yacoob

Not a big fan of self-help books, but this one helped me to get a different perspective at some problems. Worth reading regardless of your relationship status just to get that perspective.

W pełni rozkręcony cykl. Zasady universum są już ustalone, teraz w obrębie tych reguł autor wykonuje taniec z figurami. Czyta się wartko, przygody zarówno na gruncie jak i w kosmosie wesołe i barwne, nie ma czego nie lubić. Twist na końcu raczej nie zaskakuje, co wcale nie ujmuje książce.

Szkoda tylko że nie ma jeszcze następnej części :)

Delightfuly solid supporting material for FFXIV. Game backstory books are usually an afterthought. This one is surpisingly well built, offering much detail at both global and local level, down to sociologic commentary on the society's approach to attempts to turn Dalamud back to its orbit.

I had a lot of fun reading this.

Wanted an introduction to WH40k, got recommended this. Not a bad read, if bit flowery at the times. A few hilarious phrases along the lines of “their eyes locked like two automatic turrets locking on the same target”.

If I were to nitpick on this, there was little characterization of the other side of the conflict. Indescribable chaos is indescribable, I guess.

What can I say. The earliest sensible critique of the late capitalism I've read. Still valid, enjoyable by adults :D

A story of a robot teenager getting adopted! How sweet! 8)

Póki co najsłabsza część cyklu. Trochę za dużo miejsc, postaci i okrętów, w pewnym momencie wróciłem na początek książki i zacząłem katalogować postacie. Opisy dalej dynamiczne i świetne, plus ładnie pokazany proces brisbanizacji głównego bohatera. Mini-dramatyczne frazesy kończące sekcje lub rozdziały też były trochę irytujące na dłuższą metę. Ale tak czy siak historia ciekawa i dobrze opowiedziana.

Dobre czytadło. Tym razem znowu więcej partyzantki, mniej kosmicznego pew-pew. Nie do końca wydaje mi się by SI faktycznie wypadły jak “obcy”, no ale zobaczymy.

Jedyna irytująca rzecz to mini-cliffhangery na koniec dłuższych sekcji tekstu.

Bardzo przyjemnie się zrobiło. W tym tomie widać że jest to jedna spójna powieść - w poprzednim było trochę wrażenie że jest to zbiór opowiadań. Sporo plastycznych scen i opisów, które bardzo przyjemnie łechczą wyobraźnię. Fabuła nie wgniata jakoś w ziemię skomplikowaniem, ale jest to bardzo przyjemny space porn. No i o wiele więcej niż w poprzednim tomie akcji na samych statkach kosmicznych, spójnej i emocjonalnie opisanej. Podobało mi się, sięgnę po więcej.

Na minus: dwa ortografy :D

Not a bad idea, but poorly explored, IMO. “Just do these steps” isn't really sufficient for a self help book :)

No więc trochę jest to taki hard SF porn, ale bardzo solidnie napisany. Z drugiej strony pachnie Wieczną Wojną Hadelmana.

Z minusów: czasami trochę drewniane sformułowania, sprawiające wyrażenie że całość jest tłumaczona z angielskiego oraz patronizujący pseudonim jednej z bohaterek. Ale dobrze się czytało. :)

Po latach dalej bardzo dobre; co więcej, odnajduję nowe aspekty zachowań postaci których później nigdzie nie szło dalej znaleźć.

This book was Douglas-Coupland-grade depressing. Slow slide down the mood level, into a heap of sobering helplessness. I kind of enjoyed this subversion of typical zombie apocalypse heroine. She's presenting as determined and driven, except in the end, we can see that her effort was driven mostly by her psychosis.

The art and text go well together, and it's important to take in both at the same time. I was impressed by author's ability to so perfectly create two complementary vehicles for the story.

Majority of the stories were really delightful - but “Omphalos” stole the show for me. I knew “Exhalation” before - I'd probably crown it the best if I didn't.

Not too bad, but I think that watching the series first helped me stay through it. Some cringy bits about Holden/Naomi that really didn't fit the overall tone. Unsure yet whether I'll proceed with the series.

For the context: at the time I've started to read this book, I've been doing BuJo for 4 years or so.

I primarily got this book as a way of saying “thank you” to the author. BuJo helped me a lot in getting things done (heh), and I was determined to get this book even if I don't get anything out of it. I did, though :)

I still think the best introduction to BuJo is the original video by Ryder Carroll: https://youtu.be/GfRf43JTqY4 . It's very short, it doesn't impose much of a structure, and it gives you just enough rope to start making knots. If you want to go with the book... it might be bit overwhelming. Especially if you get the basics, and then look at all of the remaining pages, wondering what else is this Bullet Journal thing hiding. For a person new to the topic, I'd suggest starting with that video (and only that!), try it out for a week, and if you feel like it's working - go for the book.

For a person that already does BuJo, is it worth reading? I'd say so. It rehashes the basics, and then expands on things like effective planning and a bit of mindfulness, trying to prompt you to think why do you want to do what you're doing. The presentation is succinct and to the point, without much waffle.

Oh, and - my personal favourite bit of the book is the part where Ryder Carroll explains calmly that all of this artsy layer of BuJo is... just that, a layer -and a highly unnecessary one.

It felt like a very good introduction to Rust. As in, when I was playing with Rust, it made for a very good reading. I had to stop my Rust adventure, so the motivation to finish this one dropped off inevitably.

Still a good read :D

Clitoris: the missing manual. Very interesting content, but oh dear Goddess, this writing style... Single page-long chapters, flowery and completely superfluous quotes and occasional tap dancing around a particular topic, as if suddenly the author got infected with shyness.

Someone should just edit this down to a three page leaflet 🤪

Very tasty book. I could nitpick on couple of things - primarily “vampires” seemed bit out of place - but a great story overall. I was rather surprised at the seemingly positive tone of the story; sure there were unpleasant developments, but nothing on the scale of Rifters. And then I've reached the point where Jukka “explains” things to Siri. Well, hello darkness and gloom.

I'll now go through http://www.rifters.com/blindsight/vampires.htm :)

Bardzo elegancko napisane - rekurencyjna konstrukcja, precyzyjnie dobrane sformułowania, zgrabnie przycięta forma. Podobało mi się bardzo to co Dukaj tutaj zrobił, widać że historia została starannie zaplanowana i wykreślona bezbłędnie.

Jestem ciekaw jak równie dobre by to było bez tej ekspozycji pod koniec (historia Marsa).

About 40% of the book's content doesn't have anything to do with non-monogamy - it's just a set of good advice on how not to be a shitty partner in a relationship. The non-monogamy bits are interesting, if a bit fuzzy in details sometimes. Overall, the book is well written, pushing and pulling just enough to make you adjust your perspective on a number of things.

If I were to nitpick, I'd say that authors are surprisingly positive about the presented ideas, maybe due to coming from “it has worked for us” angle.

It's probably 4/5 if you like magic realism. I've reached for this book after watching the movie adaptation, expecting science fiction; it really isn't SF. That doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.The story is very emotive; there is little in terms of hard facts and world building and way more in impressions and feelings department. Had I had to compare it to something, I'd say it's contemporary H.P. Lovecraft, with the unspeakable horrors dial turned all the way down to 1. Or maybe: more scary Kelly Link. There are places to go and people to see in this book, but they're dispensable and not really plot points. The narrative is compelling and pleasantly twisted, but in the end, there's little in terms of actual story development. The ride is nice, the landscapes are beautiful, but at some point you notice that the train tracks seem to be forming a loop.Anyway, I think the movie built cleverly on the few pieces that they've extracted from the book, and achieves more coherent image of the setup. The book... it's worth reading, but if you're looking for a larger setup of the story from the movie, you'll not find it.

Mostly satisfying ending to not one, but two series. Granted, it could be more complete and less predictable, but it was definitely satisfying. Good fun for all fans of Known World.

There was a bit of a scramble at the end, to sync things up to Ringworld. I kind of hoped that there'll be more of a tie in. Also, Gw'o's motivation seems bit weird - surely they know word “sociopath” and would think twice before teaming up with Achilles.

Here's to hope that they'll wrap it up nicely in the last book.

This was quite enjoyable. Granted, I'm rather invested in Known Space universe, Ringworld specifically - and this novel was promising some answers in that area. There are few answers, but a lot of setup towards eventual answers. It's well written, and at times it was quite gripping - I couldn't put it down easily. If I were to nitpick on anything, short chapters would be the main thing. Sometimes it felt a little bit like an adventure movie, with frequent cuts and non-stop action.

All in all, definitely worth reading if you are familiar with and like Known Space. As a stand-alone book it probably isn't strong enough to keep reader's interest, too many outside references.