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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1846 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 25, 2026

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So what are you reading?

Got two more sections of Capital to finish, which I will be very glad to be done with. Hoping to write up an effort post here and on my blog after I finish. I think it will generate an interesting discussion not only because Marx presents a convincing critique of capitalism (although I think his central premise of the labor theory of value is wrong, or at least incomplete) but also because it's been illuminating to see how the leftist group I've been reading it with has gone from worshiping Marx to understanding him as the flawed, snarky philosopher that he is.

Also planning on finishing up Outlive by Peter Attia today. Also going to write-up an effort post on this for Wellness Wednesday. Think it's a fantastic book, but I disagree slightly with his prescriptions and want to add a few of my own.

Also working on Harry Potter 7 in Italian.

I have an epub of The Practical Guide to Evil staring at me in my e-reader app. I only got a few dozen pages into it before my eyes started glazing over.

First impressions are poor. It's written like YA webfic slop, with a frisky and pugnacious teenage female protagonist who we are introduced to in the process of beating up a man thrice her size in a fistfight. I get the impression that there's a diegetic explanation, something to do with some people being "archetypes" and thus imbued with narrativium powers, recognized in-universe. But come on, surely we can do better than that. The story also tries the "what if Orks were misunderstood and not evil" trick, but at this point in the fantasy ecosystem, the deconstructions are probably more common than efforts to play things straight.

Maybe I'm being harsh, and it'll pick up. Some swear by it. But I find it hard to motivate myself to push deeper.

Truly, the double standards are beoynd belief. When glorious Fang Yuan in a teenage body beats up 30 fellow students in a row, there is no complaint, but a female protagonist?

He's just built different 💪

He's got "500 years of experience" and was an expert in CQC combat. A bunch of 13 year olds who can't throw a punch didn't have a chance, especially when their ego stopped them from piling onto him

PGTE has a very slow start and I dropped it like three times before getting into it. Once she's recruited by Black it gets better.

Also, the entire premise of the story is based on capital Good vs capital Evil and narrative around it, with Cat and Black standing somewhere in-between. You do get to see characters that are actually Evil, but Cat isn't a part of that faction.

Since you've read xianxia, I'd say they're closer compared to Orthodox vs Demonic, with Good being Orthodox, aka do plenty of bad things in the background but cover it up as actually good, or shove it under the rug, while Good is Demonic, and at times openly evil, but also less likely to stab you if you make them look bad.

Personally, the narrative framing is the element I like the least, and it's also why I stopped reading it later on, but if you enjoy meta elements in storytelling you might like it. Although from your comment it seems like you're not a fan.

I'm not against meta elements, if they're done well. That's easier said than done, the best example that comes to mind is Worth The Candle, which is actually elevated by the main character being a self-insert struggling against the constraints of the Random Omnipotent Being, who is also a self-insert of sorts.

I'll give PTGE another try, God knows I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for books that appeal to my tastes.

If you have read a reasonable amount of webserials then it's hard to imagine you won't enjoy PGtE. I feel like the general consensus is that it's one of the 'big three' alongside Worm and Mother of Learning in terms of quality and popularity

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