled the asteroid belt and stations. A missing person, and something strange happening. Really good.

    Caliban’s War, Corey Second Expanse book. A protomolecule-based monster/soldier kills a bunch of other soldiers and everyone thinks some other government is responsible. Also very good.

    Halting State, Stross A bank robbery inside an online game gets the attention of the cops - and a lot of other people. Written in 2007, set in 2017. Very interesting, even just for its take on technology.

    Glasshouse, Stross In a distant future with ubiquitous wormhole technology, a man recovers from self-chosen radical memory deletion and joins a 30+ year experiment, but things aren't what they seem.

    System Collapse, Wells 7th of the Murderbot Diaries. Starting basically where the 6th book ends, what to do with the colonists on the alien-infected planet, and what a rival company is trying to do.

    2024

    The Cloud Roads, Wells Fantasy about a loaner who can shape shift into a sort of dragon and doesn't know that he is. Enjoyable.

    Passage, Willis A psychologist studying people who have had near death experiences joins a research project where they're induced, trying to figure out what they're for, what they mean. Good, but like a lot of Connie Willis books, there are too many people missing each other and too many misunderstandings. Still, very touching.

    Gods of Risk, Corey Book 2.7 of The Expanse (novella). Bobby's nephew gets caught up in making drugs. Very short. Good.

    Sundiver, Brin Written in 1980, the first of the Uplift series. Set in a time when humans have found there are many other intelligent, space-fairing beings in the galaxy, but nearly all were “uplifted" by another race. Everyone debates whether humans were uplifted and then abandoned by some unknown race, or are a very rare case of natural evolution. All this is the backdrop, or the fabric, of a story about the discovery of life in the sun.

    Transition State, Leckie Set in the same universe as the Imperial Radch trilogy, with a couple minor characters from that as minor characters here. A guy is found abandoned on a ship as a baby, raised by adoptive parents, but is always strange (including urges to dissect people that he never acts on). Who he actually is might shake the empire, including the treaty that keeps aliens from destroying humans. Really good.

    The Serpent Sea, Wells Second book of the Raksura series. The tribe (blanking on the word used internally) relocate to their ancestry home, a special giant tree, but it's dying because its seed was stolen. They go looking for it and get into trouble. Good.

    Abaddon’s Gate, Corey Book 3 of The Expanse series. Rocinante crew gets hired to take a documentary crew to the ring made by the Venus protomolecule. All the other governments are sending ships too. Julie's sister Clarissa plots revenge for her father.

    Hominids, Sawyer In an alternate universe, a neanderthal quantum physicist doing an experiment ends up marooned in our universe. A weird little bit of religion in the middle, but pretty interesting overall and fun to read about the speculative modern neanderthal society.

    The Time Ships, Baxter Authorized sequel to “The Time Machine," by H.G. Wells. It's strange, in a way, because I of course read Wells’ work in the modern era, though it was written in 1914. Part of the charm was reading his notions of time and his commentary on class divides from this time a hundred years later, when the author has no knowledge of what happened in the intervening century. Baxter’s sequel is written from this modern era, but from the perspective of the same protagonist. Many of the advances in the sciences are captured, but it feels oddly artificial to have them observed by our early 1900s hero. Still, it's a very ambitious book, with a very broad scope, and much more commentary on the nature of man. Well worth reading.

    Beggars in Spain, Kress People gene modified to no longer require sleep basically become a separate race of people. Lots of commentary on socialism, community, charity, racism, individuality, and more. Very thought provoking.

    Humans, Sawyer Sequel to Hominids. A love story and a commentary on our world as seen through the eyes of a different version. Also more on the neanderthal version of it. As an ex Catholic, having a main character be matter of factly Catholic feels weird. Enjoyable sequel though.

    Blindsight, Watts Strange first contact story with an enigmatic alien and a spectrum of technology-modified humans. A lot of it is an exploration of what it means to have consciousness or intelligence, and of how we're affected by language and communication. Not sure I'd call it enjoyable, but very interesting. Not a fluff piece by any means.

    Startide Rising, Brin Sequel to Sundiver, set a couple hundred years later. A ship crewed by humans and dolphins has found something that could have major ramifications for the galactic races, so they're all fighting each other to get the earthlings. Very good, has aged well. Side note: I'm certain I read it when it came out in paperback, but I didn't remember it at all.

    The Churn, Corey Book 3.5 of the Expanse series, a novella. Back story of Amos in Baltimore. It would have been a very different experience reading if I hadn't seen the series version - it couldn't disguise a main character because you actually see them. Semi-avoiding spoilers.

    Leech, Ennes A doctor, one of many that share a group mind due to a parasite, finds its predecessor killed by a different type of parasite. Very strange, pretty dark. Thought provoking.

    The Siren Depths, Wells Third book of the Raksura series. Moon’s birth court wants him back, against his will, and there's a danger facing everyone. Just as good as the prior books.

    Starter Villain, Scalzi Down on his luck young man inherits his uncle's villain business. Quick, fun read. Funny!

    The Host, Meyer Alien possession told from the POV of the compassionate alien. It turns out that I'm a little bit of a book snob because, as I opened the book on my Kindle and saw the blurb about it being by the author of the Twilight series (sparkly vampires), I almost abandoned it. I decided to at least start it and… I didn't hate it. The SF aspects of the story are actually pretty interesting and thought provoking. Given my understanding that Meyer is basically a romance novelist, I was surprised that the part I connected with the least well was the romance part - it's described as way overly physical (this body loves that person or could never love that other person).

    Provenance, Leckie In the Imperial Radch series. Daughter in a scheming family tries a scheme of her own and gets mixed up in issues that span worlds and races. Interesting. Feels like a side story, which I guess it is.

    Nona the Ninth, Muir Third of the Locked Tomb series, following Harrow the Ninth. I loved the first book, didn't love the second (challenging, interesting, not sure it was enjoyable), and liked this one better. Ending needed to be reread a couple times - confusing - but overall an interesting book.

    Perdido Street Station, Meiville Elements of SF and fantasy. Set in a Victorian world (future earth, or maybe an alternate one) populated by humans and many races of aliens, some more alien than others, a scientist is hired by a bird person to give him back fight after his wings were removed as a punishment by his people. While working the problem, the scientist releases something truly horrible. It's a really evocative world and story, well imagined and well told. It brings up a lot of sadness, horror, and pity for its characters that didn't really stop, so not exactly a fun read. Long, but good.

    The Watchmen, Moore Graphic novel about masked heroes being popular, then outlawed, then being systematically eliminated. Gritty, odd. It deals a lot with what constitutes the greater good and what compromises are reasonable.

    How to live safely in a science fictional universe, Yu A time machine repair technician, hiding from life, tries to find his father who disappeared ten years prior, after almost inventing time travel. Amusing, short, quick read.

    The City & The City, Mieville A murder victim is found in a European city that shares geography with another city. The cities aren't separated by physical borders, they overlay and are separated by more of a psychic border, and crossing from one to the other that way, breaching, is a serious crime. The detective investigating the murder uncovers things that could shake the fabric of both cities, and he has to work with a detective in the sister city to solve the crime. Very unusual and imaginative premise. Very compelling story.

    The Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut It's Vonnegut, so it's hard to know where to start. The richest man in the world tries to avoid a life that's predicted for him. It doesn't go the way he envisioned either way. Lots of commentary on morality, friendship, religion, love. Not flattering commentary on any of those things.

    Neptune's Brood, Stross Set in the same universe as Saturn’s Children. A banker/historian chasing down old debts finds much more than she bargained for and gets many factions out for her blood, including her mother. Lots of good speculation on a galactic society without FTL travel, composed of people who are fabricated, not Born.

    The Scar, Meiville Following Perdido Street Station, but not in the city and with different characters. A translator fleeing the city gets pulled into a series of unfolding conflicts while she tries to find a way home, or at least to save it. Lots of layers, and commentary on trust and manipulation.

    The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Chambers A clerk running away from family on Mars signs onto a ship that builds wormholes, and gets a new family in the process. After recently reading books by Meiville, Vonnegut, and others, this was a more hopeful, loving story. The explanation for why all the aliens look like various earth species felt kind of thin, but it's a good story with strong relationships.

    Children of Time, Tchaikovsky A project to uplift monkeys on a terraformed world, at the peak of human civilization, is sabotaged by people who don't think humans should play god. There follows a human civil war that nearly destroys civilization. A couple thousand years later, an ark ship of human remnants leaving an uninhabitable earth is heading towards that terraformed planet. This is a great book, with lots to say on intelligence, the nature of people, and both the fragility and heartiness of life.

    84
    Question about Perdido Street Station (minor spoiler)

    I recently finished Perdido Street Station, and one minor thing that bothered me is how many of the other races were either a humanoid version of earth life (cactus person, bird person) or a literal combination of a human and something (head of a bug, body of a person). That just seems so fantastically unlikely that I wonder if any of the other books in that setting explain it. Like, is it a future earth and the races are results of generic modification in some prior era?

    I liked the book pretty well, through it's not exactly uplifting. Thought provoking though.

    19
    Lev Parnas, ex-Giuliani associate, testifies allegations against Bidens are false and ‘spread by the Kremlin'
    www.nbcdfw.com Lev Parnas, ex-Giuliani associate, testifies allegations against Bidens are false and ‘spread by the Kremlin'

    Parnas also called out Trump allies in Congress such as former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., for spreading misinformation about the Bidens.

    Lev Parnas, ex-Giuliani associate, testifies allegations against Bidens are false and ‘spread by the Kremlin'

    Pretty damning training against the inquiry by someone who participated in trying to dig up dirt on the Bidens.

    4
    Biden uses feisty State of the Union to contrast with Trump, sell voters on a second term
    apnews.com Biden uses feisty State of the Union to contrast with Trump, sell voters on a second term

    Biden's third such address will be something of an on-the-job interview, as the nation's oldest president tries to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance while sharpening the contrast with Donald Trump.

    Biden uses feisty State of the Union to contrast with Trump, sell voters on a second term

    That was one of the more interesting SOTU addresses I've seen. Personally, I think he said most of the things that needed to be said, and he said them reasonably well. I'm sure he's going to get some flack for attacking Trump directly (though not by name), but I was frankly glad to see it. Doing otherwise makes it seem like it's just your typical election/political disagreements, but we're past that now.

    253
    The 15 Best Hard Sci-Fi Movies That Define the Genre
    movieweb.com The 15 Best Hard Sci-Fi Movies That Define the Genre

    There are no limits when it comes to hard sci-fi. The following movies are proof of the essence of the genre, which allows us to see the inexplicable.

    The 15 Best Hard Sci-Fi Movies That Define the Genre

    We took a trip through decades of the genre and came up with a list of the most important and best hard science fiction movies of all time. They are the essence and the foundations of the book of sci-fi rules that's still being written as we, the audience, become much more self-aware of our relationship with technology, the future, and whatever those two will bring.

    120
    Everything We Know About 'Murderbot' TV Series (So Far) | The Mary Sue
    www.themarysue.com Everything We Know About 'Murderbot' TV Series (So Far) | The Mary Sue

    The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series 'The Murderbot Diaries' by Martha Wells has been greenlit for a 10-episode season on Apple TV+.

    Everything We Know About 'Murderbot' TV Series (So Far) | The Mary Sue

    I've just finished reading the last of the books, and I'm pretty excited to see what they do with the series.

    48
    Question for those who have read them: is the whole *The Expanse* series good?

    I've read the first two books and enjoyed them both. I enjoyed the TV series. But I see there are nine novels and eight novellas in the series, and I know the book series goes on longer than the TV series. I'm curious: is the quality fairly consistent or, like a lot of longer book series, does it degrade over time?

    Edit: Thanks everyone! Sounds like the vast majority of folks enjoyed all of the books - enough that I'll probably read them all. I have other books on my reading list, so I might take breaks and read some of those in between.

    I really appreciate all the responses. Thank you all. Upvotes all around!

    42
    A book recommendation from Google Bard

    I was playing with Bard last night and gave it a list of books I've read and enjoyed recently, and asked it to recommend other books I might enjoy.

    Here's my prompt

    The following are the title and author of books that I read and enjoyed recently. Can you recommend other books I might enjoy?

    • Project Hail Mary, Weir
    • Fall, Stephenson
    • The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman
    • A Memory Called Empire, Martine
    • A Desolation Called Peace, Martine
    • Murderbot Diaries books, Wells
    • The Kingston Cycle trilogy, Polk
    • Ancillary Justice, Leckie
    • Ancillary Sword, Leckie
    • Ancillary Mercy, Leckie
    • Gideon the Ninth, Muir
    • All Clear, Willis
    • Blind Lake, Wilson
    • Nettle and Bone, Kingfisher
    • The Graveyard Book, Gaiman
    • Saturn’s Children, Stross
    • The Anomaly, Le Tellier
    • The Daughter of Dr. Moreau, Moreno-Garcia

    Bard response

    Based on your reading history, I can recommend several books you might enjoy:

    Science Fiction:

    • The Martian by Andy Weir: If you enjoyed Project Hail Mary, you'll likely appreciate Weir's other work. The Martian is a gripping story of an astronaut stranded on Mars and his fight for survival.
    • Seveneves by Neal Stephenson: Like Fall, Seveneves explores a near-future disaster scenario where the moon is destroyed and its fragments threaten to destroy Earth.
    • The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor: This humorous series follows the adventures of Bob Johansson, whose brain is uploaded into a computer and who then travels the galaxy aboard a self-aware spaceship.
    • The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu: This award-winning Chinese science fiction novel tells the story of first contact between humanity and an alien civilization.
    • The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: If you enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries, you may also like Wells' Raksura series, which features shapeshifting creatures and political intrigue.

    Fantasy:

    • The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: Like The Ocean at the End of the Lane, this book features a magical setting and a cast of memorable characters.
    • The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin: This award-winning trilogy explores themes of race, gender, and power in a post-apocalyptic world.
    • The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: This YA series follows a group of teenagers who discover they have magical powers.
    • The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss: This epic fantasy series tells the story of Kvothe, a legendary musician and adventurer.

    Other:

    • The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson: This timely novel explores the challenges of climate change and offers solutions for a more sustainable future.
    • Exit West by Mohsin Hamid: This magical realist novel follows the story of a young couple who are forced to flee their war-torn country.
    • Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: This experimental novel tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's grief over the death of his son.
    • The Overstory by Richard Powers: This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel explores the interconnectedness of all living things.

    In addition to these specific recommendations, I can also suggest some general tips for finding books you might enjoy:

    • Read reviews and recommendations: Look for books that have been praised by critics and readers with similar taste to yours.
    • Explore different genres: Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.
    • Ask for help: Librarians and booksellers can be a great resource for finding new books to read.
    • Join a book club: This is a great way to discuss books with other readers and get recommendations for new titles.

    I hope this helps!

    25
    Anyone read The Anomaly, by Hervé Le Tellier? (Spoilers likely in the discussion)

    I finished it just now and thought it was really interesting. I'd be interested to hear people's interpretation of the ending.

    4
    Thank you to those that recommended the library for SF

    I recently posted asking if Kindle Unlimited is a good value for SF because I was reading a lot and it was expensive. Some of you suggested I try the library instead. I'm in Los Angeles, so I got a digital library card for the Los Angeles Public Library.

    I had noticed that a lot of the books I had already read were on KU, but not many of the ones on my list to read were. That sort of makes sense because I read a number of series books (mostly trilogies) and KU seems to mostly cover older things but not more recent popular works. Unfortunately my reading list is now mostly up to recent popular stuff.

    The library has a similar issue: they have the recent/popular stuff, but there's usually a waiting list for it. I reserved three books that had different wait times, the longest being two months out, but the shortest came up available the next day.

    It works nice. When you get the book, you can read it on their web interface or app, but you also have them send it to your Kindle app, which is what I did. It shows up like an Amazon purchase, but with no cost, and then pops up in your Kindle library. You can have up to 30 books on hold (in your queue, waiting to be available) at a time, so depending on how fast you read, you can reserve a bunch so you're in line while you're reading others.

    I think this will work good for me. It's all completely free, and I had spent over $200 on books in the last few months, so it's a giant savings of I keep this up. Thanks again.

    30
    Am I strange for not loving Everything Everywhere All At Once?

    Just got around to watching it for the first time tonight. We had so many people tell us we'd love it and need to watch it, so it was high on our list. Great cast, and it won so many awards.

    I didn't hate it, but I was left scratching my head over all the hype. I like odd movies and books, so it's not that I couldn't handle the weirdness. It seemed like in the same vein as Scott Pilgrim, and if you told me it wasn't a bit box office but got a cult following, I'd totally believe that.

    My wife felt exactly the same way. Maybe it's just one of those cases where there was too much hype for us, but I felt kind of let down.

    118
    Have any of you found Kindle unlimited worth it for science fiction?

    In the last few months I've read:

    • Project Hail Mary, Weir
    • Fall, Stephenson
    • The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman
    • The Ultimate Earth, Williamson
    • The first four Discworld books, Pratchett
    • Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge, Resnick
    • A Memory Called Empire, Martine
    • A Desolation Called Peace, Martine
    • The first five Murderbot Diaries books, Wells
    • The Imperial Radch trilogy, Leckie
    • Annihilation, Vandermeer
    • The Kingston Cycle trilogy, Polk

    For comparison, I think I read two or three books last year. It's starting to be a non-trivial amount of money, even though they've all been the ebook versions, which are generally a little cheaper. Has anyone who reads a lot of SF found Kindle Unlimited to be worth the price?

    34
    Just finished reading the Imperial Radch trilogy (Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, Ancillary Mercy) by Ann Leckie - thoughts?

    I really enjoyed all three books. They managed to do the galactic empire thing without getting overly bogged down in politics, and character development was interesting. I thought Leckie did a good job of conveying an extended AI in multiple bodies, and a solitary form (avoiding spoilers).

    I read these not long after reading the first five Murderbot Diaries books, and I wonder if the Radch books might have been an influence on Wells. Some of the themes felt a little similar, while the stories were quite different.

    Anyone read them? Liked it disliked, and why?

    12
    InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)AF
    AFK BRB Chocolate @lemmy.world

    Yet another refugee who washed up on the shore after the great Reddit disaster of 2023

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