The courage to be disliked SelfHelp/5
Read this on someone else's insistence and actually got a lot out of it! Certainly don't agree with all of the conclusions but there's a lot of helpful stuff here presented in a good faith way that's intuitive to actually making changes
Piranesi 3.5/5
Read this in a single sitting and enjoyed it! Think it's a little too open ended for my taste and I wish we got a liiiitle more exploration of a few characters but I can definitely see why it's so widely regarded
I don't think it's exactly correct to say that Weir is *dumb*. He's obviously very interested in science and how science can be used to solve problems. His main problem is that he's uninterested in humanity and the human condition.
thank god i found it again
The Toll 4/5
Easily the best one. Very impressed by how well he managed to stick the landing. Saw a lot of people complain about there being too many povs but as a malazan fan I obviously took no issue with this at all, incredibly fun series I'm glad I read it!
Project Hail Mary 1.5/5
Doesn't have much competition since I don't actively seek out books I don't think I'd like but this is definitely the worst sci-fi book I've read. Very, very much feels like something written for the explicit purpose of being turned into a movie
They both sample the funky drummer break #themoreyouknow
Fevre Dream 3/5
Some super atmospheric writing (including an allusion to an incredible lord byron poem) but I don't think the payoff was really worth it. Also be warned that George Hard R Martin really earns the moniker here I lost count of how many times the N word was said
Thunderhead 3.5/5
Major step up from book one for sure, really like the newly introduced characters and the idea of an omnipresent AI overload being a force for good instead of the typical antagonist it's always portrayed as is pretty cool
An Autumn War 4/5
Think I actually prefer the slower pace and smaller stakes of the first two books but the ending is so unbelievably fucking devastating and tragic in contrast to how tame the first two's were that they even out for me. Phenomenal stuff
Scythe 3/5
Wow that sure was a YA book. Biggest complement I can give it is that I finished it in 2 days, definitely a fun time and every issue I have with it boils down to simply not being the target audience. Will prob read the sequels as palette cleaners between heavier books
Angeline Era
I like the story/atmosphere of Anodyne 2 more but this is so far ahead in terms of gameplay that it's easily my favorite analgesic productions game now. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to recapture the spirit of falcom games like gurumin or nayuta no kiseki
2026 Media Slop Content Literacy Media Media Potential Man Thread
daily routine
A Betrayal in Winter 4/5
Abraham is simply unmatched in character motivations and political scheming. Basically no action happens in the books it's literally only people talking and I'm starting to realize that's just the way I like it. No more 300 pages epic battle sequences in my fantasy please
Riley (Fantasy) Book Awards 2025 etc etc
Riley Game Awards 2025 etc etc
Blood Over Bright Haven 2/5
Wow this was not good! Story just gets completely hijacked by the themes which are presented in the most heavy handed fashion imaginable. I had problems with the sword of kaigen but that book at least had a strong emotional core that's completely absent here, major shame
A Shadow in Summer 4/5
Have repeatedly heard this book described as a slow burn but I was completely enthralled the entire way though, only real criticism is that the ending isn't quite as explosive/interesting as I would've liked but I'm sure that's coming down the line, highly recommended
Crashing out losing my mind and also going completely fucking insane as well
Printing out a ton of bumper stickers that say "I paused my femboy (*NOT* trans, there's a difference) porn to be here" and plastering them over every car in the mall parking lot
Perdido Street Station 3.5/5
Mieville is undoubtedly an incredible writer and I was constantly wowed by all of the insanely inventive worldbuilding but imo the overall plot went in the single most uninteresting direction it could've and I was kind of checked out for the last third or so
Toll the Hounds 3/5
Expectations for this were through the roof and while there's more than several flashes of brilliance here + Erikson consistently being in a league of his own in regards to prose, it just did not hit the way I wanted it to at all. Maybe my the biggest letdown of the year
King Sorrow 3/5
Not entirely sure why I picked this up since i'm not a horror guy at all but it was pretty fun, not entirely what I was expecting as it wasn't very scary but the emotional payoffs were mostly good, lot of poignant character moments near the end but definitely a bit bloated/uneven
"Dissidia but all the Final Fantasy characters have to adjust to modern day, wear contemporary clothing and have group chats with eachother" is such a slam dunk of an idea so leave it to Square to fuck it up by locking it to the mobile phone
Oh my fucking god dude
fleas :]
#silksong
Cat bit me at 3am so i turned her into a wojak
imo Ys 8 makes one of the strongest arguments I've ever seen that designing a "you can go everywhere you can see" game using separated zones instead of open world "go anywhere" can actually be significantly more compelling and unified-feeling. this game really has absolutely top tier sightlines
