Reviews and Comments

A small, inexpensive book, organized by situational themes, of common Dutch phrases relative to their representation in French.

Two things made this stand out: Some common phrases, like "exit" or "where is?", appear in multiple sections so that you don't have to flip around guessing where to find the part that you should "already know." And the pronunciation guides use the International Phonetic Alphabet; this is important to me as Dutch uses phonemes from (at least) English, French, and German. Most guides try to approximate the pronunciation in the reader's tongue, with varying (but generally low) levels of success. IPA removes that ambiguity, at the cost of needing to understand IPA itself.

Less a view of falling cats through a science lens, this is more of a survey science course seen through cat eyes. Most of the sciences are touched on: Newtonian physics, darkroom chemistry, anatomy and physiology, quantum mechanics.

There's a tremendous amount of history; my eyes glazed over from all the Important Old White Guys. It's worth flipping through if you like science, particularly if you like cats. It's a less compelling read if you just wanted to understand the cat trick.

[Reposted from old instance due to failed import]

i like this book, it's cozy without being too slow. but there's a thing that keeps happening whose cause seems really clear. if the main characters figure it out 50 pages ago, there's no story. but how did they not figure it out? or will it be the mother of all red herrings?

I didn't learn enough from the book to do the things listed on the tin, but there was enough high-level information that I could understand concepts and do productive searches for what I needed.

I'm not a gorgeous actuarial lesbian, but I've got the stick-in-the-mud bit down. Reading the chapters written in Darcy's voice is like seeing my internal monologue put to paper. That rabbit hole she leaps into is one that I've peered into a lot.

Another book for which I'm absolutely not the target audience, but acts as a sunnier, happier alternate universe. Who wouldn't want more of those?

[This review was made some time ago on another instance and is reposted as it failed to migrate.]

I read this some time ago, quietly gave it five stars, and slipped out the side door. I still am not in a position to explain my reasoning, but the hardback is nestled between I Kissed Shara Wheeler and One Last Stop.

[This review is from some time ago, but is being added because it failed to import from the old instance.]

Much of this book is fascinating, if you're a geek old enough to remember BBSes. As hacker groups go, Cult of the Dead Cow was likely among the most ethical. But the handful of brilliant fools ended up solidly in the establishment — at Facebook and Yahoo, at DOD and the NSA, or at firms contracting for them. It's so common as to seem inevitable: an idea that starts in a garage ends up monetizing by spreading hate or spying on you.

[This review originally was published on another instance and was lost during migration.]

A great, breezy read on internet language history and culture, from stopping people SHOUTING ON USENET to the lolcat bible. With an important message: Language isn't static; it's not passed down from elders to children, but grown collectively, with each generation taking it in a new direction. This is not corruption. It's evolution.

[This review originally was published on another instance and was lost during migration.]

Read this for a history of The Man holding women down with a dictionary; an explanation of vocal fry and upspeak, the roles they fill in female communication, and how vilifying them is part of a hate as old as time; the many grammatical roles that an f-bomb can play; why gay guys often sound gay but lesbians don't sound 'lesbian'; and the word 'slut'. A lot. Just read it.

Edit: I originally rated Wordslut at four stars, but on reflection, its combination of outrage and history, delivered with disarming humor, sets a bar that should be considered the gold standard, not the silver standard.

EditEdit: I wrote this review soon after the book was released in paperback, but my review was lost in an instance change. :( It's not really new.

The language is that of a young woman writing in her journal. The chapters are short, as is the book. Yet it manages to remind the reader of climate change, of class unfairness, of where the revenge motive leads. It starts with a girl on a bridge who sees nothing before her, and ends with that girl earning her future.