She framed them. Now she needs them. 👀 Mortal Enemy Murder Club is the cozy mystery sequel that delivers found family, sharp twists, and chaotic alliances. Gloria Chao does it again—this one’s a 5⭐ obsession. Add to your TBR now! #ViewsSheWrites #GloriaChao #BookRecommendation

https://viewsshewrites.com/the-mortal-enemy-murder-club/

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Nuts" (1979) by Gahan Wilson

I just realized that yesterday was the thirtieth day since I started doing this! Time flies. ☺️

This is one of my "secret lore" books; my oldest friend introduced me to it when I was in my early teens. He also introduced me to "The Young Ones", "Young Lust Magazine" (it's a parody), and a LOT of comic books. He ended up working at Marvel and DC later on, although not at the same time.

"Those of you who remember how great it was to be a little kid, gang, don't •remember• how it was to be a little kid..."

Drawn and written by the brilliant Gahan Wilson, this book is one of the most accurate representations of what childhood was really like that I've ever seen. Which is probably why it's also the funniest.

The Kid (as he's referred to) is an ordinary kid with the usual experiences. His parents don't understand. His friends (some of them, at least) are idiots. And he WANTS things so desperately much. Toys, and candy, and comic books...

One of the things I particularly love about "Nuts" are the magazine, book, and comic book titles—literally the titles and back covers of the various books that sometimes appear. They're •incredibly• funny. "What secret power did this man possess?"

Individual strips of "Nuts" appeared in National Lampoon during their golden era. The book was rare; I treasured my copy. Luckily you can borrow it for free from the Internet Archive. And there are PDFs of it out on the high, seas, too. I'm sure the Kid would understand.

https://archive.org/details/nuts0000wils_q2w6

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #humor #ComicStrip #BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations:
"The Puppet Masters" (1951) by Robert A. Heinlein.

The Puppet Masters is, arguably, THE classic mind-controlling-aliens-invade story (if anyone has another candidate to suggest, please do). It might also be the •first• one, as far as I know. The Titans are small parasites that control their hosts (human and otherwise) through physical contact, most often at the top of the spine just below the neck. They reproduce extremely rapidly, and soon possess an extremely large percentage of the population of Earth—large enough that the protagonist, Sam, calls it a "saturation" point, and the Titans actually drop the masquerade in the areas that they control.

Sam is an agent for a mysterious agency that serves the President. When he first encounters the Titans, he's with his boss (the head of the agency) and another agent: a beautiful redhead that's an obvious representation of Heinlein's wife Virginia.

The invasion by the Titans is an existential threat to the human race, and turns into quite an exciting story. But unusually for Heinlein, it contains some serious plot holes.

Rather than discuss them here, I'll make a comment with a content warning. There will be a lot of spoilers. So if you want to read the book first, you can come back to the comment after. It's not that long a book.

And it's available free for borrowing from the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/bwb_P9-DGG-992

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction
#BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

LIR (Lecture Intéressante Recommandée) Le temps de l'obsolescence humaine de Bruno Patino !!
Livre d'analyse et d'espoir quant à la coexistence de l'humain et de l'intelligence artificielle.
L'humain restant un humain libre notamment par la lecture !

texte complet :
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthieucotteret/p/lir-lecture-interessante-recommandee?r=5hqqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

#IA ✨🤖 #IntelligenceArtificielle #numerique #ObsolenceHumaine #goodbydesign #Tech #ethicsofai #ethique #technologie #TechEthics #BookRecommendation #ethics #Innovation

Book Review: Death Comes To Matheran by Shabnam Minwalla

Tara and Sameer lost their father in an accident 11 years ago. After living through several difficult circumstances over the years, they return to their high-end area of El Camino in Mumbai from Oxel, Goa. The Jhaveris belonged to the rich and affluent — the kind of people nobody could touch, the ones who dined in the same restaurants as famous movie stars.

As the story begins, Tara and Sameer book an Airbnb in Mumbai after being invited by Pramila’s brother-in-law, Nimesh, to get their family wealth in order while the family feud remains divided into two sides. As the story moves ahead, more secrets unfold and the intentions of several characters are revealed.

A few pages in, we notice a change in formatting and design as letters and transcripts enter the storyline. The only giveaway is that they are specially written and saved for Sameer and Tara Jhaveri.

Then begins the puzzle of the Matheran accident — or was it really one? Tara was too young to understand, while Sameer is haunted by memories of losing two parents: one to death and one to memory. As their mother, Pramila, slowly starts recovering, things are no longer the same in El Camino. Throughout the story, we are introduced to several characters through conversations, phone calls, and passing moments.

In this book, Shabnam Minwalla makes the reader aware that somebody was collecting information. Somebody was gathering evidence. Somebody else, like Tara Jhaveri, wanted answers about what exactly happened on the fateful night when their father lost his life.

The beauty of the book lies in everything happening between the lines — the cracks, the hidden tensions, and the layered characters. Every character is written with finesse, and the reader constantly keeps guessing who is responsible and who is hiding secrets.

As Tara Jhaveri returns to her world in Mumbai and feels left out, the author introduces us to the affluent, the rich, and people living in a bubble. Shabnam Minwalla captures the behaviour of the well-off extremely well, especially their inner circles and the dynamics among young adults. Many readers may recognise behaviours similar to those in their own social circles, and the little nuggets Minwalla leaves in certain situations speak volumes about the elite.

The book does not end with a happily-ever-after. The world demands proof and evidence, and that is exactly what Shabnam Minwalla succeeds in portraying.

Aside from solving a crime, the author also dives into the relationship between a daughter and her mother, along with the emotional realities of being 17 years old.

The book becomes even more interesting because of the characters’ development and the realisations that slowly dawn upon them.

Towards the climax, the book becomes a tad theatrical, but it definitely grabs your attention again.

Shabnam Minwalla likes to tie things together well and does not leave behind invisible details.

That is exactly why the author remains on my auto-buy list. Thanks to HarperCollins for the media copy.

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" (1978) by Harry Medved with Randy Drayfuss

Are there any books that made you a different person? Particularly when you were a kid or young teen? There were for me, and this was one of them. The funny thing is that it was •written• by a teen, too: Harry Medved was 17 years old when he wrote "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time".

Specifically it had a HUGE impact on my sense of humor. It covers fifty films which, if not STILL the worst of all time, are certainly still among the worst of the worst. You probably haven't heard of most of them, although some are so awful that they've earned a sort of perverse immortality and even fans. Of course the book was written long before MST3K, but it has much of the same spirit: a twisted enjoyment of the biggest flops, the stupidest scripts, the dumbest concepts, and the most painful acting.

At least a few of these films were also given the MST3K treatment years later, such as "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" and (I think) "Robot Monster". You can probably find them on YouTube or the Internet Archive.

Each film gets a thorough (and thoroughly funny) writeup, including stills, plot summaries, "Unforgettable Performances", "Immortal Dialogue", the story behind the film, and more.

One example from "The Ambushers" (1967) starring Dean Martin:

[MATT HELM: Oh, when you say you're a “38” you ain't just kidding!
LINDA: It’s not a gun, Mr. Helm. It’s the new weapon they gave me, developed right here in our labs.
MATT: Developed pretty well, too!
LINDA: May I point out...
MATT: You already do!
LINDA: ... that that’s why you're here. To become familiar with our latest equipment.
MATT: You're right. An agent should always keep •abreast• of the times!]

Feel free to cringe.

This is the book that CREATED bad film fandom. It inspired MST3K, as well as two excellent sequels and a lot of other professional film mockers. It's cultural impact has been enormous.

I've only ever seen the book as a large paperback; I have a copy, of course. But it was never released as an ebook. Luckily it's available to borrow for free online at the Internet Archive, every bad film buff's best friend!

https://archive.org/details/fiftyworstfilmso0000medv

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor
#Movies #Films #BookRecommendation
#BookRecs #QuasitBookRecs

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Tales From the White Hart" (1957) by Arthur C. Clarke

This is an odd book to recommend, and it's a little tricky to explain why. Have you ever seen a movie that was really great, but find yourself remembering it as boring a year or two later? Then you see it again, and find yourself amazed all over at how great and totally •not• boring it is.

That's "Tales From the White Hart" (also known as "Tales From the 'White Hart'"). It's a collection of humorous science fiction club stories centered around an odd pub called (unsurprisingly) the 'White Hart'.

Are you familiar with the tradition of the club story? It's VERY British, although of course there are examples from other countries including the USA. Isaac Asimov wrote several books worth based on a men's dining club he belonged to, in fact.

They're stories (often short mystery stories but in this case SF) told in the framing setting of a club or similar organization. Lord Dunsany may have pioneered the format; Clarke acknowledged Dunsany's "Jorkens" stories as an inspiration.

Speaking of which, I just found a lot of Dunsany's later short mystery story collections on FadedPage, the Canadian equivalent of Project Gutenberg. Why does that matter? Because Canada's copyright laws are DIFFERENT from Disney's—correction, the USA's— copyright laws, so some books are available via FadedPage that aren't available via Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks.

That's https://www.fadedpage.com/ . You might want to bookmark it.

Anyway, the White Hart is an English pub frequented by scientists and science fiction writers—two classes which overlap considerably, and did even more so in those days. Most of the stories are told by Harry Purvis, as narrated via an unnamed character I've always assumed was Clarke himself.

Other patrons are actual science fiction writers who were friends of Clarke's, so it's quite a fun book.

The stories are effectively science fiction tall tales, and they're VERY funny. In fact, there are lines throughout that I've been quoting for about 50 years ago—although I'd forgotten their source until I reread the book!

[And then Harry Purvis, who has an uncanny knack of following half a dozen conversations simultaneously, so that he can insert himself in the right one at the right time, said in his peculiarly penetrating and non-interruptable voice: “Censorship does raise some very difficult problems doesn’t it? I’ve always argued that there’s an inverse correlation between a country’s degree of civilisation and the restraints it puts on its press.”

A New England voice from the back of the room cut in: “On that argument, Paris is a more civilised place then Boston.”

“Precisely,” answered Purvis. For once, he waited for a reply.

“O.K.” said the New England voice mildly. “I’m not arguing. I just wanted to check.”]

Actually there's not a line in •that• passage that I've ever quoted, but I don't have time to go through the book before I post this. On the other hand, that gives me an excuse to re-read it! ☺️

Anyway, it's a VERY funny and relatively short book; I strongly recommend it. It's probably still in print, but most stores probably don't carry it. You can get it in ebook format either commercially from any of the giant ebook companies, via 🏴‍☠️(long may it fly), or you can borrow it for free via the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/talesfromwhiteha0000clar_g1y6 .

Your library might even have it! It's a classic of science fiction.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #English #ScienceFiction
#QuasitBookRecs #BookRecommendation

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The God Box" (1989) by Barry Longyear

This is the story of Korvas, a shifty rug merchant who receives a mysterious bequest: a box, a very special box.

Due to a scam that went wrong he has to flee his home city. The priestess who passed on his bequest tells him that she'll be accompanying him.

["Why are you coming?"

"That is my work," she answered.

"Your work?" I said. "What does that mean? What is your work?"

"I witness miracles."

Her answer was as clear as coal. It was true I needed to get out of town, and the drawers of Olassar's box were filled with gold. Still, I had this feeling that I was being moved into play by an unseen hand for unknown purposes.]

It turns into a strange adventure indeed, taking Korvas and the box across the continent and sometimes even through Time itself. The box, it turns out, gives him what he needs and takes what he doesn't want. But what Korvas thinks he needs isn't always the same as what he ACTUALLY needs...

[The box was pulled out of my grasp, there were shouts, and I felt the iron-strong arm of Natos beneath my chin, lifting my head far back. The blade flashed before my eyes, and I felt a scratch on my neck followed by the sensation of warm water washing down the front of my chest. I had a silly thought just then as the light drained from my head to be replaced with black fuzz: the box had been right all along. I didn't need the new boots after all.]

But Korvas •does• need another chance, and the box gives him that. It also takes from him the things that he gives it, most often fear.

Adventure, magic, love, loss...it's a funny book, but there's much more to it than that. It's deeply •moving•; the ending, as I find myself saying often in these recommendations, puts a lump in my throat. Longyear is a highly adept author.

The concept of the god box goes beyond that. I'm an atheist, but in times of anxiety I think about giving a god box my fear and it •helps•. I know it's just a metaphor, but that's okay; it works. I'll take it.

This is another rare one that didn't get the success it deserves. Sadly it's not being sold as an ebook these days (as far as I can tell), and only Amazon 🤮 seems to carry it; personally I WON'T do business with Amazon 🤮, because they've put far too many wonderful used book shops out of business, and they treat human beings like animals to enrich the already obscenely-wealthy Jeff Bezos.

But you can find used copies on Biblio.com, among other places. Also in ebook formats on the high seas. Best of all, it's available to borrow freely from the Internet Archive!

https://archive.org/details/godbox00long

Personally I've been looking for a hardcover copy. The book means that much to me. But if it was ever printed in hardcover, nobody is selling it now. Not even used.

I should mention that there are actually •several• books called "The God Box" by other authors. Look for the one written by Barry Longyear.

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #Humor #fantasy #BookRecommendation #QuasitBookRecs