Cartotastic
LightNews LightNews
banner
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
Cartotastic
@cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
1 followers 0 following 17 posts
I love maps and comics and RPGing and once upon a time I sang rock songs in seedy pubs
This account is mostly for reviews of all the wonderful books I read, plus […]

🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://aus.social/@cartotastic, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Posts Replies Media Videos
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2026 BOOKS: BOOK 1
Sleeper Beach
by Nick Harkaway

I read the first of Nick Harkaway's SF-noir books (Titanium Noir) early last year, and have repeated the pattern by reading the second early this year. Both were Christmas presents from my wife and the […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Sleeper Beach by Nick Harkaway.
January 9, 2026 at 1:06 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 10

Sub-Majer’s Challenge
by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

I keep going back to L.E. Modesitt Jr's Saga of Recluse. Why, I hear you ask? Is it because the characterisation is excellent? Are the plots engrossing? Or are your a sucker for punishment […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Sub-Majer’s Challenge by L. E. Modesitt Jr.
January 2, 2026 at 11:19 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 10

SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups
by Ed Helms

I stumbled onto Ed Helm's SNAFU podcast and enjoyed it immensely. The first season covered a near-WWIII flashpoint that occurred as part of the Able Archer 83 […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups by Ed Helms
January 2, 2026 at 11:05 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 9

Hummingbird Salamander
by Jeff VanderMeer

I really wanted this to be better... and shorter. I've liked Jeff VanderMeer's books in the past (the excellent Annihilation stands out), but this one didn't gel with me. I stuck it out, but I […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover to Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
January 2, 2026 at 10:49 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 8

The Internet Con
by Cory Doctorow
(@pluralistic)

I will never not boost the work of Cory Doctorow, even if most of the time I'm not big-brained enough to follow every thread that he lays down.

This book talks about interoperability […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover to The Internet Con by Cory Doctorow
January 2, 2026 at 10:41 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 7

I Shall Wear Midnight
by Terry Pratchett

I've been a longtime fan of Sir Terry Pratchett, but I'd never read his last book: The Shepherd's Crown. There was a sad finality lurking there, that once I read it, Pterry would really be gone […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
January 2, 2026 at 10:20 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 6

The Future of Another Timeline
by Annalee Newitz

Unfortunately I neglected to keep up with both my reading and reviewing this year, so forgive me if details are sketchy in some of my upcoming posts.
This goes double for this book […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
January 2, 2026 at 10:08 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 5

Picks and Shovels
by Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic)

Huzzah! A new Martin Hench book! I was a proud backer of Cory Doctorow's Kickstarter to publish this work without the anti-consumer and anti-writer practises of the usual purveyor of […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Picks & Shovels by Cory Doctorow A green cover, with a low-poly rendering of a late 80s PC.
March 7, 2025 at 11:09 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 4

Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
By Yanis Varoufakis

Hot on the heels of Doppelganger by Naomi Klein, I venture further into politcal thought with this semi-memoir from economist Yanis Varoufakis. Framed as a conversation with […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Technofeudalism by Yanis Varoufakis. Yellow cover, with black and orange text.
March 7, 2025 at 10:46 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World
by Naomi Klein

So I'll start by saying what this book isn't. It isn't the story of a woman who had her identity cloned and went on a wild ride through the dark web trying to discover the identity of the person that […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Doppelgander by Naomi Klein. The word Doppelganger is repeated down the cover, progressively becoming more distorted.
March 7, 2025 at 10:32 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 2

Titanium Noir
by Nick Harkaway

What a book! Crime, noir, gumshoey tales aren't usually my bag, but I do love a good genre-smoosh often more than I like the individual genres being smooshed. Titanium Noir is definitely noir (it's in […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (title and author text is yellow). The cover shows the silhouette of a man walking towards a grey cityscape with a dark rainy sky above.
January 21, 2025 at 4:34 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2025 BOOKS: BOOK 1

Jacaranda
by Cherie Priest

It's been quite a while since I've read any of Cherie Priest's works, and I chose this as it was marketed as a novella as I wanted to finish it before the end of the year to get another book on my list. As […]

[Original post on aus.social]
January 5, 2025 at 4:05 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2024 BOOKS (ADDENDUM): BOOK 21

Overcaptain
by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I was creating my 2024 read list for a recap and realised that I'd missed reviewing this one; fortunately it followed directly after another 2024 read in the sprawling Saga of Recluse by L […]

[Original post on aus.social]
The cover of Overcaptain by L.E. Modesitt Jr. The cover shows a sandstone pass with a small stone fort carved into one of the rock walls. A soldier in khaki rides a horse at the bottom of the cover.
January 5, 2025 at 3:26 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
WAYNE'S 2024 BOOKS: BOOKS 17 to 20
(all by Cory Doctorow, aka @pluralistic )

Because I got some last minute work on New Year's Eve and missed out on writing proper reviews and have to take the kid to fireworks in a half hour, you get... speed reviews! Huzzah! […]

[Original post on aus.social]
December 31, 2024 at 8:49 AM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
@geofabrik Is your download server at https://download.geofabrik.de/ down?
I'm getting a 403 error:

"Forbidden
You don't have permission to access this resource."
December 9, 2024 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Cartotastic
mastodon.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Our #givingtuesday campaign is officially LIVE!

We’re raising $75,000 to fund a new hire: ✨ Trust & Safety Lead ✨

A crucial role in protecting Mastodon’s growing community by strengthening our trust & safety tools incl. #moderation & server blocklists […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A cute stuffed Mastodon toy wearing a hat, sitting in front of a box labelled "Giving Tuesday donations" filled with US dollar bills.
December 3, 2024 at 7:18 PM
cartotastic.aus.social.ap.brid.gy
Macquarie Dictionary saying what we all feel, with terminology from @pluralistic

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/nov/26/enshittification-macquarie-dictionary-word-of-the-year-explained

#enshittification
November 26, 2024 at 2:27 AM