SteveClough

toxy , 1 day ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon

20 books that have had an impact on who you are. One book a day for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just book covers.

18/20

#20books20days

SteveClough , 1 day ago

@julesbl @toxy @bookstodon And so it should (not meant in criticism of you). It is a book about authoritarian government, and it is intended to represent actual government, and is based on Orwells own observations and experience.

It is supposed to scare people into not voting for the fascists. Sadly, those who do haven't read it. Or understood it.

Tim_McTuffty , 5 days ago to actuallyautistic

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 282 , Monday 05/08/2024

I slept deeply last night for a change & woke just before 6am.

I decided that today there would be a gardening reckoning , I had some stray motivation knocking about , it was a dry day but not too warm & the brambles invading from next door over the fence were driving me nuts!

So armed with a pair of Mechanix gloves (hey this is serious sh*t!) & a set of heavy duty pruning snips I went into battle !
30 minutes later the brambles had been returned to their homeland & our fence was free of invaders.

Mrs S. has been dropping industrial sized hits about the front garden recently so next I put on my big boy pants & went to war with the hedge & our Millennium tree.
We were so excited about getting that tree - one could apply for one free ! There were many different varieties that were picked at random for applicants … we of course got a hawthorn tree!
The spiky little (well not so little anymore) barsteward is never shy in fighting back when I trim it each year!

I dealt with the wild strawberries yesterday, they had got a bit rampant & were merrily working on domination of the gravelled area that makes up the bulk of our front garden - its a massive drain away sump to prevent flooding , living on the side of a hill I didn’t think flooding would be a problem when we moved in - oh how naive we are in our youth !

The hedge also needed doing it’s not huge but the drive slopes towards the house (another reason for the flooding) which makes getting to the top of it a challenge when you’re 5’5” in your stocking feet!

I inherited a serious hedge trimmer from my FiL when he passed (he left me all his tools bless him), which makes short work of the hedge & the hawthorn - when I can actually get high enough to bring it to bear!

The bulk of the hedge duly trimmed I was finishing off just zapping the low level branches that had escaped the main foray when I made a classic schoolboy mistake - I got over confident & thought I could nick the last little wayward stray without catching the cable - 4 inches away from the cutting site.
YES I know! H&S elves are , even as we speak, drawing up contracts for hitmen to take me out for such boundless stupidity. 🙄🤦‍♂️ Anyway even the Orange Oaf could guess what happened next!
Magically the cable divided in two … I could try my usual cry of innocence, but nobody is gonna believe me 🫣🤭.
The RCD in the extension cable tripped & saved the RCD on the main board tripping which was a major win given the givens!
Next time I will not be a lazy , over confident git & will move the cable out of the way like a sensible bunny !

So the hedge & hawthorn tree are trimmed to within an inch of their lives, all the debris is cleared away & the cable is repaired.

I decided that, given various parts of my body were suggesting that legal action was definitely on the cards , the afternoon should be given over to sippin & sittin & catching up with events in the Fediverse.

Mrs S. has been generous with her appreciation & a takeaway has been ordered for tea!

UPDATE: takeaway (fried chicken n chips ) has been consumed & herself is off to bed.

Final Thoughts.

Tonight is one of those increasingly rare occasions when I actually feel I’ve achieved something. Even if that is slightly offset by being a complete pillock & near zapping myself !

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

SteveClough , 4 days ago

@RosePuckey @Tim_McTuffty @actuallyautistic We don't want roast squirrel.

Slowly sauted is far better.

Glad you are OK and banished the electricity to the outer beyond.

SteveClough , 4 days ago

@RosePuckey @Tim_McTuffty @actuallyautistic That would work too.

ninsiana0 , 6 days ago to bookstodon

Read INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Anne Rice if you love recalling the past, grave mistakes, small things, New Orleans, chasing rumors, theatrics, asexual relationships, disconcerting dynamics, ruminating on evil, Paris, sad boys, revenge, losing your humanity & tape recorders.

@bookstodon #book #books #bookrecs #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #2024reads #booksreadin2024 #2024readingchallenge #readersofmastodon #readersonmastodon #ninsiana0reviewsbooks #bookreviewsbyninsiana0 #ReadThisIf

SteveClough , 6 days ago

@ninsiana0 @bookstodon I am watching the TV series - S2 has just started. When I get my head into it properly, it is very good.

jda , 28 days ago to bookstodon

Just what I need - nearly 175 #books to add to my nearly endless Want to Read pile. Only a little bit of crossover and I've probably read less than 10% of them.

Sigh.

100 Best Books of the 21st Century:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6k0.40sZ.jbh48iEMRMCX&smid=url-share

75 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time:
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g39358054/best-sci-fi-books/

@bookstodon

SteveClough , 28 days ago

@smashedratonpress @jda @bookstodon I have read 8, and heard of another 3 (one is on my TBR pile).

I am not sure that ones I have read are the best of the century. So I think this is quite an "opinionated" list. And US-centric, I suspect.

Sci_Fi_FanGirl , 1 month ago to actuallyautistic German

Feeling shaky and on the verge of crying although I'm not sad. It's just too much sensory intake, too much socializing, and too much emotional burden.

One more week to go until the summer holidays and I feel completely exhausted. A complicated problem with one of my students drains me and there will be very unpleasant talks.

I guess I'm close to meltdown and/or shutdown.

Do you also feel like crying when you're close to absolute overwhelm?

@actuallyautistic

SteveClough , 1 month ago

@Sci_Fi_FanGirl @actuallyautistic I do. But one reason for my new tattoo is a reminder to pause ..... to stop the things that are overwhelming. To do this irrespective of what it means. knowing that there is - on the other side - a ... continue. You will continue. And in the continue, it is new and fresh.

SallyStrange , 3 months ago to bookstodon

10 authors, of whose books I've read at least five:

Ursula Le Guin
Kim Stanley Robinson
Octavia Butler
N. K. Jemisin
Becky Chambers
Iain M. Banks
Martha Wells
M. R. Carey
Lois McMaster Bujold
Vonda McIntyre

#scifi #ScienceFiction #SFF #books

#10Authors5BooksEach
@bookstodon

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@n0madz @SallyStrange @bookstodon

10 authors, of whose books I've read at least five:

Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
Iain M. Banks
John Wyndham
JRR & Christopher Tolkien
Isaac Asimov
Neil Gaiman
Robert Jordan

I am now struggling. There are quite a few others who I have read a few of, but I cannot get any more that I have read more than 5 of!

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@SallyStrange @n0madz @bookstodon

I could have included Ben Elton and Gerald Durrell if I had stretched a little further.

I wanted to keep them within the broad SFF genre.

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@Enema_Cowboy @greybeard @n0madz @SallyStrange @bookstodon Yes. But he has written all sorts of others works. A lot of his writing feels "unfinished", but because he is just exploring ideas.

I love his mind. And his writing.

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@greybeard @n0madz @SallyStrange @bookstodon I think I have everything he has published.

clacksee , 3 months ago to bookstodon

A different kind of #MutualAid request…

Are you in, the #UK, #Canada, or the #USA? I need some assistance from one reader in each of those countries, please.

What do you get out of this? A free book! An actual physical book! You can take your pick between the Starship Teapot books or the Vigilauntie Justice books.

What do I get out of this? To test my new website and fulfilment system!

Comment below or DM me and I'll send you instructions and a link.

@bookstodon

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@clacksee @bookstodon Starship teapot book? I am in the UK.

It sounds weird, which is exactly my bag.

weirdwriter , 3 months ago to bookstodon

So I'm reading Blood in the machine and actually think being called a Luddite is the highest complement you can give someone today. I encourage everyone to read Blood in the Machine. Luddites weren't technophobes. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/?lens=little-brown #Tech #Technology #Books @bookstodon

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@weirdwriter @bookstodon I am a Luddite. I work in Software dev, so when I tell people I am a luddite, they look ar me odd.

Mollysdailykiss , 3 months ago to bookstodon

If you have not read either of these books, then you really should.

Regardless of whether you like Non fic or not, if you are using this here big old interwebs, then honestly read them both. Start with Doppelganger and then read Code Dependant.

Is technology gonna destroy democracy? What about the whole of humanity?

These books made me worry, but both also gave hope for the future and the power of humanity and most of all communities.

@bookstodon

Front cover of the book Code Dependant by Maghumita Murgia which shows a Control keyboard button lit in purple and red

SteveClough , 3 months ago

@Mollysdailykiss @bookstodon I can't remember if I have read Doppelganger, but Klein is always a good read.

Schnuckster , 4 months ago to bookstodon

I was in the Gower Street Waterstones today, asking about where to find books on neurodiversity. Got told they could be in any of three or four places depending on the type of book it is. Made me wonder, when a bookshop is that big, wouldn't using Dewey decimal be a better option? #books #bookstodon @bookstodon 📚

SteveClough , 4 months ago

@Schnuckster @bookstodon I think one core reason is that they need to put thing they want to push at some time near the front.

And things like general fiction they know people will look for. So they can be further back.

So it is driven not by ease of finding but by marketing.

Libraries are more for finding a specific book you want, and then getting it, so Dewey is probably more suited to that.

But I get your pain.

NickEast , 4 months ago to bookbubble

This is why I'm not allowed to teach literature... anymore 😜😂

@humour
@reading @bookstodon @bookbubble @books

#English #Lit #LordOfTheFlies
#Mastobooks #BooksofMastodon #Bookwyrm #Bookworm #Book #Books #Bookstodon #BookLove #BoostingIsSharing

SteveClough , 4 months ago

@NickEast @humour @reading @bookstodon @bookbubble @books

I love this cartoon. So subtle and clever, with so few words.