Show threadJules1h ago

Hah, I am now reading scenes that are set almost exactly on today's date (March 26/27) and right before Palm Sunday, which is the day after tomorrow! Nice coincidence!

#FromAllFalseDoctrine #Books2026

Show threadJules4h ago

"and when one day Peachy came home to find him in the kitchen and asked what on earth he was doing, he said he was making scones for the glory of God."

Something to aspire to, I guess.

#FromAllFalseDoctrine #Books2026

Snowflower7h ago

Based on when I last posted it looks like I haven't been on Mastodon in 2026 until now. I have been trying to be online less.

I've been reading more offline. I won't mention every book I've read for the first quarter of the year, but the best ones were probably Constituent Service by John Scalzi, Ender's Game reread with my son, Heartwood by Amity Gage, and Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite.

I'm currently reading Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi for personal reading and Shadow of the Hegemon to my son.

#FridayReads #bookstodon #books #books2026

Joel  1d ago

New #blogpost

My #review for Non-Stop by Brian W. Aldiss

A fantastic classic of #ScienceFiction that introduced many concepts to the generation ship plot. Despite its age (published on 1958!) I still found it very interesting and entertaining, I recommend reading it :P

Day 40 of #100DaysToOffload

https://joelchrono.xyz/blog/non-stop

#Books2026

Non-Stop

My review for the first novel by Brian W.Aldiss, a sci-fi classic about a generation ship where its inhabitants have lost knowledge from the past, dividing into warring tribes and unaware of their reality, and how the truth unveils.

Show threadJules1d ago

"The life of the intellect should be lived, if not in solitude, at least in the absence of domestic concerns."

This comes from a time where running a household, for those privileged enough to pursue a life of the intellect, was a full-time job. But it's certainly appealing even today.

I don't think it's necessarily true, though. Thinking without community, without doing, without dispute, becomes ungrounded and empty.

#FromAllFalseDoctrine #Books2026

Show threadJules1d ago

I know I quoted this before, but it's just so funny 😂

“She’ll study the morphology of the verbs or something, Peachy, you fool,” said Mr. Underhill. “She’s not doing her Master’s thesis in experimental pagan mysticism. One hopes.”

#FromAllFalseDoctrine #Books2026

Joel  1d ago

My first book read (in just 2 days) on my #XteinkX4 was Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams

The second of the #BossFightBooks series, a memoir, critique and analysis of my favourite game of all time.

To be honest it was a bit less technical or historical than I'd like, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and the interviews with Ted Woosley and Tom Slattery were a highlight for me. A good read and kinda short too

#Books2026 #Bookstodon

Jules3d ago

M.R. Carey's "Infinity Gate", eh. Part one of a duology in which humanity discovers parallel universes, becomes part of an intrauniversal alliance, and fights against artificial intelligences.

It has great *ideas* for sure. Working together and sharing information across universes. Sentinent beings evolved from rabbits. A privately owned Nigerian research institute where the big discovery happens. Lagos across universes.
(1/n)

#InfinifyGate #Books2026

Show threadJules3d ago

The technobabble is absolute bullshit. And the multiverse itself is seen firmly through colonizer's eyes.

It's neat that the machine intelligences turn out not to be the evil ones - but the way AI is discussed, from glowing about a program much like a modern LLM to the friendship a character developed with an AI infiltrator, feels like it will be rather dated soon.

I finished this one, but I won't read the second book.

(4/n, n=4)

#InfinifyGate #Books2026

Show threadJules3d ago

Those are neat, but unfortunately, the author doesn't do a lot with them. Collapsing Lagos is vividly described but soon forgotten. Hadiz, Black woman inventor of the technology that enables crossing into parallel universes, is an interesting if exceptionally cold-hearted character who doesn't get to do much. The rabbit folk are just people. Hadiz gets to make fun of a LLM but ends up accepting it as a brilliant friend.

(2/n)

#InfinifyGate #Books2026