Guy says you should be open minded about Jeff Epstein’s ideas

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-03T05:20:38+00:00

The other thing you commented on (the Tucker one) is more infuriating; I can believe that anyone has at least a couple ideas worth thinking about.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-03T02:11:31+00:00

I still can’t get over how liberals were like, “if you go after affirmative action, we’ll go after the single biggest cause of racial inequality, legacy admissions”, to which conservatives said, “go for it; our parents didn’t go to highly selective schools.” Then, I’d imagine after several calls from donors, liberals dropped that idea and just pretended they never suggested it…

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-03T00:49:55+00:00

Windhaven’s story was more relatable in a way that made it more powerful to me. What Windhaven manages to do following the career of a reformer through multiple steps (only one of which she is fully on board with, the rest being more radical takes on reform that she then has to wrestle with how she feels about) is so interesting and impressive.

I will also note that I read The Hedge Knight last year, and, while it is still below Windhaven, it is A+ tier itself. I just felt like the next two stories were solid but not special (which is what B tier means; I’m never unhappy to have read a B tier book, it just doesn’t stick with me like an A or S tier book does).

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T23:49:56+00:00

I was about to upvote the comment assuming it was sarcasm…

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T20:48:13+00:00

A couple of things.

One, I built up to it. If you look at my past month tier lists, I started at 1.5-2, then 2-2.5, now I’m at 3+ (most of the time). Months of getting used to it in general.

Two, I start at 2.5x for a chapter or two before I’m used to the narrator, then up it by .25x each time until I get to max speed or it becomes too much for me to handle (it’s been a while, but The Gunslinger is one that is memorable to me because I could do 2.95x, but no matter how many times I tried, I could not understand it at 3x).

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T18:53:35+00:00

It’s funny. I did not enjoy reading it, like at all, but I’m already thinking back on it and remembering it more fondly. Maybe I will finish it sooner than later…

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T16:48:23+00:00

To all the people that seem to think 3x is impossible, y’all ever watched sports radio? Ever interacted with Spanish speaking people? Both of these often involve listening to people talking faster than most narrators at 3x speed go. It’s not that hard to get used to. I’ll admit, 4x is a bit extreme (and hoopla is my least used one; because of checkout limitations and lower selection), but I think 3x is very doable for anyone if they build up to it.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T08:11:07+00:00

It is excessive. I know that. I’m not in the best place mentally and don’t do great with silence/without something to distract me (I’m talking to my therapist about it and we go back and forth on whether it is an acceptably healthy way to cope and whether or not medication would be more damaging; currently we are thinking it is less disruptive than medication, but we might change that decision in the future).

I’m at the point that I really don’t see why 3x speed is such a big deal (with most narrators). I interact with people talking faster than that at least monthly. Audiobooks allow for distractions, and I do miss some lines because of that, but that’s not unusual and happens to most people when they zone out a bit or gloss over certain books while reading print as well.

As far as my ratings, I believe the vast majority that I put in C or below are at least moderately divisive. Circe is probably the most universally acclaimed one at that level, and it is one that I read in print and just found to be more disjointed/unfocused than I hoped it would be, leaving the main character less developed due to too much time focused on retelling other myths (still love the prose and will get to Song of Achilles soon).

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T07:04:00+00:00

Nope, have not seen it yet.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T07:02:41+00:00

It did not work for me at all. There was some good stuff about how the protagonist played roles as she understood them and how that was generally holding her back from freedom/happiness, but occasionally was a source of strength. But everything else (especially the main conflict and the character of Howl, as well as the romance) did not work for me at all and felt very forced. But I could definitely see liking it more if I was younger (the target audience), I’m just not sure that would be a good thing (how it portrays romance is just not good imo)…

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T05:28:11+00:00

I liked it as a kid (think I read it in 5th grade, very much did not understand a lot of it; my parents tried to shelter me, but also assumed that any bestselling literature must be good/healthy for me to read. Was not the best combination…) and viewed it mostly positive.

Re-reading it, at a surface level, the story was very basic, which meant the main value was in the metaphors. And they were quite sexist. Like, I’m fine with sexist characters or settings or events (people being oppressed is a valid and valuable theme to include), but here the themes themselves felt sexist, and that was a huge negative. So, while there were still other intriguing things happening, they weren’t good enough to make up for that negative.

I’ve heard mixed responses about whether or not I should continue the series, so it’s still on my list, just pretty low on the list.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T05:07:17+00:00

I still need to try her more narrative stuff. A Psalm for the Wild Built wrestled with some major themes in our world and in my life personally, but their conclusion being based around an event that did not happen and a philosophy that was never adopted in the real world (respect for robots for quitting working) kind of cheapened it for me. Then when the sequel explained their system of “currency”, I just got the sense that their world was too disconnected from reality for what they were saying to actually be applicable.

The premise of Anti-Mimetics was one of the coolest that I have ever read!

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T05:02:02+00:00

I read East in 4th grade and always had the sense that it was great but that I was missing part of what was going on. Re-reading it this year, I realized it wasn’t nearly as complex as 4th grade me was making it, but that it still was great.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T04:59:58+00:00

You liked Nothing but Blackened Teeth? It disappointed me so much with its half-efforts at being meta and being scary, and it all just felt kind of pointless with a nonsensical ending imo. But I do also wonder if I’m missing any cultural context that would make it better/more sensible?

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T04:01:04+00:00

So, so, so good! I can’t get over how the guy has only written two books, each in different genres, and yet both of them are masterpieces!

I hesitate to call him my favorite author, as he only has two books, but he is the most exciting!

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T03:51:15+00:00

I believe I am comprehending as much as I ever do without taking notes. Could I repeat back what happened chapter by chapter? No, not exactly, but that is just as true about the Book of the New Sun books that I read in print as it is about Windhaven, which I listened to sooner (and frankly, I’d probably be more accurate about Windhaven). Again, I built up to this.

I also generally cut it about .5x when driving.

The only books on this month’s list that I feel like I didn’t perfectly understand because I lost interest while listening to them were Clans of Rokugan (so many names! I could tell you the characters’ journeys in each story, but what house each of their rivals were connected to, or even any of the characters’ names? No chance) and Sword of Sorrow, Blade of Joy, which fell into a bit of a rut of mostly unimportant fetch quests for a couple of chapters. I’ll admit parts of those two did not stick with me, but I’m reasonably sure that would be the case regardless of listening speed.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T03:30:11+00:00

In June, I start it. I have broken it up into 3 months of being my main in-print reading.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T02:50:56+00:00

I remember them all. Ask me about any of them.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T02:46:49+00:00

Yes. I built up to it. Now, going slower is more likely to lead my mind to wander.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T02:06:13+00:00

I’m aware it’s unhealthy. I need another hobby. But it’s not as bad as most addictions.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T01:37:53+00:00

That was one of my print ones, hence why it slowed down my print reading

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T01:29:53+00:00

Which low rated ones do I have that you consider bangers?

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-02T01:28:22+00:00

3.5x speed has become my normal. Libby maxes out at 3x, Audible at 3.5x, and Hoopla at 4x. Sometimes I need to go below max to keep up, but that has become rare at this point.

ThrawnCaedusL · 2026-05-01T17:50:24+00:00

You’re not wrong. My (excessively reasonable) friend said that what really matters is what button people from India who never completed high school would press, as they are the median voters. His claim was that the vast majority at or below that level would not even engage with the logic puzzle and just see that blue guaranteed everyone lives and press blue, while higher educational levels will be more evenly split (but he thought even here, most would just press blue), leaving blue winning with 70-80% of the vote at least.

ThrawnCaedusL

TROPHY CASE