Charlie's bookshelf: read en-US Fri, 28 Feb 2025 14:09:41 -0800 60 Charlie's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Golden Pot and Other Tales]]> 551457 contact and conflict. This new translation includes The Golden Pot, The Sandman, Princess Brambilla, Master Flea, and My Cousin's Corner Window.]]> 401 E.T.A. Hoffmann 0192837230 Charlie 0 fairytales 3.89 1814 The Golden Pot and Other Tales
author: E.T.A. Hoffmann
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at: 2019/03/18
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves: fairytales
review:

]]> Funeral Games 22698727 Book by Orton, Joe 96 Joe Orton Charlie 3 plays 3.00 1970 Funeral Games
author: Joe Orton
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1970
rating: 3
read at: 2021/08/05
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: plays
review:
'Unless you kill your wife she'll accuse you of not being her murderer.' A fair one-act farce. Makes for good light reading but would certainly (as with all farce) be much better performed. Still, it's no Loot.
]]> Bull 25128952
A savage, acid-tongued new play by Mike Bartlett, one of the UK's most exciting and inventive young writers, and the author of the off-Broadway smash hit Cock. Razor sharp and blackly comic, Bull is a savage and insightful play about office politics or playground bullying, depending which side you're on. Genuinely thrilling, daring and inventive, acclaimed playwright Bartlett probes the dark side of the modern workplace.

Bull enjoyed its US premiere in spring 2013 at 59E59 Theaters's "Brits Off-Broadway" festival.
]]> 64 Mike Bartlett 1848424663 Charlie 4 plays
Although the characters are vivid, they're not necessarily believable. A certain amount of dramatic condensing is to be expected, but one person as cruel as Isobel is perhaps believeable, where two stretches credulity. This is not a casually cruel sales environment, like Glengarry Glenn Ross. It's revelling in playground sadism, ripping the wings off a beetle. ]]> 3.80 2013 Bull
author: Mike Bartlett
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/01
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: plays
review:
This is a really intriguing play. The dramatic situation is ridiculously simple with very little plot whatsoever, perhaps even a bit too simplistic, but the rhythm of the dialogue is satisfying, kind of coming in waves. It's very similar to his play Cock, stylistically.

Although the characters are vivid, they're not necessarily believable. A certain amount of dramatic condensing is to be expected, but one person as cruel as Isobel is perhaps believeable, where two stretches credulity. This is not a casually cruel sales environment, like Glengarry Glenn Ross. It's revelling in playground sadism, ripping the wings off a beetle.
]]> Shadow Slave: Book1 61859147 What's worse, the shadow powers he received happened to possess a small, but potentially fatal side effect...]]> 591 Guiltythree Charlie 5 gamelit, litrpg
Rather than a naive, coming-of-age protagonist, we instead get Sunless (Sunny), who's fashioned after Odysseus. Not for his bravery and battle prowess, but his metis--that is, his wits. This cunning saves the group many times. It should be noted that many of the episodes feel somewhat like the Odyssey, which is surprising for a Chinese system novel. From the Trojan Crustacean, to fighting the temptation to give into their senses (like the Sirens), he even wants to use the name nobody to hide his identity online in a throwback to the episode with the Cyclops. Alas, the name is taken and in a fit of throwing stuff at the wall till something sticks, Mongrel is born.

What makes this book especially interesting though is with each aspect, each character gets a flaw. And Sunny's flaw is that he can't directly lie, despite being cunning and deceitful by nature. This creates many interesting / funny narrative episodes, especially as he often has to deceive people with a misleading truth. Obviously he hides this flaw and so, many people dismiss much of what he says as insane, largely because he deceives others about how weak he is and the things he says are out there.

I would highly recommend to any fans of game-lit / lit-rpg genres.]]> 4.58 2022 Shadow Slave: Book1
author: Guiltythree
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: gamelit, litrpg
review:
A refreshing take on the system genre.

Rather than a naive, coming-of-age protagonist, we instead get Sunless (Sunny), who's fashioned after Odysseus. Not for his bravery and battle prowess, but his metis--that is, his wits. This cunning saves the group many times. It should be noted that many of the episodes feel somewhat like the Odyssey, which is surprising for a Chinese system novel. From the Trojan Crustacean, to fighting the temptation to give into their senses (like the Sirens), he even wants to use the name nobody to hide his identity online in a throwback to the episode with the Cyclops. Alas, the name is taken and in a fit of throwing stuff at the wall till something sticks, Mongrel is born.

What makes this book especially interesting though is with each aspect, each character gets a flaw. And Sunny's flaw is that he can't directly lie, despite being cunning and deceitful by nature. This creates many interesting / funny narrative episodes, especially as he often has to deceive people with a misleading truth. Obviously he hides this flaw and so, many people dismiss much of what he says as insane, largely because he deceives others about how weak he is and the things he says are out there.

I would highly recommend to any fans of game-lit / lit-rpg genres.
]]> <![CDATA[Dark Vanilla Jungle and Other Monologues]]> 18489811 It was a very hot day � dazzling sunshine! � and Mum � she was wiping sweat from her neck. No, not wiping. Dabbing . . . Dab . . . Dab. Mum was a beauty. Not like me. And don't tell me I am because you'll be lying and I won't thank you for it. Not today. Not when this whole thing � us, here - is about me telling the truth.

The latest from Philip Ridley is a beautiful, breath-taking new drama about one girl's craving for family and home, and the lengths she will go to achieve them.

Dark Vanilla Jungle embarked on a national tour of Great Britain in spring 2014.

This edition also features a selection of previously unpublished monologues by Philip Ridley alongside the play.]]> 74 Philip Ridley 1472523504 Charlie 2 plays - elements of gritty social realism
- dark humour
- visceral imagery
- the grotesque (in the literary sense)
It's missing one vital ingredient we have come to expect from Radiant Vermin to The Pitchfork Disney and everything in between:
- the fantastic (in the literary sense)
I feel like, without this crucial ingredient, this play is just bleak. Very bleak. Even more so than other plays of his that have tackled similar subjects, like The Fastest Clock in the Universe.

I will re-iterate, this is not badly written, and I love Philip Ridley. Especially everything in Plays 1, most of Plays 2, Shivered, etc. There's only really this and Tender Napalm that I would not reread.]]> 3.82 2014 Dark Vanilla Jungle and Other Monologues
author: Philip Ridley
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: plays
review:
I am a huge Philip Ridley fan but I would not recommend this play as it is incredibly depressing, and though it has many of his hallmarks:
- elements of gritty social realism
- dark humour
- visceral imagery
- the grotesque (in the literary sense)
It's missing one vital ingredient we have come to expect from Radiant Vermin to The Pitchfork Disney and everything in between:
- the fantastic (in the literary sense)
I feel like, without this crucial ingredient, this play is just bleak. Very bleak. Even more so than other plays of his that have tackled similar subjects, like The Fastest Clock in the Universe.

I will re-iterate, this is not badly written, and I love Philip Ridley. Especially everything in Plays 1, most of Plays 2, Shivered, etc. There's only really this and Tender Napalm that I would not reread.
]]> The Mercy Seat: A Play 134067 69 Neil LaBute 0571211380 Charlie 4
The set up of this play should be no surprise then. One of the worst atrocities of the 21st century is taking place outside, thousands dead and more dying, and yet one man sits there, thinking, this is just the opportunity I've been waiting for.

Trying not to give too much away, this story is a two-hander that explores the complex relationship of two colleagues having an affair, separated by a decade or so. A lot of control is shown over the drip feed of information, though we have an understanding of roughly what's happening about 10 pages in.

This play must be emotionally exhausting for the actors. The original casting is unbelievable. To go back and experience Sigourney Weaver and Liev Schreiber would have been perfect. But then again, this would be to lose part of what makes theatre so special: it's ephemeral nature.]]> 3.68 2003 The Mercy Seat: A Play
author: Neil LaBute
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves:
review:
I do enjoy LaBute's writing. It should be called the Theatre of Assholes. And I say that because the protagonists aren't really anti-heroes, no, that term is far too grand, but selfish, insecure, perhaps homophobic or racist or sexist, in some subtle or not so subtle way. Or maybe they are just liars, cheaters, stealers. Not necessarily all of the above, but these characters are always flawed, and real, with some complexity and ambiguity and believable contradiction.

The set up of this play should be no surprise then. One of the worst atrocities of the 21st century is taking place outside, thousands dead and more dying, and yet one man sits there, thinking, this is just the opportunity I've been waiting for.

Trying not to give too much away, this story is a two-hander that explores the complex relationship of two colleagues having an affair, separated by a decade or so. A lot of control is shown over the drip feed of information, though we have an understanding of roughly what's happening about 10 pages in.

This play must be emotionally exhausting for the actors. The original casting is unbelievable. To go back and experience Sigourney Weaver and Liev Schreiber would have been perfect. But then again, this would be to lose part of what makes theatre so special: it's ephemeral nature.
]]> The Pillowman 133974
'Sometimes you don't even know what you've been craving until the real thing comes along.' New York Times

'McDonagh is more than just a very clever theatrical stylist. His tricks and turns have a purpose. They are bridges over a deep pit of sympathy and sorrow, illuminated by a tragic vision of stunted and frustrated lives.' Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times

Martin McDonagh's searingly brilliant new play premi�res at the National Theatre, London in November 2003.]]> 104 Martin McDonagh 0571220320 Charlie 5 plays, favourites 4.29 2003 The Pillowman
author: Martin McDonagh
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/29
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: plays, favourites
review:
A modern kafkaesque fairytale complete with a delicious serving of dark humour. I think it's fair to say that no one manages to make such dark subject matter quite so funny as McDonagh, except perhaps maybe early Pinter. No, even then McDonagh is still the master of the truly messed up humour. This play is on the same level as his funniest film, In Bruges. While he clearly tried to tread familiar territory to here with his latest play, A Very, Very Dark Matter, this was the apotheosis of both his theatrical and fairytale inspired writings.
]]> <![CDATA[Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)]]> 54659324 An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.


The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman—now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.�]]> 446 Matt Dinniman Charlie 0 4.57 2020 Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: currently-reading, gamelit, litrpg
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Howlers Rise: A LitRPG Progression Fantasy (My Werewolf System Book 4)]]> 219471059 A teen lycanthrope learns that being a leader means much more than just being a killer as the action-packed LitRPG fantasy series continues . . .

Living with an advanced Werewolf System hasn’t always been easy for Gary Dem. But it sure comes in handy. Without it, he would never have been able to take on—and literally devour—a lethal Altered and live to tell about it.

With his new rank and abilities, Gary and his gang, the Howlers, are primed to finally wipe out the last remaining competition in Slough. As long as he can control himself and his growing werewolf pack, things might just turn out all right . . . But it’s not bloody likely.

Someone caught Gary and the Howlers� recent brawl on video. That means now everyone knows who Gary is, even if they don’t know his beastly secret. It also means a lot of unwanted attention—and trouble. And that means someone is about to try and kill him . . . again.

The fourth volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than five million views on Webnovel—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!]]> 411 JKSManga 1039480004 Charlie 0 gamelit, litrpg 4.52 The Howlers Rise: A LitRPG Progression Fantasy (My Werewolf System Book 4)
author: JKSManga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: gamelit, litrpg
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Solo Leveling, Vol. 7 (Solo Leveling Novel #7)]]> 63102690 230 Chugong 1975319400 Charlie 0 gamelit, light-novel, litrpg 4.50 Solo Leveling, Vol. 7 (Solo Leveling Novel #7)
author: Chugong
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: gamelit, light-novel, litrpg
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Solo Leveling, Vol. 6 (Solo Leveling Novel #6)]]> 61997911
Having witnessed the staggering power of the Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo can’t wait to level up and reach those heights, and what better way to do so than to mobilize his army of soldiers against an S-rank dungeon’s worth of giants? Saving a country abandoned by the rest of the world has its benefits—international renown, the expansion of his guild, an invitation to the most prestigious hunter conference in the world—but perhaps the most unexpected bonus is a run-in with another Monarch who brings not-so-welcome tidings. If he’s to be believed, a war is coming that not even Jinwoo is strong enough to stop…]]> 272 Chugong 1975319389 Charlie 0 4.53 Solo Leveling, Vol. 6 (Solo Leveling Novel #6)
author: Chugong
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: fantasy, gamelit, litrpg, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Solo Leveling, Vol. 5 (Solo Leveling Novel #5)]]> 60099321 "WHO AM I?"

A devastating dungeon break at his sister's high school is quickly taken care of by Jinwoo...but not before he confirms that magic beasts no longer register him as a human. What's more, the deceased Byunggu Min sends him a cryptic warning from beyond the grave: Jinwoo's powers are more frightening that he knows. Left with too many questions and very few answers, his final hope lies in the key to Cartenon Temple. Jinwoo's determined to find out who—or what—he's become, and to do so, he's prepared to return to where it all began!]]> 268 Chugong 1975319354 Charlie 0 4.46 Solo Leveling, Vol. 5 (Solo Leveling Novel #5)
author: Chugong
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: gamelit, fantasy, litrpg, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Solo Leveling, Vol. 4 (novel) (Solo leveling #4)]]> 59465626 322 Chugong Charlie 0 4.65 Solo Leveling, Vol. 4 (novel) (Solo leveling #4)
author: Chugong
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.65
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: fantasy, gamelit, litrpg, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[So I'm a Spider, So What?, Vol. 1 (light novel)]]> 35276160 277 Okina Baba 0316442925 Charlie 0 to-read 4.33 2015 So I'm a Spider, So What?, Vol. 1 (light novel)
author: Okina Baba
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Solo Leveling, Vol. 3 (novel) 58441732
Leveling up in C-rank dungeons has become next to impossible for Jinwoo. But an E-rank hunter attempting anything higher? Well, that would raise some serious red flags…so the time has come for a reevaluation. And when the results are back, it’s official—Jinwoo is the tenth S-rank hunter from South Korea! An entirely new world, brimming with powerful magic beasts and elite hunters, is now open to him. But before he can immerse himself in it, there’s something absolutely vital he has to do…]]> 328 Chugong 197531932X Charlie 0 4.51 Solo Leveling, Vol. 3 (novel)
author: Chugong
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: fantasy, gamelit, litrpg, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[� 혼자� 레벨� 2 (Solo Leveling, #2)]]> 48999862
서울 시내 지� 역사. 인스턴트 던전에서 시작� 혼자만의 결투. 몰려드는 마수� 상대하며, 던전 깊은 곳으� 들어갈수� 뼈져리게 느껴지� 자신� 나약�. 강해져야 한다. 강해지� 위해 이곳� 있다! 홀� 레벨업을 거듭� 성진�, 그리� 그를 기다리는 다음 무대!]]> 300 Dubu (Redice Studio) Charlie 0 4.58 2020 나 혼자만 레벨업 2 (Solo Leveling, #2)
author: Dubu (Redice Studio)
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: fantasy, litrpg, gamelit, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]> 480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Charlie 0 to-read, gamelit 4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: to-read, gamelit
review:

]]> The Machine Stops 4711854 The Machine Stops is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928.

After being voted one of the best novellas up to 1965, it was included that same year in the populist anthology Modern Short Stories. In 1973 it was also included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two.

The book is particularly notable for predicting new technologies such as instant messaging and the internet.]]> 35 E.M. Forster 140990329X Charlie 0 classic-novels, sci-fi 4.06 1909 The Machine Stops
author: E.M. Forster
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1909
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/23
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: classic-novels, sci-fi
review:

]]> My Dragon System: Book 0 59824433
How will Sen live his life now as a human who he once despised and saw as weak?]]> 312 JKS Manga Charlie 0 4.50 My Dragon System: Book 0
author: JKS Manga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/08
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: litrpg, gamelit, fantasy, light-novel
review:
I feel like this was the writer warming up for MVS, but Ray genuinely is a badass.
]]> <![CDATA[My Werewolf System (My Werewolf System #1)]]> 125812774 From the creator of My Vampire System comes the action-packed story of a young man struggling to survive—until he learns to unleash the animal within . . .

Gary doesn’t have all that much going for him. He’s a teenage boy who lives in a Tier-3 town that’s barely hanging on, and his family’s just a rung above dirt poor. Which is why he’s taken the very dangerous step of becoming an errand boy for the savage Underdogs gang. He doesn’t like what they do, but if he tries to get out, he’s pretty sure he’ll get very dead.

Then, a delivery goes wrong when he’s ambushed and injured. Even worse, his “package� somehow gets loose—and into Gary. To his shock, he finds himself the wielder of a Werewolf System. It allows him incredible power, strength, and healing. Unfortunately, when the full moon strikes, he might not be able to control his bloodlust and could wind up hurting somebody he cares about.

Now, Gary must somehow explain his sudden “improvement� to his friends while trying to survive a pack of vicious hunters out to eliminate him. Because if he can figure out how to harness his new abilities, he just might make a difference in this town—and the first thing on his to-do list is put the Underdogs underground . . .

The first volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than five million views on Webnovel—now available on Audible and wherever ebooks are sold! ]]> 444 JKSManga 1039417949 Charlie 0 litrpg, gamelit 4.01 My Werewolf System (My Werewolf System #1)
author: JKSManga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: litrpg, gamelit
review:

]]> <![CDATA[� 혼자� 레벨� 1 (Solo Leveling, #1)]]> 42733961
1웹툰 � 혼자� 레벨�
만화 장성�(REDICE), 원작 추공 � 매주 목요� 카카오페이지 독점연재

�10� � �,
다른 차원� 이쪽 세계� 이어 주는 통로 ‘게이트’가 열리�
평범� 이들 � 각성� 자들� 생겨났다.

게이� 안의 던전에서 마물� 사냥하는 각성�.
그들� 일컬� ‘헌터’라 부른다.

그러� 모든 헌터가 강한 것은 아니�.
� 이름은 성진�.
E� 헌터�.

저� 던전에서조차 죽을 고비� 넘겨� 하는
‘인� 최약병기�.

무엇 하나 내세� � 없는 형편�
저� 던전으로 근근� 생계� 이어가� 그는,
D� 던전 속에 숨겨�
최악� 난이도의 이중 던전� 만난�.

그리� 결국� 죽음� 맞이하려� 순간,
그는 기이� 능력� 얻게 된다.

오직 그에게만 보이� 게임 퀘스� �!
오직 그만� 알게 � 레벨 업의 비밀!

퀘스트를 따라 수련하고
몬스터를 사냥하면 레벨� 오른�.
오직 � 혼자�!
최약� 헌터에서 최강 헌터� 각성하다!]]> 312 Dubu (Redice Studio) Charlie 5 litrpg, fantasy, gamelit 4.47 2019 나 혼자만 레벨업 1 (Solo Leveling, #1)
author: Dubu (Redice Studio)
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: litrpg, fantasy, gamelit
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Penguin Book of the British Short Story, Volume 2: From John Buchan to Zadie Smith]]> 25242056 The Penguin Book of the British Short Story has a permanent authority, and will be reached for year in and year out.

This volume takes the story from the 1920s to the present day.]]> 800 Philip Hensher 0141396016 Charlie 0 to-read 3.70 2015 The Penguin Book of the British Short Story, Volume 2: From John Buchan to Zadie Smith
author: Philip Hensher
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Instruction Manual for Swallowing]]> 2619794 216 Adam Marek 1905583044 Charlie 5 short-story, transgressive
As with any short story collection some are more forgettable than others. But others, especially those leaning into the surreal, like The Centipede's Wife and Belly Full of Rain, really stand out for their combination of the fantastical with complex psychological introspection. There's a really gifted writer here, and after rereading this I have bought his second collection.

Standouts:
Belly Full of Rain, The Centipede's Wife, Meaty's Boys, Jumping Jennifer, The 40-Litre Monkey.

Belly Full of Rain is an excellent piece about all the fears and insecurities of a man about to be a father, amplified by a belly full of kids so large the mother requires porcine skin grafts.

The Centipede's Wife is a surreal story about gilt, desire and our inability to forgive ourselves. Plus giant talking centipedes.

The 40-Litre Monkey is an interesting portrait of obsession, eccentricity, and the complex relationships we have with the objects of our obsession.

Meaty's Boys is a fresh take on the zombie genre, with a suitable dose of dark humour.

Boiling the Toad felt a bit like McEwan. I mean that in both a good and bad way. The titular Instruction Manual for Swallowing shows some range with its Borgesian premise.]]> 3.92 2007 Instruction Manual for Swallowing
author: Adam Marek
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/17
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: short-story, transgressive
review:
This is a great collection, full of dark humour.

As with any short story collection some are more forgettable than others. But others, especially those leaning into the surreal, like The Centipede's Wife and Belly Full of Rain, really stand out for their combination of the fantastical with complex psychological introspection. There's a really gifted writer here, and after rereading this I have bought his second collection.

Standouts:
Belly Full of Rain, The Centipede's Wife, Meaty's Boys, Jumping Jennifer, The 40-Litre Monkey.

Belly Full of Rain is an excellent piece about all the fears and insecurities of a man about to be a father, amplified by a belly full of kids so large the mother requires porcine skin grafts.

The Centipede's Wife is a surreal story about gilt, desire and our inability to forgive ourselves. Plus giant talking centipedes.

The 40-Litre Monkey is an interesting portrait of obsession, eccentricity, and the complex relationships we have with the objects of our obsession.

Meaty's Boys is a fresh take on the zombie genre, with a suitable dose of dark humour.

Boiling the Toad felt a bit like McEwan. I mean that in both a good and bad way. The titular Instruction Manual for Swallowing shows some range with its Borgesian premise.
]]> <![CDATA[Altered Mashup (My Werewolf System #3)]]> 203200115 One young man tries to maintain his humanity . . . while controlling the beast within . . . in the third installment of this action-packed cultivation fantasy.

Having been gifted (or cursed, if there’s a full moon) with a powerful Werewolf System, Gary is beginning to grasp the consequences of his new existence. And he has plenty of other things to deal with as well. At school, he’s still trying not to stand out too much while keeping his friends in the dark as to his feral nature, navigating the completely foreign arena of romance with the cute new girl/mayor’s daughter, and confronting one of the most dangerous (and annoyingly cool) Altered humans in the country.

As if all that weren’t enough, Gary’s street gang, just starting to get a foothold, is making much bigger plans for the future, which means surviving a massive impending gang war, claiming other gangs� turf, and then eventually taking over the world. And Gary’s animal instincts may be the only thing keeping his fellow Howlers from the slaughter.

But perhaps worst of all, the most feared and ruthless rival gangs are looking for Gary. They know his name. They know his reputation. And they know exactly how he became the lethal teen wolf that’s taken the Tier 3 town of Slough by bloody storm. Suffice to say, they won’t hesitate to rip him to shreds to get his system for themselves . . .

The third volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than five million views on Webnovel—now available on Audible and wherever ebooks are sold!]]> 537 JKSManga 1039454429 Charlie 0 4.56 Altered Mashup (My Werewolf System #3)
author: JKSManga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/16
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: litrpg, contemporary-novels, gamelit, light-novel
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0, #1)]]> 18616975
What could possibly go wrong?

An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin� and not, y’know, die or anything.]]> 373 Scott Meyer 1612184715 Charlie 0 4.00 2013 Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0, #1)
author: Scott Meyer
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/15
shelves: currently-reading, contemporary-novels, gamelit, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stories of Your Life and Others]]> 223380 ]]> 281 Ted Chiang 0330426648 Charlie 0 4.28 2002 Stories of Your Life and Others
author: Ted Chiang
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: currently-reading, short-story
review:

]]> CivilWarLand in Bad Decline 28747 179 George Saunders 0099595818 Charlie 0 to-read 4.25 1996 CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
author: George Saunders
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Largesse of the Sea Maiden]]> 35135343 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the long-awaited new story collection from Denis Johnson. Written in the luminous prose that made him one of the most beloved and important writers of his generation, this collection finds Johnson in new territory, contemplating the ghosts of the past and the elusive and unexpected ways the mysteries of the universe assert themselves.

Finished shortly before Johnson’s death, this collection is the last word from a writer whose work will live on for many years to come.

The largesse of the sea maiden
The starlight on Idaho
Strangler Bob
Triumph over the grave
Doppelganger, poltergeist]]> 207 Denis Johnson 0812988639 Charlie 0 to-read 3.95 2018 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
author: Denis Johnson
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Welcome to the Monkey House 4985 Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories share Vonnegut’s audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.

Alternative cover edition here ]]> 331 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 0385333501 Charlie 0 to-read 4.14 1968 Welcome to the Monkey House
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1968
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain]]> 261601 Robert Olen Butler's lyrical and poignant collection of stories about the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its impact on the Vietnamese was acclaimed by critics across the nation and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993.

Now Grove Press is proud to reissue this contemporary classic by one of America's most important living writers, in a new edition of 'A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain' that includes two subsequently published stories -- "Salem" and "Missing" -- that brilliantly complete the collection's narrative journey, returning to the jungles of Vietnam.]]> 269 Robert Olen Butler 0802137989 Charlie 0 to-read 3.95 1992 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
author: Robert Olen Butler
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (Hainish Cycle, #9)]]> 68021 362 Ursula K. Le Guin 0060509066 Charlie 0 to-read 4.33 2002 The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (Hainish Cycle, #9)
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions]]> 16790 Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion... and anything is possible. In this, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders -- a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality -- obscured by smoke and darkness, yet brilliantly tangible -- in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.]]> 365 Neil Gaiman 0380789027 Charlie 0 to-read 4.03 1998 Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Exhalation 41160292
In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom," the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.]]> 368 Ted Chiang Charlie 0 to-read 4.27 2019 Exhalation
author: Ted Chiang
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Vampire Conditions 15850978
The stories in this collection originally appeared in: HOBART, FICTION INTERNATIONAL, KITTY SNACKS, TEXAS OBSERVER, NEW BORDER and THE PURITAN.]]> 115 Brian Allen Carr 0983258902 Charlie 0 to-read 4.34 2012 Vampire Conditions
author: Brian Allen Carr
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Forty Stories 43440 Forty Stories, the companion volume to Sixty Stories, we encounter a dazzling array of subjects: Paul Klee, Goethe, Captain Blood, modern courtship, marriage and divorce, armadillos, and other unique Barthelmean flights of fancy. These pithy, brilliantly acerbic pieces tangle with the ludicrous, pose questions that remain unresolved, and challenge familiar bits of language heretofore unexamined. Forty Stories demonstrates Barthelme's unrivaled ability to surprise, to stimulate, and to explore.]]> 246 Donald Barthelme 0141180943 Charlie 0 to-read 4.22 1987 Forty Stories
author: Donald Barthelme
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories]]> 24885533
With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie. This mesmerizing collection features all of Ken’s award-winning and award-finalist stories, including: “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary� (Finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Theodore Sturgeon Awards), “Mono No Aware� (Hugo Award winner), “The Waves� (Nebula Award finalist), “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species� (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), “All the Flavors� (Nebula award finalist), “The Litigation Master and the Monkey King� (Nebula Award finalist), and the most awarded story in the genre’s history, “The Paper Menagerie� (The only story to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards).

A must-have for every science fiction and fantasy fan, this beautiful book is an anthology to savor.]]> 450 Ken Liu 1481442546 Charlie 0 to-read 4.36 2016 The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
author: Ken Liu
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives]]> 4948826 Sum is a dazzling exploration of unexpected afterlives—each presented as a vignette that offers a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now. In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple, or that the universe is running backward, or that you are forced to live out your afterlife with annoying versions of who you could have been. With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now.]]> 110 David Eagleman 0307377342 Charlie 0 to-read 4.13 2009 Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
author: David Eagleman
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Thing Around Your Neck 5587960
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the literary scene with her remarkable debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, which critics hailed as "one of the best novels to come out of Africa in years" (Baltimore Sun), with "prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes" (The Boston Globe); The Washington Post called her "the twenty-first-century daughter of Chinua Achebe." Her award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun became an instant classic upon its publication three years later, once again putting her tremendous gifts - graceful storytelling, knowing compassion, and fierce insight into her characters' hearts - on display. Now, in her most intimate and seamlessly crafted work to date, Adichie turns her penetrating eye on not only Nigeria but America, in twelve dazzling stories that explore the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Africa and the United States.

In "A Private Experience," a medical student hides from a violent riot with a poor Muslim woman whose dignity and faith force her to confront the realities and fears she's been pushing away. In "Tomorrow is Too Far," a woman unlocks the devastating secret that surrounds her brother's death. The young mother at the center of "Imitation" finds her comfortable life in Philadelphia threatened when she learns that her husband has moved his mistress into their Lagos home. And the title story depicts the choking loneliness of a Nigerian girl who moves to an America that turns out to be nothing like the country she expected; though falling in love brings her desires nearly within reach, a death in her homeland forces her to reexamine them.

Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, these stories map, with Adichie's signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them. The Thing Around Your Neck is a resounding confirmation of the prodigious literary powers of one of our most essential writers.]]> 218 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 0307271072 Charlie 0 to-read 4.24 2008 The Thing Around Your Neck
author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hurt Others 12486686 Jeez oh man!

Don't ask why a teenager in a Chicago Bulls overcoat is feeding baby rabbits to a toad. Don't ask why someone had to run around the backyard with a bedsheet cape after drinking moonshine. And don't ask why jumping down stairs feels like success.

Just sit back, drink a piss-infused Bloody Mary, and learn to hurt others.

]]> 112 Sam Pink 1936383772 Charlie 0 to-read 4.18 2011 Hurt Others
author: Sam Pink
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Nimrod Flipout 60424
Already featured on This American Life and Selected Shorts and in All Story and L.A. Weekly , these short stories include a man who finds equal pleasure in his beautiful girlfriend and the fat, soccer-loving lout she turns into after dark; shrinking parents; a case of impotence cured by a pet terrier; and a pessimistic Middle Eastern talking fish. A bestseller in Israel, The Nimrod Flipout is an extraordinary collection from the preeminent Israeli writer of his generation.]]> 167 Etgar Keret 0374222436 Charlie 0 to-read 3.99 2002 The Nimrod Flipout
author: Etgar Keret
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Elven Silver: The Irreverent Faery Tales of Zardoa Silverstar]]> 18208098 244 The Silver Elves 1490447210 Charlie 0 to-read 4.60 2013 Elven Silver: The Irreverent Faery Tales of Zardoa Silverstar
author: The Silver Elves
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> This Is How You Lose Her 13503109
In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”]]> 217 Junot Díaz 1594487367 Charlie 0 to-read 3.74 2010 This Is How You Lose Her
author: Junot Díaz
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> In Persuasion Nation 28746 In Persuasion Nation are easily his best work yet. "The Red Bow," about a town consumed by pet-killing hysteria, won a 2004 National Magazine Award and "Bohemians," the story of two supposed Eastern European widows trying to fit in in suburban USA, is included in The Best American Short Stories 2005. His new book includes both unpublished work, and stories that first appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, and Esquire. The stories in this volume work together as a whole whose impact far exceeds the simple sum of its parts. Fans of Saunders know and love him for his sharp and hilarious satirical eye. But In Persuasion Nation also includes more personal and poignant pieces that reveal a new kind of emotional conviction in Saunders's writing.

Saunders's work in the last six years has come to be recognized as one of the strongest—and most consoling—cries in the wilderness of the millennium's political and cultural malaise. In Persuasion Nation's sophistication and populism should establish Saunders once and for all as this generation's literary voice of wisdom and humor in a time when we need it most.]]> 228 George Saunders 159448242X Charlie 0 to-read 4.11 2006 In Persuasion Nation
author: George Saunders
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Tsar of Love and Techno 23995336 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena—dazzling, poignant, and lyrical interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art.

This stunning, exquisitely written collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts.

In stunning prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of our greatest new talents.

The leopard --
Granddaughters --
The Grozny Tourist Bureau --
A prisoner of the Caucasus --
The tsar of love and techno --
Wolf of White Forest --
Palace of the people --
A temporary exhibition --
The end]]> 332 Anthony Marra 0770436439 Charlie 0 to-read 4.27 2015 The Tsar of Love and Techno
author: Anthony Marra
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Like You'd Understand, Anyway 785438 224 Jim Shepard 0307265218 Charlie 0 to-read 3.87 2007 Like You'd Understand, Anyway
author: Jim Shepard
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories]]> 13531832 Swamplandia! � a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize � comes a magical and uniquely daring collection of stories that showcases the author’s gifts at their inimitable best.

Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution; a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate that they used to torment; a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences; and in the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship.

Vampires in the lemon grove --
Reeling for the Empire --
Seagull army descends on Strong Beach, 1979 --
Proving up --
Barn at the end of our term --
Dougbert Shackleton's rules for Antarctic tailgating --
New veterans --
Graveless doll of Eric Mutis]]> 243 Karen Russell 0307957233 Charlie 0 to-read 3.68 2013 Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories
author: Karen Russell
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 51496 139 Robert Louis Stevenson 0451528956 Charlie 0 classic-novels, horror 3.84 1886 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1886
rating: 0
read at: 2016/10/24
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, horror
review:

]]> Carmilla 48037
But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day� Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.]]> 108 J. Sheridan Le Fanu 0809510839 Charlie 4 classic-novels, horror
I listened to a surprisingly good Audible dramatisation, so this might have helped. Though the prose sections were still narrated.]]> 3.88 1872 Carmilla
author: J. Sheridan Le Fanu
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1872
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/24
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, horror
review:
This has dated surprisingly well. Better on the whole than Dracula, which I enjoyed the first 100 pages of a lot (in Castle Dracula), but honestly sucked once the plot moved to London. (Pun definitely intended.)

I listened to a surprisingly good Audible dramatisation, so this might have helped. Though the prose sections were still narrated.
]]> Lolita 7604 Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141182537.

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.]]> 368 Vladimir Nabokov 0679723161 Charlie 4 classic-novels, post-modern 3.87 1955 Lolita
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1955
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/28
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, post-modern
review:

]]> We 76171 The exhilarating dystopian novel that inspired George Orwell's 1984 and foreshadowed the worst excesses of Soviet Russia

Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is a powerfully inventive vision that has influenced writers from George Orwell to Ayn Rand. In a glass-enclosed city of absolute straight lines, ruled over by the all-powerful 'Benefactor', the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState live out lives devoid of passion and creativity - until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We is the classic dystopian novel and was the forerunner of works such as George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It was suppressed for many years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, yet is also a powerful, exciting and vivid work of science fiction. Clarence Brown's brilliant translation is based on the corrected text of the novel, first published in Russia in 1988 after more than sixty years' suppression.]]> 256 Yevgeny Zamyatin 0140185852 Charlie 4 classic-novels, dystopia 3.91 1924 We
author: Yevgeny Zamyatin
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1924
rating: 4
read at: 2017/10/06
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, dystopia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo, #2)]]> 33507 269 Jules Verne 076072850X Charlie 3 classic-novels, sci-fi 3.92 1869 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo, #2)
author: Jules Verne
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1869
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/30
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, sci-fi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Have Always Lived in the Castle]]> 89724 Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret.

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features an afterword by Jonathan Lethem.]]> 152 Shirley Jackson 0143039970 Charlie 4 classic-novels, horror 3.93 1962 We Have Always Lived in the Castle
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1962
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/07
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, horror
review:
4 stars. A lot of high-brow literary people look down on Shirley Jackson, but I can't help but feel this is pure critical snobbery. The affected style of, say, Henry or M R James has dated badly in comparison. I can see Tim Burton reading this book as a kid, drawing the poisoned tea party and its after effects with a wry smile on his face. The characters certainly aren't subtle—and the plot isn't particularly intricate or complex—but the tone is interesting, stylised and full of dark humour.
]]> Animal Farm 7613
The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, however, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals � inspired by his philosophy of Animalism � plot a rebellion against Jones.

Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall...]]> 129 George Orwell Charlie 4 classic-novels, dystopia 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/08
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: classic-novels, dystopia
review:

]]> Atomised 58371
Atomised tells the stories of the two brothers, but the real subject of the novel is the dismantling of contemporary society and its assumptions, its political incorrectness, and its caustic and penetrating asides on everything from anthropology to the problem pages of girls' magazines.]]> 379 Michel Houellebecq Charlie 5
"When at last the sky cleared, a steady rain began to fall. Raindrops fell with a dull sound on the canvas; though they were inches from his face, they could not touch him here. He had a sudden premonition that all his life he would feel as he did at this moment. Emotions would pass him by, sometimes tantalisingly close; others would experience happiness and despair, but such things would be unknown to him..."]]> 3.67 1998 Atomised
author: Michel Houellebecq
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/12
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: contemporary-novels, transgressive
review:
I think it's fair to say that this book is not for everyone. The lurid sexual acts and references to extreme sadistic violence that take place are not for the faint of heart. One of the main characters is a selfish, racist, sexist, alcoholic sex addict (the other is Liberal-minded and almost completely asexual). Having said all this, it's probably one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Stylistically, somewhere between Don Delillo and Charles Bukowski.

"When at last the sky cleared, a steady rain began to fall. Raindrops fell with a dull sound on the canvas; though they were inches from his face, they could not touch him here. He had a sudden premonition that all his life he would feel as he did at this moment. Emotions would pass him by, sometimes tantalisingly close; others would experience happiness and despair, but such things would be unknown to him..."
]]> Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) 6088007 Neuromancer is a cyberpunk, science fiction masterpiece—a classic that ranks with 1984 and Brave New World as one of the twentieth century’s most potent visions of the future.

The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus-hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace...

Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employees crippled his nervous system. But now a new and very mysterious employer recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool business clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

The winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer was the first fully-realized glimpse of humankind’s digital future—a shocking vision that has challenged our assumptions about our technology and ourselves, reinvented the way we speak and think, and forever altered the landscape of our imaginations.]]> 288 William Gibson Charlie 4 3.94 1984 Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1)
author: William Gibson
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/30
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: contemporary-novels, sci-fi, dystopia
review:
A classic for good reason. This novel has some interesting ideas and was clearly an important work in the cyberpunk genre. It's hard to imagine, for instance, The Matrix ever coming into being if not for this text. However, there are some pacing issues. It feels rushed in places and, at other times, it's not clear what exactly is going on. While I applaud the creativity, appreciate its influence, and would go so far as recommending to hardcore sci-fi fans, I probably wouldn't read this again. Its pace is almost too frenetic, bordering on stressful. Now, if a film adaptation or TV show came along, I'd be curious to see what they did with it. However, it will never be one of my all-time favourites. This is probably partly because I don't really empathise with any of the characters but also because I feel like in places it feels like Gibson is wrestling with his own understanding of what's taking place.
]]> Ham on Rye 38501 288 Charles Bukowski 006117758X Charlie 4 4.17 1982 Ham on Rye
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/29
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: contemporary-novels, transgressive
review:

]]> A Short Stay in Hell 13456414
In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.]]> 110 Steven L. Peck 098374842X Charlie 4 sci-fi, short-story, dystopia 4.17 2011 A Short Stay in Hell
author: Steven L. Peck
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: sci-fi, short-story, dystopia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Real Leader (My Werewolf System #2)]]> 152014550 The action-packed series continues as a young man unwillingly saddled with a Werewolf System attempts to live his life—without killing too many people . . .

Not long ago, Gary was just another punk teenager living in a ramshackle house in a bad part of a ramshackle town. To survive, he worked as a gofer for a brutal street gang—until a simple job went bad, and he ended up paired with a Werewolf System that enhanced his strength, stamina, and attitude.

But as Gary soon learned, this gift could also be a curse, costing anyone who got too close their life. Now, he’s trying to figure out how to use his system to make things better for those around him. Unfortunately, before things get better, they’re going to get much, much worse.

Because Gary isn’t the only werewolf roaming the streets. And he’s not necessarily the strongest. And his rivals belong to gangs that would be more than happy to put him down like a mad dog. His only hope is to level up, man up, and let his killer instinct take over.

The second volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than five million views on Webnovel—now available on Audible and wherever ebooks are sold! ]]> 419 JKSManga 1039421296 Charlie 0 litrpg, gamelit, light-novel 4.40 A Real Leader (My Werewolf System #2)
author: JKSManga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: litrpg, gamelit, light-novel
review:

]]> Metrophilias 7997919 102 Brendan Connell 0974323578 Charlie 5
Like a master carpenter's elaborate engravings, they are small, visually decorative pieces, showing the writer's skill and the beauty of well rendered prose.

"Breasts like strawberries floating in bowls of milk." Remind me of the dappled light falling on peach skin of Huysman's Magnum Opus. But elsewhere, it reads like a prose poem. Or witty dialogue in front of a Moscow courtroom.

Of all the neo-decandent writers, Connell is one of the most experimental. I've now read this collection 4 times in the last 6 years and can't recommend it highly enough.]]> 4.15 2010 Metrophilias
author: Brendan Connell
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/09
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: short-story, favourites, neo-decadence
review:
My favourite collection of vignettes, a form not that popular in the English language, but which definitely should be.

Like a master carpenter's elaborate engravings, they are small, visually decorative pieces, showing the writer's skill and the beauty of well rendered prose.

"Breasts like strawberries floating in bowls of milk." Remind me of the dappled light falling on peach skin of Huysman's Magnum Opus. But elsewhere, it reads like a prose poem. Or witty dialogue in front of a Moscow courtroom.

Of all the neo-decandent writers, Connell is one of the most experimental. I've now read this collection 4 times in the last 6 years and can't recommend it highly enough.
]]> Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman 9833 334 Haruki Murakami 1400044618 Charlie 0 currently-reading 3.86 2006 Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Elephant Vanishes 9555
With the same deadpan mania and genius for dislocation that he brought to his internationally acclaimed novels A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami makes this collection of stories a determined assault on the normal. A man sees his favorite elephant vanish into thin air; a newlywed couple suffers attacks of hunger that drive them to hold up a McDonald's in the middle of the night; and a young woman discovers that she has become irresistible to a little green monster who burrows up through her backyard.

By turns haunting and hilarious, The Elephant Vanishes is further proof of Murakami's ability to cross the border between separate realities -- and to come back bearing treasure.]]> 327 Haruki Murakami Charlie 0 currently-reading 3.88 1993 The Elephant Vanishes
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Wonder What Human Flesh Tastes Like]]> 9719708 356 Justin Isis 1907681019 Charlie 0 4.56 2011 I Wonder What Human Flesh Tastes Like
author: Justin Isis
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: currently-reading, neo-decadence, short-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Stone Thrower (BackLit Series)]]> 16056675 216 Adam Marek 1770411429 Charlie 0 currently-reading 4.16 2012 The Stone Thrower (BackLit Series)
author: Adam Marek
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Naked Lunch 3925199 238 William S. Burroughs 3548028438 Charlie 0 3.43 1959 The Naked Lunch
author: William S. Burroughs
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1959
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: currently-reading, short-story, transgressive
review:

]]> The Acid House 527862 Description from the inside sleeve:

This scintillating, disturbing, and altogether outrageous collection of stories introduces to these shores a young writer already being called "the Scottish Celine of the 1990s" (Guardian) and "a mad postmodern Roald Dahl" (Weekend Scotsman). Using a range of approaches from bitter realism to demented fantasy, Irvine Welsh is able to evoke the essential humanity, well hidden as it is, of his generally depraved, lazy, manipulative, and vicious characters. He specializes particularly in cosmic reversals--God turns a hapless footballer into a fly; an acid head and a newborn infant exchange consciousnesses with sardonically unexpected results--always displaying a corrosive wit and a telling accuracy of language and detail. Irvine Welsh is one hilariously dangerous writer and he is bound to create a sensation.

Includes the following stories:

"The Shooter"
"Eurotrash"
"Stoke Newington Blues"
"Vat '96"
"A Soft Touch"
"The Last Resort on the Adriatic"
"Sexual Disaster Quartet"
"Snuff"
"A Blockage in the System"
"Wayne Foster"
"Where the Debris Meets the Sea"
"Granny's Old Junk"
"The House of John Deaf"
"Across the Hall"
"Lisa's Mum Meets the Queen Mum"
"The Two Philosophers"
"Disnae Matter"
"The Granton Star Cause"
"Snowman Building Parts for Rico the Squirrel"
"Sport for All"
"The Acid House"
A Smart Cunt: a novella]]> 289 Irvine Welsh 0393312801 Charlie 0 3.75 1994 The Acid House
author: Irvine Welsh
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: currently-reading, transgressive, short-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories]]> 721012 Sketch Book first appeared in 1819, readers in America and abroad greeted it with enthusiasm, and Irving emerged as America's first successful professional author. The pieces about life in England are gently ironic, reflecting the author's interest in the traditions of the Old World and his longings for his home in the New. But it is in "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that Irving exhibits his true strength—the ability to depict American landscapes and culture so vividly that readers feel themselves a part of them. And it is on the basis of these two classic tales that Irving is generally credited with inventing the short story as a distinct literary genre.

Originally published as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.]]> 368 Washington Irving 014043769X Charlie 0 to-read 3.96 1820 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
author: Washington Irving
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1820
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 93261 108 Washington Irving 0809594080 Charlie 5 short-story
The gangly Ichabod is a quixotic pedagogue with quite the appetite for the good life - personified in this case by the wealthy landowner, Baron van Tassel's, beautiful young daughter. Although it might be said his eyes are more on her roasted hams, preserved plums and honeyed pastries, than any aspect of her countenance. Alas, he has a competitor in his suit, a brusque, brawny Man-About-Town Abraham "Brom" Bones, who learns of Ichabod's deep paranoia and fear of the supernatural...

It all comes to a head at the night of the dance, after a telling of ghost stories, including that of the Headless Hessian horseman lurking in the woods, he is disappointed by her rejection of his suit, and wanders back alone through the quiet woods.]]> 3.71 1820 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
author: Washington Irving
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1820
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: short-story
review:
Gripping period piece, its status well earnt.

The gangly Ichabod is a quixotic pedagogue with quite the appetite for the good life - personified in this case by the wealthy landowner, Baron van Tassel's, beautiful young daughter. Although it might be said his eyes are more on her roasted hams, preserved plums and honeyed pastries, than any aspect of her countenance. Alas, he has a competitor in his suit, a brusque, brawny Man-About-Town Abraham "Brom" Bones, who learns of Ichabod's deep paranoia and fear of the supernatural...

It all comes to a head at the night of the dance, after a telling of ghost stories, including that of the Headless Hessian horseman lurking in the woods, he is disappointed by her rejection of his suit, and wanders back alone through the quiet woods.
]]> Rip Van Winkle 462182 61 Washington Irving 1883789400 Charlie 3 short-story 3.60 1819 Rip Van Winkle
author: Washington Irving
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1819
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: short-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting: Become a professional game developer and create fully functional, high-quality games]]> 142939201 384 ZHENYU GEORGE LI 1804613932 Charlie 0 coding
2.5 stars rounded up.

I read as much of this book as I wanted to read, which was finishing part 1 of 3. I have decided I may read more of it again in the future, but not until I have a thorough understanding of c++.

Primary problem:
I'm not sure it knows who it's audience is... It goes over super basic stuff, like downloading an IDE, then covers the whole c++ language AND the concepts of OOP in one chapter. Memory pointers get about a third of a page. It has screenshots in chapter 4 of 30ish lines of code and just says, these are the functions, these are the macros, you're looking at unexplained syntax and unexplained components and it says, now you understand how that works.

Secondary problem:
Pacing issues... Nobody needs 13 pages on downloading Visual Studio and a third of page on memory pointers. The guy obviously knows the c++ language well, he's obviously well versed in the games industry, he just doesn't share that knowledge well with the reader. I think this may be the first time I've ever felt stupid reading a programming book. But then I went away and watched some YouTube videos, which were explained more thoroughly, and then I understood the concepts skipped over and that I was simply wasting my time on this book. (FYI, FreeCodeCamp has an amazing tutorial on c++, though it's pretty long at 31 hours, I just skipped to the relevant sections.)

At the beginning, this book specifies it is for people already somewhat familiar with the Unreal Engine wanting to get better at c++ scripting. I think it's reversed. This book is for people who are familiar with c++ who want to get familiar with Unreal Engine.

Later review: 4.5 stars rounded up.

If you are feeling very lost at the end of part one, proceed further. Part 2 essentially breaks down all the stuff that is quickly skimmed over in part one. It is incredibly thorough and comprehensive. This book performs both the roles of learning guide and a reference material, especially part 2. Part 3 has a great section on net code.

Be aware: this book expects you to know c++, a language you will likely have to spend a few weeks or at least as many pages or a substantial section of FreeCodeCamp's 31 hour video tutorial to familiarize yourself with.]]> 5.00 Unreal Engine 5 Game Development with C++ Scripting: Become a professional game developer and create fully functional, high-quality games
author: ZHENYU GEORGE LI
name: Charlie
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/07
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: coding
review:
Former review:

2.5 stars rounded up.

I read as much of this book as I wanted to read, which was finishing part 1 of 3. I have decided I may read more of it again in the future, but not until I have a thorough understanding of c++.

Primary problem:
I'm not sure it knows who it's audience is... It goes over super basic stuff, like downloading an IDE, then covers the whole c++ language AND the concepts of OOP in one chapter. Memory pointers get about a third of a page. It has screenshots in chapter 4 of 30ish lines of code and just says, these are the functions, these are the macros, you're looking at unexplained syntax and unexplained components and it says, now you understand how that works.

Secondary problem:
Pacing issues... Nobody needs 13 pages on downloading Visual Studio and a third of page on memory pointers. The guy obviously knows the c++ language well, he's obviously well versed in the games industry, he just doesn't share that knowledge well with the reader. I think this may be the first time I've ever felt stupid reading a programming book. But then I went away and watched some YouTube videos, which were explained more thoroughly, and then I understood the concepts skipped over and that I was simply wasting my time on this book. (FYI, FreeCodeCamp has an amazing tutorial on c++, though it's pretty long at 31 hours, I just skipped to the relevant sections.)

At the beginning, this book specifies it is for people already somewhat familiar with the Unreal Engine wanting to get better at c++ scripting. I think it's reversed. This book is for people who are familiar with c++ who want to get familiar with Unreal Engine.

Later review: 4.5 stars rounded up.

If you are feeling very lost at the end of part one, proceed further. Part 2 essentially breaks down all the stuff that is quickly skimmed over in part one. It is incredibly thorough and comprehensive. This book performs both the roles of learning guide and a reference material, especially part 2. Part 3 has a great section on net code.

Be aware: this book expects you to know c++, a language you will likely have to spend a few weeks or at least as many pages or a substantial section of FreeCodeCamp's 31 hour video tutorial to familiarize yourself with.
]]> <![CDATA[American Pastoral (The American Trilogy, #1)]]> 18905693 American Pastoral is the story of a fortunate American's rise and fall--of a strong, confident master of social equilibrium overwhelmed by the forces of social disorder. Seymour "Swede" Levov--a legendary high school athlete, a devoted family man, a hard worker, the prosperous inheritor of his father's Newark glove factory--comes of age in thriving, triumphant postwar America. But everything he loves is lost when the country begins to run amok in the turbulent 1960s. Not even the most private, well-intentioned citizen, it seems, gets to sidestep the sweep of history. With vigorous realism, Roth takes us back to the conflicts and violent transitions of the 1960s. This is a book about loving--and hating--America. It's a book about wanting to belong--and refusing to belong--to America. It sets the desire for an American pastoral--a respectable life of space, calm, order, optimism, and achievement--against the indigenous American Berserk.]]> 436 Philip Roth 0547415974 Charlie 0 to-read 3.97 1997 American Pastoral (The American Trilogy, #1)
author: Philip Roth
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Vampire System: Book 1 58663827


Humans who had hidden in the shadows for hundreds of years, people with abilities.



Some chose to share their knowledge to the rest of the world in hopes of winning the war, while others kept their abilities to themselves.



Quinn had lost everything to the war, his home, his family and the only thing he had inherited was a crummy old book that he couldn’t even open.



But when the book had finally opened, Quinn was granted a system and his whole life was turned around.



He completed quest after quest and became more powerful, until one day the system gave him a quest he wasn’t sure he could complete.



"It is time to feed!"

"You must drink human blood within 24 hours"

"Your HP will continue to decrease until the task has been completed."]]> 439 JKSManga Charlie 5
Great characters, great plot, lots of spelling mistakes and clearly written to tight, regular deadlines. More addictive than anything I've read in a while. Very much genre fiction though, so wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone.

LitRPG is an interesting sub genre though and I think the sections with the Cursed Faction, around chapters 700-1200 were truly spectacular.

Gets 5 stars for my pure enjoyment rather than any literary qualities. Definitely the best of the 3 system novels, although I have a sweet spot for Ray Talen's pure baddassness.]]> 4.31 My Vampire System: Book 1
author: JKSManga
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves: litrpg, gamelit, favourites, light-novel
review:
This review is for the first 1500 chapters (not sure how many of the 70 books that is), which were great, not the last 1000 chapters, which were less so.

Great characters, great plot, lots of spelling mistakes and clearly written to tight, regular deadlines. More addictive than anything I've read in a while. Very much genre fiction though, so wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone.

LitRPG is an interesting sub genre though and I think the sections with the Cursed Faction, around chapters 700-1200 were truly spectacular.

Gets 5 stars for my pure enjoyment rather than any literary qualities. Definitely the best of the 3 system novels, although I have a sweet spot for Ray Talen's pure baddassness.
]]> Everyman 26258687
One of the great primal, spiritual myths, Everyman asks whether it is only in death that we can understand our lives. A cornerstone of English drama since the 15th century, this new adaptation by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy was presented at the National Theatre, London, in April 2015.]]> 80 Carol Ann Duffy 0571326889 Charlie 0 to-read, plays 4.03 2015 Everyman
author: Carol Ann Duffy
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/17
shelves: to-read, plays
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3.1)]]> 768889
The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the northern wastes, a horde of hungry, savage people steeped in the dark magic of the wilderness is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. And Robb's defences are ranged against the South, the land of the cunning and cruel Lannisters, who have his young sisters in their power.

Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the wall is breached, no king will live to claim it.]]> 663 George R.R. Martin 0006479901 Charlie 0 contemporary-novels, fantasy 4.47 2000 A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3.1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at: 2017/09/15
date added: 2024/10/15
shelves: contemporary-novels, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction]]> 11724436
Available here:
















The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition: A Complete Introduction PDF by William Shotts
Read The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition: A Complete Introduction PDF from No Starch Press,William Shotts
Download William Shotts’s PDF E-book The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition: A Complete Introduction]]> 480 William E. Shotts Jr. 1593273894 Charlie 0 coding
One warning I perhaps didn't appreciate... If you are proficient with PowerShell, some of this is redundant as it supports many of these commands (usually as aliases of their regular verb-noun), so you may already be quite comfortable with the CLI.]]> 4.38 2012 The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction
author: William E. Shotts Jr.
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2024/03/30
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: coding
review:
This is as good a book as you can hope for on Bash/Linux. That's to say, it's still a programming book, but builds up at the right pace: neither too slow, numbing your brain; or too fast, leaving you rereading the previous sections multiple times.

One warning I perhaps didn't appreciate... If you are proficient with PowerShell, some of this is redundant as it supports many of these commands (usually as aliases of their regular verb-noun), so you may already be quite comfortable with the CLI.
]]> Networking For Dummies 7057945 The bestselling beginning networking book is now updated to cover the latest tools and trends! Fully updated and revised to include the latest trends in networking, this perennial bestseller features updated coverage of broadband technologies, storage, and backup. You'll discover the hottest topics for setting up a network at home or in the office.

Popular For Dummies author Doug Lowe knows what the networking beginner is looking for, so to that end, he offers you networking fundamentals written in his easy-to-understand style and discusses topics such as Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008.


Walks you through networking basics with valuable updates of the latest networking tools and trends Explains exactly what a network is and how to use it Demonstrates how to build a wired or wireless network Addresses securing, optimizing, and troubleshooting a network Discusses networking with all major operating systems Networking For Dummies, 9th Edition is the guide you need to start sharing resources and exchanging data today.]]> 432 Doug Lowe 0470534052 Charlie 0 to-read, non-fiction 3.79 2000 Networking For Dummies
author: Doug Lowe
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rust Programming Language, 2nd Edition]]> 63891183
The Rust Programming Language "covers everything you could want to know about the language."—Stack Overflow

Rust has been repeatedly voted "Most Loved Language" on the StackOverflow Developer Survey.

The Rust Programming Language, 2nd Edition is the official guide to Rust 2021: an open source systems programming language that will help you write faster, more reliable software. Rust provides control of low-level details along with high-level ergonomics, allowing you to improve productivity and eliminate the hassle traditionally associated with low-level languages.

Klabnik and Nichols, alumni of the Rust Core Team, share their knowledge to help you get the most out of Rust’s features so that you can create robust and scalable programs. You’ll begin with basics like creating functions, choosing data types, and binding variables, then move on to more advanced concepts, such as:


In addition to the countless code examples, you’ll find three chapters dedicated to building complete projects: a number-guessing game, a Rust implementation of a command line tool, and a multithreaded server.]]> 560 Steve Klabnik 1718503105 Charlie 0 coding, to-read 4.50 The Rust Programming Language, 2nd Edition
author: Steve Klabnik
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: coding, to-read
review:

]]> The Qur'an 36691128
This superb new translation of the Qur'an is written in contemporary language that remains faithful to the meaning and spirit of the original, making the text crystal clear while retaining all of this great work's eloquence. The translation is accurate and completely free from the archaisms, incoherence, and alien structures that mar existing translations. Thus, for the first time, English-speaking readers will have a text of the Qur'an which is easy to use and comprehensible. Furthermore, Haleem includes notes that explain geographical, historical, and personal allusions as well as an index in which Qur'anic material is arranged into topics for easy reference. His introduction traces the history of the Qur'an, examines its structure and stylistic features, and considers issues related to militancy, intolerance, and the subjection of women.

Clearly written and filled with helpful information and guidance, this brilliant translation of the Qur'an is the best available introduction to the faith of Moslems around the world.

About the For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.]]> 505 Anonymous Charlie 0 religion-myth 4.45 632 The Qur'an
author: Anonymous
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.45
book published: 632
rating: 0
read at: 2019/10/06
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: religion-myth
review:

]]> Unsouled (Cradle, #1) 30558257
Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan.

When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must defy his family's rules...and forge his own Path.]]> 294 Will Wight Charlie 0 to-read 4.16 2016 Unsouled (Cradle, #1)
author: Will Wight
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[C# 11 and .NET 7 � Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals: Start building websites and services with ASP.NET Core 7, Blazor, and EF Core 7]]> 63259355 Publisher’s Microsoft will stop supporting .NET 7 from May 2024. The newer 8th edition of the book is available that covers .NET 8 (end-of-life November 2026) with C# 12 and EF Core.

Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Key FeaturesExplore the newest additions to C# 11, the .NET 7 class libraries, and Entity Framework Core 7Create professional websites and services with ASP.NET Core 7 and BlazorBuild your confidence with step-by-step code examples and tips for best practicesBook DescriptionExtensively revised to accommodate the latest features that come with C# 11 and .NET 7, this latest edition of our guide will get you coding in C# with confidence.

You’ll learn object-oriented programming, writing, testing, and debugging functions, implementing interfaces, and inheriting classes. Next, you’ll take on .NET APIs for performing tasks like managing and querying data, working with the filesystem, and serialization. As you progress, you’ll also explore examples of cross-platform projects you can build and deploy, such as websites and services using ASP.NET Core.

Instead of distracting you with unnecessary graphical user interface code, the first eleven chapters will teach you about C# language constructs and many of the .NET libraries through simple console applications. Having mastered the basics, you’ll then start building websites, web services, and browser apps.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to create rich web experiences and have a solid grasp of object-oriented programming that you can build upon.

What you will learnBuild rich web experiences using Blazor, Razor Pages, the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, and other features of ASP.NET CoreWrite, test, and debug functionsQuery and manipulate data using LINQIntegrate and update databases in your apps using Entity Framework Core modelsBuild and consume powerful services using the latest technologies, including Web API and Minimal APIFor .NET 6 11 can be used with .NET 6, including features like raw string literalsEF Core 7 targets .NET 6, so you can benefit from its new features like ExecuteUpdate and ExecuteDelete for more efficient data modificationsWho this book is for

This book is primarily for beginners, but intermediate-level C# and .NET programmers who have worked with C# in the past and want to catch up with the changes made in the past few years will also find plenty of useful information in it. Prior exposure to C# or .NET is not a prerequisite, but you should have a general understanding of programming before you jump in.

If you already have some C# and .NET skills and want to focus on developing apps, we recommend that you pick up Mark’s other .NET book, Apps and Services with .NET 7, instead.



Table of ContentsHello, C#! Welcome, .NET!Speaking C#Controlling Flow, Converting Types, and Handling ExceptionsWriting, Debugging, and Testing FunctionsBuilding Your Own Types with Object-Oriented ProgrammingImplementing Interfaces and Inheriting ClassesPackaging and Distributing .NET TypesWorking with Common .]]> 818 Mark J. Price 1803248955 Charlie 4 coding
However, I suspect many users will feel short sold that this is not a crash course in the language before moving onto the website projects, etc. For me, this could have been 200 pages shorter, less broad in scope and still had time for a more focused look at some of the key aspects, specifically: collection data structures (gets about half a page each), reading/writing to files, string manipulation (this part was actually covered nicely—after nearly 400 pages), etc. The part on types was okay and generally the book would be reasonable as reference material, but to read left to right is certainly not an experience I would repeat.]]> 4.40 C# 11 and .NET 7 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals: Start building websites and services with ASP.NET Core 7, Blazor, and EF Core 7
author: Mark J. Price
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/05
date added: 2024/08/15
shelves: coding
review:
If you have already read an introductory book and had a play with C# and decided you wanted to read an in-depth catalogue of its features, rather than moving onto some beginner projects, this might be a good choice for you. Sort of the P.E.P. guidelines of C#. The author has good technical knowledge and one of the best explanations of the processes behind floating point imprecision I have come across to date. He also has extensive knowledge about previous versions of C# and dotnet, what has been added, removed, lacks backwards compatibility, etc.

However, I suspect many users will feel short sold that this is not a crash course in the language before moving onto the website projects, etc. For me, this could have been 200 pages shorter, less broad in scope and still had time for a more focused look at some of the key aspects, specifically: collection data structures (gets about half a page each), reading/writing to files, string manipulation (this part was actually covered nicely—after nearly 400 pages), etc. The part on types was okay and generally the book would be reasonable as reference material, but to read left to right is certainly not an experience I would repeat.
]]> Philoctetes 34437 72 Sophocles 1419141376 Charlie 0 plays 3.90 -409 Philoctetes
author: Sophocles
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.90
book published: -409
rating: 0
read at: 2019/08/01
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: plays
review:

]]> Cervantes's Eight Interludes 43972178 Don Quixote. His first love, however, was the theater, for which he wrote extensively. His Interludes, published 400 years ago in 1615, are short, comic plays that explore the underbelly of Renaissance Spanish society. Their characters include hillbillies and con artists, pimps and prostitutes, adulterous wives and jealous husbands, and an array of other comical figures. Cervantes's treatment of them is simultaneously critical and sympathetic. Although interludes tend to be works of light comedy, Cervantes often imbues his with deeper themes.

Charles Patterson, a scholar of Hispanic theater, has created translations of the Interludes that are true to the earthiness of the originals but designed to be readily playable for today's actors and accessible to modern audiences. This book includes an introduction that places the plays in context, briefly describing the life of Cervantes, theater in early modern Spain, Cervantes's interludes, and Patterson's approach to translating them. Casual readers, theater and literature students, and professional actors alike will delight in these comedic gems that reveal a less familiar side of one of history's greatest writers.]]> 144 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1495049698 Charlie 3
If you're wondering about the interchangeable use of interlude and farce in this review, they are slightly separate terms but farce meaning 'to stuff', as it was placed between larger plays, functions the same as a comedic interlude. However, not all of the interludes are necessarily farces, although the better ones do employ farce mechanics such as unlikely coincidences, reversals, absurd disguises and obvious deception, etc. ]]> 2.75 1996 Cervantes's Eight Interludes
author: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
name: Charlie
average rating: 2.75
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/13
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
A historical curiosity. Not great farces, but short and bawdy. The Stage of Wonders and The Cave of Salamanca were by far the best and probably worth 3 stars. They are typical deception farces. The Stage of Wonders has a particularly novel premise, similar to The Emperor's New Clothes, where only true Christians with all previous generations born in wedlock can see the Stage of Wonders. Inevitablly, everyone pretends they can see it to avoid disgrace. Otherwise, the rest were neither funny nor memorable. I feel like I'm being fairly generous giving a 3 to the collection but I'd rather rate by its best rather than its worst interludes.

If you're wondering about the interchangeable use of interlude and farce in this review, they are slightly separate terms but farce meaning 'to stuff', as it was placed between larger plays, functions the same as a comedic interlude. However, not all of the interludes are necessarily farces, although the better ones do employ farce mechanics such as unlikely coincidences, reversals, absurd disguises and obvious deception, etc.
]]> <![CDATA[Millennium Approaches (Angels in America, #1)]]> 92250
The play is a complex, often metaphorical, and at times symbolic examination of AIDS and homosexuality in America in the 1980s. Certain major and minor characters are supernatural beings (angels) or deceased persons (ghosts). The play contains multiple roles for several of the actors. Initially and primarily focusing on a gay couple in Manhattan, the play also has several other storylines, some of which occasionally intersect.]]> 119 Tony Kushner 1559360615 Charlie 5 plays 4.27 1993 Millennium Approaches (Angels in America, #1)
author: Tony Kushner
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/22
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: plays
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Real-World Implementation of C# Design Patterns: Overcome daily programming challenges using elements of reusable object-oriented software]]> 77784718 Build robust applications in C# easily using effective and popular design patterns and best practices

Key FeaturesRecognize solutions to common problems in software design with C#Explore real-world applications of design patterns that can be used in your everyday workGet to grips with 14 patterns and their design implementationsBook DescriptionAs a software developer, you need to learn new languages and simultaneously get familiarized with the programming paradigms and methods of leveraging patterns, as both a communications tool and an advantage when designing well-written, easy-to-maintain code. Design patterns, being a collection of best practices, provide the necessary wisdom to help you overcome common sets of challenges in object-oriented design and programming.

This practical guide to design patterns helps C# developers put their programming knowledge to work. The book takes a hands-on approach to introducing patterns and anti-patterns, elaborating on 14 patterns along with their real-world implementations. Throughout the book, you'll understand the implementation of each pattern, as well as find out how to successfully implement those patterns in C# code within the context of a real-world project.

By the end of this design patterns book, you'll be able to recognize situations that tempt you to reinvent the wheel, and quickly avoid the time and cost associated with solving common and well-understood problems with battle-tested design patterns.

What you will learnGet to grips with patterns, and discover how to conceive and document themExplore common patterns that may come up in your everyday workRecognize common anti-patterns early in the processUse creational patterns to create flexible and robust object structuresEnhance class designs with structural patternsSimplify object interaction and behavior with behavioral patternsWho this book is forThis book is for beginner and mid-level software developers who are looking to take their object-oriented programs or software designing skills to the next level by learning to leverage common patterns. A firm grasp of programming fundamentals and classical object-oriented programming (OOP) using languages like C#, C++, Objective-C, or Java is expected.

Table of ContentsThere's a Big Ball of Mud on Your Plate of SpaghettiPrepping For Practical Real-World Applications of Patterns in C#Getting Creative with Creation PatternsFortify Your Code With Structural PatternsWrangling Problem Code by Applying Behavioral PatternsStep Away from the IDE! Designing with Patterns Before You CodeNothing Left but the Implementing the Wheelchair ProjectNow You Know Some Patterns. What Next?Appendix 1: A Brief Review of OOP Principles in C#Appendix 2, A Primer on the Unified Modeling Language (UML)]]> 444 Bruce M. Van Horn II 1803247959 Charlie 5 coding
This book is not overly academic: he says so himself. I cannot find the exact quote, but he says something along the lines of, "children are impressed by things that sound very complicated and adults by things which are complicated but explained simply."

If more books on programming were written in this humorous, light-hearted manner, there would be more programmers. For that matter, if more Packt books were written like this, they'd sell more books.

Also, if you hop between languages, Appendix 1 is a better summary of the C# language than many books dedicated to the subject. I liked that this wasn't part of the main book and it jumped straight in, building up momentum, but I skimmed this section at the end and it's about as good a primer to the C# you need as I have seen.]]> 4.67 Real-World Implementation of C# Design Patterns: Overcome daily programming challenges using elements of reusable object-oriented software
author: Bruce M. Van Horn II
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: coding
review:
I think the Gang off Four book has probably put many people off the study of Design Patterns, while simultaneously being groundbreaking and transformative in good software design practices.

This book is not overly academic: he says so himself. I cannot find the exact quote, but he says something along the lines of, "children are impressed by things that sound very complicated and adults by things which are complicated but explained simply."

If more books on programming were written in this humorous, light-hearted manner, there would be more programmers. For that matter, if more Packt books were written like this, they'd sell more books.

Also, if you hop between languages, Appendix 1 is a better summary of the C# language than many books dedicated to the subject. I liked that this wasn't part of the main book and it jumped straight in, building up momentum, but I skimmed this section at the end and it's about as good a primer to the C# you need as I have seen.
]]> <![CDATA[HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites]]> 10361330
� Introduces HTML and CSS in a way that makes them accessible to everyone—hobbyists, students, and professionals—and it’s full-color throughout

� Utilizes information graphics and lifestyle photography to explain the topics in a simple way that is engaging

� Boasts a unique structure that allows you to progress through the chapters from beginning to end or just dip into topics of particular interest at your leisure

This educational book is one that you will enjoy picking up, reading, then referring back to. It will make you wish other technical topics were presented in such a simple, attractive and engaging way!]]> 514 Jon Duckett 1118008189 Charlie 2 coding, non-fiction 4.30 2011 HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites
author: Jon Duckett
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2022/11/15
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: coding, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development]]> 16219704
This full-color book adopts a visual approach to teaching JavaScript & jQuery, showing you how to make web pages more interactive and interfaces more intuitive through the use of inspiring code examples, infographics, and photography. The content assumes no previous programming experience, other than knowing how to create a basic web page in HTML & CSS. You'll learn how to achieve techniques seen on many popular websites (such as adding animation, tabbed panels, content sliders, form validation, interactive galleries, and sorting data)..Introduces core programming concepts in JavaScript and jQueryUses clear descriptions, inspiring examples, and easy-to-follow diagramsTeaches you how to create scripts from scratch, and understand the thousands of JavaScripts, JavaScript APIs, and jQuery plugins that are available on the webDemonstrates the latest practices in progressive enhancement, cross-browser compatibility, and when you may be better off using CSS3

If you're looking to create more enriching web experiences and express your creativity through code, then this is the book for you.This book is also available as part of a set in hardcover - Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery, 9781119038634 - and in softcover - Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery, 9781118907443.]]> 640 Jon Duckett 1118531647 Charlie 2 coding 4.30 2013 JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development
author: Jon Duckett
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2023/04/26
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: coding
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Data Structures the Fun Way: An Amusing Adventure with Coffee-Filled Examples]]> 60704823
This accessible and entertaining book provides an in-depth introduction to computational thinking through the lens of data structures � a critical component in any programming endeavor. You’ll learn how to work with more than 15 key data structures, from stacks, queues, and caches to bloom filters, skip lists, and graphs. You’ll also master linked lists by virtually standing in line at a cafe, hash tables by cataloging the history of the summer Olympics, and Quadtrees by neatly organizing your kitchen cabinets, all while becoming familiar with basic computer science concepts, like recursion and running time analysis.]]> 304 Jeremy Kubica 1718502605 Charlie 2 coding 4.16 Data Structures the Fun Way: An Amusing Adventure with Coffee-Filled Examples
author: Jeremy Kubica
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/03/03
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: coding
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021: Kickstart Your C# Programming and Unity Journey by Building 3D Games from Scratch]]> 59487573 428 Harrison Ferrone 1801813949 Charlie 4 coding 4.00 Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021: Kickstart Your C# Programming and Unity Journey by Building 3D Games from Scratch
author: Harrison Ferrone
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/18
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: coding
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software]]> 85009
The authors begin by describing what patterns are and how they can help you design object-oriented software. They then go on to systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. With Design Patterns as your guide, you will learn how these important patterns fit into the software development process, and how you can leverage them to solve your own design problems most efficiently.

Each pattern describes the circumstances in which it is applicable, when it can be applied in view of other design constraints, and the consequences and trade-offs of using the pattern within a larger design. All patterns are compiled from real systems and are based on real-world examples. Each pattern also includes code that demonstrates how it may be implemented in object-oriented programming languages like C++ or Smalltalk.

]]> 416 Erich Gamma 0201633612 Charlie 4 coding 4.19 1994 Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
author: Erich Gamma
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/12
date added: 2024/06/28
shelves: coding
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Learning GDScript by Developing a Game with Godot 4: A fun introduction to programming in GDScript 2.0 and game development using the Godot Engine]]> 207538447 Learn the Godot 4 game engine and GDScript 2.0 as you build your own game and transform into a proficient programmer with this illustrated guide

Key FeaturesLearn the fundamentals of programming as you write GDScript 2.0Explore the world of GDScript 2.0 with this comprehensive introduction to the languageWork with Godot 4’s robust features and built-in tools to create captivating 2D and 3D games, simulations, and interactive applicationsPurchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBookBook DescriptionIn the digital landscape driven by interactive experiences, the demand for creative individuals with the skills to create captivating games has never been higher. Written by Sander Vanhove, a seasoned game developer with over 20 games to his credit, this book will serve as your entry point into game development, showing you how to leverage the powerful features of the open-source, versatile GDScript 2.0 to develop your ideas, from simple platformers to complex RPGs.

Whether you're an aspiring game developer, a hobbyist seeking a creative outlet, or simply someone intrigued by the world of game programming, this book will guide you through the intricacies of the Godot 4 game engine. Starting with a primer on the fundamentals of programming, you’ll cover everything from data to logic, while familiarizing yourself with Godot’s built-in tools such as the physics engine, navigation, and cameras. As you progress, you’ll unlock deeper insights into more advanced tools that will take your programming to the next level. Aided by easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorials, examples, exercises, and experiments, you’ll seamlessly integrate this newfound knowledge to create a Vampire Survivor-like game from scratch.

By the end of this book, you’ll have become proficient in leveraging the Godot 4 game engine to bring your gaming visions to life.

What you will learnDevelop your GDScript 2.0 programming skills from basic to advanced, emphasizing code cleanlinessHarness Godot 4's integrated physics engine to control and manipulate in-game objectsDesign a vibrant and immersive game world by seamlessly integrating a diverse array of assetsMaster the art of processing input from various sources for enhanced interactivityExtend the reach of your game by learning how to export it to multiple platformsIncorporate simple multiplayer functionality for a dynamic gaming experienceWho this book is forThis book is for programmers, game designers, game developers, and game artists who want to start creating games in Godot 4. If you’re new to coding or game development, looking for a new creative outlet, and want to give Godot 4 and GDScript 2.0 a try, this book is for you. While no prior knowledge of programming or Godot is required, this book gradually introduces more complex concepts as you advance through the chapters.

Table of ContentsSetting Up the EnvironmentGetting Familiar with Variables and Control FlowGrouping Information in Arrays, Loops, and DictionariesBringing Structure with Methods and ClassesHow and Why to Keep Your Code CleanCreating a World of Your Own in GodotMaking the Character MoveSplitting and Reusing ScenesCameras, Collisions, and CollectiblesCreating Menus, Making Enemies, and Using Autoloads<]]> 618 Sander Vanhove 1801812497 Charlie 4 coding
Here are the other books I ruled out:

Godot 4 Game Development cookbook:
Based on only 230 pages long and the blurb describing it as a book for those familiar with Godot 3 (I'm not) that want to learn Godot 4. Also, reviews mentioned that instructions to install Godot 4 were repeated in each recipe.

Godot 4 Game Development Projects: Build Five Cross-Platform 2d and 3d games:
In hindsight, this is the book I should have bought. I didn't based on the fact that it was predominantly 2d and the one confirmed 3d game was golf, which didn't sound particularly interesting (high flyer, the final game, didn't specify 2d or 3d, but another sports game didn't sound riveting either).

Game Development with Godot 4 and C#:
The book I would have loved, but isn't available till October, and I couldn't wait that long. The description of this is use your existing C# skills to make 3d games and tbh, this sounds more intermediate programming wise, and focuses on 3d. I would say C# is a slight language preference, but I don't mind Python, both are preferable over c++.

Here's the book I went with:

Learning GD Script by Developing a Game with Godot 4:
(This book.) I have read books on Unity that are more GUI focused and others more scripting focused. I prefer to use script, where possible, so the title of this book involving GD Script and focusing on one game really thoroughly (I assumed) sounded like a great idea. However, this book is really for people wanting to learn programming and doing that through Godot. This is like an introduction to programming through GD Script and not a introduction to programming with GD Script. I also assumed the one game covered thoroughly would be 3d (it was unspecified), which was naive on my part and there were no reviews as yet to go on.

I think this probably is a good book for beginner programmers who have picked GD Script and or Python as their first languages, but as an experienced developer learning this engine, especially if you're familiar with Python already, you'll probably only read/need the middle third of the book. Here's why:

1. The first third is an introduction to GD Script, essentially an introduction to Python, so may prove familiar.

2. Covers all the things you would expect in learning the basics of a game engine, like physics bodies and colliders, game state, UI, etc. Definitely the bit you don't want to miss. I was surprised by the detailed section on multiplayer, by far the most advanced topic and slightly odd that it was in here, despite not covering other more common introductory topics, like animation.

3. The final third an introduction to intermediate programming topics like OOP and design patterns. Maybe this would be useful as reference for how to implement oop in Godot specifically as some syntax differs slightly from Python here, whereas most of the 30ish keywords from the first section work exactly the same.]]> 4.25 Learning GDScript by Developing a Game with Godot 4: A fun introduction to programming in GDScript 2.0 and game development using the Godot Engine
author: Sander Vanhove
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves: coding
review:
I'm going to write a review based on this book's utility to others. After browsing through the 4 books on Godot 4 on Amazon produced by Packt, I looked through the indexes of each book and decided on which I believed aligned best with what I wanted to learn.

Here are the other books I ruled out:

Godot 4 Game Development cookbook:
Based on only 230 pages long and the blurb describing it as a book for those familiar with Godot 3 (I'm not) that want to learn Godot 4. Also, reviews mentioned that instructions to install Godot 4 were repeated in each recipe.

Godot 4 Game Development Projects: Build Five Cross-Platform 2d and 3d games:
In hindsight, this is the book I should have bought. I didn't based on the fact that it was predominantly 2d and the one confirmed 3d game was golf, which didn't sound particularly interesting (high flyer, the final game, didn't specify 2d or 3d, but another sports game didn't sound riveting either).

Game Development with Godot 4 and C#:
The book I would have loved, but isn't available till October, and I couldn't wait that long. The description of this is use your existing C# skills to make 3d games and tbh, this sounds more intermediate programming wise, and focuses on 3d. I would say C# is a slight language preference, but I don't mind Python, both are preferable over c++.

Here's the book I went with:

Learning GD Script by Developing a Game with Godot 4:
(This book.) I have read books on Unity that are more GUI focused and others more scripting focused. I prefer to use script, where possible, so the title of this book involving GD Script and focusing on one game really thoroughly (I assumed) sounded like a great idea. However, this book is really for people wanting to learn programming and doing that through Godot. This is like an introduction to programming through GD Script and not a introduction to programming with GD Script. I also assumed the one game covered thoroughly would be 3d (it was unspecified), which was naive on my part and there were no reviews as yet to go on.

I think this probably is a good book for beginner programmers who have picked GD Script and or Python as their first languages, but as an experienced developer learning this engine, especially if you're familiar with Python already, you'll probably only read/need the middle third of the book. Here's why:

1. The first third is an introduction to GD Script, essentially an introduction to Python, so may prove familiar.

2. Covers all the things you would expect in learning the basics of a game engine, like physics bodies and colliders, game state, UI, etc. Definitely the bit you don't want to miss. I was surprised by the detailed section on multiplayer, by far the most advanced topic and slightly odd that it was in here, despite not covering other more common introductory topics, like animation.

3. The final third an introduction to intermediate programming topics like OOP and design patterns. Maybe this would be useful as reference for how to implement oop in Godot specifically as some syntax differs slightly from Python here, whereas most of the 30ish keywords from the first section work exactly the same.
]]> The Chrysalids: A Play 34229086 56 David Harrower Charlie 0 to-read 3.00 1955 The Chrysalids: A Play
author: David Harrower
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1955
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin)]]> 3735293 Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship . Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code on the fly into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer but only if you work at it.
What kind of work will you be doing? You'll be reading code - lots of code. And you will be challenged to think about what's right about that code, and what's wrong with it. More importantly, you will be challenged to reassess your professional values and your commitment to your craft.
Clean Code is divided into three parts. The first describes the principles, patterns, and practices of writing clean code. The second part consists of several case studies of increasing complexity. Each case study is an exercise in cleaning up code - of transforming a code base that has some problems into one that is sound and efficient. The third part is the payoff: a single chapter containing a list of heuristics and "smells" gathered while creating the case studies. The result is a knowledge base that describes the way we think when we write, read, and clean code.
Readers will come away from this book understanding

� How to tell the difference between good and bad code
� How to write good code and how to transform bad code into good code
� How to create good names, good functions, good objects, and good classes
� How to format code for maximum readability
� How to implement complete error handling without obscuring code logic
� How to unit test and practice test-driven development

This book is a must for any developer, software engineer, project manager, team lead, or systems analyst with an interest in producing better code.]]> 464 Robert C. Martin 0132350882 Charlie 0 coding 4.36 2007 Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin)
author: Robert C. Martin
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves: coding
review:

]]> Beowulf 219584 Beowulf is one of the important Northern epics and a classic of European literature.
In his new translation, Seamus Heaney has produced a work which is both true, line by line, to the original poem, and an expression, in its language and music, of something fundamental to his own creative gift.]]> 106 Unknown Charlie 5 religion-myth 3.81 1000 Beowulf
author: Unknown
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1000
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/29
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves: religion-myth
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Git Pocket Guide: A Working Introduction]]> 17239270 231 Richard E. Silverman 1449325866 Charlie 0 coding 3.96 2013 Git Pocket Guide: A Working Introduction
author: Richard E. Silverman
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/14
date added: 2024/04/14
shelves: coding
review:

]]> The Persians 237794 48 Aeschylus 1419177060 Charlie 0 plays 3.64 -472 The Persians
author: Aeschylus
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.64
book published: -472
rating: 0
read at: 2017/01/07
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: plays
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners]]> 22514127
In "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python," you'll learn how to use Python to write programs that do in minutes what would take you hours to do by hand no prior programming experience required. Once you've mastered the basics of programming, you'll create Python programs that effortlessly perform useful and impressive feats of automation to: Search for text in a file or across multiple filesCreate, update, move, and rename files and foldersSearch the Web and download online contentUpdate and format data in Excel spreadsheets of any sizeSplit, merge, watermark, and encrypt PDFsSend reminder emails and text notificationsFill out online forms

Step-by-step instructions walk you through each program, and practice projects at the end of each chapter challenge you to improve those programs and use your newfound skills to automate similar tasks.

Don't spend your time doing work a well-trained monkey could do. Even if you've never written a line of code, you can make your computer do the grunt work. Learn how in "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.""]]> 479 Al Sweigart 1593275994 Charlie 5 coding 4.29 2014 Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners
author: Al Sweigart
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/16
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: coding
review:

]]> The Last Days of August 43450715
A month later, August’s husband, Kevin, connected with Jon Ronson to tell the story of how Twitter bullying killed his wife. What neither Kevin nor Ronson realized was that Ronson would soon hear rumors and secrets hinting at a very different story - something mysterious and unexpected and terrible.

In The Last Days of August, Ronson unravels the never-before-told story of what caused this beloved 23-year-old actress� untimely death.]]> 4 Jon Ronson Charlie 3 non-fiction 3.61 2019 The Last Days of August
author: Jon Ronson
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/23
date added: 2024/03/21
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[JavaScript Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming]]> 59388397
Like Python Crash Course , this hands-on guide is a must-have for anyone who wants to learn how to code from the ground up—this time using the popular JavaScript programming language.

JavaScript is the programming language of the internet—the secret sauce that makes websites dynamic, responsive, and all-around awesome. This fast-paced tutorial quickly teaches total beginners how to code in this popular, easy-to-learn language. Light-hearted and hands-on, the book introduces you to programming essentials through fun examples, hands-on exercises, and cool projects like building a Pong-style computer game. You’ll discover all of the important aspects of the language (without delving into expert-level nitty-gritty details or confusing jargon) as you develop a fast knack for programming with JavaScript.]]> 376 Nick Morgan 1718502265 Charlie 5 coding
If you enjoyed the style of Python Crash Course, this is very similar. Good breakdown of key syntax to get you started with plenty of simple code examples. Approaches some of the depth of prototype inheritance, method overloading, but without dwelling on theory and implementation details. Practical, fun and varied projects / exercises at the end (including making a small game).

All in all, this is a great JavaScript book for someone who is either new to / getting into web development or anyone who has coded in other languages and wanting to add JS to their repertoire.]]> 4.31 JavaScript Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming
author: Nick Morgan
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/17
date added: 2024/03/17
shelves: coding
review:
A great introductory JavaScript book. Much better than the previous one I read, JavaScript and jQuery by Jon Duckett. A kind of coffee table one full of pictures aimed more at a general reader wanting to understand, rather than a coder. Enough of that book though.

If you enjoyed the style of Python Crash Course, this is very similar. Good breakdown of key syntax to get you started with plenty of simple code examples. Approaches some of the depth of prototype inheritance, method overloading, but without dwelling on theory and implementation details. Practical, fun and varied projects / exercises at the end (including making a small game).

All in all, this is a great JavaScript book for someone who is either new to / getting into web development or anyone who has coded in other languages and wanting to add JS to their repertoire.
]]> <![CDATA[Learning Angular: A no-nonsense guide to building web applications with Angular 15]]> 121453992 Build your first production-grade web applications from scratch with Angular with the help of expert guidance and step-by-step explanations.

Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free eBook in PDF format.

Key FeaturesLearn the fundamentals of Angular 15 to build web applicationsExplore the basics of Angular development, from components and templates to forms, routing, and servicesDiscover best practices for building, deploying, debugging, and testing Angular applicationsBook DescriptionAs Angular continues to reign as one of the top JavaScript frameworks, more developers are seeking out the best way to get started with this extraordinarily flexible and secure framework. Learning Angular, now in its fourth edition, will show you how you can use it to achieve cross-platform high performance with the latest web techniques, extensive integration with modern web standards, and integrated development environments (IDEs).

The book is especially useful for those new to Angular and will help you to get to grips with the bare bones of the framework to start developing Angular apps. You'll learn how to develop apps by harnessing the power of the Angular command-line interface (CLI), write unit tests, style your apps by following the Material Design guidelines, and finally, deploy them to a hosting provider.

Updated for Angular 15, this new edition covers lots of new features and tutorials that address the current frontend web development challenges. You'll find a new dedicated chapter on observables and RxJS, more on error handling and debugging in Angular, and new real-life examples.

By the end of this book, you'll not only be able to create Angular applications with TypeScript from scratch, but also enhance your coding skills with best practices.

What you will learnUse the Angular CLI to scaffold, build, and deploy a new Angular applicationBuild components, the basic building blocks of an Angular applicationDiscover new Angular Material components such as Google Maps, YouTube, and multi-select dropdownsUnderstand the different types of templates supported by AngularCreate HTTP data services to access APIs and provide data to componentsLearn how to build Angular apps without modules in Angular 15.x with standalone APIsImprove your debugging and error handling skills during runtime and developmentWho this book is forThis book is for JavaScript and full-stack developers dipping their feet first time in the world of frontend development with Angular, as well as those migrating to the Angular framework to build professional web applications. You'll need prior exposure JavaScript and a solid foundation in the basics of web programming before you get started with this book.

Table of ContentsBuilding Your First Angular ApplicationIntroduction to TypeScriptOrganizing Application into ModulesEnabling User Experience with ComponentsEnrich Applications Using Pipes and DirectivesManaging Complex Tasks with ServicesBeing Reactive Using Observables and RxJSCommunicating with Data Services over HTTPNavigate through Application with RoutingCollecting User Data with FormsIntroduction to Angular MaterialUnit Test an Angular Application]]> 446 Aristeidis Bampakos 1803237341 Charlie 0 coding 4.12 Learning Angular: A no-nonsense guide to building web applications with Angular 15
author: Aristeidis Bampakos
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/28
date added: 2024/01/28
shelves: coding
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Small Things and Other Plays]]> 11151615 Guardian). This collection includes the critically acclaimed Disco Pigs, misterman, bedbound, and The Small Things, as well as four previously unpublished plays (The Ginger Ale Boy, Chatroom, Lynndie's Gotta Gun, and How These Desperate Men Talk).

Enda Walsh is the author of five Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award–winning plays, including The Walworth Farce, The New Electric Ballroom, and Penelope. His award-winning play Disco Pigs was also a highly acclaimed film in 2001, and he co-wrote the film Hunger (2009), winner of the Camera d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.]]> 252 Enda Walsh 1559364033 Charlie 3 plays 4.00 2011 The Small Things and Other Plays
author: Enda Walsh
name: Charlie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/29
date added: 2023/12/28
shelves: plays
review:

]]> <![CDATA[C# Cookbook: Modern Recipes for Professional Developers]]> 58967537 325 Joe Mayo 1492093696 Charlie 3 coding
This book labours over small design points in what seems like an odd mixture of info that's obvious for anything other than a really inexperienced c# programmer and subjective design pattern considerations that beginners aren't really worrying about too much. The section on Inversion of Control and Dependency Injection is well explained, however, hence a third star.

This book would have been better deep diving into a wide array of recipes doing vastly different things. Or changing its title to C# design patterns and focusing more on developing some of the solid design considerations in the first couple chapters.]]> 3.83 C# Cookbook: Modern Recipes for Professional Developers
author: Joe Mayo
name: Charlie
average rating: 3.83
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/17
date added: 2023/12/17
shelves: coding
review:
In a "recipes" book, you might expect some projects or ideas for fun or useful things you could implement in the language. That web scraping project you've been thinking about. A small card game. Here's how you output this data into an Excel doc, etc. That's certainly my experience of other programming cookbooks anyway (I'm thinking Al Sweigart's Python stuff as a good example). This is more like serving suggestions than recipes.

This book labours over small design points in what seems like an odd mixture of info that's obvious for anything other than a really inexperienced c# programmer and subjective design pattern considerations that beginners aren't really worrying about too much. The section on Inversion of Control and Dependency Injection is well explained, however, hence a third star.

This book would have been better deep diving into a wide array of recipes doing vastly different things. Or changing its title to C# design patterns and focusing more on developing some of the solid design considerations in the first couple chapters.
]]>