https://slackersmuse.com/tags/2026/ Recent content in 2026 on Slacker's Muse Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_annihilationsouthernreach1/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_annihilationsouthernreach1/ A Review: Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) Title of Work: Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) Author: Jeff VanderMeer Format: Published: 2014 Started: 15-07-2026 Finished: 25-07-2026\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 3/5 This book came along on my traverse of the Olympic Range in Washington. I walked alone all day, usually more than 20 miles, climbing westward over mountain passes only to descend again thousands of feet to turbulent rivers far below. There wasn’t much else to do at camp after eating and setting up the tent, so I watched the sun sink behind serrated ridges in the distance and I read aloud to myself by headlamp while the blue twilight coolness settled. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_whitenights/ Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_whitenights/ A Review: White Nights Title of Work: White Nights Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky Format: Published: 1848 Started: 22-06-2026 Finished: 29-06-2026\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Narrator is the proto–Nice Guy™ Just when he thinks he’s pick-me-monologued his way into locking down a heartbroken young lass, after running love letters across town to her silent suitor like a little errand boy, as he’s literally holding her in his arms exchanging teary I love yous and making plans to move in together, Nasty Nastenka spots her absentee lover – who has been ignoring her for a year and three days – chancing past on the dark street. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_thesocietyofthespectacle/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_thesocietyofthespectacle/ A Review: The Society of the Spectacle Title of Work: The Society of the Spectacle Author: Guy Debord Format: Published: 1967 Started: 2026-04-01 Finished: 2026-06-02\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Book club w/ David, took us a really long time for such a skinny book. Plenty packed in to 221 atomic, information dense theses but it’s also written in a deliberately inverting, subversive… inversive? style. Hegel/Marx dialectic tradition. Negation and some syntax thing called the reverse genitive, perhaps meant to mirror the upside-downing of values in capitalist systems. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_dunemessiahdune2/ Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_dunemessiahdune2/ A Review: Dune Messiah (Dune #2) Title of Work: Dune Messiah (Dune #2) Author: Frank Herbert Format: Published: 1969 Started: Finished: 2026-05-17\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 3/5 much shorter, quicker read than Dune. found an old yellow paperback copy that was perfect for the long flight to Miami. glad I got to read it before the movie comes out this year. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_siddhartha/ Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_siddhartha/ A Review: Siddhartha Title of Work: Siddhartha Author: Hermann Hesse Format: Published: 1922 Started: Finished: 2026-05-03\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 3/5 Kept me company my first night out camping this year. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_picasso/ Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_picasso/ A Review: Picasso Title of Work: Picasso Author: Gertrude Stein Format: Published: 1938 Started: Finished: 2026-05-01\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 2/5 Stein’s style here doesn’t click with me, repeating herself over and over again in slightly different ways for effect. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_projecthailmary/ Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_projecthailmary/ A Review: Project Hail Mary Title of Work: Project Hail Mary Author: Andy Weir Format: Published: 2021 Started: Finished: 2026-04-05\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Fun! Good sci-fi. Some writer said “readers like to do math because it makes them feel smart.” I don’t know how many readers this is actually true for but if you have a vague (very, very vague in my case) memory of any physics/bio/chem, this book may scratch a nice “hey! https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_americankingpintheepichuntforthecriminalmastermindbehindthesilkroad/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_americankingpintheepichuntforthecriminalmastermindbehindthesilkroad/ A Review: American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road Title of Work: American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road Author: Nick Bilton Format: Published: 2017 Started: Finished: 2026-03-19\ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 The way this is written makes it go down (up?) like a whole bunch of teeny tiny lines of true crime coke downloaded from shady corners of the 2013 internet and laid out neatly in front of you. https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_wholeagainhealingyourheartandrediscoveringyourtrueselfaftertoxicrelationshipsandemotionalabuse/ Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_wholeagainhealingyourheartandrediscoveringyourtrueselfaftertoxicrelationshipsandemotionalabuse/ A Review: Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse Title of Work: Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse Author: Jackson MacKenzie Format: Published: 2019 Started: 2026-03-01 Finished: \ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 I give everything 4 stars… Feel free to ask me about this one privately if it seems interesting to you! https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_deepworkrulesforfocusedsuccessinadistractedworld/ Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://slackersmuse.com/posts/br_deepworkrulesforfocusedsuccessinadistractedworld/ A Review: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Title of Work: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Author: Cal Newport Format: audio Published: 2016 Started: 2026-05-20 Finished: \ Posted: Goodreads Rating: 4/5 One of those productivity/self-improvement books that has been on my to-read back burner for so long I’ve already fumbled my way into many of the strategies described. Still, good to be reminded as many times as necessary that attention is at the root of anything worthwhile.