@jarulf@mstdn.social cover
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jarulf

@[email protected]

I work in a used books shop and read mostly Science fiction and fantasy, but not exclusively.
I game a bit, but wouldn't call myself a gamer.

Interested, but not very knowledgeable about walkability, the open social web and rewilding

#fedi22 #manga #books #Bookstodon #Urbanism #Cities #Walkability #Rewilding #Ttrpg #RuneQuest #RQ #Glorantha

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@vintagestory@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar vintagestory , to random

As of today, Vintage Story is 10 years old. To commemorate, we're doing a 200 game key giveaway. Thank you for sticking with us!
https://www.vintagestory.at/blog.html/news/celebrating-10-years-of-vintage-story-r432/

jarulf ,
@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar

@vintagestory I discovered VS a bit over a year ago on YouTube, and while I didn't play very much over the first few months it has now become my favourite game.
Happy birthday! May there be many more.

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

This was an IQ test.

A tweet from “Catturd @catturd2” says: “😂😂😂 we warned you.” Below is a tweet from “Polymarket @Polymarket” reading: “BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani to require all New York elementary school students to learn Arabic numerals.” (Timestamp: November 19, 2025.) (Note: Arabic numerals refers to the standard digits 0–9.)
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jarulf ,
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@georgetakei my IQ had got to be higher than L

@world_beauty@universeodon.com avatar world_beauty Bot , to random

Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail
Credits: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, , Joachim Dietrich

Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail
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jarulf ,
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@world_beauty conclusive proof of the panspermia hypothesis?

@jwilker@wandering.shop avatar jwilker , to bookstodon group

There was an interesting discussion in the SFWA discord and a tangential topic was men and reading.

So I’m curious. Men, of any age. Are you a reader?
I broke it down into
Avid - More than 20 books a year
Sometimes - Less than 20 a year
Don’t read - Self explanatory I hope.

Please share far and wide. 100% not scientific and feel free to reply with genres and any other color commentary you like in the replies.

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @reading

jarulf ,
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@jwilker bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @reading It varies a bit, but definitely more than 20. For a normal year I probably land somewhere between 50 and 60, but it can vary quite a bit, both up and down.
This has been a slow year, currently at 28.
I also read mostly Science Fiction and Fantasy.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
Reading Godkiller by Hannah Kaner and enjoying myself thoroughly. I've been in a reading slump for a while, but this book seems to have pulled me out of it.
Intriguing world building, without describing everything in exhausting detail, revealing more as needed. The main characters are all described well, interesting, and not one-sided, as are the conflicts.
About halfway through now. And I haven't a clue how this will end.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to random

Is there an issue signing up to pixelfed.social right now? It doesn't seem to accept the verification code.

@pixelfed

jarulf OP ,
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@dansup @pixelfed android. I
signed up for an account yesterday for myself, also as Jarulf, but today I'm sneakingly trying to get my boss onto the Fediverse. (As Larand)

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group Yesterday I read Winter's Gifts, and today The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch, novellas in the Rivers of London series, though both are set in the US. Very different books, but both enjoyable, though I liked Masquerades best.
I also got Stone & Sky, a full length novel, but I'll probably squeeze something else in first, so I don't overdose on Aaronovitch.
These are always fun reads (or listens, as the case may be).

jarulf OP ,
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@fskornia bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I have several of them as audiobooks, the narrator, Holdbrook-Smith is fantastic imo (to my Swedish ears any rate). But I also have a lot of them as ebooks and the later ones as hardbacks.
I agree they are fun and not particularly heavy, but not shallow. It's a fun mix of urban fantasy and police procedural.

jarulf OP ,
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@fskornia bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I really enjoyed how different the various characters sounded, from Peter, to Nightingale to the river goddesses and so on.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group The girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S, the second Jaime book in the Love and Rockets library. This is pretty much where the stories about Maggie and Hopey start properly, with the arrival of Ray, the Death of Speedy, Hopey's tour with the band, pregnancies and the utterly haunting and tragic Flies on the Ceiling.
These are stories I've already read more than a few times, though there were a couple of short ones I don't remember or have missed, but they are fantastic.

jarulf OP ,
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bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group shame that my brand new copy is already falling apart though.
Let's see if the shop will send me a new one.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
I'm continuing my recently started project of slowly catching up to where Love and Rockets is today. I'm halfway through Heartbreak Soup and really enjoying it, much more so than when I read it the first time in the 80s. I always preferred Jaime's work then, I found Beto confusing and didn't enjoy his art style that much.
I've clearly changed my mind about this because this is really good.

@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar kimlockhartga , to bookstodon group

Read any good fiction lately?

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

jarulf ,
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@kimlockhartga bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group Yup. Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay. Good but not his best, I have maybe the last quarter or so left.

jarulf ,
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@kimlockhartga bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group that's a hard one to answer, I like them all.
But I love A Song for Arbonne, I reread it a few months ago. I've enjoyed the, trilogy isn't the right word, sequence perhaps, that begins with Children of Earth and Sky.
It's been awhile now since I read the others, and I don't remember the Fionavar Tapestry at all, except there's some sort of Norse Mythology and two worlds thing going on. I don't have them.
I'm not much of a critic or good at analysing books though.

jarulf ,
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@fskornia @kimlockhartga bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group Lions is very good too. GGK doesn't really write less than good books, they tend to range from very good to excellent. 😀

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I've been watching some YouTube videos talking about the Kobo Libra Colour (many of them also being very critical of Amazon). They are full of Amazon ads.
Not a big revelation or surprising or anything, I was just amused.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
60 pages in, I'm really enjoying Written on the Dark, Guy Gavriel Kay's new book.
GGK never disappoints, he is always a treat and joy to read.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group Oh. Oh yes. I got a mail from a book store today that the new book by Guy Gavriel Kay, Written on the Dark was available to order. It didn't take me long.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group Another comic I read when it came out, but I thought it was time to reread it. So this arrived today.
The 12 issues were collected two and two and published in six issues in Sweden, I own a mix of them, but not all.

The image shows the front of the hardcover edition of the comic Watchmen. Yellow and white text on a black background. With a splash of blood red
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@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group In the 80s I discovered Love and Rockets by the Hernandez brothers. And fell in love.
While it's been an on/off kind of relationship we're getting back together now.
I have a lot of the comics, but I've decided to pick up the trades and am in the middle of Maggie the Mechanic. The first few stories are fun, even if they don't all fit comfortably with what comes later, but you see how quickly Jaime develops as both artist and writer.

@_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena , to random

Dear Fedi friends, I need your help!

We are working on motion graphics for the Fediverse promotional video... and we would love to do a sequence at the end with a mosaic of people's profile photos. For that, I need your consent.

If you'd like to have a small cameo in our video, can you let us know if we can use your profile pic?

Thanks! 🙏

Can you please boost this?

jarulf ,
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@_elena it's definitely not a photo, but feel free to use it if you want to.

@jwilker@wandering.shop avatar jwilker , to bookstodon group

Curious how many folks get or would consider getting ebooks from itch.io?

Color commentary welcome in comments.
Boosts appreciated.
scifi@a.gup.pe icon scifi group bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

jarulf ,
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@jwilker scifi@a.gup.pe icon scifi group bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I've bought games there, so why not books?

jarulf ,
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@woolie @jwilker scifi@a.gup.pe icon scifi group bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group as far as I know, itch.io only provides files to download. So you buy it, download it and read it.

@_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena , to random

Good morning Fedi friends!

Today I'm feeling excitement over the fediverse intro video we're making... and fear about the feedback it will generate. SO. MUCH. PRESSURE!

The has become my happy online place. With this video project I'm putting myself out there so much (with my face, my voice) advocating for it. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone daily... but I know it's for a great cause.

Please be kind once the video is out... it'll be the result of tens of hours of work 🥲

jarulf ,
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@_elena I think we're all waiting eagerly to watch it, and going by what you've written and commented on since you joined the Fediverse, I'm sure we'll all love the video.
But, obviously, we're not the ones that need convincing.
Thanks for fighting the good fight and putting your skills to work on this.

booknet , to random

New account on Mastodon. Interested in following people interested in books.
Boosts welcome.

jarulf ,
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@booknet hi and welcome. I'd suggest you follow the group account bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group About two thirds of the way in Kuang's Babel, and it's so good.
Though a word in Swedish looked a little odd.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

Dear bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group people, I'm currently reading Kuang's Babel and really enjoying it. But after watching a bit of a rant on YouTube about much of modern fantasy books, I thought I'd look for some independent SFF authors to read.

What I think I'm in the mood for is low fantasy, realistic characters, no love triangles or too obvious political discussions (about our current situation), so basically escapism. Maybe something that feels more 70s to 90s, if that makes sense.

jarulf OP ,
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@mkj @strangeseawolf bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group thanks for the suggestion. While this doesn't look like what I'm after right now, I did get a copy for later.

jarulf OP ,
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@strangeseawolf bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @mkj I'll be sure to read it soon. It looks interesting, but not what I'm in the mood for right now.

jarulf OP ,
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@SteveClough bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group you know, you may be right. While I'm not a huge fan of cynicism, Second Saviour looks fun.
Bought.

jarulf OP ,
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@bigolifacks bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group thanks, I'll take a look.

jarulf OP ,
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@SteveClough bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
Thanks, I'm sure I will (when I actually manage to download it.)
NM, got it. The link to Lulu required a bit of extra magic on my part to work.

jarulf OP ,
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@mkj @strangeseawolf @Firlefanz bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I read South Breaks recently, and unfortunately it wasn't really for me.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
I just got around to reading Babel by Kuang, and while I haven't gotten too far yet, I'm already liking it a lot. (They've only just arrived in Oxford and been given a tour of Babel itself)

jarulf OP ,
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@jon_bon bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group I expect terrible things to start happening soon.

jarulf OP ,
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@jon_bon bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group ha ha, ser fram emot det.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to random

I'm sure I'm not the only EU citizen wishing all Americans who are out on the streets today a better future. Fighting for not just your own democracy but for all of the rest of us too.

Thank you.
Stay safe!

@franciscawrites@mastodon.scot avatar franciscawrites , to bookstodon group

Sometimes, the most important truths are the simplest truths,

"Go to bed; tired is stupid."
― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @bookstodon

The cover of this edition of A Wizard of Earthsea, shows a wizard, the land, a dragon all created by words and in tones of blue.
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jarulf ,
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@franciscawrites @mnf bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @bookstodon it's my favourite too. I should read the whole series again, it's been ages.
Nice cover on that one, btw

jarulf ,
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@mnf @franciscawrites bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @bookstodon I'm not sure if I'd be disappointed or amused if I had bought that one.😃

@_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena , to random

This newbie who just celebrated 100 days of was able to install and on her VPS (to prevent the "Mastodon Hug of Death" for link preview cards on her self-hosted Ghost blog). She's very proud of herself for all the sudo commands she successfully ran today. And she's weirded out talking about herself in the third person, so: I did it YAY.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this Linux / self-hosting journey I'm on. Thank you for all your support & encouragement ❤️

jarulf ,
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@_elena I love reading about your progress.
Going from dipping a cautious toe on the Mastodon beach to plunging head first into the Marinara Trench of Linux and Fediverse self-hosting.
And evangelising about it in such a great accessible way.
You have a lot of stuff to be proud of.

@Gargron@mastodon.social avatar Gargron , to random

Someone reminded me today 9 years ago I submitted my first post on Mastodon—using curl on the command line, since there was no interface at the time. That's how the journey began! 9 years is a long time to be doing something. Those early years are still fresh in my mind though.

jarulf ,
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@Gargron thank you for all the work you've put into this.
The same obviously goes to everyone who had helped the Fediverse grow and mature.

I'm truly grateful.

@jarulf@mstdn.social avatar jarulf , to bookstodon group

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group It appears I want the world to end.
I recently finished and have ordered and have on my TBR, though I don't own a copy yet. by sounds interesting too, but what else might interest me?
It's Payday next week...

jarulf OP ,
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@Da_Gut bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group If it has I've managed to miss it. Added to my list.

I'm starting to think I should post that list somewhere.

jarulf OP ,
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@likelyjanlukas @jeztastic @bookstodon
I never really liked Asimov. I've read the foundation trilogy and some of the robot stories, probably a few other things as well, but I haven't read anything by him in decades. I may well have missed nuances and subtleties, but I remember I found his characters pretty dull and uninteresting.

I also only recently heard about how he treated women.

jarulf OP ,
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@Da_Gut @bookstodon I've read Seveneves, or listened to it actually, and it was pretty good. Though I tend to miss things with audiobooks, and remember them less well after. Guess my mind wanders a little.

jarulf OP ,
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@Da_Gut @bookstodon
P. D. James. I've read many of her crime novels, but put this one off for some reason.

jarulf OP ,
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@liesvanrompaey @Da_Gut bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
Thanks. These all look interesting.

jarulf OP ,
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@likelyjanlukas @jeztastic bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group
First off, I'm really sorry that happened to you. 😠

I've never heard of that story, but I may have to look it up now.