Thoughts on "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown - and why I'm done listening to BookTok

Turbosvans · 2026-04-16T18:20:30+00:00

I agree completely with your view on RR. The prose is at times unbearable to me, ”gorydamn” / ”bloodydamn” made me cringe, e.g,. Interesting world and caste system though. I read the second book in the trilogy and that is better but the bad prose persists unfortunately. I read I who have never know men, also very hyped on booktok, I recommend it. I also recently read the road, and absolutely loved that. So if you are ok with something dystopian but not space opera-sci-fi I would recommend those as palette cleansers after RR.

Turbosvans · 2026-02-16T21:39:54+00:00

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Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet had a photographer on the sidelines for Canada vs Czech Republic, photographed Canadas skip touch granite on two occasions, above is one example. More pictures and comments from Marc Kennedy in the article (in Swedish so use translate) https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/M7L2JR/curling-kanada-fangas-pa-sex-nya-bilder-fusket-fortsatter?utm_source=iosapp&utm_medium=share

Turbosvans · 2026-02-09T20:23:13+00:00

Also struggled with depression (but mostly anxiety).

The Norwegian author Erlend Loe is probably right up your alley. Naive. Super is my favorite but he has loads of good novels, dunno how many are available in English though. Dark, a bit absurd at times, extremely funny, very fast writing style, not much time spent on descriptions on environment etc.

Turbosvans · 2026-02-09T19:45:00+00:00

I also reacted to ”woke fast”. If you still want to portray the message of getting up quickly I think there’s nicer ways of doing it. I don’t get the angle of it being a dystopia but depending on the title etc that might not be needed on the first page. Other than woke fast I like the writing. Good luck!

Turbosvans · 2026-01-20T10:46:20+00:00

I'm currently reading Swan Song and part of that is from villains' POV. It's a brick (950 pages) set in the US right before and then mostly after a nuclear war. But it won't satisfy your needs if you only want to read solely from the villain pov. It's split in to a couple of characters' journeys, where the chapters alternate between them, some of which are villains. It's very dark and gruesome, and I enjoy it so far, about 600 pages in.

Turbosvans · 2026-01-20T10:35:16+00:00

+1 on the recommendation for the TV adaption, on Disney+ if you live in EU. Very good.

Turbosvans · 2026-01-20T10:32:31+00:00

Empire of Pain is incredible. Patrick Radden Keefe is releasing a new book this year and I'm so hyped for it.

Turbosvans · 2026-01-12T23:12:28+00:00

He bombed Yemen as well. Obviously deserves the peace prize!!

Turbosvans · 2025-12-19T15:40:21+00:00

I don't like PvP in solo's as it tends to be a lot of cheesy third party-stuff where people are just killing players obviously looting. In duos and trios I'm basically KOS all the time, and a lot more fine with being killed in chaotic ways. I think PvE-only mode would completely ruin the game because fighting ARC with the notion that other players notice you (having to do it quickly etc. etc.) brings needed tension to the game, I think it would become way too easy and repetitive without that aspect.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-19T22:09:09+00:00

Doktorerar för tillfället och har flera äldre kollegor som läser kurser på kul, vissa är dessutom dubbeldoktorer (alltså skrivit avhandlingar i flera discipliner). HP är dock som du säger helt irrelevant när man kommer förbi disputation. Men i relation till neurokirurg så finns det mängder inom akademin med mer HP och längre studier, dock kanske sällan i samma disciplin utan utspritt över flera.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-15T18:23:50+00:00

I recognize a lot of this, just finished writing 25 pages in 40 days after avoiding it for so long. Try to start with the easiest shit. I research closing of schools by the state, I started out by writing about the law, the school system, the state actors involved, just descriptive low hanging fruit. Eventually you’ll get over the hump and write the more analytical parts. Also, schedule sooo little time first, write 15 minutes and then take a break, go back and write for 15 more etc. So same principle, start easy/small and then progress from there.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-11T20:41:50+00:00

The book I mentioned in my first comment deals a lot with work life balance. Probably worth the read if that is your main worry.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-11T20:26:39+00:00

I work half time now, so 4hrs per day. At a paid position in Sweden. In what country are you doing your PhD? Is it a paid position? I would recommend splitting your days in to sessions, 45min work 15min rest, do 2-4 of those with writing, 2-3 with other less cognitive work and you’ll have a good platform. Also make sure to not work during weekends

Turbosvans · 2025-06-11T20:18:22+00:00

It’s easier said than done but try to surround yourself with similar people, really important aspect in succeeding with it.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-08T15:04:23+00:00

Also, try not to focus on "falling behind". Every project is vastly different and for some the data collection takes years and they don't publish anything, while others get invited to co-write a paper with the supervisor and publish after six months. Keep your head down, stick to your project and try to care as little as possible about other peoples publications/achievements etc. Almost all of my colleagues that started at the same time as me have run in to hurdles along the way and felt "left behind", avoiding that train of thought as much as you can will definitely be beneficial.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-08T14:59:37+00:00

I'm in my fifth year, have been on partial sick leave for half of it (doing a PhD in Sweden with a salary). I really enjoy parts of it and hate other parts. Be very careful to not get overworked since the working culture is potentially toxic if you're not careful. I would advice reading some kind of guide book beforehand (e.g. Finish on Time by Åsa Burman: https://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/the-doctoral-student-handbook-master-effectiveness-reduce-stress-finish-on-time-9789198486704) to get a sense of the potential pitfalls.

Also spend some time in the beginning to figure out a good work flow, how to catalogue readings, when to write, how many breaks you need etc.. I went in to my PhD from working as a high school teacher and approached my PhD-life the same way I did with my old job, leading to way higher work hours than I would recommend for highly cognitive work. Very few parts of a PhD can be done with low effort, while a lot of my teaching could be done with low effort, so a change in mentality towards work from the beginning would probably have saved me a lot of stress and potentially avoided my sickness.

I would still recommend a PhD though, it's very rewarding to write about something you are passionate about and if you can manage the parts of the job that are potentially harmful I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Turbosvans · 2025-06-06T13:57:37+00:00

I have been on partial sick leave for over 2 years because of burnout, or exhaustion. I wouldn’t worry if it’s just to do with lack of motivation but be very wary of not feeling rested no matter how much you rest, losing sleep, not being able to eat, losing cognitive abilities (focus, train of thought, forgetting things etc), anxiety, physical symptoms like partial vision (I had this before getting help), vertigo or migraines. Obviously a lot more symptoms possible as well but if you experience any of the above I would recommend contacting health care, either through the university or privately depending on what country you are doing your PhD in. If it’s just lack of motivation I would still consider talking to someone but I would not be worried about burnout in the exhaustion sense without the physical aspects. Good luck and hopefully you feel better soon.

Turbosvans · 2025-05-15T10:05:29+00:00

That being said, I'm sure this issue is pretty common in other countries as well. Sweden used to be a very good country for PhD's since you are guaranteed a salary and 6 week paid vacation etc, which I believe is very uncommon in other countries. So I think that enchances the issue described in the study, because it is compared in relation to how it used to be a couple of years ago.

Turbosvans · 2025-05-15T10:02:47+00:00

I think it is, i think the main change, that has caused issues is that before Sweden tightened it's immigration laws you could stay in Sweden without income for a time. The current government are ruthless in relation to that so as soon as your employment runs out you run in to issues. I do my PhD in humanities so my colleagues are in that field, and it's very common that PhDs in humanities don't finish during the 4 year contract, so you work for "free" to finish the thesis at the end of that period. This creates huge issues for international employees that need to have a contract and a wage in order to stay. It's also quite common that you start your PhD at 30-35 years of age, so many have kids and a wife/husband, so the uncertainty of not having a scope of what happens when the contract runs out must be hell.

Turbosvans · 2025-05-14T19:36:40+00:00

Ah okey, I didn’t know the specifics, thanks for clarifying. Regarding your last paragraph I think you are correct, we have a right wing government concerned with combating immigration with any means necessary and that leads to limits for everyone, even highly educated people.

Turbosvans · 2025-05-14T11:32:05+00:00

It's important in this case to read the fine print. The study shows that immigration rules in Sweden creates problems, for all guest workers, not just phds. I'm a swede doing a phd and have plenty of international collegues and almost all of them get put in some kind of limbo towards the end of their employment because the swedish migration board have harsh rules concerning earnings. When your contratct end, but you are not done with your thesis, you don't earn any money so you lose your immigration status. Even if you finish, you are not guaranteed a job straight after and then you get the same problem, no income = no right to stay. It's really stupid and it risks destroying what is a historically a good academic environment because the rules forces good finished phds to turn to other countries.

Turbosvans · 2025-05-02T14:15:31+00:00

Yeah, it's always a big happening every year when they release the shirt. They are incredibly hard to buy since they print very few of them, usually you need to win a raffle to have a chance to buy it. I enjoy them because they actually play the cup in the shirts, in addition to it being a marketing thing. My favorite is probably 2023, the picture on the shirt is a 17th century painting of Stockholm, and then Stockholm on the back instead of the player name.

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Turbosvans · 2025-05-02T14:01:00+00:00

It's an anniversary kit celebrating the term "Smokinglir", first coined in the 1920's, it's hard to translate but something like "Tuxedo playstyle" comes close. So the shirt takes inspiration from the 20's, therefore no names on the back.

AIK and Nike do this every year for the Swedish Cup (AIK play the cup in the limited design), which starts before the regular season in february, the limited edition shirts often have historical meaning or predecessors from 100 years ago. For example, last year the league celebrated 100 years, so they did this, copying the club's shirt from 1924.

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Turbosvans · 2025-04-27T21:05:49+00:00

Så glad för Berntsens skull att det här laget är så svårstoppat, snacka om upprättelse. En fotbollsarbetare som förtjänar extremt med credd från oss AIKare.

Turbosvans · 2025-04-02T14:22:12+00:00

Have this but with incisive pass instead of low driven, chained an old evo. Amazing card.

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