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#bookreview

17 posts16 participants1 post today
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Chad Schultz

#BookReview for "The Spy Wore Red" by "Aline, Countess of Romanones"
👎
Interesting true story of a female WW2 spy.
Except... it isn't true. At least, not according to some media sources and spy historians. Apparently the author did work for the OSS, but there's no evidence anything exciting happened. She apparently "was only a code clerk who had worked her way into a low-level intelligence job". The parts of the book that make it seem like a spy novel seem likely to be completely made up. According to spy historian Rupert Allason , "Although Aline had served as a cipher clerk in Madrid … her supposedly factual accounts were completely fictional."

Public
Chad Schultz

#BookReview for "Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science" by Richard Dawkins.
Meh
For Richard Dawkins superfans only. Moderately amusing anecdotes, points repeated from other books, behind the scenes look at some of his books or performances. Purpose unclear, he already has autobiographies.
It wasn't bad, and I'm sure he'd be an entertaining dinner guest - but I kept wondering "why was this book written?" I think the concept was to provide more information about his career from his perspective.

Public
73% Geek

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

The more I read these books, the more I anticipate the upcoming TV series with both glee and apprehension. Can the delightful creature that is Murderbot be adequately portrayed in another format?

A short novella wherein Murderbot turns to detecting! At this point if you don’t like the Murderbot diaries, you probably never will, and if you do like them, you’ll enjoy this book too. This one made me laugh a lot, and fall ever more in love with everybody’s (my) favourite SecUnit. ★★★★☆

#Books#BookReview
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Wen

Farcebook - an insiders tale

The review of the book (the author is married to an FT Editor) does not mention that she was personally responsible for getting the platform accepted in Myanmar - where it was responsible for the disinformation and hatred that led to many deaths on top of ethnic cleansing. It exposes the targeting of the young and vulnerable well.

archive.today/2025.03.12-05080

Photo: 3 people silouhetted against a wcree at Menlo Park's Facebook HQ
#BookReview#Bookstadon#FaceBook
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Chad Schultz

#BookReview for "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond:
👍
Evolution of technology, civilizations determined by geography and nearby plant, animal species - not by theoretical racial differences.
Information dense, but good. Author adds a few personal anecdotes. I appreciate the effort put into making it accessible. For example, starting with an interesting scenario - conquistadors betraying Atahualpa. That brought the question: what evolutionary and historical forces caused Spain to send conquering forces across the sea? Why weren't the Incas the ones with advances technology, conquering their way across the globe? That was a good hook to draw the reader in, to give the author time to dig into the various forces that affected humanity in prehistoric and historic times.

Continued thread
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Hawksquill

Book 6 of 2025

All Fours by Miranda July

3 stars

This is one of the strangest books I've ever read. There were some graphic passages that felt gratuitous - not inherently, I'm not a prude, just that I could tell July was snickering as she wrote it, patting herself on the back for being subversive.

On the other hand, I was utterly engrossed even though I found the characters unlikeable and unrelatable. It's an extremely cleverly constructed novel, very skillfully written. There are some truly beautiful, thought-provoking moments about marriage and motherhood and menopause and the creative process.

It's pretty batshit insane on a fundamental level, and I don't think it really needs to be. So it's a well-earned 3 stars, but a bit of a headscratcher for me.

@bookstodon #Bookstodon #Books #BookReview #AmReading #Reading

Cover of All Fours by Miranda July. A watercolor landscape painting depicting a tree-covered rock face looming over a lake. The title and author name encircle the image in large, jarringly modern white font.
Public
Terence Eden

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Man In The Wall by KJ Lyttleton”
★★★★☆

It is always nice to meet someone in a pub who says "I've written my first book!" - so, naturally, I picked up Katie's novel as my next read. I'm glad that I did as it's a cracking crime story.

It starts slowly, with a brilliantly observed satire of office life. The gossip, banal slogans, venal senior…

👀 Read more: shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/03/book-
⸻
#BookReview

Book cover.
Terence Eden’s Blog · Book Review: The Man In The Wall by KJ Lyttleton
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Julia S.

A SET OF SUPERNATURAL MURDERS spurs a close-knit group of friends into action in this charming cozy paranormal mystery. Small-town Arizona setting, mystical lore, and a touch of romance combine in an entertaining read. B PLUS

bethdolgner.com/products/termi

@bookstodon

bethdolgner.comTerminated at the Trailhead (Nightmare, Arizona Paranormal Cozy Mysteries Book 9) Paperback
#book#Books#bookreview
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