Category: Books

Book Clutter

~ Veselin ~ 10 Comments

I’m starting to think the ideal number of books to own is almost zero. I feel like one should only keep books that are either signed, gifts, not yet read, or for some reason frequently re-read. Everything else serves very little to no purpose and only forms clutter. The individual books are pretty big units of kipple that reduces the living space of book worms like me.

I keep an overflow shelf where books are prepared for donation but I seem to have been slow with getting rid of old books and very quick with buying new ones.

Charity 1 by Wolfgang Hohlbein

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There’s a wonderful feature by the local reading site Chitanka that offers you random books. I would click 10-15-20 times and find something new I’ve never seen before. A few days ago, it offered me the apocalyptic sci-fi Charity.

Charity is an astronaut and a military captain during an active invasion. An alien ecosystem enters Earth through some kind of portals, brought here by a spaceship, and obliterates everything. The invading army is so powerful that humans do not stand a chance. However, there would be no book if there was no hope, right?

It’s not yet clear what Charity’s superpower is or how she’s going to push back to the invading force. She seems to be good at surviving and also very lucky.

I’d say, almost 5*/5, not a wow book, but definitely one that makes you want to read the continuation. It is also short, which is an advantage.

The Nebula Collection by Artline

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Publishing books with covers that are all part of the same image is still a relatively uncommon practice in Bulgaria. There have been some nicely designed series over the years, but not many that build a consistent visual identity across multiple titles.

This is the Nebula sci-fi series, featuring titles like Murderbot, Silo, and others. I’m curious to see how long this publisher plans to keep the style going. Something with the perspective feels limiting, as if it should end within 2-3 books.

And here is my success with the books, green are those I already read, red are those I did not start or did not finish. Overall, very solid books so far, mostly 5/5 with a rare 4/5 here and there.

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

In the second part of the Bobiverse series, the self-replicating Bob probes have now reached dozens of star systems, and their mission has grown far beyond exploration. With Earth in a nuclear winter, the Bobs take on the monumental task of coordinating humanity’s evacuation. In book 2, Earth isn’t the only place in trouble. In the nearby stars, two other civilizations face extinction, and the Bobs can’t help but get involved.

Meanwhile, a new threat threatens to end humans – the aliens called “Others.” Although their presence remains mostly peripheral, it’s clear that they will have to be dealt with.

The challenge that this book faces is that we now have lots of bobs and neither gets enough spotlight to make a difference between them, except maybe Bob 1. But Bob 1 doesn’t do anything interesting.

5*/5, I liked the book very much and recommend the series. My copy is part of the Nebula series, which has matching. Bob sits next to the Murderbot and Silo.

October in Books

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

October was a busy month and I didn’t have much time for entertainment. I still managed to finish five books.

Best Book

  1. The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin – my third book by this author and it might also be the best so far. An ancient Egypt-like world, where magic is collected from dreams, and dreaming is visiting the land of the dead. The priests gathering the magic are at risk of taking too much and losing humanity. The idea is not too novel but the whole story felt sufficiently different, alien, and better. Overall, a clear 5/5 and one of the best for the month on this blog for the year.
  2. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich – where Stephanie Plum will investigate a person turned into a giant ice cream bar. A nice, ice-creamy bubble gum with a good plot. Also 5/5.
  3. and 4. The first two books about Jake Longly by D.P. Lyle. A former baseball player turned detective, a series glowing in 70s style neon with a bit of exploitation. Overall very promising. I gave them 4/5 and ordered the 3rd book. Looking forward to reading it, once it gets home.

Worst Book

  1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber – I felt tricked by that one. It started well but turned into a slime. 3/5 – not for me. Probably won’t look for the continuation but who knows.