A great opening line: "Shaw couldn’t sleep so he doomscrolled the multiverse." I loved the story until I began to think more about the logistics of a A great opening line: "Shaw couldn’t sleep so he doomscrolled the multiverse." I loved the story until I began to think more about the logistics of a social media/network/chat app that shares posts by versions of the narrator from other parallel worlds. Is there only one version of the company, or does every world need its AllOne for the app to work? Also, I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to feel defeated or call into question that AllOne, the tech company of the namesake app, across the multiverse converges towards predatory capitalism in the likes of tech companies of our world. The evil corporation feels too facile compared to the wonder of the technology it's harnessing, but I wonder if that reaction is the one that's naive. Is there no alternative? ...more
Childless cat ladies read picture books too. But seriously, this is one of my top reads of this year, and I'm telling myself that I'm not lame for sayChildless cat ladies read picture books too. But seriously, this is one of my top reads of this year, and I'm telling myself that I'm not lame for saying that. The book moves along as a series of non-apologies that Jack writes to his classmate, Zoe, interceded by instructions, also in letters, from their teacher, Ms. Rice. Ms. Rice doesn't preach why apologies are necessary but simply guides Jack towards doing it right and gives him (a whole book length of) space and time to get there. Jack's apology doesn't take a straightforward trajectory of rectification. At one point, he stops apologizing and turns himself into the victim of this whole situation, which is what offending parties often capitulate to. Bonus point for the pictures telling you what the text doesn't say. The effect is edifying for both children and adults. 100 stars....more
To non-Japanese people who think Japan is a great/cool/nice/pretty country full of kind/polite/gentle/non-violent people, read this manga. Also, it's To non-Japanese people who think Japan is a great/cool/nice/pretty country full of kind/polite/gentle/non-violent people, read this manga. Also, it's an excellent companion to Convenience Store Woman....more
Another fun read. It features familiar faces of The Fairway Players from The Appeal, but the tone is comedic in ways The Appeal wasn't. I wish I had sAnother fun read. It features familiar faces of The Fairway Players from The Appeal, but the tone is comedic in ways The Appeal wasn't. I wish I had saved this up for a Christmas read....more
One way to disabuse ourselves of the current AI hype is to read science fiction stories like these that demonstrate what artificial (general) intelligOne way to disabuse ourselves of the current AI hype is to read science fiction stories like these that demonstrate what artificial (general) intelligence would look like. The story is publicly available on Reactor....more
I don't usually read short stories outside of collections and anthologies, but an episode about short stories from the podcast Our Opinions Are CorrecI don't usually read short stories outside of collections and anthologies, but an episode about short stories from the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct has encouraged me to sample online magazines like Reactor (plus, I couldn't resist the beautiful non-AI generated illustrations). "Before the Forest" by Kell Woods is a prequel to the author's debut novel, After the Forest, which is a retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, and tells the origin story of Junia, the woman who becomes the witch in the forest. Woods successfully marries the dark elements of the original fairy tale with the Thirty Years' War and traces them to cycles of domestic violence that are all too familiar across time. I'm interested in what becomes of Junia in the main story....more
This felt like an episode of The Magnus Archives except four hours long. I'm not saying that the previous book, What Moves the Dead, ends with theThis felt like an episode of The Magnus Archives except four hours long. I'm not saying that the previous book, What Moves the Dead, ends with the demystification of the origins of its mysterious fungus species, but this one delivers even less resolution. (Also, is it okay to use anthropomorphized animal behavior in a simile? At one point, Kingfisher compares Mrs. Potter's head tilt to that of "an intelligent dog." It strikes me as weird because the dog is already interpreted as mimicking a human. I might be opening a whole can of worms about animal behavior, but this particular one feels like sloppy writing.)...more
DNF-ed on the audiobook with 20% left. I really love Ellroy's writing, especially how he economically fleshes out his characters, but there are so manDNF-ed on the audiobook with 20% left. I really love Ellroy's writing, especially how he economically fleshes out his characters, but there are so many names. So many! New names crop up even after three quarters of the way through the book, and I forgot many of the side characters' names after a three-day hiatus. This is one of those books that's best enjoyed in print so that you can map out the character web in the flyleaf. Will definitely return....more
I recently watched Christopher Nolan's 2014 film Interstellar for the first time. Like many fans of the film, I've become interested in Murph's librarI recently watched Christopher Nolan's 2014 film Interstellar for the first time. Like many fans of the film, I've become interested in Murph's library and have tagged her books on my Goodreads TBR including this one. I had first read A Wrinkle in Time (the 1973 edition from Yearling Books) in grade school but had forgotten much of it. Having read it again now, I feel a little sad that I don't have nearly the same magical feeling. It's not that the book doesn't hold up. But as an adult, I no longer feel endangered by the amorphously defined Dark Thing or is easily charmed by Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which, whose demands towards the children are onerous. Where L'Engle still captures the adult reader is in her ability to blend the physical and the emotional sensation at sentence level. I felt snug listening to how L'Engle describes the sensation of being held by the Aunt Beast and what it feels like to be cared for. From the very beginning where Charles Wallace has a pot of milk warmed up for Meg because he knew would be awake on a stormy night to the end when Meg has to face the IT with all the vulnerabilities that her love for Charles affords her, this is a book about love....more
I'm not too keen on Joachim Neugroschel's translation--archaic word choices and jagged sentences--even though he explains in the Introduction that he I'm not too keen on Joachim Neugroschel's translation--archaic word choices and jagged sentences--even though he explains in the Introduction that he tried to be faithful to the original German text in its linguistic syntax and Kafka's stylistic choices. However, in the same introduction, Neugroschel helpfully reminds readers that Kafka was a Jewish writer and that these stories conceal the baggage that comes with Jewish identity and subjectivity.
It is such secret itineraries, conscious or not, that make art less than universal, more than parochial, leaving it open to multivalent readings that may unearth and intrinsic and perhaps necessary 'closetiness.' Still, like the Oscar Wilde heroine who dons a beautiful mask, which then becomes her face, the underlying strata are finally replaced by the surface disguise. Albert Einstein (who spent some time in Prague) left us with a modern metaphor for that phenomenon where he described our physical world as the three-dimensional surface of a four-dimensional universe. (xvi, "Introduction")
My individual ratings of the longish stories (I didn't read any story from the sections "The Early Stories" and "Contemplation" and skipped all but two stories from the section, "The Country Doctor.") - "The Judgment": 5/5. It's possible to read this as a family drama, but the subtext of Jewish subjectivity is hard to ignore once you learn (thanks to the translator's introduction) that Kafka wrote this while pulling an all nighter on the eve of Yom Kippur. - "The Stoker": 8/5. "The Metamorphosis" is the star in the collection, but "The Stoker" is my personal favorite. It feels like a true story. - "The Metamorphosis": 7/5. It's a masterpiece. - "In the Penal Colony": 5/5. I've never associated Kafka with gore, but this is unusually macabre out of all the Kafka stories thus far. Apparently, it's the favorite story of the boy named Kafka in Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. - "First Sorrow": 3/5. - "The Country Doctor": 2/5. Da fuh did I just read? - "Before the Law": The stories in "The Country Doctor" all leave you with a feeling I can only describe as "WTF?", but this one surprised me by how chilling it was compared to other Kafka stories. - "The Hunger Artist": 6/5. Now that's a Kafka story....more
Oof, disappointing. A lot of good ideas but poor execution. In my opinion, Liu Cixin is better at writing short stories. The best parts of Death's EndOof, disappointing. A lot of good ideas but poor execution. In my opinion, Liu Cixin is better at writing short stories. The best parts of Death's End are the opening chapter "The Death of the Magician", the coded fairy tale, and the Singer chapter, all of which read like standalone stories. But in between these gems are pages of dull info dump due to the overuse of cryogenic hibernation. As Niall Alexander summarily put it in his review for Tor.com, this book bites off more than it can chew. Apparently, Liu wanted the third volume to be "hardcore" science fiction--the hard vs soft differentiation gets my goat--and maybe you could dismiss complaints like the lack of characterization as a necessary consequence of wanting to be a "demanding" writer. That is still no excuse for the cringy gender essentialism where effeminate men are equated with being harmless but spineless though....more
This play feels much more accessible to me now as a 30-something adult than when I first read it in high school. Even though back then I was just as iThis play feels much more accessible to me now as a 30-something adult than when I first read it in high school. Even though back then I was just as ill-adjusted to the world as Hamlet, I didn't fully sympathize with or understand his melancholy, deferral of action, antinatalism as an expression of self-loathing, and the comfort found in our mortality. It's an emotionally poignant play whose intellectual depth marries well with the pacing of the plot and the variety of characters who all play foil to Hamlet in one way or another.
Something that struck me this time the most is how this play is all about acting: acting as a means of deceit at various levels of insidiousness, acting as in putting on a face even though things aren't all right, acting as in doing and taking action, and the art of dramatic acting. Because of this, I think the Hecuba speech in Act II Scene 2 is analytically more interesting than the more famous "To be or not to be" speech. It starts with his amazement at the actor's artistry but then turns into a rant of self-loathing as he curses himself for being too cowardly to avenge his father (acting = taking action). At first, I wondered if it was a leap of logic to jump from one definition of acting to another, but it makes sense to connect the two when you think about what he is trying to do to Claudius in this scene. Hamlet was testing Claudius to see if the play would overwhelm him emotionally to force him to reveal his true self. And te actor playing Hecuba is doing the same thing to Hamlet--Hamlet is so deeply moved that he can't help but confront his true self. It's such a layered and self-reflective speech. It's amazing....more
All the stories in this volume are strong except for the last one. I'd rate this volume five out of five stars if I didn't continue to disagree with tAll the stories in this volume are strong except for the last one. I'd rate this volume five out of five stars if I didn't continue to disagree with the editor's selection for what are supposed to be the best works of Edogwa Rampo.
My ratings of individual stories - 「芋虫」"The Caterpillar": 6/5. My favorite Rampo story. - 「踊る一寸法師」"The Dancing Dwarf": 5/5. Rampo's choice for the narrator is smart. - 「虫」"Insect": 4/5. The story ends just when the fun is about to begin. The cover art is most likely based on this story, but I don't think the male protagonist is supposed to look like Adonis, which seems to be the only kind of male body Jo Chen can draw. - 「盲獣」"Mōjū: The Blind Beast": 3/5. I agree with Rampo's self-assessment that the story overindulges the reader in erotic, grotesque nonsense. It’s clear that the last chapter was tacked on to forcibly tie the ends together. It's such a weak story that I wonder why the editors included it in the author's best-works collection....more
![ニーチェ先生~コンビニに、さとり世代の新人が舞い降りた~ 1 [Nietzsche-sensei: Konbini ni, Satori Sedai no Shinjin ga Maiorita 1] (Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store, #1)](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427622449l/25240680._SX50_.jpg)
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