Noisy Deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

I have been using Linux on my older ASUS laptop for roughly four days now, and I didn’t even need to open Windows for anything. I tested three distros in the meantime, but I mostly used Ubuntu 25.10 to perform tests on all the activities I normally do on Windows, to see if I could make them work.

✅ Things that are working now:

  • Dropbox: I installed Dropbox, and now it works, it’s syncing locally, which I like. But the Dropbox pricing is kinda expensive (min plan is 2TB) and I read some issues they had with privacy, so that is a bit concerning to me, since privacy is one of the reasons I'm switching to Linux.
  • OneDrive: actually, I added the Microsoft 365 to the Online Accounts option in Settings, and it just worked! I can access all the OneDrive files virtually. I want to use this as a transition space until I'm totally switched to another cloud service. This only worked properly with Ubuntu 25.10.
  • pCloud app: I installed the pCloud app and it worked! Everything is syncing! I really like this service. I am thinking of getting the 500Gb plan to test out and transfer my entire OneDrive to pCloud. It syncs superfast, and I can access everything on the web and on my phone. There’s also an option to sync files locally, which I tested. It’s cheaper than Dropbox, and they even offer lifetime plans. Also, super easy to use and set-up on Linux.
  • Thunderbird: Email syncing with Outlook worked well, no issues there. I had a hard time syncing the calendar, though. I had to install plugins (TbSync & Provider for Exchange/Office 365 add-ons for automatic syncing). At first, the syncing produced a bunch of errors. I removed and re-added the account, waited a bit longer, and then it finally started syncing. Now all the calendars I selected are synced. I’m not sure if the syncing errors will happen again, so this is something to monitor. This setup is also a workaround until I switch to another calendar service.
  • I also tried the GNOME calendar, which looks great, I love it! But I couldn't get the Outlook Calendar to show up in there. Google Calendar syncs instantly after adding Google via the Online Accounts settings. Interesting how much easier it is to sync compared to Outlook.
  • I connected the Kobo to Ubuntu via USB. It was recognized, it charges and connects to Calibre, no problem.
  • Bluetooth speakers: my JBL speakers work perfectly!!
  • Firefox: Installed an extension on Firefox to create PWA apps from the web.
  • Calibre/e-Book/DRM: I tried a bunch of stuff, including suggestions from readers of my blog (thank you so much!🤗). What ultimately worked was installing WINE and emulating Adobe Digital Editions along with the de-DRM app on Linux. So I did it! It’s the same process I use on Windows. But I found out how that the DRM plugin on Calibre works, and it can remove DRM from any book when I connect my Kobo to the computer, so that’s cool! I can de-DRM books that I purchased on Kobo, which I was never able to do before.
  • Nautilus: The file explorer Nautilus annoyed me quite a lot, and the customization options are not great. But I found an alternative: Nemo. Installing it with sudo apt install nemo gives me just what I need (like resizing the sidebar).
  • Keyboard shortcuts: I learned how to make a custom keyboard shortcut to open new Nautilus/Nemo windows! I am still learning the usual keyboard shortcuts.

💿 Some distros I tried out

  • Kubuntu 25.10: it's so cute! I love how it looks! However, the Online Accounts option was not there at all! So I couldn't find a way to connect to OneDrive or Google. That makes it kind of useless for me right now during this transition period, though it might be an option in the future.
  • Linux Mint 22.3 (beta): nice and looks great, lots of customization options. But I also couldn't connect to Microsoft (there is an error when it goes to the login page, the webpage to authenticate shows that it's an unauthorized service from Microsoft).
  • Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS: I went back to my first install in the HDD, and for some reason the Microsoft account connected only works for the calendar, but not for the files. Weird. I think Ubuntu 25.10 is the best option for me right now.
  • I’ve heard about Zoran OS and Bazzite, but didn't try them. They seem to be kinda similar at first glance, and I think I still prefer Ubuntu for now. I don’t want to spend a lot of time distro-hopping, because that will lead me into decision paralysis.
  • 🎯 CONCLUSION: I will start with Ubuntu 25.10. This version gave me all the options and functionalities I needed to get started. And I got used to the GNOME interface surprisingly quickly. I began appreciating the somewhat minimalistic vibes.

📌Some Videos that I watched about choosing a distro:

⏭️ Next Steps

  • I’m doing a full backup of my OneDrive files to my external SSD.
  • Other files I want to back up: My Steam library game saves (I’m not sure all saves are stored online) and my Calibre Library (I will export a backup file).
  • Do a final installation of Ubuntu 25.10 on my main laptop (ThinkPad X1 Carbon) and test all the hardware and functionalities to start using it as my daily driver for personal use.
  • Figure out what I want to do about the online/cloud services I use: cloud storage, digital calendar, emails.

#linux #tech

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

The first thing I did was download the ISO image for Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS. Then I used balenaEtcher to create a bootable USB drive. I got an error when doing this on Windows 11, and after some searching, I found that the solution was to run balenaEtcher as Administrator for the image to work. Even then, I still got another error, I don’t remember exactly what it was. In the end, I switched to Rufus to create the bootable USB, and that worked.

I managed to create the bootable USB and installed Ubuntu on my old ASUS VivoBook Pro laptop. All the hardware worked out of the box, which was great. Even the NVIDIA graphics card was recognized and installed automatically.

So far, I've tested:

  • Wi-Fi/Sound/keyboard/mouse/monitor: no issues at all
  • Bluetooth: worked well with Jabra Evolve headphones
  • Firefox Browser: perfect
  • Standard Notes: I installed the app and it works beautifully
  • Nirvana: web based and works perfectly as a PWA app
  • Steam: installed it and played Banished. It ran even better than on Windows, with more options to adjust zoom, scale, and font sizes
  • Deezer: installed an app and listened to music with my headphones
  • Calibre: successfully installed for e-book management. I still need to explore using it to open library e-books shared in the Adobe Digital Editions .acsm format. The internet suggests this is possible with some plugins
  • LibreOffice / OnlyOffice: great alternatives to the Microsoft suite, it will be easy to switch
  • pCloud: created a free account to test it out (seems pretty good!)
  • MEGA: created a free account to test it out (didn’t like it that much, for some reason)

Things that I tried but did not work:

  • Installing Dropbox and getting it to integrate with Nautilus (did not work at all!)
  • Setting up GNOME Online Accounts for OneDrive: I kept getting an error saying the service could not connect
  • Installing the MEGA application on Linux: nothing happened, and it didn’t work out

Things I want to test:

  • Plugging in my Kobo to see if Calibre recognizes it (I forgot to test this)
  • Dropbox: I still have a Dropbox account, and it was the first option that came to mind to replace OneDrive. I read that Linux support is good, but on my first attempt I couldn’t get the native app working. I’ll revisit this
  • pCloud Drive: this seems like another solid alternative to OneDrive. I tested it on Windows, and it worked great; now I want to see how well it integrates with Linux
  • Discord: there’s a Linux app available. I still need to try it
  • Lenovo Universal Dock: I have a ThinkPad dock that I use to connect my monitor and peripherals to my other laptop. I expect it to work with Linux on my ThinkPad X1, but I also want to see if I can get it working with the ASUS laptop. The internet seems to agree that it should work, but I still have to figure it out.
  • Emails in Mozilla Thunderbird
  • I started with Ubuntu, but I'm intrigued to at least try out Linux Mint. I am not sure if I liked the GNOME desktop environment. It could be because I didn't actually do any customization. Something to explore.

Something I want to do first, before I continue more testing

  • The ASUS laptop I'm using to test Linux has a 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD. I made the mistake of installing Ubuntu on the HDD, instead of the SSD, so Ubuntu didn't feel that smooth, it's a bit sluggish (still better than Windows 10, tho). So before I continue any explorations, I will start over and do a full reinstallation on the SSD.

Banished on Linux

Note: I wrote and published this post on Linux 🙂

#linux #tech

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

It's funny, because I really don't have any major issues with my Windows personal laptop right now. It boots fine, and I have all the tools I need. Still, getting back to Linux has been on my mind for a long time.

Looking back, the first time I used Linux was probably around 2004. In Brazil, Linux became popular with the distro Kurumin, which was based on Knoppix. I got a book from the author on how to understand Linux, and that’s when I learned the basics. Between 2010 and 2013 I was playing around with Ubuntu. I had a dual-boot desktop with Windows and Ubuntu for years, but I never fully jumped ship because of video games and AutoCAD. Back then, running games on Linux was either too complicated (using Virtual Machines would crash a lot), or simply impossible. AutoCAD is a 2D and 3D architecture/engineering drafting and design software I used a lot, and it still doesn’t have a native Linux version.

Today, that might be a different story, and that’s exciting. Gaming on Linux has become much more viable, and I don’t use AutoCAD anymore.

This is mostly a fun project for now. I know it will be hard and time-consuming at times, but I will be learning something, and I used to love that. Or, it might be a breeze, I don’t know! For some reason, learning operating systems has always been fun for me. I don’t fully know why, but it scratches a certain itch. So I am going to embrace this experiment and see where it takes me.

I still feel a bit conflicted because I am not particularly irritated with Windows in my day to day personal use yet. I was able to disable or ignore most of the annoying things on Windows. And to be honest, it's very convenient for me to have Windows and Microsoft 365, which integrates well with my work email/calendar/files.

At the same time, this feels like an ideological question, when I look at the grand scheme of things. Do I want to keep using Microsoft as they fill everything with AI, make Windows more restricted, and increasingly push ads into the experience? There are simple things I have wanted from Windows for years, like a proper calendar widget on the desktop or better integration between Outlook and To Do (which never happened!). On Linux, I could have a completely different experience with different solutions, one I can shape and customize the way I want.

So, in the end, this Linux experiment is a great way to build for the future. It is a chance to continue exploring open source solutions and to stay in a constant state of learning. I think it is going to be an interesting journey. That is really what this is, a journey. I will learn new things, try new setups, and be part of a community that values freedom and privacy.

#linux #tech

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 👕 I promised myself that the reward for completing the 750 Words private journaling last month was to buy myself an Iron Maiden t-shirt. I used to have one way back then, and I just had this wish to wear one again. So I did it! I found a local store that still sells licensed rock/metal bands t-shirts and got a pair (I wanted to avoid buying online).
  • ☑️ I noticed that the Nirvana app was looking a bit more colourful than usual. So, the iOS version already had colours on the menu and now that is matched on the web and also on the Windows app. Cool!
  • ⏰ I sometimes wish Nirvana offered stronger reminders. Or at least a quicker way to add simple ones and receive persistent notifications. To fill that gap, I’ve been using the Reminders app on my phone, or occasionally Microsoft To Do, since both make it much easier to add a reminder. And that brings me to…
  • 🐧 ... I want to try out Linux again. It's been years since I've been on Linux, and now I feel like I have the headspace to start my switch from Windows to Linux. I don't have major issues with Windows 11 at the moment, other than how bloated it has become, the endless updates that appear out of nowhere and take forever to finish, the constant insertion of Copilot AI buttons everywhere I look, and an overall concern about privacy and how little control I have over my own desktop. (Well, those might actually be Major problems!). I’m not extreme when it comes to privacy or ideology. I just want the bare minimum: a fast, predictable system that stays out of my way, lets me decide what runs on my machine, and doesn’t treat my computer like an advertising surface.
  • 🎓 I finished an online course that was offered by my company about Leadership: “Harvard ManageMentor (HMM) Leadership Experience”. It was okay, I got somethings out of it. There was an author interviewed talking about anxiety and I identified with her ideas. I'm reading her e-book “The Anxious Achiever” by Morra Aarons-Mele. It is helping me recognize anxiety as a manageable personality trait rather than a problem to solve. Anxiety might be part of my personality. And that's okay, as long as I understand it and learn how to manage it. It can help me sometimes, and in the moments where it hinders me, I can use tools to mitigate it.
  • 🎉 Me and my partner attended my company's Holiday Party, which was nice. We are not party people at all, but this one has become a tradition for us. And one thing I like to do is wear the same dress every year, to kinda prove that we don't need (especially women) to have a different outfit every fricking event we go to! It may be a women's thing, but there is a lot of pressure for us to “dress pretty” and god-forbid if we wear the same dress! I've been wearing the same outfit since 2018, and I was not excluded from society.
  • 🎿 I enrolled in Intro Cross Country Ski Classes that will start early January! I finally moved this project from my Someday/Maybe! Now I need to get some skis, but I'll wait until the craziness of Christmas shopping season is over. I'm super excited about skiing! I have no clue how it works.

📌 Cool online reads:

  • Desert Island games (feat. some of you!) by Joel: This is an awesome post with the collaboration of a bunch of people talking about video games (including me!). It’s a great list and Joel’s comments are super fun, I had a great time. Go read it!
  • My approach to GTD – capturing | zkbro: I loved this todo.txt style system using Obsidian, mixing the PARA method and daily notes. I am following to read the rest of the series of posts about this GTD system.
  • My approach to GTD – processing | zkbro: This is post 02 of the above, talking about processing. It’s very complete with contexts and priority tags.
  • IndieWeb Carnival: where do I wish to see the IndieWeb in 2030 – Manu: Some interesting reflections here. The one that most caught attention is the tendency of creating or replicating major corporate platforms rather than creating something genuinely different. I honestly feel that Mastodon resembles Twitter too much, and I always wonder what could be different?
  • A roadmap of the Roman Empire – 82MHz: So interesting to know about Itiner‑e, a project mapping all the roads of the Roman Empire, essentially a “Google Maps” of antiquity. Andreas is so lucky to be near an actual ancient Roman road. It feels so special to me to be in archaeological sites or heritage buildings. Fascinating!

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

  • A Brief History of the Concert Film by Polyphonic: I’ve been watching a lot of recordings of live performances, so this was a nice video that goes back into the origins of recording live music and creating these films.
  • Heisenberg Made a Discovery in 1925. We Still Can't Explain It by PBS Space Time: Quantum Physics is crazy and amazing!
  • The Windows 11 Crisis by ColdFusion: this video encouraged me to start thinking about Linux again, after years being in the Microsoft environment. I used to be a minor Linux enthusiast, having set up dual boot gaming desktops back in the day where I couldn’t play games on Linux. Well, now the reasons not to use Linux feel smaller than ever, and the reasons to leave Windows feel harder to ignore.

—

#weeknotes

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • ✏️ I completed the 750 Words November Challenge of private journaling. I wrote at least 750 words for 30 days in a stream of consciousness fashion. This exercise made me slow down and I felt so much more relaxed overall! It worked as a great emotional regulator and I felt more content and sure of myself.
  • 🤗 I learned that daily private writing creates space for processing rather than just documenting. I would never be genuinely honest with myself if I was writing my unfiltered thoughts publicly.
  • 🎧 I've been listening to a lot of symphonic metal and it actually has had a therapeutic effect on me. It's like a pocket of emotional restoration, I've been feeling that youth excitement of discovering new things. I had no idea music was so restorative to me!
  • ♒ I am loving my Aquafitness classes! I go every Saturday morning at 7:30am and I can feel my body feeling less achy overall.
  • 💪 I've been fairly consistent going to the gym 2-3 times per week, now that it's too cold for me to go run outside.
  • 💉 I took my Flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
  • 🤘 I listened 6 Epica albums, out of 9 official releases in total. I really like the first 3 albums the most, but the other ones have cool songs as well.
  • 🧩 We worked a bit on our current puzzle, which was a bit abandoned the past few months. The “Starry Night” is not an easy puzzle, and that makes it even better. It’s going slow and steady.

📺Movies and Videos

  • I watched the movie “Escape from New York” by John Carpenter from 1981. I was inspired by a discussion we had on my local Bookclub about Neuromancer and and how William Gibson cited this movie as his inspiration for the aesthetics in his book. It was a fun watch and it's interesting to see the cyberpunk elements in it.
  • I watched the documentary “Soaring Highs and Brutal Lows: The Voices of Women in Metal” from 2015. Interesting interviews with different generations of women in metal and their personal experiences. Super cool! Floor Jansen (Nightwish) and Simone Simons (Epica) are there, among others.

📌 Cool reads:

#weeknotes

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. First (After the End #1) by Ali Hazelwood, 155p: This novella was the darkest story I've read from Ali Hazelwood. I'm a fan of everything she writes, and I enjoyed 80% of this book. There was powerful enemies-to-lovers tension build-up. But the final part was way more unhinged than what I was prepared for. The end scene was way out of my comfort zone, since I'm not a fan of dark romance at all. The dubious consent also troubled me. So, I guess this was not for me.

  2. Mate by Ali Hazelwood, 448p: This is Ali Hazelwood’s second paranormal romance, and her writing hooked me like always. It’s a slow-burn werewolf story with the fated mate trope.  Honestly, that trope isn’t usually my thing, but she added a little twist that kept it interesting.  There’s also a lot of werewolf–vampire–human politics going on, and I’m not sure if I’m still into that part of the world building. Even so, Hazelwood’s style makes it fun enough that I stuck with it.

  3. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, 576p: Snow Crash was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed all the technology predictions in the book: the Earth program (Google Earth), the metaverse (VR experience), avatars, the Library (chatGPT), digital currency, and even the creepy surveillance vibe in corporate offices.  On the other hand, the book itself was tough to get through, with way too much exposition, clunky action outside the Metaverse, some xenophobic world building, and that infamous sex scene between a 15-year-old girl and an older man. Even the neurolinguistic hacking plot with old Sumerian mythology origins was not that interesting to me. Some ideas were cool and ahead of their time, the actual storytelling didn’t really land for me.

  4. Memory (Vorkosigan Saga #10) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 509p: I was so glad to get back in the Vorkosigan universe. I had no idea what this book was about, and  “Memory” surprised me in the best way.  Here we see Miles Vorkosigan facing the fact that he’s getting older, and the story takes him on a really interesting journey of self-discovery. As always, Bujold’s writing is fantastic and there is so much emotion and empathy bleeding through the pages. In the beginning, it feels different from the earlier ones, with less fast-paced action and more reflection and character growth. It deals with health challenges, professional and personal friendships and also a mystery with some police procedural action.  It’s definitely a turning point in Miles’s and Simon Illyan's story, setting up the next stage of the series really well. I’m excited to see where things go from here.

—

#readinglist #books #reading

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I saw this going around the web a while ago and I saved it for later so that I could write one as well. So here it goes!

Do you floss your teeth?

Yes, every single day, without fail.

Tea, coffee or water?

Mostly water, but I love a mid-day cup of tea, especially in the winter. Lately, I’ve been sneaking in a shot of espresso after lunch when I feel my energy drops too much. I avoided coffee for years because of stomach issues, but now I can handle it in very small doses. I've always enjoyed the aroma.

Footwear Preference?

Comfort above all. Indoors, it’s Crocs in the colder months and slippers in the summer. I can’t stand walking barefoot or just in socks, I have to have something on my feet even inside the house. For outdoors, I love my hiking boots, running shoes or my winter boots in the winter.

Favourite Desert?

Dark chocolate! Lindt’s Caramel and Sea Salt is my weakness.

The first thing you do when you wake up?

I hug my knees in bed to loosen my low back, then I go to the bathroom to remove my nightguard and splash some water on my face. Then I sit down at my yoga mat to do yoga/bodyweight exercises and then meditation. If I skip this routine, my whole day feels off.

Age you'd like to stick at?

Around 35. I was in peak physical shape then, with enough maturity to know what makes me happy. Ideally, I’d keep the body of 35 and combine it with the wisdom I have now.

How many hats do you own?

Two running caps (one regular, one visor), three warm beanies for winter, and a summer hiking hat.

Describe the last photo you took

A photo of my workplace new office renovation showing the new kitchen area: a modern look area with exposed ceilings (apparently trendy), a blue island in the middle, two frigdes, two microwaves, beige cabinets all around with wood-look laminate tiles on the floor.

Worst TV Show?

I have not been watching too much TV lately, but I can't stand reality TV shows. They feel like manufactured drama with no substance, and I’d rather spend my time elsewhere.

As a child, what was your aspiration for adulthood?

I was fascinated by how things worked and how they were built. My wildest dream was to be an astronaut. I ended up studying Engineering, more specifically, construction.

—

🙌 Thanks for the inspiration:

#NoisyMusings

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 🏢 I dealt with some stress at work when a younger colleague got fired. He was part of a project I was leading, so that was a bit of a challenge to rearrange things and get the deliverable on time.
  • 💪 I got back to the gym, since now it's too cold for me to run outside.
  • 🧐 I started Tai Chi classes and I didn't like them that much. I felt some discomfort on my knees and my low back. Maybe it's because I'm doing it barefoot, and it's mostly standing poses. This experience actually made me appreciate yoga even more.
  • 🎧 I finished my listening to Nightwish official albums. I also watched some live performances and their official live albums. It's so cool that they have instrumental versions of some of their albums too, and these are great to listen to while I'm working, and I don't want lyrics.
  • 🤘The Nightwish exploration led me to another band: Epica. I've had 2 Epica songs on my playlist called “Epic Metal” for years, but I never really listened to any of their albums. They are a Dutch symphonic metal band with orchestral arrangements and operatic choirs. I've listened to their first 4 albums so far. The cool thing about them is that they have concerts with full orchestras and live choirs.
  • 📕I had an interesting discussion with my local Book Club about Neuromancer by William Gibson. I recognize its importance, even though I don't like the writing style. During the discussion, someone mentioned that Gibson got inspiration from an action movie called “Escape from New York” for aesthetics. Now I want to re-watch this movie, because I probably saw it when I was younger, but I don't remember much.
  • 📖 I'm reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson now, which is a nice follow-up to Neuromancer that we planned for our book club discussion. I've never read it before, and while Neuromancer is gritty and minimalistic in its writing, Snow Crash is very expository. There are whole chapters with the main protagonist having a chat with The Librarian (which reminds of LLMs like ChatGPT) talking about Sumerian religion myths. It's very nerdy.

📌 Cool online reads:

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

#weeknotes #music #heavymetal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I just realized it's been seven years since I got my current wristwatch. I was chatting with a colleague at work, and he mentioned that he got tired of replacing his smartwatch every year, so he switched to a mechanical one.

I've never owned a smartwatch because I've never felt the need for one. I considered getting one when Fitbits first came out to track exercise, but then they evolved into Google devices doing all sorts of things, and that changed my mind.

My wristwatch needs are very basic:

  • Show me the time
  • Show me the day of the week/month
  • Timer/Stopwatch to time runs and rest periods

And that's it. I don’t want to receive notifications, read emails, or respond to messages. I just want a watch that tells me the time.

I bought my IronMan Classic Timex in 2018 for $50. It was a quick purchase. I just wanted to try out a Timex. Before that, I had a Casio Baby-G for years. I still have it; it needs a new battery and a good cleaning. It’s one of those with a transparent case, and since I wore it 24/7, even while swimming, it ended up looking a bit grimy. But I suspect it still works. I will try to find it, I think I had an issue with the strap as well.

My Timex is surprisingly still going strong. I’ve only changed the battery once in the seven years I’ve had it. The only downside now is that it’s no longer waterproof because I didn’t replace the seal after the battery change. So, I don’t wear it in the pool anymore and take it off before showering. I forgot to remove it a couple of weeks ago before my aquafitness class, and it died temporarily. Luckily, my partner helped me open it up, let it dry, and it came back to life.

I’ve never felt the urge to replace it. My Timex still works, does exactly what I need, and fits my minimalist approach to everyday tools.

I think mechanical watches are super cool, but the one I have still fills my needs. I’m not searching for upgrades or features I won’t use. It's reliable and simple. It tells the time and doesn’t try to be anything more. That’s all I want from a watch.

#NoisyMusings #tech

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

So many audiobooks this month!

  1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams [audio 5h 51min]: This was the first time I've listened to the audiobook version narrated by Stephen Fry. All I can say is that it’s excellent! I've read this a couple of times before (years ago now) and I truly enjoyed the audiobook experience.

  2. His Secret Illuminations (The Warrior's Guild #1) by Scarlett Gale, 442p: Such a cool change for a romance novel: the female protagonist is a big and experienced warrior while the male protagonist is a sheltered, innocent monk. The POV is from the monk, Lucien, and he absolutely adores Glory (also known as the “She-Wolf”) in the few chances he had to look at her while at the monastery. It's a sweet, slow-burn romance with emphasis on consent and respecting boundaries. With Glory, Lucien goes out of the monastery and sees the outside world for the first time. He feels overwhelmed at first, but Glory is always there to help him. Lucien is a scribe, and he has some cool magic abilities that are useful for them to track down some missing manuscripts. It was a nice, refreshing read.

  3. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #2) by Douglas Adams [audio 5h 47min]: This was the first time I've listened to the audiobook narrated by Martin Freeman. It’s impressive how Freeman voices all the characters so distinctly.  It’s excellent! Highly recommended!

  4. The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O'Malley, 512p: Definitely a page turner! It's an amnesia/mystery/special powers/secret organization plot with a female lead character. I enjoyed the pace of the book: it kept me interested until the end. The sense of humour is delicious and reminded me of Dr. Who. I still don't know how to say the lead character name, Myfawny Thomas, but I really liked her! It was interesting to get to know her by the letters she wrote to herself. But you gotta have an open mind and turn on your “suspension of disbelief” mode at full power. Lots of crazy things happen and the characters have all kinds of unimaginable powers.

  5. Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis [audio 7h 39min]: Interesting read exploring how our global economy is changing with the rise of tech giants. The author presents his theory of how Capitalism has been turned into Technofeudalism, where powerful tech companies act like feudal lords, controlling digital platforms and data instead of land. Users and smaller businesses are like “serfs” who provide data and labour, often for free, to gain access to these platforms, which then extract value from them. I'll admit that I didn't grasp all the economic concepts, but Varoufakis makes the subject accessible through his conversational approach. The book is framed as if he's explaining these ideas to his father, which helps break down complex theories into more digestible pieces.

  6. Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood [audio 4h 24min]: This was a nice cozy novella with nerdy protagonists working in the video game industry. The story centers on team members from rival gaming companies who are unexpectedly forced to collaborate during a wintery team-building retreat. The novella leans into the miscommunication trope, with nice banter and book loving nerdery. It’s a quick read with low-stakes drama and high levels of geeky chemistry.

  7. Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) by William Gibson, 271p: I first read this book 12 years ago, and honestly, I remember finding it confusing. This time around I think I'm grasping more of it, but still, I don't know what exactly is going on half of the time. I can see how this book is a cultural reference to the whole cyberpunk genre, but, wow, it is a strange ride. It's gritty, it's dark and, honestly, the writing style doesn't capture me too much.

#readinglist #books #reading

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

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