Hello, fellow bibliophiles!

I've been on the hunt for a decent Goodreads alternative for a few years now and was curious as to what the fine folks of the Lemmyverse thought of Bookwyrm.

There are so many GR alternatives that are clearly trying to be "The New Goodreads", though the whole reason I wanted an alternative is because I'm sick of GR and its devolution into a commercialized, biased, and messy shithole. Like, if I wanted recommendations and feckless reviews straight from the putrid inner bowels of Tiktok, I'd go to Tiktok. And most of these alternatives seem to quickly turn into the same thing. I refuse to believe that GR and its copycats are our only viable option.

Bookwyrm seems promising. It's been a bit clunky and I'm still figuring it out, but I'm enjoying the utter lack of sponsored or "pushed" content. So, thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions?

Despite the age of consent in Mississippi being 16, no one under the age of 18 will have access to digital materials made available through public and school libraries without explicit parental/guardian permission.

Mississippi has a new law on the books directly impacting access and use of digital resources like Hoopla and Overdrive for those under the age of 18 throughout the state. Even if granted parental permission, minors may not have materials available to them, if vendors do not ensure every item within their offerings meets the new, wide-reaching definition of “obscenity” per the state. Mississippi Code 39-3-25, part of House Bill 1315, went into effect July 1, 2023, and libraries across the state have scrambled for how to be in compliance.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1192960

A lovely story with incredible art!

The visuals really carry this one. The lines are beautiful, and the shading is very well done, it really gives every single page lots of depth. I love how Nakamura used empty space to give some pages this feeling of letting the words float in the air, while some others feel horribly cramped. It really enhances the reading experience.

The plot is nice too. There's a very sad backdrop to every interaction, and the way the main character (Mizushima) talks about life and death is a bit cringe, but there was still plenty of emotional weight.

It's a one-shot, so there's not much time to properly develop the characters, but I felt that things weren't particularly rushed.

I love the themes of loss, trauma, and depression, and I really appreciated how much everyone around the main character cared for him. Especially Hanamori, of course. Mental health is a very serious thing, and seeing how much Mizushima struggled with his personal trauma really touched me, but I think a lot of authors, when they try to tackle these issues, end up putting their struggling characters in seemingly hopeless situations where everyone is against them, and it's up to the main character to break out of their misery. Not here. The people around him care about him, and they try to help and support him, even if Hanamori was the main catalyst for his recovery.

I think that was really beautiful.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Read on ジャンプ+!
Read on MangaPark!!!

@Melobol @JoeClu @books try the wandering inn. I used to not like romance but these days I can’t get enough

Here is my embarrassing list.

=Noteworthy

1984 by George Orwell Catch-22 Joseph Heller Dune by Frank Herbert East of Eden by John Steinbeck Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

=Less Noteworthy

Black Sea Gods by Brian Braden Mythos by Stephen Fry Smallworld by Dominic Green The One by John Marrs The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

I see many 4.5 to 5 star fantasy books. I get excited and read about them only to find out they are really just "romance" or smut type books. Grrr.

I really wish these romance novels would separate themselves from the fantasy genre. It wastes my time seeking out highly rated fantasy books only to find out they are actually romance books.

I wish I could block the romance and smut books when searching for fantasy novels.

It's disappointing that these romance novels are masquerading as fantasy novels. I do understand these romance novels really are, for the most part, fantasy, but I wish I wish there were a separate category either for the romance fantasy or for the traditional non-romance fantasy novels so I could block them in my searches. I've no interest in romance at all.

Certainly! Here's a markdown-compatible list of sci-fi books along with their Goodreads review links:

1. "Dune" by Frank Herbert [Goodreads]
2. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson [Goodreads]
3. "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson [Goodreads]
4. "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov [Goodreads]
5. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card [Goodreads]
6. "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin [Goodreads]
7. "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons [Goodreads]
8. "1984" by George Orwell [Goodreads]
9. "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley [Goodreads]
10. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams [Goodreads]

Enjoy exploring these captivating science fiction books!

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I've been on a spy fiction kick recently- I really enjoyed the recent The Man from UNCLE movie and I Expect You to Die video game. I'm looking for some novels that are in a similar vein (classic 60s spy versus an egomaniac villain out to take over the world). However, I cannot stand the sexism in Ian Fleming's books. He's got good prose and worldbuilding, but it bugs me too much to enjoy the books.

Are there any recent spy novels that fall into this genre?

I started reading it a month ago (I'm a slow reader lol) and got to the middle of the book. I really liked the first part but half way it started to feel like it's repeating itself and lose its meaning, like where does it go? It feels stuck.

Is it getting better? Should I push through or just give up?

For decades, Annie Ernaux has written fearlessly about sex, abortion and illness - laying bare herself and society. Deeply intimate and political work that earned the French writer the Nobel Prize for literature last October. Ernaux spoke to France 24's Fatimata Wane at the Taormina book festival in Sicily, where she was among the recipients of the Taobuk award.

Hi to all the community, a month ago bought a Fire tablet and installed KO Reader to work (more often to highlight ideas in the books). My doubt is, how can I configure to save the highlight parts while I'm working? Only find the possibility of exit from the document to save ..

After listening to a few clips of The Silmarillion narrated by Andy Serkis, I am interested in seeing if I could actually get used to listening to audiobooks. I usually can't focus enough on audio alone to keep up with a book but now I'm thinking it might be more of a narration quality thing than anything else.

What are your suggestions for other audiobooks with great or at least similar narration as this new version of The Silmarillion?

While I've always been a big fan of fantasy, I've often stayed away from certain areas (like D&D books) as they can get waay too campy waaay too fast, but these books are just great!

The pacing is great. Not too much world building, just enough action (both emotional and martial), and no over-the-top cringey material lol. Just an incredibly relateable story about "otherness" and finding your way in a world that can feel hostile to your ideas. It's something many can relate to in 2023.

I highly recommend for any D&D or general fantasy fans!

Specifically how the deaths of so many of our soldiers affected families and communities.

When I have to start reading a book I want to know if it's good or garbage, so I like to read some reviews. I don't trust Goodreads, are there some alternatives?

Neil Gaiman announced the Neverwhere sequel back in '17, and the last news I've been able to find is it's delayed as of 2020. Is there any news I've missed since then? I'm pretty stoked about going back to that world for more.

I recently sort of came into realizing I'm a demisexual, and was wanting to see about if there are any books about people's experiences as demisexual or asexual or similar.

I read The Cybernetic Tea Cafe and I really enjoyed it. It was a good, short story with a sci-fi background

Looking for new books to read as I am preparing to head out on a much needed vacation and want to dig into some good reading. Can be fiction or nonfiction, just so long as it hooked you and made you want to keep reading and reading until the end.

I guess it makes sense for this sort of thing to happen now. Goodreads doesn’t have a way to prove someone bought a book and with folks there that get review copies, probably won’t get the features. If authors didn’t have a hard enough time publishing, yet another thing to worry about.

House of leaves is a visual experience! While reading you literally risk to get lost inside his labyrinth of word and columns. I mean seriously