Retired linguist/law/IT. Avid reader in all languages (see polyglot.city/@FrankauLux/), both paper and ebooks. Mostly fictions these days.
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Destined to become a modern classic in the vein of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," "Sapiens" …
This book should be mandatory reading. It explains many things in a simple way and reads like a thriller, despite being a history book. It just makes sense. So do yourself a favour and read it. now.
Destined to become a modern classic in the vein of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," "Sapiens" …
This book should be mandatory reading. It explains many things in a simple way and reads like a thriller, despite being a history book. It just makes sense. So do yourself a favour and read it. now.
Un flash mystérieux a coupé toute électricité sur Terre, aveuglant au passage tous les adultes. …
Un excellent bouquin de @ploum@mamot.fr. Un monde futur alternatif d'où l'électricité a disparu. Plein de rebondissements jusqu'au dernier moment - chaudement conseillé. Peut-être un peu tard pour l'avoir à temps pour mettre sous le sapin, mais cela vaut la peine d'essayer :-)
Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo—he’s just …
This book was a gift, so I felt compelled to read it. However, I have very mixed feeling about it. I am old and have started my döstädning, so I don't need convincing and I was hoping a couple of technique. I did get that, but at what price!! The author and I live on completely different planet, so it was very difficult to relate to anything in the book. A lot of what he says is just not applicable here * "put everything in a bag and bin it" - well no. we have to sort paper, metal, plastic, etc and that's what takes time... * "you can always order this and that and have it delivered" Can you really ? Well, not in my country... etc, etc. And then the enthusiasm of the born again minimalist ! tiring ! "Since I turned minimalist, I lost 5 kilos, won …
This book was a gift, so I felt compelled to read it. However, I have very mixed feeling about it. I am old and have started my döstädning, so I don't need convincing and I was hoping a couple of technique. I did get that, but at what price!! The author and I live on completely different planet, so it was very difficult to relate to anything in the book. A lot of what he says is just not applicable here * "put everything in a bag and bin it" - well no. we have to sort paper, metal, plastic, etc and that's what takes time... * "you can always order this and that and have it delivered" Can you really ? Well, not in my country... etc, etc. And then the enthusiasm of the born again minimalist ! tiring ! "Since I turned minimalist, I lost 5 kilos, won the lottery and I'm nominated for a Nobel Peace Price" (ok, slightly exaggerated, but not much). So there you go. I'm pretty sure plenty of people will enjoy this book and find it useful. I'm obviously not in the target audience.
Entertaining but hardly comprehensive, this study offers a somewhat European angle on the "technological counterculture." …
This book was basically a trip down memory lane for me, as I remember most of the things described in it. I still learned a couple of facts. I'm not sure anybody below 35 y/o would enjoy or appreciate the book though. It has aged a lot.
L’oncle Cassave va mourir. Il convoque toute sa famille à son chevet dans la demeure …
Jean Ray est le Lovecraft / Poe belge. Je pense que quand j'ai dit cela, j'ai tout dit. Ses histoires et contes sont super bien construits et c'est un plaisir sans cesse renouvelé.
"From one of our most beloved and best-selling authors: a hilarious new stand-alone novel about …
Excellent, but then again, I still have to find a book by A. McC-S. that I don't like :-) If you don't know him yet, do yourself a favour and get one of his books, any which one will do. He's probably most famous for The N°1 Lady detective agency, which was made into a movie, but it's a whole series (probably 20 I reckon). The audio books made by the BBC (I think) are of very high quality, so recommended as well (got several of those and never disappointed). He has several series with different settings and heroes, my favorite being Dr Igelfeld, scholar in a linguistic department, and having been there myself I can swear Alex was a fly on the wall so close it is to reality. All his books are great, he is great. More here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McCall_Smith . Ho yes, this specific book, I hear you …
Excellent, but then again, I still have to find a book by A. McC-S. that I don't like :-) If you don't know him yet, do yourself a favour and get one of his books, any which one will do. He's probably most famous for The N°1 Lady detective agency, which was made into a movie, but it's a whole series (probably 20 I reckon). The audio books made by the BBC (I think) are of very high quality, so recommended as well (got several of those and never disappointed). He has several series with different settings and heroes, my favorite being Dr Igelfeld, scholar in a linguistic department, and having been there myself I can swear Alex was a fly on the wall so close it is to reality. All his books are great, he is great. More here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_McCall_Smith . Ho yes, this specific book, I hear you say ? More of the same. funny, witty, crazy and extremely well written, as usual. The title sums it up, actually :-)
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” …
Not at all what I expected, but still interesting, as always with Steinbeck. Quite short too !
1985, Paris est frappé par des attentats comme le pays en a rarement connu. Dans …
Excellent bouquin du non moins excellent @loevenbruck@toot.portes-imaginaire.org. Bien ficelé, super bien documenté. Un plaisir recommandé !
The universe has been explored--and humanity has all but given up on finding other intelligent …
Number 3 in the series, and I believe the last one. Not bad at all, but I can't help feeling it's a good thing it's finished. I have the impression that each book is just a tiny bit less good than the previous (I avoided worse on purpose, because it's not that bad). Still worth a read, loads of twists even if sometimes a bit predictable.
Dengan penuh semangat Arin mencicipi telur asin. Mmm … rasanya tidak seenak biasanya. Ternyata Arin …
Ini buku anak-anak. Buku ini ada di sini karena ini buku pertama yang saya baca dalam bahasa Indonesia :-) Ada juga resep telur asin.
In the year 2204, tragedy and terror forced a scientific team to prematurely evacuate Maleiva …
Second instalment of the Academy/Hutch story. More adventures, still very nice even if the end seemed a bit confused to me. Maybe a tad below the engines of gods, but still worth a read :-)
A group of xeno-archaeologists, together with interstellar pilot Priscilla Hutchins, attempt to unravel the mysteries …
Excellent book - hard not to think about RDV with Rama, even if the plot is very different. Well written and really thrilling. The only thing I regretted was the end, which seemed a bit precipitated, it could easily have been delayed over another chapter or two :-) Definitely recommended.
Would you let an algorithm determine your fate? Hannah Fry lifts the lid on the …
Excellent book, and I'm tempted to say mandatory reading for anyone not familiar with the subject. I was, having been in IT for more years then I care to recall, but it was still an interresting book, if nothing else because it gave flesh and example to things I've always thought without being sure. 2 things to keep in mind: The book is written from a UK/US point of view, so many of the things said are not valid in the EU. The author recognizes that, but obviously didn't fully grasp the amount of differences. The book was written in 2018. That's almost 7 years ago, and in computerland, it's like a century. Many things have changed, and it is funny to see some of the declarations and predictions made then... But all in all very recommended.
Welcome to the world of 1920-- It is a world dominated by airships, steam powered …
nice little story, but not necessarily great litterature :-)