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Martijn Reintjes Locked account

martijnreintjes@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 4 months ago

Reading gives me the chance to experience different realities.

solarpunk #scifi #socialism #making #business #biography

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Martin Rowson: The Communist Manifesto (Paperback, 2018, SelfMadeHero) 5 stars

Published in 1848, at a time of political upheaval in Europe, Karl Marx and Friedrich …

Review of 'The Communist Manifesto' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

“Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

Workingmen of all countries unite!”
― Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto


While the content of the manifesto itself remains unchanged, the illustrations in this graphic novel version add a new level of depth and understanding to the ideas presented by Marx and Engels. The gore-filled images may be disturbing to some readers, but they also serve to emphasize the violence at the heart of the Capitalist system.

Overall, this graphic novel version of "The Communist Manifesto" is a fresh and engaging take on a important piece of political literature. It is sure to appeal to fans of both graphic novels and political theory.

Oliver Sacks: Gratitude (2015, Knopf Canada) 4 stars

"In July 2013, Oliver Sacks turned eighty and wrote [a] ... piece in The New …

Review of 'Gratitude' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate—the genetic and neural fate—of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death."

Matt Dinniman: Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Paperback, 2021, Independently published) 4 stars

Review of "Carl's Doomsday Scenario: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"Now, if you’ve never had a flaming, skull-faced bear on roller skates barreling at you full speed, you don’t know what you’re missing."

It's entertaining pulp and it reads like butter.
Highly recommended if you want some light and funny sci-fi/fantasy dungeon crawl reading

p.s. there is a talking cat. Talking pets are always a plus in my opinion.

“I worry about you sometimes,” said Donut.


De brug. (Dutch language) 3 stars

Review of 'De brug.' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

De brug geeft een mooi beeld van het dagelijkse leven van de mensen die zich dagelijks ophouden bij een bepaalde brug in Istanboel. Ondertussen kijkt het naar wat de mensen beweegt ten opzichte van de maatschappij waarin zij leven en de history van de stad en Turkije als geheel.

Het verhaal is te kort om een volk te kunnen begrijpen, maar het heeft mij in ieder geval een beter beeld van Turkije en zijn mensen gegeven.

Matt Dinniman: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (Paperback, 2021, Independently published) 4 stars

Review of "The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"if people didn’t like it, they could suck it."

Book 3.
More glorious pulp to be read.
The plot got a little bit thicker with the introduction of previous dungeon crawlers and their history.
But it stayed entertaining pulp non the less.

After 3 books I got a bit bored and needed something with more substance.
I'll revisit the series later after I exercise my brain cells a bit again.

“There are many wonders in a cow’s head.”



Meredith Katz: The Cybernetic Tea Shop (EBook, 2019, Soft Cryptid) 4 stars

Clara Gutierrez is a highly-skilled technician specializing in the popular 'Raise' AI companions. Her childhood …

Review of 'The Cybernetic Tea Shop' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

What a lovely, feel good novella
Stips at some interesting philosophical issues when robots with a general ai join us in society.

"She felt like there was potential in front of her, even if she had very little to hold onto right now."

Also, there is tea involved

Peter Zeihan: The End of the World Is Just the Beginning (Paperback, 2022, Harper Business) 4 stars

2019 was the last great year for the world economy.

For generations, everything has been …

Review of 'The End of the World Is Just the Beginning' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It seems Peter is a bit of an America fanboy and although he raises some interesting points about the future of the world, I can't seem to shake the feeling that all is seen from star spangled banner glasses.

It seems Peter lives in an all-or-nothing world where either you fail, or you win.
This is clear from his sneers to European policies and his disdain for China.
Both territories and cultures that have long been around before the Americans staked their claim, something we still have to see from the Americans.

Sure there will be some mayor shifts in the global political landscape, and yes, the America's are sitting on a wealth of natural resources and space. But that doesn't mean that that's all that's important.

Review of '2034' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I enjoyed this book about a possible next world war between the USA and China.
It serves as a warning how things can go wrong, very wrong.

It's also an interesting thought exercise on how things could play out in such a war.
It's only a bit annoying that he had to "invent" some bizar tech to give the Chinese the upper hand. Although wars are won with new tech it feels still a bit fantastic.

I love these near-future stories as they open my mind to possibilities of a future. If you;re the same, go read it. If not, read someone else.

Dave Grohl: The Storyteller (Hardcover, 2021, Dey Street Books) 4 stars

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a …

Review of 'The Storyteller' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

“I have never been one to collect “stuff,” I do collect moments.”
― Dave Grohl, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

Dave collected a lot of moments in his life and happily shared a lot of them in this book. It's mostly anecdotal and he explains his journey and choices. Very interesting and fun to read.
He isn't as reflective as I would have wished, and doesn't mentioned real fuck ups and the learnings from that. I know, it's hard to reflect on oneself.

The main take-away is that Dave is a unique being and is enjoying his life living it on his own term. And that's inspiring.

Highly recommend the audio book as he narrates it himself!

Review of 'Beter wordt het niet' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

They say history doesn't repeat itself but it sure rhymes.
That would make this book one big poem about the European Union and the Habsburg Empire.

It's amazing how much parallels there are and how big of an impact the Hapsburg Empire had on European history (and apparently still has). Equally amazing why I wasn't thought anything about it in my history classes in the Netherlands.

(oeps, nu heb ik een review over een Nederlandstalig boek in het Engels geschreven, sorry!)

Luc Panhuysen: Rampjaar 1672 (Dutch language, 2009, Atlas) 5 stars

Review of 'Rampjaar 1672' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Het Rampjaar 1672: het volk redeloos, de regenten radeloos en het vaderland reddeloos.

Het is 350 jaar geleden en ik had de term al vaker horen vallen, maar jeetje wat een bende was dat rampjaar. De Nederlanden werden aan alle kanten aangevallen en de regenten maakten er een potje van. Zo erg dat het volk het zat was en ze op at (gebroeders de Wit).

Het verhaal wordt vertaald via de brieven van de heer en vrouwe van Amerongen. Wat de geschiedenis fijn persoonlijk maakt.

Een echte aanrader als je van (vaderlandse) geschiedenis houdt!

(geluisterd als audiobook via Storytel)